D&D (2024) Unearthed Arcana Playtest Packet 7 Live on D&D Beyond

Wizards of the Coast posted the seventh playtest packet for the 2024 update to Dungeons & Dragons. The new playtest packet includes updated class material for the Barbarian, Fighter, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard classes.

Highlights for each class:

Barbarian

• New Path of the World Tree subclass and updated Berserker, Wild Heart (formerly Totem Warrior), and Zealot subclasses.
• Attack recklessly for a full round rather than just one turn.
• Path of the Wild Heart (formerly Path of the Totem Warrior) has updated options.
• Brutal Critical gets damage buffs.

Fighter

• New Brawler subclass excels at using improvised weapons and unarmed strikes.
• Tactical Mind and Tactical Shift expand the use of Second Wind.
• Studied Attacks grants advantage on an attack roll against an enemy after you've missed an attack against them.
• Battle Master and its maneuvers have been updated.

Sorcerer

• Innate Sorcery empowers your spellcasting for a limited time.
• Sorcery Incarnate and Arcane Apotheosis boost your Metamagic while Innate Sorcery is active.
• Sorcerous Restoration is available at 5th level and scales with your sorcerer level.
• Wild Magic Sorcery now more reliably allows you to roll on the Wild Magic Surge table.

Warlock

• Pact Magic is back.
• Eldritch Invocations are now available at 1st level and your options have been revised.
• Pact Boons are now invocations, and Mystic Arcanum is once again a class feature.
• Patron Spells are always prepared.
• Updated Archfey Patron, Celestial Patron, Fiend Patron, Great Old One Patron subclasses.

Wizard

• Spellcasting feature now allows you to swap out a cantrip each long rest.
• Memorize Spell is now a feature. Modify Spell and Create spell have been nixed.
• Updated Abjurer, Diviner, Evoker, and Illusionist subclasses.

Universal changes include a return to class spell lists, more features from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, and update to some of the spells including arcane eruption, sorcerous burst, counterspell, and jump.

The official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube account also posted an almost 90-minute-long video doing a deep dive on the playtest packet.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

One of these days, somebody will give D&D a run for its money.

I think it'll happen, especially if the right stuff happens at say, Disney, or Microsoft, and they decide to push some brands with a TT RPG. All it would take would be one executive in the right place who actually understood TT RPGs (which, frankly, we have incredibly strong evidence that WotC's execs 100% do not), combined with the power of large brand, and D&D could see a serious competitor just blast into existence.

On the other hand, it might be decades, and it might be, like Bethesda's games, that just no-one finds it worthwhile to compete, despite their success. Though who knows, we might have both Avowed AND Avowed 2 out before the next TES game.

 

[This Effin’ GM]

Ive been saying for years that Tasha's was a soft rules update and seeing so many of the abilities from there become part of core seems like this was the intention the entire time.

Ok. WHY. WHYYYYYYY. WHY do Draconic and Wild Sorcs not get expanded spell lists? They acknowledge in the document to use aberrant and clockwork, so they can clearly acknowledge the design of those two classes represent the future of the sorc. Give draconic and wild the same love

 

[Parmandur]

No doubt, I know they’ve got enviable market research capabilities and a clear strategy: they want to be the most popular game forever. But market research fails often enough that missteps are common even among the biggest companies. And if WotC rides on its brand too much, it could easily end up like BMW—a famous brand increasingly known for quality issues. Mature brands like D&D are in a precarious position.

I’m not saying D&D is trash. Mostly I just wish modern D&D had a bit more focus and theme like some of its competitors do. One of these days, somebody will give D&D a run for its money.

Perhaps having too much focus on a theme is holding the competition back...?

 

[Scribe]

Ive been saying for years that Tasha's was a soft rules update and seeing so many of the abilities from there become part of core seems like this was the intention the entire time.

