D&D (2024) D&D 2024 Player's Handbook Reviews

On Thursday August 1st, the review embargo is lifted for those who were sent an early copy of the new Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook. In this post I intend to compile a handy list of those reviews as they arrive. If you know of a review, please let me know in the comments so that I can add it! I'll be updating this list as new reviews arrive, so do check back later to see what's been added!

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Review List

• The official EN World review -- "Make no mistake, this is a new edition."
• ComicBook.com -- "Dungeons & Dragons has improved upon its current ruleset, but the ruleset still feels very familiar to 5E veterans."
• Comic Book Resources -- "From magic upgrades to easier character building, D&D's 2024 Player's Handbook is the upgrade players and DMs didn't know they needed."
• Wargamer.com -- "The 2024 Player’s Handbook is bigger and more beginner-friendly than ever before. It still feels and plays like D&D fifth edition, but numerous quality-of-life tweaks have made the game more approachable and its player options more powerful. Its execution disappoints in a handful of places, and it’s too early to tell how the new rules will impact encounter balance, but this is an optimistic start to the new Dungeons and Dragons era."
• RPGBOT -- "A lot has changed in the 2024 DnD 5e rules. In this horrendously long article, we’ve dug into everything that has changed in excruciating detail. There’s a lot here."

Video Reviews
Note, a couple of these videos have been redacted or taken down following copyright claims by WotC.

• 2024 PHB Rules Changes D&D 5.24 (Treantmonk's Temple)
• Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook 2024 Preview & Review | Key Takeaways and Comparisons with 2014 (Awesome Black)
• 10 Unexpected Changes in the D&D 5E 2024 Player's Handbook (This Effin' GM Games)
• Every Class and Subclass Change for 2024 (d4: Deep Dive)
• D&D Player's Handbook 2024 Winners & Losers! (The Character Sheet on ComicBook.com)
• 2024 Player's Handbook First Look Review (Dungeon Dudes)
• The 2024 Player's Handbook: Full Spoilers Review (DnD Shorts)
• Full Early Review! D&D 2024 Player's Handbook (JoeFudge)
• First Look at the 2024 Player's Handbook for Dungeons & Dragons (GameMasters)
• 2024 PHB Flip through (Jorphdan) [taken down]
• D&D New Player's Handbook, DM's Guide, Monster Manual, and Project Sigil Info (maturemindedgamers)
• 2024 Player's Handbook: Questions Answered! (Alphastream)
• D&D 2024 Player's Handbook Walkthrough (Sly Flourish) [redacted]

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Release timeline (i.e. when you can get it!)

• August 1st: Reviewers. Some reviewers have copies already, with their embargo lifting August 1st.
• August 1st-4th: Gen Con. There will be 3,000 copies for sale at Gen Con.
• September 3rd: US/Canada Hobby Stores. US/Canada hobby stores get it September 3rd.
• September 3rd: DDB 'Master' Pre-orders. Also on this date, D&D Beyond 'Master Subscribers' get the digital version.
• September 10th: DDB 'Hero' Pre-orders. On this date, D&D Beyond 'Hero Subscribers' get the digital version.
• September 17th: General Release. For the rest of us, the street date is September 17th.

 

[Micah Sweet]

That, IME, is not even close to the truth. I love both 4e and 5e for their similarities and differences. That are simply not that far apart IME.

Presentation is quite different between the two admitedly, and the ultra-specific 4e lore they expected everyone to buy into is gone in 5e.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

That, IME, is not even close to the truth. I love both 4e and 5e for their similarities and differences. That are simply not that far apart IME.

I have already given extensive analysis of the ways 5e actively rejects how 4e worked, to the point of repeatedly reinventing its mechanics in worse ways* (Healing Surges vs Hit Dice), or taking an existing mechanic and hollowing it out to the point there's nothing left (At-Wills vs Cantrips; the former helped make everyone reliably good, the latter are, as with so much in 5e, a power-up for casters only.)

There are a few, relatively small, parts of 5e that are actually like 4e. Feats are the rare exception, but they get so much active hate, and are generally far worse than just taking +2 to your primary stat, so I never expect to see them in a game. Skills should be an exception, but they aren't, both because of how the DMG is written and because people run 5e skills like 3e skills when they really, really, really shouldn't.

