Everything that’s changed in the DnD 2024 Wizard class

Famed for their arcane prowess and squishy early-game hit points, Wizard can be a tough class for a Dungeons and Dragons newbie – but the DnD 2024 Wizard benefits from a bunch of changes that wannabe spellcasters should consider. We’ve scoured the revised DnD 2024 Player’s Handbook to bring you what’s new about the iconic caster class.

The tweaks and overhauls brought to the Wizard by the DnD 2024 ruleset might not be as explicit as those given to the other magic-wielding DnD classes – but, taken as a whole, the new rules will leave these scholarly magicians better off.

Read on to find all your key wizardly stats, class features, spells, and subclasses – and a breakdown of what’s been changed from the old Wizard 5e class rules. 

DnD 2024 Wizard class features

Your core DnD stats remain the same as in 5e, but there’s a slight change in proficiencies: you now have basic proficiency in all Simple weapons – which expands the range of hitty-sticks you can use effectively alongside your magic (should you choose) – and you can choose to be proficient in Nature, giving your Wiz a bit more versatility.

For your starting equipment, you can choose either a purse of 55 GP or:

• Two Daggers
• Quarterstaff (also your Arcane Focus)
• Robe
• Spellbook
• Scholar’s Pack
• 5 GP

Now, let’s see what’s new for Wizards regarding level progression. First things first: as standard for all classes in the DnD 2024 rules, you’ll now pick up your Wizard subclass at the 3rd level. Beyond that, you’ve got a few brand new class features, as per the table below (we’ll explain how they work in just a moment).

DnD 2024 Wizard Spellcasting

The number of prepared spells has been made clearer in the 2024 rulebook, with a fixed number of known spells gained per level, as opposed to the old formula. In addition, Wizards can now swap out one cantrip after a Long Rest to encourage experimentation.

New DnD 2024 Wizard Spells

Here’s a list of the new spells that Wizards get to play with in DnD 2024:

• Arcane Vigor
• Befuddlement
• Drawmij’s Instant Summons
• Elementalism
• Jallarzi’s Storm of Radiance
• Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron
• Yolande’s Regal Presence

You can read about all these options in our run-down of the all-new DnD 2024 spells. If you want to see which old spells got a power boost, read our list of the biggest spell changes in DnD 2024.

For now, though, let’s dig into your Wizard class abilities:

Ritual Adept

Level: One

Ritual Adept is a new class feature that allows Wizards to cast any Ritual spell as long as it’s stored in their spellbook. The spell does not have to be prepared and can come from any class. This feature should encourage Wizards to jolt down every Ritual spell they see, given the flexibility of the feature.

Arcane Recovery

Level: One

A Wizard’s staple, Arcane Recovery has been tweaked slightly to make it more useful.

You can still only use it once per Short Rest, to restore expended Spell Slots equal to half your Wizard level, rounding up. However, instead of being limited to once a day, Wizards can now use the feature again after finishing a Long Rest.

Scholar

Level: Two

The new Scholar feature grants Wizards Expertise (a doubled proficiency bonus on skill checks) in one of the following skills, provided they are already proficient with them:

• Arcana
• History
• Investigation
• Medicine
• Nature
• Religion

Wizards are nerds, so it only makes sense for them to have a hobby they’re particularly knowledgeable about. 

DnD 2024 Wizard Subclasses

Level: Three (new features at levels six, 10, and 14)

The core Wizard subclasses retain much of their identities, with only a few tweaks here and there. The biggest change across the board is the Savant feature now built into each of the DnD schools of magic.

In 5th edition, this subclass feature gave you a discount on the time and gold it cost to add a new spell to your spellbook, so long as it came from your chosen subclass school.

Now, Savant lets Wizards choose two extra Wizard spells, no higher than 2nd-level, from their subclass’s school. In addition, whenever you gain a new level of spell slot from Wizard levels, you can add one Wizard spell equal to that spell slot’s level for free to your spellbook.

It means Wizards in general will be both more versatile and more specialized than before – at least in their overall spell collection.

Abjurer

Abjurers got a few minor changes to old abilities and one versatile new feature.

Arcane Ward mostly remains the same, but Wizards can now use a Bonus Action to expend a spell slot. Once spent, the ward regains a number of hit points equal to twice the spell slot’s level. Projected Ward has been slightly tweaked so that the ward accounts for the target creature’s resistances and vulnerabilities before calculating damage.

