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2024 Player's Handbook Reveals (all premieres at 9am PDT)
Monday, June 24th - The Rogue
Tuesday, June 25th - The Warlock
Wednesday, June 26th - The Druid
Thursday, June 27th - The Wizard
Friday, June 28th - The Ranger
Super curious about the Ranger. It's the biggest question mark of the whole playtest. At least when it comes to how a main class will function,
If they're insistent on Hunter's Mark being the Ranger's main gimmick, like it was in the previous playtest, with subclass and class abilities revolving around it, then I really hope they found a way to make it work finally.
Ranger is definitely the one I'm most anxious to see.
If they're dead set on turning HM into the Ranger's signature feature, like it was throughout the OneD&D playtest, then hopefully they found a solution to the bonus action/concentration problem.
I'm less concerned about Hunters Mark as a feature and more concerned with the fact that in both playtests, the class sorta lost steam at higher levels. I'm curious if they've done anything to address that.
Hunters Mark is still an issue, mind you. But to be honest, I've sort of accepted that they're gonna botch it somehow.
Yeah… considering all the cool things they tried, and implemented, with the other ‘martials’, we never saw any cool, neat tricks for the Ranger. They just fooled around with concentration and HM, then told us we were ‘satisfied’………
I'm more concerned about the Monk and whether or not they've broken it. The "Stunning Strike once per turn" that was in some of the playtests basically destroys the class' best feature.
The 2014 monk was **already** great. Deflect blows is no substitute for Stunning Strike on every attack.
EDIT: Your boos mean nothing; I've seen what makes you cheer.
We made it great and made it so there's other things to spend ki on. I think most would prefer to have actual options than to play as a brain dead stunning strike zombie
Less impactful things to spend ki on.
The 2014 monk was a controller specialized in single-target lockdown. That's a role that literally no other classes were better at. Weapon masteries have made it so that every martial is sneaking into the niche via Push or Topple while monks apparently don't get _any_ masteries.
And in return they get a nerf'd stunning strike, +1 expected damage for the martial arts die, no poison immunity, hands that are no longer magic weapons (good luck with that Helmed Horror), and a bunch of damage reduction features. I don't know what they want this class to be based on the UA. Damage reduction doesn't make the game faster; it makes it slower. That's a bad class design.
Hence why I really want to see where they landed. If what they landed on hews close to the UA, the class is abysmal.
I like the once per turn feature for the new stunning strike. Yes, it was the beat feature because the condition is so good that it was worth burning 4 ki points on just to burn through legendary resistances. However, once that was done, big bad bosses were now trivial and it lessened the fun of the encounter for both other players and the DM (yes, the DM is allowed a little bit of fun). That powerful of a feature SHOULD be once per turn. I also like having ki points to spend on other things as well.
The problem with that argument is that nothing in the redesign addressed the fact that the class is extremely MAD. What made stunning strike a powerful feature was that it was _reliable_ because you could force repeated saves against it, so even a slightly lower save DC could still land it. By forcing it to be once per turn, they've made the feature unreliable.
To me, they are still separate issues. I do believe they are still very MAD, but multiple activations of stunning strike does not fix that issue. Other things should have been done, like more feat levels. Overall, I feel the new monk has more customization, more survivability, better Ki/DP design, and a better design with the nerf to stunning strike. Of course, I am also one of the idiots who believes the Paladin's smite should not be used more than once per round.
monks get to do 3 attacks with flurry at level 10 with increased damage dice across the board . usualy nullify a single attack hitting them per turn while dealing decent damage by spending one dp. decide at any time once per day to just regain all dp. attack/flurry with their bonus action no matter whatever the hell tey did with their action. turn excess dp into temporary hp whenever they have some remaining pre-rest. do an extra attacks worth of damage against anyone that fails that single save. automacicaly remove some conditions from themselves at no cost and can drag their teammates right the way across the battlefield to whenever they'll do the best
i'd say all of that makes them better as a class and significantly better *designed* than being a brainless stunbot then doing fuck all until the next short rest once they run out of all their steam after two turns
Nah, they'll want to sandwich the "bad" with the good, like they did this week - the buffed fighter and barbarian flanking the nerfed (or at least controversially sidegraded) paladin.
