D&D (2024) 2024 Player's Handbook Reveal: "New Wizard"

"The paramount collector of spells."

Open your spellbooks, everybody. Today we get a Wizard video.

​

The last version of the class was in the UA Playtest 7 package (PT7). It's not clear how much they'll say here. Of the base class, I am hoping that they have recanted the level 5 ability, Memorize Spell (or perhaps shifted it to needing a short rest). They've said that the PHB will get clearer rules for how illusions work -- maybe they'll talk about that? Other than that, I think the most they can do is show us some revised spells: Will the revised version of Counterspell be kept? Any surprise Necromancy reveals? Let's find out.

OVERVIEW

• "the paramount collector of spells": "many" of new spells are for the wizard.
• As in PT7: cantrip change after long rest (level 1); scholar -- expertise in an academic field (at 2)
• NO MENTION OF ARCANE RECOVERY
• NEW: Ritual Adept broken out as a new class feature. They can cast spells in their spellbook, as before, but here ID'd as a new feature.
• NEW: Memorize Spell at 5: you can swap a spell after short rest.
• Each subclass gets a new version of Savant: free spells in spellbook of preferred school. 2 free spells of favored class, and a new spell for each spell level (so every 2 levels, as in the playtest. This isn't what is said in the video, but has been corrected elsewhere.

SUBCLASSES
Abjurer

• new abjuration spells feeds back onto how subclass functions.
• NEW: Arcane Ward at 3: resistance, immunity applied before the Arcane Ward.
• NEW: Projected Ward a 6: your friend's resistance is applied before the ward for them.
• NEW: Spell breaker at level 10: Counterspell and Dispell Magic are both prepared (PT7 did not include Counterspell). Dispell Magic is a bonus action.

Diviner

• NEW: Third Eye at 10. As in PT7, bonus action to activate; 120' darkvision, see invisibility. NO MENTION of Greater Comprehension ("read any language")

Evoker -- "all about bringing the boom"

• As in PT7: Potent Cantrip at 3 applies to cantrips both with a saving throw or an attack roll.

Illusionist -- "we felt that the subclass needed more" (YAY)

• NEW: Improved Illusions at level 3:
  • cast illusion spells with no verbal components. (FUN)
  • illusions with range with at least 10' is increased to 60' (no-- by 60' to 70').
  • you get minor illusion cantrip, with both visual and audible
  • you cast minor illusion as a bonus action.
• NEW: Phantasmal Creatures
  • summon beast and summon fey spells always prepared. These MAY BE changed from conjuration to Illusion, and the illusory version can be cast without expending a spell slot, but the summoned version, only with half the hit points. ONCE PER DAY.
  • illusions can step on a trap to set it off (?!)
  • (replacing Malleable Illusions, which I complained about here. This is so exciting.)
• NEW: Illusory Self triggered by you being hit by an attack (not when you are targeted). As in PT7, you can get more uses by giving up a spell slot of level 2+.

SPECIFIC SPELLS

• NEW: school shift to Abjuration: no examples
• Counterspell as in PT7.
• GUIDANCE ON ILLUSIONS in Rules Glossary. E.g. How are they affected by environment?
  • spell descriptions also clarified. Rules Glossary to be discussed in future video (also conditions, areas of effects, guidance on teleportation, telepathy, "
• "being dead" to be discussed in Cleric Video. Tease...

So this gave much more than I was expecting, and it looks amazing. Playing an illusionist will now be much more clearly not a "mother may I?" situation, which (I feel) has long been the case. I think I got most of what I'd asked for in the PT feedback.

 

[Marandahir]

It's not functionally more when the extra spells are edge case ritual spells that may or may not even have a chance to be useful during a campaign. The sorcerer & warlock get features as if they are upper tier picks that are regularly important rather than just maybe useful if it comes up. spell choices that are spent on rituals that never have a use in the campaign are of null value, that is the fault of the available ritual spells being overly conservative. Wotc did not waste time detailing anything about improvements to rituals in either the wizard video or the spells video & no conclusions can be drawn from "better" as a result.

