A complete DnD 2024 Wizard class guide

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. After scouring the revised 2024 Player’s Handbook, we’ve put together this guide to explain what’s new and different 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. If you want to compare, here’s our Wizard 5e guide to the 2014 version of the class.

Here’s everything you need to know about the DnD 2024 Wizard:

Proficiencies and equipment

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.

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.

As before, Intelligence is your spellcasting ability, and you write your prepared spells in a unique spellbook. This spellbook or an arcane focus can be used as a spellcasting focus for Wizard spells.

New DnD 2024 Wizard Spells

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

Arcane Vigor

A level-two abjuration spell that costs a bonus action to cast, plus verbal and somatic components. You roll one or two of your unused Hit Dice and regain HP equal to the roll’s total, plus your spellcasting ability modifier. The dice are then used up. You can also increase the number of Hit Dice by one for each spell slot level above two that you use.

Drawmij’s Instant Summons

This level-six conjuration spell has a casting time of one minute, but it can also be cast as a ritual. You’ll need a sapphire worth at least 1,000 GP as well as verbal and somatic components. Touch the sapphire and a small object, and you can later use a magic action to name the object and crush the sapphire. Doing so summons the object to your hand instantly.

Elementalism

A transmutation cantrip that costs an action and has a range of 30 feet, Elementalism creates one of five possible effects. Create a breeze, a shroud of dust, harmless embers and smoke, a cool mist, or any one of these elements sculpted into a crude shape.

Jallarzi’s Storm of Radiance

This is a level-five evocation spell with a range of 120 feet and a casting time of one action. It requires verbal, somatic, and material components, and its duration is one minute (with concentration).

The spell creates a 10-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder that blinds and deafens creatures within. They also can’t cast spells with verbal components, and they must pass a Constitution saving throw or take 2d10 radiant and 2d10 thunder damage. Creatures still take half damage on a successful save, and they must repeat the save when they end their turn in the cylinder. For each spell slot above level five you use, you can increase both damage types by 1d10.

Tasha’s Bubbling Cauldron

This is a level-six conjuration spell that requires an action to cast, plus a gilded ladle worth at least 500 GP. It creates a cauldron filled with liquid within five feet of you that lasts for 10 minutes. This liquid is a common or uncommon potion of your choice, and you can pull a potion from the cauldron as a bonus action. The cauldron produces a number of potions equal to your spellcasting ability modifier before it disappears.

Yolande’s Regal Presence

A level-five enchantment spell that costs an action and has verbal, somatic, and material components. It lasts for up to one minute with concentration. You create a 10-foot emanation around yourself that forces creatures within it to make a Wisdom save. On a failure, they take 4d6 psychic damage and become prone, and you can push them up to 10 feet away. They still take half damage on a success.

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 scribble 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 fifth 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 second-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.

DnD Abjurer

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

Abjuration Savant

Abjuration Savant, as the name implies, gives your Wizard additional spells from the abjuration school of magic.

Arcane Ward

Arcane Ward mostly remains the same. Whenever you cast an abjuration spell with a spell slot, you create a ward that lasts until your next long rest. It has a maximum HP equal to twice your Wizard level plus your Intelligence modifier, and the Ward takes damage in your place.

If the Ward reaches zero HP, you take any incoming damage, but the magic is still active. When you cast an abjuration spell with a spell slot, the Ward regains HP equal to twice that spell slot’s level. The 2024 rules now mean that, alternatively, 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

When you see a creature within 30 feet take damage, you can spend a reaction, allowing your Arcane Ward to take that damage instead. If the Ward is reduced to zero HP, the warded creature takes the rest of the damage. In terms of changes, Projected Ward has been slightly tweaked so that the Ward accounts for the target creature’s resistances and vulnerabilities before calculating damage.

Spell Breaker

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 (provided the spell was cast with a spell slot). This means 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.

Spell Resistance

Spell Resistance works exactly as it did in the 2014 rules. You have advantage on saves against spells, and you’re resistant to damage dealt by spells.

DnD 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.