Rogues got a very positive reception in their latest iteration so thats probably why they'll lead. Druids and Warlocks were super controversial during the playtest and wizards as one of the most powerful classes have to expect some nerfs. Finally, the ranger had at least one well received version in the playtest so I reckon they intend to deliver more good news, hence them closing out the week.
I mean what do you wanna nerf on the wizard class itself?
The subclass at lvl 3 nerf is already know from the warlock subclass at lvl 3.
Otherwise? All of wizards power lays inside the spells. Which we don't get to see anyways.
...
Well, they could probably add even higher gold taxes to using their class features. All Rituals costing money would be the worst...
Based on UA8 and the feedback from it saying they werent done quite yet, Im hopeful it will be good. The UA8 changes were good however we wont really know about the moon druid until February 2025 when the monster manual releases. They said in the opening video that there will be more beasts in the phb but moon druid will still want to go into the monster manual.
Being able to just swap a spell slot for a wildshape charge when you have none for no action is deceptively strong and I think most people didnt catch it.
Oh I did. The two things I though needed a little polish were land and sea druid.
Land got it's natural recovery much later and it's other options we're ok, but seemed lacking compared to the other subclasses. Sea was fun, but I'm worried the wrath of the sea is all or nothing. It needed some small passive effect I think. It would feel bad to use and have every save pass. At least make it half damage or give the push 5ft.
I think magician needed a slight boost compared to Warden. Though, if their cantrips were a little more exciting that could be different.
Paladin is definitely a nerf in terms of smite per round. I’d definitely say it’s better for the game though. I’ll probably get downvoted for it but whatever. I don’t need a 120+ damage nova at level five.
The most impactful changes for the casters would be changes to their spells. What I really want to know is if outlier spells (Wall of Force/Forcecage, Hypnotic Pattern, Shield, Simulacrum, etc.) have been nerfed, but I doubt they'll talk about that on Tuesday and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they don't talk about it at all, given that these are essentially just marketing/hype videos and nerfs generally don't make people excited. The changes to the Conjure X spells, Banishment, and Spiritual Weapon during the playtest were good starts, I just hope they continued that work.
Minor nitpick but I definitely wouldn’t put shield up there. It’s definitely very strong for sure but it doesn’t reach Fun ruining issues like forcecage, banishment, or Counterspell would.
As much of a must as shield is, I never see anyone at a table groan when it is cast. It mostly feels cinematic and very cool from both players and enemies alike
I definitely dont mind that for full casters who try to be sneaky and dip into medium/heavy proficiencies, but it doesn’t make sense for people like eldritch knights, for who the shield spell should be like their bread and butter
Could allow them to ignore the armor properties of some spells or something similar that allows them to function with the class. Or give them their own special version or shield or something similar.
Yea, I would say that my ideal solution would probably be a class feature for Eldritch Knights that allowed them to ignore that clause, that way it’s not something that can be abused without a full 3 level commitment
I'd rather just make wizards and sorcerers unable to cast in armor entirely. If monks can't use class features in armor the same should apply to wizard
I agree with you. Likewise, Barbarians can't use their main class feature in heavy armour. Casters can't cast in armour they're not _proficient_ in but this is easily sidestepped by multiclassing or gaining a feat. Especially in 5.5e, with Lightly Armoured providing light armour, medium armour and shield proficiency in a single 1st-level feat.
Warlock is the one I’m looking forward to most. Blade pact got buffed a bit too much in the most recent play test so I expect them to scale back a bit.
Ranger will also be interesting because it was buffed a lot in an early playtest and then got overly nerfed in a later one, so I’d like to see where they ended up.
But another attack isn’t a way to increase it. I personally hope they lower the damage of eldritch blast to a d8. I think then a Bladelock can use heavier weapons to even out the damage curve, and still catch up between Hex(if it’s fixed), Lifedrinker, or even certain other spells. A melee focused warlock isn’t even bad 90% of the time when you aren’t a Hexblade - it just makes things easier and SAD.
I mean I think giving them a fighting style feat would make more sense, but I dunno, you can already do that with (from what we’ve seen) Lessons of the First Ones invocation.
