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.

 

[Kurotowa]

So the pact of the blade is horrifically busted and we're supposed to do what exactly?

Do you know that or are you just taking Treantmonk at his word? Because I wouldn't.

His full Bladelock video is out, and I posted my concerns over in the Warlock thread where I felt they belonged. But since it was getting discussion here, a quick recap: He assumes that Blade Pact qualifies you for GWM, which I think is very wrong. He assumes 100% uptime on Spirit Shroud, which I think is unrealistic and relies on pre-revision material that may not always be allowed. He assumes an Eldritch Smite on every crit, which is frankly impossible when you're already devoting a spell slot per combat to Spirit Shroud.

Those numbers he posts are not realistic and should not be trusted or quoted without comment.

 

[Parmandur]

Do you know that or are you just taking Treantmonk at his word? Because I wouldn't.

His full Bladelock video is out, and I posted my concerns over in the Warlock thread where I felt they belonged. But since it was getting discussion here, a quick recap: He assumes that Blade Pact qualifies you for GWM, which I think is very wrong. He assumes 100% uptime on Spirit Shroud, which I think is unrealistic and relies on pre-revision material that may not always be allowed. He assumes an Eldritch Smite on every crit, which is frankly impossible when you're already devoting a spell slot per combat to Spirit Shroud.

Those numbers he posts are not realistic and should not be trusted or quoted without comment.

Typical white room stuff.

 

[Kurotowa]

Typical white room stuff.

It's entirely white room stuff. There's no consideration of having to make Concentration checks, of the power of trading some damage for utility in various ways like taking Chain Pact, of the relative availability and value of sustained damage vs burst damage, or of any type of damage besides pure single target output on a target dummy.

Target dummy numbers have their place, but white room theorists almost always over fixate on them because they can't easily quantify anything else, and it's so damned tempting to just ignore things that aren't easily quantified.

 

[Stalker0]

The fact that blade locks get all weapon masteries and can switch pretty freely between them is a big deal. They have all the control options in one invocation

 

[Kurotowa]

The fact that blade locks get all weapon masteries and can switch pretty freely between them is a big deal. They have all the control options in one invocation

I mean, sure. If you have an infinite golf bag of weapons that you can swap freely. And don't have one or two magic weapons that are significantly superior. And don't have a build or combat style that encourages one specific Mastery.

In practice having one Mastery you can reassign immediately is not applicably different than having two or four Mastery slots you can reassign on a Long Rest.

 

[Remathilis]

Do you know that or are you just taking Treantmonk at his word? Because I wouldn't.

His full Bladelock video is out, and I posted my concerns over in the Warlock thread where I felt they belonged. But since it was getting discussion here, a quick recap: He assumes that Blade Pact qualifies you for GWM, which I think is very wrong. He assumes 100% uptime on Spirit Shroud, which I think is unrealistic and relies on pre-revision material that may not always be allowed. He assumes an Eldritch Smite on every crit, which is frankly impossible when you're already devoting a spell slot per combat to Spirit Shroud.

Those numbers he posts are not realistic and should not be trusted or quoted without comment.

First, spirit shroud is 100% in the cards. This isn't a new edition remember? It's bAcKwArDs CoMpAtIbLe?

As for the rest, let's call that best case scenario. Even if a warlock never hits all those features at once, is hitting many or most of them on a class capable of casting 9th level magic still ok. Did we not just give the fighter and barbarian more toys only to have the warlock outshine them with comparable damage AND magic versatility? The fact the Warlock is hitting so high in White Room means that they can outpace melee classes. If they had kept warlocks as half-casters, this would not be a problem; hail the arcane Gish. But people want their amazing arcane swordsman to have magic recovery on a SR and 9th level magic too. And a pony with a really shiny saddle, so give them Find Steed while you're at it.

 

[Kurotowa]

As for the rest, let's call that best case scenario.

You can't look at an obvious rules error like "Blade Pact qualifies you for GWM" and shrug it off as a "best case scenario". It doesn't work, full stop.

 

[Parmandur]

First, spirit shroud is 100% in the cards. This isn't a new edition remember? It's bAcKwArDs CoMpAtIbLe?

As for the rest, let's call that best case scenario. Even if a warlock never hits all those features at once, is hitting many or most of them on a class capable of casting 9th level magic still ok. Did we not just give the fighter and barbarian more toys only to have the warlock outshine them with comparable damage AND magic versatility? The fact the Warlock is hitting so high in White Room means that they can outpace melee classes. If they had kept warlocks as half-casters, this would not be a problem; hail the arcane Gish. But people want their amazing arcane swordsman to have magic recovery on a SR and 9th level magic too. And a pony with a really shiny saddle, so give them Find Steed while you're at it.

A highly precise set of circumstances unlikely to come together isn't necessarily indicative of an actual DPR in practice, which WotC will test for. If needed, they can destroy this combo with minor wording changes.

 

[Mistwell]

The UA test is not for balancing or stress testing: that is handled in the private playtest network.

That's not true, according to what Crawford's said in the past? They absolutely want feedback on that sort of thing.

 

[Parmandur]

That's not true, according to what Crawford's said in the past? They absolutely want feedback on that sort of thing.

They will take it, but it isnreally the function of UA. That's why every packet has a disclaimer that stuff hasn't been balance tested yet.