Ok. WHY. WHYYYYYYY. WHY do Draconic and Wild Sorcs not get expanded spell lists? They acknowledge in the document to use aberrant and clockwork, so they can clearly acknowledge the design of those two classes represent the future of the sorc. Give draconic and wild the same love

Yes. Despite how I feel about Tashas personally, its clear what its intent was when taken as a whole. Many have said it was a turning point for the game.

If Wizard's doesnt take the opportunity to baseline the game to it with this new edition, what a massive missed opportunity.

 

[Yaarel]

No-one talks like that lol.

Just because you can technically abuse English in that way, doesn't make it "natural language". Particularly as it makes you sound like a child or caveman!

I looked at a few dictionaries with their examples for the usage of the verb magic. They resemble the way I would use the verb.

"Intelligent warm-hearted Gertrude had magicked him into happiness."
"His shoes had been magicked away in the night."
"He pictured them standing about the dim hallway, magicked into immobility."
"The Western professionals magic so much money offshore that it is impossible to put a reliable figure on it."
"None can be magicked [into existence] overnight."
"Perhaps LLMs will be able to magic up individual articles about that content too."
"Naturally, then, speculation about the film’s reshoots has led to rumors that a few Lokis might magic their way into Doctor Strange and Wanda’s orbit."
"The auction house, through glossy catalogs and (increasingly) online offerings, can magic up artistic legitimacy that once only museums or scholars could assign."
"I magicked him into a medieval knight."

The verb magic can be to literally use magic to achieve the effect, or figuratively as if by magic. But in a D&D context, to magic something is normally actually magic.

 

[This Effin’ GM]

I wish the brawler got weapon mastery for fists. I also wish the damage die for improvised weapons were not still DM fiat until 15th level.

I am happy to see the hexblade be sort of phased out in favor of better pact of the blade. Mainly because I think the hexblade loses its identity the moment it goes from "mage warrior" to "fledgeling necromancer"

Man that new lvl 1 sorcerer ability is nuts. I dont know if its too much or exactly what the class needed.

Evoker wizards are going to have a hilarious level 5 of throwing fireballs and saying "I'll figure this out I swear guys" and then upon 6th level screaming "I GOT IT!" and then making pockets.

World Tree Barbarian feels like it just wont stack up with the damage or survivability of the other barbarian subclasses. It weirds me out they give the THP to others, but cant keep any for themselves.

Weird but appreciated buff to ability score adjustment feat, letting us go to 22.

I think we can all breath easy knowing we finally have slaad tadpole as a familiar option and a revised priests pack.

 

[doctorhook]

Perhaps having too much focus on a theme is holding the competition back...?

What’s holding the competition back is an extremely crowded marketplace dominated by a single brand. Differentiating their products is the only way to survive.

 

[Parmandur]

What’s holding the competition back is an extremely crowded marketplace dominated by a single brand. Differentiating their products is the only way to survive.

Maybe. But when the dominant game does things one way, maybe that's what works for most people?

 

[Charlaquin]

I would actually remove enchantment and necromancy from the Wizard spell list. Make the Bard and the Warlock the go-to enchanters. Make the Cleric and the Warlock the go-to necromancers.

You’d need to re-work raise dead for that, because the 2014 version doesn’t play well with Pact Magic. Or, you could maybe say it works too well with Pact Magic.

 

[Yaarel]

You’d need to re-work raise dead for that, because the 2014 version doesn’t play well with Pact Magic. Or, you could maybe say it works too well with Pact Magic.

I strongly have in mind the Warlock as the necromancer because "darker, edgier".

But it occurs to me, the Sorcerer as a go-to necromancer might work great in the sense of exhibiting "Shadowfell planar energies".


Re necromantic subclasses:
• Shadow Sorcerer (Xanathars)
• Hexblade Warlock (Xanathars)
• Undead Warlock (Van Richtens)
• Undying Warlock (Sword Coast)

The Warlock already has much Shadowfell lore, so maybe making the Raise Dead spell play well with the Warlock class is the best way to go about a go-to Necromancer subclass.