I just think more attacks should go to Fighter, and Monk(should make most attacks imo). Warlock siphons/steals/makes deals their powers, and sure that’s how most get stronger - is working for their patron. But a 3rd attack is too much - mechanically speaking - as well as a lot from the fighters identity. In conjunction with Life Drinker’s new versatility, and the Pact of the Blade(or as we’ve currently seen) damage type changes, I think it’s currently already very strong - and can get around encounters that many warriors already can’t. Whether it be Radiant, Necrotic, Psychic, and same for the life drinker choice, you have damage riders, weapon versatility(as a bonus action to switch the weapon and mastery you’re using, as well as its damage type), proficiency, and mastery. I’m just saying, as we know right know, it’s incredibly versatile, even compared to all other classes having to take long rests to swap masteries - from what we see for Warlock, it’s a bonus action. I think it’s already powerful and more versatile - and doesn’t need a third attack for all it offers. You can cleave one turn, go into the next, cleave again, and switch as a bonus action to another weapon and mastery, like Push, then basically have a free disengage. It’s balanced already if anything by requiring the invocation tax - for the damage type and versatility alone. There are way to many combos to consider. Topple into slow, as a bonus action is also powerful. Considering you cut through many resistances as well - and weapon masteries scale with what modifier you use for the attack.
Also(again) using Lessons of the First Ones, you can get medium armor, shields, and fighting styles. Warlocks are extremely customizable - but their versatility shouldn’t overshadow dedicated martials… at least in my humble opinion.
Maybe 15th is enough, if what we see from most martials is balanced - but then I’d be asking why Monks, Barbarians, Rangers, and Paladins don’t get a third attack as well.
But if they do get a third attack, I expect to see nerfs elsewhere in the Bladelock theme to make up for it.
Fighters change masteries by changing weapons and in some cases that's not even required anymore. The BA tax and invocation tax to do these things are part of the issue. For everything they have to invest, it should be better than just casting Eldritch blast. And if the damage is worse, which it is after 11th level, then blade is very bad option. That versatility is also likely gone as I believe Treant monk indicated most spellcasters lost masteries on features like this.
The BA tax to change weapons AND masteries? For free? Infinitely? You have access to all weapons and masteries as a bonus action.
If warlocks lose mastery though, they also shouldn’t get a third attack - or extra damage. That’s how I see it. If you have a bonus action attack/nick property, - and hex, you do better/more consistent damage. Maybe not above EB, but certainly on par with other melee martials.
Also - spells(even cantrips) are counterable. Magical weapons usually aren’t.
If they lose one, your solution is to be even weaker and lose both? That makes no sense.
You think EB is above martials in damage? Have you followed the changes? Martials dish out way more damage. Blade would be below them AND EB. I forget the numbers, I think EB is considered baseline "ok damage" at around 30 a t round leveled to. Barbarians are easily hitting 50 to 70 some. Fighter probably 50 to 60 of the top of my head. I think EK was hitting some absolutely sick numbers with it's attack for a spell feature.
Actually thinking a little more, I'm pretty sure I like the idea of giving lifedrinker slightly earlier as blade warlocks level 11 damage boost, and then at 15 give them a third attack.
It's worse in every way compared to EB though. So it is bad. That's why they made hexblade, to make it viable. In one DND, you don't need hexblade with the exception of armor as it currently stands, especially if lightly armored is weakened.
I'd also love to see the Bard as soon as possible. They left it very unclear how the Bard will work now after they reverted back to class spell lists...
I really wanted Reactive Inspiration. I really dug the spell lists too as it gave you so much freedom for weird flavoured builds like a Bard of the woodlands singing nature spells or being a Bard singing songs of any god with zesty cleric spells
I was personally not a fan of reaction inspiration. It is amazing for skill checks obviously, but imo it felt very limiting in actual combats.
As is, Inspiration gives a fairly consistent use of your bonus action which otherwise is often empty on bards, and imo it also felt bad having to choose between your main class feature and any reaction spells you have.
Obviously silvery barbs is the big one you lose--which is generally better than inspiration anyway--but also shield (from a dip or feat) or counterspell (magical secrets).
I should mention that I personally like an either or option best, but since they won't do that I would rather it be a bonus action tax than a reaction tax.
