Druid changes in the revised D&D 5e 2024 Player's Handbook | Druid One D&D (2024)

Everything you need to know about the new druid for D&D 5e 2024 including rules and tactics

If you want to see the original reveal, you can check out the video below:

Why are we getting changes to the druid?

There’s always been a bit of awkwardness with using the druid’s wildshape feature which is core to its identity. It requires a whole action to perform giving you most of a turn with little impact. It also has mechanical issues with the split between your wildshape hit points and your character’s hit points that causes issues for effects that occur when you hit 0 hit points. It may be an unpopular opinion, but I’d perhaps suggest the additional hit points make them tankier than was really intended.

On top of this, druids haven’t had enough options to work with animal companions. There’s also been a lack of adaptability to hone in on either the martial or spellcasting sides of the druid.

To address these things, below are the main things the revised druid adapts:

• Wildshape is now a bonus action
• Wildshape doesn’t use 2 separate stacks of hit points, it instead grants you temporary hit points
• Bigger spell lists
• Options to either hone your martial prowess further or your spellcasting prowess
• Subclasses (especially the circle of the moon and circle of the land) have been updated for better flavour and abilities

Below I’ve unpicked exactly what these changes are and how they work.

What changes have been made to the 2024 druid?

As with all other classes, druids can enjoy a lot more versatility. This is apparent through their wildshape ability, spell list and with enhanced martial options too.

Primal order – lv1

Allows you to choose to focus on martial or spellcasting prowess. You can choose one of the following options:

Warden: Gains proficiency with medium armor and martial weapons. Note that medium armor proficiency in the 2014 druid was a standard proficiency. The split makes sense, but for spellcasting druids, they lose something here.

Magician: Gain an extra cantrip and add your wisdom modifier to arcana and nature skill checks, which stacks with your intelligence modifier.

Having martial or spellcasting routes lets you choose to build your druid in the style you want. There are future options for martial or spellcasting abilities which you can mix and match too if you want to still be good at both.

Druidcraft – lv1

You continue to receive the ability to speak druidic, but you also get speak with animals as an innate ability. This will allow you to speak with whatever critters you like without the need to cast any spells. Handy if your DM loves to insert hidden quests through animals like in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Spellcasting – lv1

Spellcasting remains a level 1 feature and has an expanded spell list with some new and unique spells available.

Wildshape – lv2

Wildshape gets some major changes (some better, some worse) with the 2024 druid. Below are all the changes incoming:

• Wildshape is now a bonus action for all druids
• More uses of wildshape with 2 at lv2, 3 at lv6 and 4 at lv17. Previously you got 2 uses until lv20 when this would become unlimited
• More ways to regain uses of wildshape. You regain all uses after a long rest and 1 use after a short rest. At lv5 you can use wild resurgence to exchange a spell slot for a use of wildshape. At lv20, if you roll initiative and have no uses of wildshape available, you receive 1 for free
• You no longer use the wildshape creature’s hit points separately from your own. Instead you gain temporary hit points equal to your druid level
• This also means you can stay in your wildshape for as long as you remain conscious, not just having it end when you lose all your wildshape creature’s hit points
• You can now speak while in beast form
• Primal strike grants you extra damage when in beast form or your standard form
• Can expend a spell slot or wildshape use to cast find familiar
• A limited number of known creatures you can wildshape into is slightly more limiting than previously. You can change one of these on a long rest

Altogether, these changes provide a more versatile and balanced use of wildshape with more uses and a longer time you can remain wildshaped. The ability to summon a familiar instead of wildshaping grants another alternative way to approach situations too.

There’s no more twiddling your thumbs in social encounters because you’re still a beaver (or whatever your beast form is) as you can speak in your beast form now.

There are also options to deal more damage in wildshape and, perhaps most importantly, you can wildshape more easily in combat with a bonus action instead.

Its not all good news though! You get less options for wildshape, though the number of options should be plenty. The biggest loss comes through the change to hit points though. This change will almost always be less hit points than you would have received, and often by a considerable amount. Low level beast forms have about 10-20 hit points while higher levels can go as high as about 100 hit points!

In my opinion, this is more balanced and big stacks of hit points are rarely the most interesting way to play, but it may feel disappointing to those that love playing druids as great big tanks.

Wild companion – lv2

As mentioned above, you can expend a use of wildshape or a spell slot to cast find familiar and summon a creature buddy instead of transforming into a creature yourself.

Elemental fury – lv7

Elemental fury gives you a couple of options to pick a martial or spellcasting improvement:

• Primal strike: This will give you an additional 1d8 cold, fire, lightning or thunder damage once per turn on an attack. This increases to 2d8 at level 15.
• Potent spellcasting: Grants additional damage to your cantrips equal to your wisdom modifier. At level 15, the range of your cantrips increases by 300ft.

These options are another way to let your druid lean further into either martial or spellcasting tactics. If you’re sneaky and look ahead, you may notice that at level 18, you can cast spells in your beast form. The level 15 version of potent spellcasting is designed to work with this allowing you to cast spells at range while you fly around in beast form for instance.

Wild resurgence – lv7

Allows you to expend a spell slot to get an extra use of wildshape (in case you’ve run out of uses). This can be done as often as you have spare spell slots. You can also expend a use of wildshape to gain a level 1 spell slot, but this can only be done once per long rest.

Beast spells – lv18

You can now cast spells in beast form, which is a hugely exciting upgrade and means you can cast spells while flying around as an eagle or avoid drowning while casting spells underwater as a shark.

Epic boon – lv19

Like all classes at lv19, you get an epic boon (kind of like a super feat). This will allow you to increase an ability score (even beyond the normal maximum of 20, allowing you to potentially go up to 30 in an ability score). You’ll also get an ability alongside that feat too.

