D&D 5E D&D Beyond No Longer Supporting Unearthed Arcana

Announced on their livestream Dev Update, D&D Beyond will be refocusing development on new features and content, citing an inability to keep up with Unearned Arcana in a timely fashion.

We at D&D Beyond regret to inform you that we will no longer be supporting Unearthed Arcana content on our platform.

While we have loved giving users the opportunity to use new Unearthed Arcana playtest material offered by Wizards of the Coast on D&D Beyond, there are a multitude of factors that have made it difficult for us to do so in a way that presents the content the way it was intended, and in a timely way that does not divert our development resources.

[News] The Future of Unearthed Arcana & DDB - News & Announcements - D&D Beyond General - D&D Beyond Forums - D&D Beyond

We at D&D Beyond regret to inform you that we will no longer be supporting Unearthed Arcana content on our platform. While we have loved giving use...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Bitbrain]

You uh, misspelled it “unearned”.

 

[darjr]

You uh, misspelled it “unearned”.

Hah! Thanks!

 

[univoxs]

You uh, misspelled it “unearned”.

I'd read that book.

 

[pukunui]

Fair enough! Especially if that means they'll able to focus more on implementing things like boons, supernatural gifts, sidekicks, etc.

 

[darjr]

I'd read that book.

Unearned Arcana?!

ohhh that sounds… like warlocks! Or sorcery!

 

[darjr]

I’m going to miss it but it often didn’t make it in time for the surveys. It must be killing them, it was one of the unique things about their platform, but gotta face reality. I’m sure if they could have found a way they’d have done it.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

They probably needed to shift resources to try and figure out how to run more Twitter contests.

….too soon?

 

[Professor Murder]

It is disappointing. I hope they continue working on the interface to make putting in material from outside the books easier. That way, people can add what they like.

 

[lkj]

I’m going to miss it but it often didn’t make it in time for the surveys. It must be killing them, it was one of the unique things about their platform, but gotta face reality. I’m sure if they could have found a way they’d have done it.

I'm sure. And it was one thing when it was some feature that fit into the existing schema. Lately, UA's have been trying our radically different subsystems that probably require a lot of backend coding. Think of those Strixhaven cross class subclasses from awhile back. Fair bit of work to implement without being klugey . . . only to be dropped a few weeks later from the final book.

Dev update today they mentioned that they couldn't get them out in time for useful playtest feedback for the surveys, which I'm sure played into it as well.

AD

 

[Charlaquin]

Unearned Arcana?!

ohhh that sounds… like warlocks! Or sorcery!

Sounds like rogues to me. Arcane tricksters and thieves of magic items.

 

[Charlaquin]

It is disappointing. I hope they continue working on the interface to make putting in material from outside the books easier. That way, people can add what they like.

Yeah, that would be a much better investment than trying to keep up with UA in my opinion.

 

[Professor Murder]

Yeah, that would be a much better investment than trying to keep up with UA in my opinion.

I do wonder if there is some resistance to such as it makes 3rd party material more valuable.

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

It is disappointing. I hope they continue working on the interface to make putting in material from outside the books easier. That way, people can add what they like.

Like this ..?
Shard Tabletop
Mostly quit DDB after getting stuff set up in Shard

 

[Sacrosanct]

Didn't they lose a half dozen people from their team fairly recently? I wonder if that had something to do with not being able to keep up.

 

[Professor Murder]

Like this ..?
Shard Tabletop
Mostly quit DDB after getting stuff set up in Shard

I more need it as an easy reference tool and a character builder than to use for virtual tabletop purposes.

 

[Nathaniel Lee]

@Sacrosanct Are you referring to the higher profile departures from earlier this year, like Todd Kenreck, Lauren Oboe, and Adam Bradford? James Haeck also departed a month or two before them. Of those four, only Adam was involved on the technical side of things, being the CTO. James was their lead writer, Lauren was their community manager, and Todd handled much of the video content.

 

[Iry]

I'm still waiting for D&DBeyond to send me the digital copies of my purchases.

 

[Leatherhead]

Well that's unfortunate, some of my favorite subclasses never made it past the UA stage (Rip Brute).

Though I imagine it is a nightmare to manage discontinued and obsolete materials in a database like that.

 

[Erdric Dragin]

They...they can't keep up with a few pages of mechanics that comes out barely every 2-3 months...?

I'd hate to see how they keep up with anything if they can't manage that.