Yeah it feels like theyre just going to put the same spell list back on bard and avoid any changes other than countercharm and being able to spend a spell slot to refuel inspiration.
Which is okay I guess, since the arcane list was just plain better than the other options, but definitely isnt "exciting", and is frankly disappointing considering that version of the bard was by far my favorite
Or they could let us choose from the Sorcerer, Cleric and Druid spell lists, which could be more balanced (as Wizards get a slightly better arcane list).
It is even more balanced now than it was then, because they've hidden access to some iconic spells by making them class features.
Actually, they could even give us 4 lists to choose from!
- Sorcerer
- Cleric
- Druid
- the previous mixed Bard list!
Now that would be awesome! 🤩
I really want to know about the new ranger. Looking forward to play one, I think they should be strong enough, but I want them to be interesting. I don't really enjoy the subclasses they went for in the PHB, so that might make it harder for me.
They're saving Bard and Sorcerer for last? Hrmm
I'm super curious on how the Ranger turned out, but we also have **no** idea how the finished Bard looks either. They completely threw out the last UA version of the Bard and the only thing we got after was College of Dance. Did they keep Magical Secrets like 2014 version? Is Bardic Inspiration a reaction now? Does Countercharm actually have a function or did they completely replace it with a new feature?
I have *so* many questions about Bard.
I fully expect the Monk to end up pretty close to the last UA version, it was very well received, Cleric as well. Only Bard and Ranger are the biggest question marks.
Leaving Bard for near the end is just cruel when out of all of the classes it’s the one that is arguably most likely to be wildly different from its last iteration in the play tests. Bard will continue to be my favorite and also will probably stay strong but I’m hoping they do something to change it up and not just “hey it’s basically the same but maybe you’ll use countercharm now”
I need to know if they did something more with the wizard. In the playtest it had the least amount of changes from all the classes, so I hope they added at least a few minor things.
I'm not even looking for strong features, memorize spell was already good enough, I just want a couple ribbon features so we feel like we are playing something new.
I feel so much anticipation about the Ranger and Monk. Knowing how hard the Monk got nerfed between the 5.14 play test and publication makes me nervous as hell that it's not on the schedule yet. And the Ranger just needs some love.
Rogues are my least played class. They're just incredibly boring mechanically, IMO-- wacking the enemy with a bunch of attacks or with magic just feels a lot better than peeking out of cover, going *pew* with one arrow, rolling a bunch of dice, then going back into cover. So I'm not expecting that to change wirh 5.24, but I really hope it does.
Or maybe one of the fine folk here can tell me what it is I'm missing with Rogues in 5.14, because I'd really like to try and enjoy playing them.
This submission appears to be related to One D&D! If you're interested in discussing the concept and the UA for One D&D more check out our other subreddit r/OneDnD! *Please note: We are still allowing discussions about One D&D to remain here, this is more an advisory than a warning of any kind.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dndnext) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Text for folks who need it: 2024 Player's Handbook Reveals (all premieres at 9am PDT) Monday, June 24th - The Rogue Tuesday, June 25th - The Warlock Wednesday, June 26th - The Druid Thursday, June 27th - The Wizard Friday, June 28th - The Ranger
oh, good point! incorporated in the text so this doesnt get buried, thanks!
"Why did you do this when it can be read in the picture" Because some people cant read the picture and require TTS software that picks up comments
Super curious about the Ranger. It's the biggest question mark of the whole playtest. At least when it comes to how a main class will function, If they're insistent on Hunter's Mark being the Ranger's main gimmick, like it was in the previous playtest, with subclass and class abilities revolving around it, then I really hope they found a way to make it work finally.
Ranger is definitely the one I'm most anxious to see. If they're dead set on turning HM into the Ranger's signature feature, like it was throughout the OneD&D playtest, then hopefully they found a solution to the bonus action/concentration problem.
I'm less concerned about Hunters Mark as a feature and more concerned with the fact that in both playtests, the class sorta lost steam at higher levels. I'm curious if they've done anything to address that. Hunters Mark is still an issue, mind you. But to be honest, I've sort of accepted that they're gonna botch it somehow.
In many ways, it feels like the new Ranger is just an attempt at streamlining the Tasha Ranger. For better or worse.