*"A thing I like to call 'Passive Perception'", anyone?

 

[DarkCrisis]

I haven't dug into the new rules yet, but people that have (@mellored and @MonsterEnvy ) seem to disagree with you and @ECMO3 that there are more reactions a DM has to deal with. I guess I trust them more than you until I actually get the books myself.

That’s fair. I’m hoping people like Slyflourish and myself are wrong and it does end up being easier for a DM (when conducting combat).

So far all of the YouTube vids I’ve watched seem to mostly gush about all of the PC upgrades and more clarified rules and almost none off talk about the concern I have.

Time will reveal all though. Im glad you approve of it so far.

 

[mellored]

That’s fair. I’m hoping people like Slyflourish and myself are wrong and it does end up being easier for a DM (when conducting combat).

So far all of the YouTube vids I’ve watched seem to mostly gush about all of the PC upgrades and more clarified rules and almost none off talk about the concern I have.

Time will reveal all though. Im glad you approve of it so far.

Well the DMG and MM isn't out yet so... harder to talk about the DM side.

But cleaned up rule should help the game run at least a little smoother for the DM.


The only one I think will be more annoying is Topple mastery. But that's not enough bad to erase the good.

 

[SkidAce]

I see you, old EverQuest player!!

- Loral Ciriclight, Quellious.

I was on Prexus I think, but Quellious sounds familiar.

 

[Chaosmancer]

They made Find Familiar MORE powerful.

Wait, what? I heard that Familiar's lost the Help action. That makes them WAY weaker than before.

They made Mirror Image so all the images have your AC.

That was already the case? They didn't activate until the enemy hit your AC.

It also seems like they didn't think things through. Like the new Feeblemind (renamed Beffudlement). All it does now, other than damage, is stop targets from taking the magic action. So it doesn;t really nerf non-magic enemies at all. Further, it doesn't even completely stopm spells the way they worded it. It stops the magic action, so you can still cast spells that cost a bonus action, or a Sorcerer can quicken or you can cast spells that have a time based casting. For an 8th level spell!

Hmm, interesting intent with that one at least. It never really stopped physical threats anyways, and ended up being WAY too strong when combo'd with Maze.

 

[Chaosmancer]

The reactions are the problem. That is what will make it more complex and more of a slog. We have always had them but it was limited when they could be used.

I would expect with 2024 that most PCs will have a reaction to use almost every single round.

And what reactions are a problem here?

 

[Chaosmancer]

Half the changes they made were stuff they wanted that weren't asked for.

Laughing and sobbing at the same time

They seriously could never win, could they? Spent the few days with people telling us that this version of the rules was trash, because the designers couldn't make the game they wanted. Now it is trash because they made changes they wanted without consulting the community. Who, at least in part, has called every single thing they have ever made trash.

Welcome to the 50th anniversary of the game that changed the world people. Let's just heap some more negativity on everything, why not? World is on fire anyways.

 

[Chaosmancer]

it’s funny seeing people dismiss the issues with “that stuffs always been in the 5E” and somehow miss that the issue is that “there is far more of it”.

Reeks of “I don’t DM, so not my problem.” Might be your problem if less people want to DM. Which from what I understand is already a rare commodity.

Nope, I've DMd far more than I've been a player. But hey, thanks for making this even more about Players vs DMs. Can't get too comfortable with working together with your friends to have fun. Gotta inject some disdain for anyone not in the vaunted position of making fun content for others.

 

[dave2008]

That’s fair. I’m hoping people like Slyflourish and myself are wrong and it does end up being easier for a DM (when conducting combat).

So far all of the YouTube vids I’ve watched seem to mostly gush about all of the PC upgrades and more clarified rules and almost none off talk about the concern I have.

Time will reveal all though. Im glad you approve of it so far.

I watched one slyflourish video and he didn't seem too concerned, mostly positive about the book actually. Though he did have some concerns along the lines of what you speak of. IIRC, he is not a fan of weapon masteries, but it doesn't sound like he has played with them yet. We have and it wasn't an issue for me as a DM. I even gave them to my monsters.