Divination Savant

As we already explained above, all Wizards gain access to a ‘savant’ feature that’s tied to their preferred school of magic. The Diviner gains access to additional divination spells.

Portent

It’s no secret that Portent is one of the most powerful subclass features, and Wizards has taken the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach. When you finish a long rest, you roll two d20s and record the results. At any time before your next long rest, you can replace the result of a d20 test with one of these rolls. This must be done before the roll, and you can only do so once per turn – plus, each of your Portent die results can only be applied once.

Expert Divination

As in the 2014 rules, you regain an expended spell slot any time you cast a divination spell using a spell slot that’s level two or above. The regained slot must be of a lower level than the expended slot, and it can’t be higher than level five.

The Third Eye

The only notable changes come from The Third Eye. It’s still a bonus action which gives you one of several benefits until your next short or long rest. The feature’s options no longer offer Ethereal Sight, but instead gives you significantly buffed Darkvision and See Invisibility, as well as the ability to read any DnD language. Darkvision now grants 120 feet of Darkvision, and you can now cast See Invisibility without expending a spell slot.

Greater Portent

Greater Portent is pretty much identical to its 5e version. You now roll three d20s for Portent rather than two.

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.

DnD Evoker

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

Evocation Savant

Evokers gain access to additional spells from the evocation school of magic. That’s two free spells upfront, plus an extra evocation spell for free whenever you gain access to a new level of spell slots for the Wizard class.

Potent Cantrip

Potent Cantrip and Sculpt Spells have switched places in the progression table, compared to the fifth 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.

Potent Cantrip means that, when casting an offensive cantrip, your target still takes half damage if you fail the attack roll or they pass the saving throw. 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.

Sculpt Spells

While the level you gain Sculpt Spells at has changed, the rest of the ability remains untouched. When you cast evocation spells that affect other creatures you can see, you can choose a number of them equal to the spell’s level plus one. These creatures automatically pass any saving throw against the spell, and they take no damage if a successful save would deal half damage to them.

Empowered Evocation

As in the 2014 rules, you can add your Intelligence modifier to one damage roll for evocation Wizard spells that you cast.

Overchannel

Overchannel works exactly as it did in fifth edition. When you cast a Wizard spell with a spell slot (up to level five) that deals damage, you deal the maximum possible damage on the first turn that you cast the spell.

If you use this feature a second time before you finish a long rest, you take 2d12 necrotic damage for each level of the spell slot used to cast the spell, regardless of any resistances or immunity. If you use Overchannel again, the damage increases by 1d12 each time.

DnD 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.

Illusion Savant

Like all other 2024 Wizard subclasses, the Illusionist gains some extra spells from their favored school of magic – in this case, illusion.

Improved Illusions

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

Phantasmal Creatures replaces Malleable Illusions at the sixth 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.

Illusory Self

When a creature hits you with an attack roll, you can spend a reaction to create an illusionary copy of yourself, causing the attack to miss. This feature can’t be used again until you finish a short or long rest. However, in the 2024 rules, Illusory Self can now be replenished by expending a 2nd-level spell slot or higher (no action required).

Illusory Reality

When you cast an illusion spell with a spell slot, you can make one inanimate, nonmagical object that’s part of the illusion into something real. This can be done as a bonus action while the illusion spell is active, and the object remains real for one minute. It can’t deal damage or inflict conditions. This is as it was in the 2014 rules.

Overall, Illusionist has become a more powerful subclass, thanks to quality-of-life tweaks and potent new features.

Ability Score Improvement

Level: Four, Eight, 12, 16

As in the 2014 rules, you choose one of the following:

• +2 to any one stat
• +1 to two DnD stats
• A new feat

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 first and one second level spell to remain permanently prepared, and able to be cast at the lowest level without using a spell slot.

In the 2024 rules, you can only use first and second-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.

Signature Spells

Level: 20

As in fifth edition, you get to choose two level-three spells from your spellbook to become Signature Spells. These are always prepared, and they can be cast at level three without a spell slot once before you need a short or long rest.

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.