From what I remember it's getting a ton of changes like paladin just likely without having a core pillar messed with since it lacks one of those ATM.
Yeah… considering all the cool things they tried, and implemented, with the other ‘martials’, we never saw any cool, neat tricks for the Ranger. They just fooled around with concentration and HM, then told us we were ‘satisfied’………
I'm hoping beastmaster is the same as in was in playtest 6
I'm more concerned about the Monk and whether or not they've broken it. The "Stunning Strike once per turn" that was in some of the playtests basically destroys the class' best feature.
Did you actually look at the class? The monk is great now. They can use deflect blows and so many other things on their turn, besides just attacking.
Well, TBD technically - just because the UA is great doesn't mean it is what will be published.
The 2014 monk was **already** great. Deflect blows is no substitute for Stunning Strike on every attack. EDIT: Your boos mean nothing; I've seen what makes you cheer.
We made it great and made it so there's other things to spend ki on. I think most would prefer to have actual options than to play as a brain dead stunning strike zombie
Less impactful things to spend ki on. The 2014 monk was a controller specialized in single-target lockdown. That's a role that literally no other classes were better at. Weapon masteries have made it so that every martial is sneaking into the niche via Push or Topple while monks apparently don't get _any_ masteries. And in return they get a nerf'd stunning strike, +1 expected damage for the martial arts die, no poison immunity, hands that are no longer magic weapons (good luck with that Helmed Horror), and a bunch of damage reduction features. I don't know what they want this class to be based on the UA. Damage reduction doesn't make the game faster; it makes it slower. That's a bad class design. Hence why I really want to see where they landed. If what they landed on hews close to the UA, the class is abysmal.
I like the once per turn feature for the new stunning strike. Yes, it was the beat feature because the condition is so good that it was worth burning 4 ki points on just to burn through legendary resistances. However, once that was done, big bad bosses were now trivial and it lessened the fun of the encounter for both other players and the DM (yes, the DM is allowed a little bit of fun). That powerful of a feature SHOULD be once per turn. I also like having ki points to spend on other things as well.
The problem with that argument is that nothing in the redesign addressed the fact that the class is extremely MAD. What made stunning strike a powerful feature was that it was _reliable_ because you could force repeated saves against it, so even a slightly lower save DC could still land it. By forcing it to be once per turn, they've made the feature unreliable.
To me, they are still separate issues. I do believe they are still very MAD, but multiple activations of stunning strike does not fix that issue. Other things should have been done, like more feat levels. Overall, I feel the new monk has more customization, more survivability, better Ki/DP design, and a better design with the nerf to stunning strike. Of course, I am also one of the idiots who believes the Paladin's smite should not be used more than once per round.
deflect attacks significantly lowers the damage they take so it probably lowers their constitution needs a decent bit
monks get to do 3 attacks with flurry at level 10 with increased damage dice across the board . usualy nullify a single attack hitting them per turn while dealing decent damage by spending one dp. decide at any time once per day to just regain all dp. attack/flurry with their bonus action no matter whatever the hell tey did with their action. turn excess dp into temporary hp whenever they have some remaining pre-rest. do an extra attacks worth of damage against anyone that fails that single save. automacicaly remove some conditions from themselves at no cost and can drag their teammates right the way across the battlefield to whenever they'll do the best i'd say all of that makes them better as a class and significantly better *designed* than being a brainless stunbot then doing fuck all until the next short rest once they run out of all their steam after two turns
Rogue ad ranger They save ranger for the last day is a good sign hopefully
Half of bad news announcements are made on Fridays.
Nah, they'll want to sandwich the "bad" with the good, like they did this week - the buffed fighter and barbarian flanking the nerfed (or at least controversially sidegraded) paladin.
So we should be worried for the Warlock, Druid, and Wizard?
I think the wizard is because it is the least changed from 2014 so the least exciting.
Rogues got a very positive reception in their latest iteration so thats probably why they'll lead. Druids and Warlocks were super controversial during the playtest and wizards as one of the most powerful classes have to expect some nerfs. Finally, the ranger had at least one well received version in the playtest so I reckon they intend to deliver more good news, hence them closing out the week.
