d4: D&D Deep Dive

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Games #237

Welcome to the D&D Deep Dive, or D4. This is a place where you can find D&D content for all interest and experience levels; from Live Play games to Optimized character builds to D&D related news and educational "How To" videos, there's something here for everyone!

Recent Episodes
  • Arcane Archer and Crown Pally Tank: BG3 E #17
    Jun 3, 2025 – 01:02:17
  • The Arcane Sniper: D&D Ep #214
    May 27, 2025 – 54:45
  • The Fright Knight: D&D Ep #213
    May 20, 2025 – 51:42
  • More *Amazing* Patch 8 Builds! BG3 Ep #16
    May 13, 2025 – 54:58
  • The Blade and Bow: D&D Ep #212
    May 6, 2025 – 44:49
  • The Bladesinger and the Hexblade: BG3 Ep #15
    Apr 29, 2025 – 58:09
  • The Draconic Cleaver: D&D Ep #211
    Apr 22, 2025 – 58:12
  • The Full-Metal Abjurist: D&D Ep #210
    Apr 15, 2025 – 01:02:55
  • Sir Lance-a-lot: D&D Ep #209
    Apr 8, 2025 – 55:23
  • The Swiss Army Soul Knife: D&D Ep #208
    Apr 1, 2025 – 45:50
  • The BFG (Blade-Flinging Giant): D&D Ep #207
    Mar 25, 2025 – 47:57
  • The New Shadow Monk: D&D Ep #206
    Mar 18, 2025 – 49:03
  • The Sorcerer Spell Sword: D&D Ep #205
    Mar 11, 2025 – 52:23
  • The Cool Whip: D&D Ep #204
    Mar 4, 2025 – 53:12
  • The Melee Ranger: D&D Ep #203
    Feb 25, 2025 – 45:31
  • The Knight of Whispers: D&D Ep #202
    Feb 18, 2025 – 57:30
  • The New (And Improved!) Moon Druid: D&D Ep #201
    Feb 11, 2025 – 01:09:43
  • A Deep Dive Into the Illrigger with MCDM
    Feb 4, 2025 – 01:48:22
  • The Best Beasts for Wild Shape (2024): D&D Ep #200
    Jan 28, 2025 – 43:16
  • The Holy Blade: D&D Ep #199
    Jan 21, 2025 – 55:55
  • The Dreadnaught Artificer: D&D Ep #198
    Jan 14, 2025 – 01:05:03
  • Gun Fu Part 2: D&D Ep #197
    Dec 24, 2024 – 46:12
  • The Cleaver: D&D Ep #196
    Dec 17, 2024 – 56:17
  • The Ultimate Smiter: D&D Ep #195
    Dec 10, 2024 – 59:34
  • The Dance Bard: D&D Ep #194
    Dec 3, 2024 – 01:00:34
  • The Eldritch Knight: D&D Ep #193
    Nov 26, 2024 – 57:51
  • The Mantis of Mercy: D&D Ep #192
    Nov 19, 2024 – 52:08
  • The Ultimate Eldritch Blaster: D&D Ep #191
    Nov 12, 2024 – 54:04
  • The Refined Barbarian: D&D Ep #190
    Nov 5, 2024 – 52:42
  • The Ultimate Healer 2.0: D&D Ep #189
    Oct 29, 2024 – 57:46
  • Critty Critty Bang Bang! D&D Ep #188
    Oct 22, 2024 – 56:14
  • The 2024 Soulknife Rogue: D&D Ep #187
    Oct 15, 2024 – 59:57
  • The World Tree Barbarian: D&D Ep #186
    Oct 8, 2024 – 55:06
  • The 2024 Bladesinger! D&D Ep #185
    Oct 1, 2024 – 01:00:11
  • The New Beast Master: D&D Ep #184
    Sep 24, 2024 – 01:00:56
  • The Cleric of Chaos: D&D Ep #183
    Sep 17, 2024 – 01:04:49
  • The Elemental Monk: D&D Ep #182
    Sep 10, 2024 – 55:50
  • The New (2024) Baseline: D&D Ep. #181
    Sep 3, 2024 – 55:03
  • The New Valor Bard! D&D Ep. #180
    Aug 27, 2024 – 52:49
  • The New Vengeance Paladin: D&D Ep. #179
    Aug 20, 2024 – 57:39
  • The New Bladelock: D&D Build #178
    Aug 13, 2024 – 01:06:37
  • A Deep Dive into the COSMERE (!!!) RPG
    Aug 6, 2024 – 59:18
  • Every Class and Subclass Change for 2024: D&D Ep #177
    Aug 1, 2024 – 03:55:35
  • The NEW Player's Handbook! Episode #176
    Jul 25, 2024 – 53:46
  • The Colby Awards! D&D Episode #175
    Jul 16, 2024 – 53:02
  • The Way of the Serpent: D&D Build #174
    Jul 9, 2024 – 47:59
  • The Kraken! D&D Build #173
    Jul 2, 2024 – 46:46
  • The 2024 Rogue Assassin (Full Build): D&D Build #172
    Jun 23, 2024 – 59:55
  • The *NEW* Rogue Assassin Revealed!
    Jun 18, 2024 – 12:06
  • The Baseline: D&D Build #171
    Jun 10, 2024 – 47:35
Recent Reviews
  • Pickles4President
    Awesome!
    Please do a Psion build! Review: I love this podcast! Colby is amazing and the builds are so fun! I love it when you feature or build around third party content creators. Can’t wait to see what’s coming!
  • JesseWhale
    One of my favorites!
    D4, or Colby, has been a constant source of fun (and good!) builds for the game. Not to mention how comfy every episode is. Colby has been a great source of entertainment, even when I can’t make it to the gaming table!
  • Life_of_Brian
    Love it
    Great show. I love all the builds even though my DM would not let me do some of them. I do enjoy exploring what is possible. P.S. My DM lets me use booming blade on shadow blade.
  • 123 Blue BOI
    I LOVE COLBY
    I found the podcast looking for a sorlock build and found episode 6 i believe. Ever since (around 2.5 years) I have been a huge fan. Sure, custom lineage, elven accuracy, booming blade, sharpshooter crossbow expert, GWM PAM, etc gets a little repetitive but still great builds, Colby is very talented.