Spell Breaker has replaced the 5e feature Improved Abjuration. With this new feature, Abjurers always have Counterspell and Dispel Magic prepared. Abjurers can cast Dispel Magic as a Bonus Action and add their Proficiency Bonus to the ability check.

Lastly, if a Counterspell or Dispel Magic fails, no spell slot is expended – meaning your Abjurer can go real trigger happy with the counterspells: truly a master of ‘nope’. Overall, Abjurers remain stalwart protectors, and their new features grant them more resources to excel in their support roles.

Diviner

Diviners remain practically the same in DnD 2024. Given that the subclass has never struggled to make the top of the ‘most powerful DnD Wizard subclass’ lists, this may be a blessing in disguise.

The only notable changes come from The Third Eye. The feature no longer offers Ethereal Sight, but instead gives you significantly buffed Darkvision and See Invisibility. Darkvision now grants 120 feet of Darkvision, and you can now cast See Invisibility without expending a spell slot.

It’s no secret that Portent is one of the most powerful subclass features. The One DnD design team gazed into a crystal ball and saw the balance headaches that a more powerful Diviner could bring. The improved spells and new class features are more than enough buffs for the subclass.

Evoker

The resident damage-dealing subclass saw a few changes to enhance its effectiveness.

Potent Cantrip and Sculpt Spells have switched places in the progression table, compared to the 5th edition Wizard. The change is likely to encourage new players to use their cantrips more. Plus, Sculpt Spells isn’t very exciting for new players who don’t have the magical nukes that would benefit from Sculpt Spells yet.

As for feature changes, Potent Cantrip now applies its effects to cantrips that use attack rolls, encouraging a more aggressive playstyle. Once again, the design team erred on the side of caution for Evokers, especially with some Evocation spells getting damage boosts.

Illusionist

The often maligned Illusionist gets the most changes out of any of the core Wizard subclasses, overhauling the class to be more powerful with new features and buffs.

Improved Illusions is a more potent replacement for Improved Minor Illusion. You can now cast Illusion spells without Verbal components. Additionally, any Illusion spell with a range of 10 feet or more has its range increased by 60 feet. You also get the features from Improved Minor Illusion, and Minor Illusion can now be cast with a Bonus Action.

Phantasmal Creatures replaces Malleable Illusions at the 6th level. You always have Summon Beast and Summon Fey prepared. When you cast either spell, you can change its school to Illusion, to make a spectral version of the summoned creature. You can cast the Illusion version of the spell without a spell slot once per Long Rest. However, the creature will only have half its usual hit points.

Finally, Illusory Self can now be replenished by expending a 2nd-level spell slot or higher (no action required). Overall, Illusionist has become a more powerful subclass, thanks to quality-of-life tweaks and potent new features.

Memorize Spell

Level: Five

Memorize Spell allows Wizards to study their spellbook during a Short Rest and replace one of their prepared Wizard spells with another spell from their book. This allows Wizards to become adaptable during a hectic campaign, where Long Rests likely won’t be common.

Spell Mastery

Level: 18

Wizards’ Spell Mastery feature still lets them pick one 1st and one 2nd level spell to remain permanently prepared, and able to be cast at the lowest level without using a spell slot.

can only use 1st and 2nd-level spells that cost an action with the Spell Mastery feature. These spells are always prepared and can be cast at the lowest level without expending a spell slot.

Instead of eight hours of study, Wizards simply need to take a Long Rest to replace one of their mastered spells.

Epic Boon

Level: 19

All DnD 2024 classes gain an Epic Boon at the 19th level, a feature that was once exclusive to 20th-level players as a campaign reward.

You can find a complete list of Epic Boons on our DnD 2024 Feats guide. The 2024 PHB recommends picking up “Boon of Spell Recall” for Wizards.

Overall, the shakeup for Wizards makes them a bit easier to use, thanks to a plethora of quality-of-life changes. Most of the subclasses remain the same, outside of Illusionist, which got buffed significantly. One could argue the biggest buff to Wizard comes not from new features per se, but the boost to spells in DnD 2024 as a whole.

To get up to speed on the other updated magical classes in the new Dungeons and Dragons rules, check out our guides to the DnD 2024 Warlock and DnD 2024 Sorcerer classes. We’ve also updated our compendium of DnD races to include all the changes the new rules bring to the game’s main playable Species.

Source: Wargamer