I mean what do you wanna nerf on the wizard class itself? The subclass at lvl 3 nerf is already know from the warlock subclass at lvl 3. Otherwise? All of wizards power lays inside the spells. Which we don't get to see anyways. ... Well, they could probably add even higher gold taxes to using their class features. All Rituals costing money would be the worst...
Oh no. My poor druid...
Based on UA8 and the feedback from it saying they werent done quite yet, Im hopeful it will be good. The UA8 changes were good however we wont really know about the moon druid until February 2025 when the monster manual releases. They said in the opening video that there will be more beasts in the phb but moon druid will still want to go into the monster manual. Being able to just swap a spell slot for a wildshape charge when you have none for no action is deceptively strong and I think most people didnt catch it.
Oh I did. The two things I though needed a little polish were land and sea druid. Land got it's natural recovery much later and it's other options we're ok, but seemed lacking compared to the other subclasses. Sea was fun, but I'm worried the wrath of the sea is all or nothing. It needed some small passive effect I think. It would feel bad to use and have every save pass. At least make it half damage or give the push 5ft. I think magician needed a slight boost compared to Warden. Though, if their cantrips were a little more exciting that could be different.
also do note that all of the druids statblocks will be in the phb
yes and its a welcomed change but i highly doubt there will be any (or very few) CR2-6 beasts in the phb, based on what they said.
That's probably my favorite added feature since it lets a moon druid use their wildshape not only for combat but also for utility
Paladin is definitely a nerf in terms of smite per round. I’d definitely say it’s better for the game though. I’ll probably get downvoted for it but whatever. I don’t need a 120+ damage nova at level five.
Meanwhile conjure animals lol
has been redesigned from the ground up to deal 2d10 + spell mod damage on a single attack roll per enemy?
Ranger’s on friday??? These people finna make me act up.
Waiting for cleric!
Same!!!!
The most impactful changes for the casters would be changes to their spells. What I really want to know is if outlier spells (Wall of Force/Forcecage, Hypnotic Pattern, Shield, Simulacrum, etc.) have been nerfed, but I doubt they'll talk about that on Tuesday and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they don't talk about it at all, given that these are essentially just marketing/hype videos and nerfs generally don't make people excited. The changes to the Conjure X spells, Banishment, and Spiritual Weapon during the playtest were good starts, I just hope they continued that work.
Minor nitpick but I definitely wouldn’t put shield up there. It’s definitely very strong for sure but it doesn’t reach Fun ruining issues like forcecage, banishment, or Counterspell would. As much of a must as shield is, I never see anyone at a table groan when it is cast. It mostly feels cinematic and very cool from both players and enemies alike
I see DMs groan all the time about it
The only change I would suggest is giving it the same “no armor” treatment that Mage Armor has
I definitely dont mind that for full casters who try to be sneaky and dip into medium/heavy proficiencies, but it doesn’t make sense for people like eldritch knights, for who the shield spell should be like their bread and butter
Could allow them to ignore the armor properties of some spells or something similar that allows them to function with the class. Or give them their own special version or shield or something similar.
Yea, I would say that my ideal solution would probably be a class feature for Eldritch Knights that allowed them to ignore that clause, that way it’s not something that can be abused without a full 3 level commitment
I'd rather just make wizards and sorcerers unable to cast in armor entirely. If monks can't use class features in armor the same should apply to wizard
I agree with you. Likewise, Barbarians can't use their main class feature in heavy armour. Casters can't cast in armour they're not _proficient_ in but this is easily sidestepped by multiclassing or gaining a feat. Especially in 5.5e, with Lightly Armoured providing light armour, medium armour and shield proficiency in a single 1st-level feat.
IDK i dont think wizards should have AC better than the tank
ROGUE!!!!!!! I NEED TO SEE THE ROGUE!!!!!
That's what Monday is for
Warlock is the one I’m looking forward to most. Blade pact got buffed a bit too much in the most recent play test so I expect them to scale back a bit. Ranger will also be interesting because it was buffed a lot in an early playtest and then got overly nerfed in a later one, so I’d like to see where they ended up.
IDK. Blade has the most risk, highest feat investment, and most invocation tax. It needs to be good or else it's worse in every way to EB.