And a Warlock who kits themself out with their handful of spells and invocations that aren't relevant won't find themselves very relevant either. But the Wizard at least can change that up on a day to day basis. The Warlock and the Sorcerer have to wait for level up to swap out a single spell or invocation or metamagic choice for another.

 

[tetrasodium]

And a Warlock who kits themself out with their handful of spells and invocations that aren't relevant won't find themselves very relevant either. But the Wizard at least can change that up on a day to day basis. The Warlock and the Sorcerer have to wait for level up to swap out a single spell or invocation or metamagic choice for another.

Weird... It's almost like there was not a good reason to move a wizard class feature to the base spellcasting feature for all classes at the same time they realized class features like smite & such should not be readily available spells on the general spell lists.

 

[Marandahir]

Weird... It's almost like there was not a good reason to move a wizard class feature to the base spellcasting feature for all classes at the same time they realized class features like smite & such should not be readily available spells on the general spell lists.

Which feature?

 

[Ashrym]

People who do not play wizards love to imagine wizards have all spells in the game memorized at all times.

Schrodinger arguments are common for wizards (and bards). That doesn't mean we should dismiss their experiences or write those arguments off as "they don't play wizards". When we do that we're not addressing the points raised when we dismiss them.

I have played wizards.

In 5th ed, there is NO mechanism to change spells outside of a long rest. In 5.5, you can change a SINGLE spell on a short rest. Thus you go the entire day with what you started with.

Wizard alternatives are sorcerers, bards, and warlocks. Their mechanism for changing spells is a single spell on leveling up. The current 5e prep system for wizards is much better and the new memorize spell feature does on a short rest what those other classes need to level up to accomplish.

Add to this that until you get to high levels, its not uncommon for sorcerers to actually have MORE known spells than wizards. IF your dm isn't handing out free spells, then the wizard only gets 2 per level. Sorcerers have buckets of bonus spells that result in them having more "free" spells than wizards until you get close to 10th level.

This is incorrect.

Sorcerers know the spells they choose. It's much less than 2 per level. It's 1 per level and later 1 per 2 levels. Some bloodlines allow for additional spells but that's playing catch up.

2024 changes increase sorcerer spells prepped and most subclasses add to spells prepped and that brings sorcerers more in line with what wizards have prepped, not what wizards have in their spell books.

Sorcerers (and bards and warlocks) are also only gaining a subset of their spells as they select them leveling up.

Spells prepped is closer now but in both versions wizards selecting rituals in their spell books effectively maintains that lead.

The spell book has 44 spells selected by leveling and 9 spells by subclass and more. Even at 9th level when the wizard has 27+ spell in his book and the sorcerer has 10 bonus spells with the stingy DM argument is better off.

To have the magical "every spell" spell list, the player must spend ALOT of money to get the spells.

Scribing spells isn't expensive. This argument is also based on the presumption that "every spell" is required when it's not. The spells in the spell book leveling up are enough and the ability to spend gold on more is gravy.

Other classes don't have the option to increase spells by spending gold. It's a benefit, not a problem.

If you actually play a wizard, you will see that the vaunted "can do everything white board" is a total illusion.

Schrodinger arguments, yes.

You choose at the start of the day which spells you hope will be useful. You cannot switch unless your dm has some house rule. Thus wizards end up just choosing the most general useful spells - just like a sorcerer....

Again, that argument falls apart when the sorcerer cannot select from those spells daily and doesn't have access to the full wizard list in the first place.

It's not "just like the sorcerer". Sorcerers choose spells for their life and swap them out while leveling. But now memorize spell does grant swapping in a spell needed on a short rest for wizzies.

Yup, we can have a whiteboard fantasy of a 20th level wizard with infinite money doing crazy things, but that never happens.

A wizard doesn't need to do outrageous things for the point brought up to be correct. Those wizzies have clear advantages.

