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.

 

[Yaarel]

So it's backward compatible but not really, like how nobody used 3.0 books when 3.5 came out even though you technically could? Does the new PHB only replace the 2014 version or does it eliminate the need for things like xanathar's guide or Tasha's? Guessing the other supplements and adventures are going to still be usable

Some of the stuff in Xanathars and Tashas became core rules in 2024, such as elemental spells, tool proficiencies, and psionic subclasses. Both books still have other supplemental content that 2024 DMs and players will continue to use.

 

[Mistwell]

It does.

It doesn't necessarily. If the combat ends earlier because of this, it probably takes less time overall.

 

[Scott Christian]

It doesn't necessarily. If the combat ends earlier because of this, it probably takes less time overall.

I think you might have misunderstood. The quote below is what I am referencing:

Yes, I understand that people will be taking reactions, and yes, I understand that there will be numerically more reaction options, but that doesn't necessarily translate to longer rounds of combat.

I bolded the part that is important. To that quote I responded - "It does." Why? Because it does. There is no question that more choices and reactions lead to longer rounds of combat. It does. It's the difference between level 1 fights and level 12 rounds. Level 12 rounds take longer because PCs have more options and more reactions.

 

[Mistwell]

I think you might have misunderstood. The quote below is what I am referencing:

I bolded the part that is important. To that quote I responded - "It does." Why? Because it does. There is no question that more choices and reactions lead to longer rounds of combat. It does. It's the difference between level 1 fights and level 12 rounds. Level 12 rounds take longer because PCs have more options and more reactions.

OK but the meaningful thing is how long the total combat takes, right? Saying a somewhat arbitrary portion of the combat is longer isn't as meaningful as the entire combat ending earlier, is it?

 

[Scott Christian]

OK but the meaningful thing is how long the total combat takes, right? Saying a somewhat arbitrary portion of the combat is longer isn't as meaningful as the entire combat ending earlier, is it?

We don't know if combat will take longer or be shorter. In my experience of using many different systems, the length of combat will be table dependent. For some tables, it will be shorter. For others, longer.

But the fact is we have no source to say the 2024 ruleset uses fewer rounds. That is a speculation. What we do know is, when you add reactions and give players more options (and possibly DMs), then a turn will take longer. That is our only given.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

But the fact is we have no source to say the 2024 ruleset uses fewer rounds. That is a speculation.

It's also frankly weird speculation. I can't find any rational basis for thinking 2024 would take fewer rounds. Monster HP aren't coming down, to judge from MotM and the stat blocks we've seen for the 2024 MM. AC seems to be largely staying the same, saves seem to staying the same or going up slightly, HP seems to be largely the same or going up slightly, and PC damage, for the most part, seems like it will be very slightly lower overall in 2024 because a lot of fairly straightforward ways to do high damage are getting nerfed/changed (though that is harder to say).

So the only way I could see average combat length come down would be if encounter design recommendations changed towards smaller numbers or lower CRs, and if anything, I expect to see the opposite re: encounter design recommendations, because I feel like the DMG 2024 may well attempt to make more provision for encounter design that isn't directed towards the 6-8 encounter/day model.

Thus why on earth would anyone thing encounters would be so much shorter that we could chop off an entire around from the average 3-4 rounds 5E combat currently takes?

 

[Chaltab]

Well, the current situation is no one plays sorcerers, so if more players play sorcerers rather than wizards is might speed things up a bit! It’s a complex equation.

Nobody plays sorcerers? News to my tables.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

Nobody plays sorcerers? News to my tables.

Nobody at in my 2024 games play single-class sorcerers, but I've seen multiclass builds with all the other Charisma casters, like paladins (most popular as a 1st level dip for armor, and ultimately many smite slots), warlocks and bards.

 

[Mistwell]

We don't know if combat will take longer or be shorter. In my experience of using many different systems, the length of combat will be table dependent. For some tables, it will be shorter. For others, longer.

But the fact is we have no source to say the 2024 ruleset uses fewer rounds. That is a speculation. What we do know is, when you add reactions and give players more options (and possibly DMs), then a turn will take longer. That is our only given.

The playtests I've seen of the new rules do not appear to involve longer combats or longer turns despite more reactions.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

We don't know if combat will take longer or be shorter.

People have been running playtest campaigns for a year now...

You know what takes the longest time? The exact same stuff as before - moving characters around on a grid, counting the movement on said grid, optimizing AoE placements, GM having to take each NPC's turn, all the chaff from the game being built on 5ft squares and the insistence that each individual critter has to be represented individually. Plus, big pools of HP.

That a few characters get extra options/triggers weighs nothing in comparison.