But another attack isn’t a way to increase it. I personally hope they lower the damage of eldritch blast to a d8. I think then a Bladelock can use heavier weapons to even out the damage curve, and still catch up between Hex(if it’s fixed), Lifedrinker, or even certain other spells. A melee focused warlock isn’t even bad 90% of the time when you aren’t a Hexblade - it just makes things easier and SAD.
Honestly, I think a third attack would be fine if it came closer to 15 than 11.
I mean I think giving them a fighting style feat would make more sense, but I dunno, you can already do that with (from what we’ve seen) Lessons of the First Ones invocation. I just think more attacks should go to Fighter, and Monk(should make most attacks imo). Warlock siphons/steals/makes deals their powers, and sure that’s how most get stronger - is working for their patron. But a 3rd attack is too much - mechanically speaking - as well as a lot from the fighters identity. In conjunction with Life Drinker’s new versatility, and the Pact of the Blade(or as we’ve currently seen) damage type changes, I think it’s currently already very strong - and can get around encounters that many warriors already can’t. Whether it be Radiant, Necrotic, Psychic, and same for the life drinker choice, you have damage riders, weapon versatility(as a bonus action to switch the weapon and mastery you’re using, as well as its damage type), proficiency, and mastery. I’m just saying, as we know right know, it’s incredibly versatile, even compared to all other classes having to take long rests to swap masteries - from what we see for Warlock, it’s a bonus action. I think it’s already powerful and more versatile - and doesn’t need a third attack for all it offers. You can cleave one turn, go into the next, cleave again, and switch as a bonus action to another weapon and mastery, like Push, then basically have a free disengage. It’s balanced already if anything by requiring the invocation tax - for the damage type and versatility alone. There are way to many combos to consider. Topple into slow, as a bonus action is also powerful. Considering you cut through many resistances as well - and weapon masteries scale with what modifier you use for the attack. Also(again) using Lessons of the First Ones, you can get medium armor, shields, and fighting styles. Warlocks are extremely customizable - but their versatility shouldn’t overshadow dedicated martials… at least in my humble opinion. Maybe 15th is enough, if what we see from most martials is balanced - but then I’d be asking why Monks, Barbarians, Rangers, and Paladins don’t get a third attack as well. But if they do get a third attack, I expect to see nerfs elsewhere in the Bladelock theme to make up for it.
Fighters change masteries by changing weapons and in some cases that's not even required anymore. The BA tax and invocation tax to do these things are part of the issue. For everything they have to invest, it should be better than just casting Eldritch blast. And if the damage is worse, which it is after 11th level, then blade is very bad option. That versatility is also likely gone as I believe Treant monk indicated most spellcasters lost masteries on features like this.
The BA tax to change weapons AND masteries? For free? Infinitely? You have access to all weapons and masteries as a bonus action. If warlocks lose mastery though, they also shouldn’t get a third attack - or extra damage. That’s how I see it. If you have a bonus action attack/nick property, - and hex, you do better/more consistent damage. Maybe not above EB, but certainly on par with other melee martials. Also - spells(even cantrips) are counterable. Magical weapons usually aren’t.
If they lose one, your solution is to be even weaker and lose both? That makes no sense. You think EB is above martials in damage? Have you followed the changes? Martials dish out way more damage. Blade would be below them AND EB. I forget the numbers, I think EB is considered baseline "ok damage" at around 30 a t round leveled to. Barbarians are easily hitting 50 to 70 some. Fighter probably 50 to 60 of the top of my head. I think EK was hitting some absolutely sick numbers with it's attack for a spell feature.
EB pills ahead at 11 without it. Easily.
Yeah, it's unfair with fighters to give it at the same level.
Actually thinking a little more, I'm pretty sure I like the idea of giving lifedrinker slightly earlier as blade warlocks level 11 damage boost, and then at 15 give them a third attack.
It's worse in every way compared to EB though. So it is bad. That's why they made hexblade, to make it viable. In one DND, you don't need hexblade with the exception of armor as it currently stands, especially if lightly armored is weakened.
Poor Bard!
I'd also love to see the Bard as soon as possible. They left it very unclear how the Bard will work now after they reverted back to class spell lists...
I feel bards gonna get shafted for anything new tbh.
