DnD 2024 Wizard class guide

Famed for their arcane prowess and squishy early-game hit points, the DnD 2024 Wizard can be a tough class for a Dungeons and Dragons newbie – but incredibly rewarding if you put the work in. This guide will walk you through all the classes’ main features, and show you how Wizards progress in DnD.

With an astonishingly large spell roster and class abilities that only boost your magic further, the Wizard is an obvious choice for anyone who would rather hurl a fireball than swing a sword. It’s no surprise they’re one of the most popular DnD classes, and with a few minor upgrades made from the 2014 Wizard 5e, that’s not about to change.

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

Proficiencies and equipment

From level one, Wizards have proficiency in Simple weapons, so they can swing a club or dagger if their magic somehow deserts them. They get no armor proficiencies, but can choose two from a wide range of skills – in particular, no knowledge based skill is off limits to them, which makes sense since a Wizard’s main DnD stat is intelligence.

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

DnD 2024 Wizard Spellcasting

Level: One

A Wizard who can’t cast spells is more of a Wizardn’t, so naturally you get spellcasting from first level. You have a spellbook, and learn an ever-increasing number of spells as you level up. This spellbook, or an arcane focus, can be used as your spellcasting focus to cast your magic.

You can’t store all the spells jotted down in your book in your mind at once, however. Instead, you choose a predetermined number of prepared spells from your book, and can cast any of those that day. You can swap around your prepared spells, and also pick new cantrips, whenever you take a Long Rest.

Intelligence is the Wizard’s spellcasting ability, determining your Spell Save DC and attack modifier.

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’re familiar with the 5e spells, it might be helpful to check out the biggest spell changes in DnD 2024.

For now, though, let’s dig into the rest 0f the Wizard class abilities:

Ritual Adept

Level: One

Ritual Adept 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 flexible feature makes picking up ritual spells much more rewarding, since you don’t have to ‘waste’ a prepared spell on them.

Arcane Recovery

Level: One

A Wizard’s staple, Arcane Recovery, makes your spellcasting go further. Once per Long Rest, you can restore expended Spell Slots equal to half your Wizard level, rounding up.

Scholar

Level: Two

The Scholar feature grants a Wizard 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.

Wizard Subclass

Level: Three

Just like every other DnD class, the Wizard picks their subclass at third level. You can find all four of the DnD 2024 subclasses for the Wizard down below.

Ability Score Improvement

Level: Four, Eight, 12, 16

This crops up four times in a Wizard’s career progression, letting you boost your stats, or pick up a DnD 2024 feat.

• +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

Aside from tasty new spells, much of the rest of the Wizard’s class progression comes from their Wizard subclass, but at level 18 they get the Spell Mastery feature.

This lets lets them pick one first and one second level spell to remain permanently prepared, and they’re able to cast it at the lowest possible level without expending a spell slot (‘upcasting’ still burns a slot).

Essentially this gives you a super cantrip, though it works out better to take something with utility rather than a damage dealing option. Think things that work outside of combat like Feather Fall or Enlarge/Reduce. Defensive spells like Shield and Misty step can also be a good choice.

Don’t stress too much about your Spell Mastery pick, however, as you just need to take a Long Rest and you can swap one of them out for another.

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

At max level, 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.

DnD 2024 Wizard subclasses

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

The core Wizard subclasses represent different DnD schools of magic, from Abjuration to Illusion. A big change has been made to he Savant ability, which all subclasses receive.

In DnD 2024, Savant lets Wizards choose two extra Wizard spells, no higher than second-level, from their subclass’s school. In addition to this, whenever you gain access to a new level of spell slot from Wizard levels (for instance you get your first third level spell slot at Wizard level five), you can add one Wizard spell of that spell slot’s level, and matching your school, to your spellbook for free.

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

DnD Abjurer

Abjurers are all about protective magic that can shield allies or disrupt other forms of magic, breaking spells or banishing certain creatures.

Abjuration Savant

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

Arcane Ward

Whenever you cast an abjuration spell with a spell slot, you create a ward that lasts until your next long rest. It takes damage in your place until it wears off or is destroyed, and has a maximum HP equal to twice your Wizard level plus your Intelligence modifier.

If the Ward reaches zero HP, you take any leftover 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.

In addition, you can 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. You apply 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’.

Spell Resistance

With Spell Resistance, you have advantage on saves against spells, and you’re resistant to damage dealt by spells.

DnD Diviner

Diviners are the brainy Wizards who seek magical knowledge, looking through space and time to see the future.

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, providing a game-changing effect that’s strong all campaign long. 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 can effect your own rolls or those made by a creature you can see, allowing you to help your friends in a clutch moment, or mess up your enemies. However, the decision to use Portent must be made before the roll, and you can only use it once per turn – plus, each of your Portent die results can only be applied once. Choose wisely.

Expert Divination

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

In DnD 2024 rules, The Third Eye has been significantly buffed. You get 120 feet of Darkvision, can cast See Invisibility without expending a spell slot, and gain the ability to read any DnD language.

Greater Portent

This just upgrades Portent, which sounds underwhelming, but did we mention how good Portent is? You now roll three d20s for Portent each morning (long rest) rather than two.

DnD Evoker

The resident damage-dealing subclass is all about blasting fools with various types of arcane energy.

Evocation Savant

Evokers gain access to additional spells from the evocation school of magic. In case you need reminding, 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 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.

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.

Sculpt Spells

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.

Sculpt Spells now comes in later, when you have more powerful magical nukes that can really take advantage of the feature.

Empowered Evocation

You can add your Intelligence modifier to one damage roll whenever you cast an evocation Wizard spell.

Overchannel

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 receives a shake up in 2024, with more useful tricksy abilities that can fool the senses.

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 spell Minor Illusion as a free bonus cantrip (or a different cantrip if you have it already). Your Minor Illusions are a cut above other spellcasters, as you can create both a sound and an image in one go, and cast the spell with a Bonus Action.

Phantasmal Creatures

Phantasmal Creatures means 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 be used once and is replenished when you finish a short or long rest. You can also expend a 2nd-level spell slot or higher to replenish the feature, and this can be done instantly, with 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.

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.