To make things juicer, when you gain levels beyond lv20, you’ll get an epic boon each time making you even gnarlier (there are 12, presumably 1 geared towards each of the 12 classes, though any class can take any epic boon)!

Archdruid – lv20

Has a few upgrades from the 2014 version which include:

• If you have no wildshape uses when you roll initiative, you automatically receive one
• Wild resurgence gets better (though it’s not clear exactly how), though it seems you can swap more wildshapes for spell slots
• You still get to be really old!

Druid 2024 subclasses

At level 3 you get to take a subclass known as a druid circle. You get 4 options in the 2024 PHB (The previous PHB has 2 so a big upgrade) and both of the options from the 2014 book are available in updated form here (circle of the land and circle of the moon). We also get access to a very slightly updated version of the circle of the stars from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything as well as a brand new subclass known as the circle of the sea.

The idea behind these options is you get druids covering the various environments and celestial bodies (excluding the sun) to grant flavour across different sources of power.

It’s worth noting that previously, druids received their subclass at level 2. This has now been increased to level 3 (as with all other classes). You may have noticed that the abilities outlined above have been changed to help accommodate this. You’ll also find that every druid subclass has an updated spell list too.

Below I’ve outlined everything that’s changing in the new subclasses:

Circle of the moon

Circle of the moon has always been about your affinity with the moon and with that comes the stereotypical lycanthropic powers that mean it’s big on wildshaping. The updated version of this really doubles down on your wildshape making it even more suited to combat.

At level 3, you’ll get your circle forms and with that, retain an enhanced AC rather than the often disappointing AC of your beast form. This is especially important as you can end up in your beast form until you hit 0 hit points and you don’t want to be too easily hit, especially with less hit points to tank with. You can choose to either use your beastform’s AC or 13 + your wisdom modifier (which is better than the best light armor).

On top of this, Circle of the moon druids get more temporary hit points from wildshaping. Instead of 1 HP per level, they’ll get 3 making them better suited for combat. You’ll also continue to get access to better beast forms than other druids.

On top of this, you’ll be able to cast spells in your beast form from level 3 onwards! This is important for the moon druid as you don’t want to be having to choose between your wildshape form and casting spells like cure wounds to support your allies. Plus, there aren’t enough wildshape uses to keep switching this.

At level 6, moon druids can swap their normal attack damage for radiant damage (to represent the powers of the moon). Great for getting around resistances to things like slashing, piercing or bludgeoning damage.

At level 10, you’ll get moonlight step which is basically misty step, but you gain advantage on your next attack. This is great for teleporting where you’re need to on the battlefield amd jumping straight into the fray.

At level 14, lunar form will grant you 2d10 extra radiant damage when hitting in your beast form. This stacks with your base damage and elemental fury meaning moon druids can really pack a punch!

Circle of the land

Where moon druids are heavily combat focused, land druids are heavily spellcasting focused. In the 2024 revision, the land druid actually gets such substantial changes that it practically feels like a brand new subclass.

Land druids get multiple spell lists related to the environment they draw their power from. The big difference with the 2024 land druid is that they can switch between spell lists each long rest giving you a load of flexibility in fulfilling different functions with your spells.

The names of the land types you get your spell list from have been updated too. They’re now called; Arid Land, Temperate land, Polar land and Tropical land.

To avoid wildshapes going to waste with such a spell focused druid, land druids can now expend a wildshape use to perform land’s aid. This is an eruption of nature magic that can either heal allies or destroy your enemies. It’s unclear how powerful this ability is, but if it outperforms your usual spells, you could simply exchange spell slots for wildshape uses to burn on land’s aid.

You still get natural recovery, but as well as allowing you to regain spell slots, it also gives you a free use of one of your circle spells.

Nature’s ward at level 10 will give you a resistance that’s associated with your land choice for the day (it will swap with your spell list each long rest if you choose). You also get immunity to the poisoned condition making land druids a bit more resilient.

Finally, at level 14, you get nature’s sanctuary which will also let you expend a use of wildshape to cause trees and vines to sprout and provide you and allies half cover as well as sharing nature’s ward with your allies.

Circle of the sea

To address the lack of a sea/storm focused druid, the circle of the sea has been born. Sea themed options can often be problematic as unless your DM provides water-based situations, you’re unlikely to get much use out of your core abilities. This is the issue with the likes of Tritons and Sea Elves. To get around this, the designers have focused on abilities that can be used anywhere, but are heavily water and storm themed.

At level 3, you get wrath of the sea which is an emanation ability you can use by expending a wildshape use and throw up a swirling ocean aura. Once per turn you can cause this to strike enemies with cold damage and push them back. This gets more powerful at level 6, with a larger area of effect and you also gain a swim speed equal to your walk speed. At level 10, this gets even better, granting you a fly speed and resistance to cold, lightning and thunder damage. You basically start as a wave before becoming the embodiment of a storm.

Finally, at level 14, you’ll be able to manifest wrath of the sea around someone else meaning you don’t have to get into danger to make use of it.

Circle of the stars

The circle of the stars was first introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of a everything and leans into druids that derive their powers from the stars. They remain largely unchanged other than how their features interact with the updated druid’s features.

Tactics

Below are a few interesting, new ways you can approach playing as a Druid with the 2024 update:

So there you have it, all the changes to the 2024 druid. We’ve seen little so far of the spell list for the new druid so it’ll be interesting to see how that fleshes out the class. It seems that druids have become a bit less of a meat shield, and a bit more flexible in their use and capabilities.

What do you think of the changes to the druid? Let me know in the comments below.

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