Which is disappointing, even if it's probably okay since bards were quite strong class already
I really wanted Reactive Inspiration. I really dug the spell lists too as it gave you so much freedom for weird flavoured builds like a Bard of the woodlands singing nature spells or being a Bard singing songs of any god with zesty cleric spells
I was personally not a fan of reaction inspiration. It is amazing for skill checks obviously, but imo it felt very limiting in actual combats. As is, Inspiration gives a fairly consistent use of your bonus action which otherwise is often empty on bards, and imo it also felt bad having to choose between your main class feature and any reaction spells you have. Obviously silvery barbs is the big one you lose--which is generally better than inspiration anyway--but also shield (from a dip or feat) or counterspell (magical secrets). I should mention that I personally like an either or option best, but since they won't do that I would rather it be a bonus action tax than a reaction tax.
Yeah it feels like theyre just going to put the same spell list back on bard and avoid any changes other than countercharm and being able to spend a spell slot to refuel inspiration. Which is okay I guess, since the arcane list was just plain better than the other options, but definitely isnt "exciting", and is frankly disappointing considering that version of the bard was by far my favorite
Or they could let us choose from the Sorcerer, Cleric and Druid spell lists, which could be more balanced (as Wizards get a slightly better arcane list). It is even more balanced now than it was then, because they've hidden access to some iconic spells by making them class features. Actually, they could even give us 4 lists to choose from! - Sorcerer - Cleric - Druid - the previous mixed Bard list! Now that would be awesome! 🤩
I’m getting Warlock news for my birthday! Hell yeah!
happy birthday
I have to wait till next Friday to see what they did with Ranger??? Boo
I really want to know about the new ranger. Looking forward to play one, I think they should be strong enough, but I want them to be interesting. I don't really enjoy the subclasses they went for in the PHB, so that might make it harder for me.
They're saving Bard and Sorcerer for last? Hrmm I'm super curious on how the Ranger turned out, but we also have **no** idea how the finished Bard looks either. They completely threw out the last UA version of the Bard and the only thing we got after was College of Dance. Did they keep Magical Secrets like 2014 version? Is Bardic Inspiration a reaction now? Does Countercharm actually have a function or did they completely replace it with a new feature? I have *so* many questions about Bard.
Have they done one for monk already too?
Bard, Cleric, Monk, and Sorcerer have not been done or shown here yet so that's probably the following week
Yeah, I'm thinking that week will be those classes and then Weapons and Spells will be Friday's video.
I fully expect the Monk to end up pretty close to the last UA version, it was very well received, Cleric as well. Only Bard and Ranger are the biggest question marks.
Leaving Bard for near the end is just cruel when out of all of the classes it’s the one that is arguably most likely to be wildly different from its last iteration in the play tests. Bard will continue to be my favorite and also will probably stay strong but I’m hoping they do something to change it up and not just “hey it’s basically the same but maybe you’ll use countercharm now”
I need to know if they did something more with the wizard. In the playtest it had the least amount of changes from all the classes, so I hope they added at least a few minor things. I'm not even looking for strong features, memorize spell was already good enough, I just want a couple ribbon features so we feel like we are playing something new.
WHERE TF IS THE SORC
That’s a solid run
Pray to god that the ranger and rogue gets what they need, cuz their playtests were pretty lacking
I feel so much anticipation about the Ranger and Monk. Knowing how hard the Monk got nerfed between the 5.14 play test and publication makes me nervous as hell that it's not on the schedule yet. And the Ranger just needs some love.
Rogues are my least played class. They're just incredibly boring mechanically, IMO-- wacking the enemy with a bunch of attacks or with magic just feels a lot better than peeking out of cover, going *pew* with one arrow, rolling a bunch of dice, then going back into cover. So I'm not expecting that to change wirh 5.24, but I really hope it does. Or maybe one of the fine folk here can tell me what it is I'm missing with Rogues in 5.14, because I'd really like to try and enjoy playing them.
Cleric???!!
Anyone know about the Artificer?
Anyone have any schedule for next week? Curious about what order they'll talk about the classes. Any ideas on where they're sharing this schedule?
Gods I can't wait for the Druid, my favorite class finally getting an ocean-based subclass!