  • Slimeball_wr1d
    Great podcast
    I really like this podcast. Colby is great, I have been binging this podcast nonstop for several days now, and I love all the creative ideas Colby has. All I want now is an fathomless warlock/open sea pally Also the cleric spell list is way better than the bard’s
  • Zachary Drake
    Great content rich podcasts!
    This is my favorite Baldur’s Gate 3 builds podcast. Lots of info densely packed. Great ideas for characters for my honor mode party.
  • dumpy durp
    This man is great
    I really like how chill and low energy this guy is. I love creative his builds are, but I think the builds are a bit long winded.
  • Aeos Shadowfÿre
    Amazing!
    This is the best podcast I've ever listened to. Colby does an outstanding job making "fun but also powerful" characters that are perfectly balanced! I will definitely continue to listen every week.
  • Dench the Half-orc
    very super good
    i enjoy this podcast a great deal
  • Mr. Stache slappin da bass!
    Reliable and educational
    Colby is amazing! He gives content that I always know what I’m tuning in for and since I’m a newer player a lot of ideas for my character. The added bonus is that I’ve learned a lot about my parties abilities as well so what a learning experience! He’s easy to listen to and doesn’t hype a lot which is super nice! Also Colby is very fun for people who aren’t completely immersed into ttrpg’s. Thanks Colby for all you do!
  • 94cake
    The best kind of optimization
    I love the goal of the show. Not to build the most powerful possible character in dnd, but to make your character as powerful as possible
  • Pyropsych
    I Always Feel “Welcome Home”
    Listen here for incredibly interesting optimization tactics, wonderfully nerdy DnD analysis, and a gloriously pleasant Colby. He’s even much funnier than he thinks he is, which is an oh so rare, and very welcome trait. Colby is just simply a great dude, and it absolutely shines through his videos and podcast. I found him on YouTube a while back, but have had him on a binge since I discovered Colby’s podcast. Please keep up the work, you make my quiet moments and work day far more bearable. Wild how a video about sustained damage can make you feel less alone, but that’s the magic of the man behind the mic here.
  • Bratsmacker
    Love Colby’s content
    I found him on YouTube a couple of days ago, but I just now found his podcast! I love all of his videos and content. Only thing was that it was kind of hard to find the podcast. Typing in D&D didn’t bring it up and D&D optimized or deep dive didn’t find it for me. Maybe I’m just bad at searching. Anyway, fantastic content!
  • JK_313
    Quality 5e content!
    The podcast/YT channel I’ve been looking for. Highly recommended
  • S7ormLion
    A Level Above the Rest
    D&D: Optimized is concentrated excellence. I have always sought to get the most out of every character I played no matter the game. This content is exceptional. I have listened to many episodes more than than once. Each time I have come away with more. Substance with Style. Well done. 5 Stars. Now we just need a Storm Sorcerer / Tempest Domain Cleric build ...
  • Hutz0
    So much darkness
    I was searching for a podcast that would give me some insight on some of the fun new mechanics from Tasha’s. I think I’ve found that in the 2 episodes I’ve listened to so far but I have one big complaint. Every other build recommended in this podcast is some derivation of using darkness to gain advantage. Do you really want to be THAT GUY at the table all the time dropping darkness and greatly limiting the effectiveness of all of your party mates? Everyone is going to hate playing with you. At one point the host went as far as to suggest that everyone in the party could strive to take a feat to also be able to see in magical darkness. Come on man..forcing your play style on everyone else at the table, not the greatest. I get that this is a podcast about optimization, and darkness is powerful and one of the few ways to get reliable advantage, but it really screws over your party mates.
  • mr fluerf
    👍
    👍
  • JohnnyCisthewaytobe
    Best D&D podcast for optimizers, power gamers, and math nerds who like to think
    I’ve searched for years to find D&D content that really dives into the math and mechanics of making the best character you can build. I’ve enjoyed every single episode and would recommend to anyone who loves D&D character building. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork on this page are property of the podcast owner, and not endorsed by UP.audio.