Your complaint seems to be that wizards don't have all the advantages and that there are some benefits to playing those other classes.

Your 5th level wizard (about average level of ALL games played) will quite often have less spells than the sorcerer, and ZERO other abilities to boot because wizards have "unlimited potential" that is also completely unusuable.

I would like a citation for 5th level being the average level for all games, but even if it were true it's not a reason to ignore other levels.

However, at 5th level wizards have 17 spells in their book minimum and that's when they add memorize spell and the still don't need to prep rituals. Those sorcs only have 6 spells from subclass which is easy to offset with those rituals.

Closing note - sorcerers have the same spell list as wizards too. Its strange how wizards suffer so much from class jealousy and missunderstanding, all of it based on white board simulations that have zero relevance to how games are actually played.

Sorcerers don't have the same spell list as wizards. Wizards have nearly the entire spell list of sorcerers and many more from which to choose that sorcerers do not.

Calling this "white board simulations" is missing key facts when looking at the drawbacks of those other classes.

I can see where increasing the spells the sorcerer knows and allowing more spells from subclasses changes things a bit, but that's an improvement to sorcerers and doesn't take away the fact that sorcerers don't get to choose those subclass spells or easily change the spells taken.

 

[mellored]

That was true until sorcerer warlock cleric bard paladin AT & EK also got free ritual casting by way of the spellcasting feature itself

Not by much. Example.

Level 1 Sorcerer has
*thunder wave
*Tensors floating disk.

Level 1 wizard has
*thunder wave
*magic missile
*catapult
*feather fall.
R: Tensors floating disk
R: Alarm


We can continue this at higher levels if you want. Go ahead and pick spells for a level 5 sorcerer, including subclass. I will make a wizard who can cast the same spells plus have more rituals in their book.


I do understand, and agree, that the classes casting the same spells are not very different.

And I do understand if you don't find the extra rituals and versatility very appealing. I am withholding judgment until I see the full list.

But wizards, objectively, get something that others do not.

 

[Ashrym]

Name any other class that cannot function without either unlimited gold (and magic shops) or constant dm handouts?

You don't think any other class wouldn't love to add more options just by spending gold? I think a battle master with 20 options would love to spend small amounts of gold to add 20 more. Or a sorcerer would love to spend small amounts of gold to add more spells. ;-)

Assuming base spells known for sorcerers remain the same as in 2014

It's not a safe assumption. Per this link:

"The most significant change to Spellcasting for Sorcerers in the 2024 Player’s Handbook is they can prepare more spells than their 2014 counterparts could learn. In fact, once they reach level 3, Sorcerers now prepare just as many spells as the Druid, Bard, Cleric, and Wizard! (The Wizard, as Mystra’s favorite, pulls ahead of the pack at level 14.)"

This is based on the class progression table and does not include bonus spells.

I just don't pretend that first level spell slots grow on trees.

I just thought this^^ particular comment is worth repeating.

That was true until sorcerer warlock cleric bard paladin AT & EK also got free ritual casting by way of the spellcasting feature itself

Clerics and bards already have rituals. This statement tells me that you don't recognize the issue those classes have in having to give up selecting other spells they might want in order to prepare those rituals.

Every ritual that every other class chooses to prepare in order to use that ritual is a choice the wizard is not forced to make and allows the wizard to prepare a better spell instead. You're giving off a vibe of accusing other players of not playing wizards so therefore we shouldn't listen to their arguments while simultaneously having not played the other classes you're bringing into the arguments. ;-)

 

[Stalker0]

It's not functionally more when the extra spells are edge case ritual spells that may or may not even have a chance to be useful during a campaign. The sorcerer & warlock get features as if they are upper tier picks that are regularly important rather than just maybe useful if it comes up. spell choices that are spent on rituals that never have a use in the campaign are of null value, that is the fault of the available ritual spells being overly conservative. Wotc did not waste time detailing anything about improvements to rituals in either the wizard video or the spells video & no conclusions can be drawn from "better" as a result.

hey if you really truly think rituals suck, that is no problem. Take your 5 extra spells (plus the 10ish other spells you will gain when you get your plate or half plate worth of gold that the fighter gets), and choose whatever spells you want. Because that's the thing, while the sorc is handed a curtailed list that you have to have, the wizard can look over the entire list and grab whatever they want.

