With the upcoming release of D&D’s newest update to the franchise, new and old players alike are very curious about what WoTC has changed in the revamp for classes. From spells and backgrounds to mechanics and class features, and everything in between, there is a lot of speculation and misinformation regarding the changes. Players want clarity, to know what they will be getting into when they roll their favorite classes, and what they can expect in their games going forward.

Core Mechanics

In the world of tabletop games and D&D, player agency and versatility are the name of the game. Everything from pure flavor elements; like their accent, the way they talk, or even their favorite food: to the nitty gritty, down-and-dirty abilities, skills, and proficiencies they utilize with their own, personal flare: it all comes down to the player choices. How a player wants their character to look, sound, feel, and move -during their interactions with others, within a particular campaign.

However, at any character’s core there resides their base mechanics; what they can do, what they can’t, and what might be possible with a willing DM. Mechanics, and their implementation, will ultimately determine the viability, utility, and combat prowess of any build, no matter the class. Players must familiarize themselves with these core tenets before they roll their first die if they intend to take on an effective role within the team.

Bards

Seen as a class that synergizes and plays well, mechanically, the new changes for Bards add a little more flavor -with a few more additional refinements. The biggest change is with Bardic Inspiration. The ability is much more of a necessity in class mechanics with the 2024 update as its duration; previously lasting only ten minutes; now lasts for an hour. The changes also include a secondary mechanic, that allows players to recover their Bardic Inspirations, via a short rest. As well as by a trigger-ability during primary initiative rolls, when the Bard is out of slots.

Additional changes to the class are seemingly a mixed bag, overall. Bard will no longer be able to use Rapiers in combat. Musical aspects of their mechanics have been de-emphasized by including two new subclasses that are not music-related: like, College of Dance. At level ten, the ability of Magical Secrets has been buffed. Instead of only getting three chances to pull from other class spell lists at fixed levels, Bards can now pull from the Druid, Cleric, and Wizard spell lists whenever additional spells can be added. The class capstone abilities: Power Word Heal and Power Word Kill, can now be prepared for free at max level and dual cast on two separate targets.

Barbarians

One of the biggest changes to D&D’s Barbarian class revolves around their Rage and Reckless Attack -and how they fundamentally work. The duration for Rage will now last ten minutes and has been giving more utility. Players can now invoke rage out of combat and use their strength modifier when making intimidation, acrobatics, stealth, perception, and survival checks.  In the 2014 version: when a Barbarian recklessly attacked, they would get an advantage on the attack, while their opponent got an advantage against them. In the 2024 version, that choice can still be made, or the player can now choose to expend the strength of their rage to do an additional 1d10 force damage with either Forceful Blow or Hamstring Blow instead.

A la, the fighter’s Battle Master subclass, these choices: now referred to as maneuvers; can be acquired as players level up during their campaign. Various abilities available include those with effects such as reducing an opponent’s move speed, a knockback of fifteen feet, and imposing a disadvantage on their next saving throw. This variety gives players enough choices to make barbarians more customizable and flavorful while combating the lack of player enjoyment of the class at higher levels.

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