 

[Stalker0]

Sorcerers know the spells they choose. It's much less than 2 per level. It's 1 per level and later 1 per 2 levels. Some bloodlines allow for additional spells but that's playing catch up.

Taking 2024 into account this is no longer correct. If we use lets say the clockwork sorc as a model, the sorc gets 1 spell per level base, and then 1 spell per level from their subclass (technically 2 spells every 2 levels that averages to 1 per level). We've been told the other sorc subclasses will now also get spells added so that appears to be the norm now.

So the sorc gets 2 spells per level on average. The wizard gets 2 spells, 2 spells + 1 spell per level from savant, so 2.5 spells per level over the long haul. But of course the wizard starts the game with 6 while the sorc starts with 2 so the wizard starts off running, and of course add in even a few hundred gold and you can add several spells to that list

 

[Marandahir]

Taking 2024 into account this is no longer correct. If we use lets say the clockwork sorc as a model, the sorc gets 1 spell per level base, and then 1 spell per level from their subclass (technically 2 spells every 2 levels that averages to 1 per level). We've been told the other sorc subclasses will now also get spells added so that appears to be the norm now.

So the sorc gets 2 spells per level on average. The wizard gets 2 spells, 2 spells + 1 spell per level from savant, so 2.5 spells per level over the long haul. But of course the wizard starts the game with 6 while the sorc starts with 2 so the wizard starts off running, and of course add in even a few hundred gold and you can add several spells to that list

Remember that they say that the Sorcerer catches up by level 3, but that's in terms of spells prepared (spell slots were always the same quantity for the two of them). Sorcerers spells known = spells prepared. Wizards spells known = spellbook spells; spells prepared are changed every day (and 1/short rest). The comment was about spells prepared, not about spells known, because of some weird idea to standardize spells prepared language. This obfuscates the 3 different types of spells preparation within a feature called Spellcasting for a given class (note that Pact Magic is not called Spellcasting and isn't counted here, nor are subclass features that add spellcasting):

1. Wizards prepare spells from their spellbook each long rest, and add new spells from their spell list to the spellbook each level and can add more by adventuring + gold. Wizards can also swap out a prepared spell 1/short rest, and can cast any ritual in their spellbook without preparing the spell that day.
2. Clerics, Druids, Paladins, Rangers, and presumably Artificers prepare spells from their spell list each long rest.
3. Bards and Sorcerers have the same spells prepared every long rest, and can only swap them out upon level up.

 

[ECMO3]

We can continue this at higher levels if you want. Go ahead and pick spells for a level 5 sorcerer, including subclass. I will make a wizard who can cast the same spells plus have more rituals in their book.

Level 5 Divine Soul Sorcerer:

Guidance
Resistance
Green Flame Blade
Booming Blade
Chill Touch
Healing Word
Cure Wounds
Chaos Bolt
Spiritual Weapon
Silence
Flame Blade
Spirit Guardians

I think your 5th level Wizard will only be able to get 3 of those spells (all of them cantrips).

Another example:
Level 5 Aberrant Mind
Chill Touch
Mind Sliver
Mending
Fire Bolt
Prestidigitation
Arms of Hadar
Dissonant Whispers
Chaos Bolt
Shield
Absorb Elements
Flame Blade
Invisibility
Calm Emotions
Detect Thoughts
Hunger of Hadar
Sending
Fear

I think your Wizard will have 2 fewer Cantrips, typically 3 fewer leveled spells prepared and only 6 of those 12 leveled spells in your book.