Dungeons and Dragons has been busy playtesting new character options in recent months, and several of them share something in common. They really, really love teleportation. Since D&D's 2024 overhaul, it seems like teleporting subclasses have become a core part of Wizards of the Coast's design MO, and more of the class options crop up all the time.
Some might say that there are too many DnD classes with a teleporting-focused subclass. Those 'somes' might also call this uninspired design that reveals the limitations of constantly reinventing the game's character options. Others might simply think it's not that deep. Wherever you stand on teleportation, you can't deny that it's a prominent part of playing 5e - so we've ranked all the teleporting subclasses we could find.
Defining the teleporting subclass
D&D currently has four of what we'd call the 'teleporting subclasses'. We've defined these as subclasses where the ability to teleport is a significant part of their class identity. Typically, these options have more than one subclass feature dedicated to teleportation, or they have one particularly potent signature feature.
There are plenty of other subclasses that can teleport, but their playstyle and class identity are less shaped by this power. Take, for example, the Circle of the Moon Druid 5e, who gets a subclass feature dedicated to teleportation, but is better known for their powerful, combat-focused Wild Shapes.
Beyond the published DnD books, Wizards of the Coast is currently playtesting two new and one updated subclass that focus heavily on teleporting. Presuming that these will be made official later on in the DnD release schedule, that brings our total up to seven.
Each of these subclasses belongs to a different core class, so seven out of 14 get a teleportation option. Note that this includes the Psion, the all-new class that's currently in playtesting, as well as the Artificer 5e.
With that established, let's start the ranking. From worst to best, here they are:
7. Cartographer Artificer
The Cartographer is a brand-new subclass appearing in the December sourcebook Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. As such, we've only seen the playtest version - and we're not too impressed by it. Hopefully the final draft has been amped up.
The Artificer is a versatile class that juggles support, utility, and damage-dealing roles thanks to a mix of spells and a heavy use of DnD magic items. Some added agility would improve their status as an all-rounder, but the Cartographer gives us teleportation powers with plenty of caveats.
Firstly, you can't cast Misty Step at all without relying on some DnD feats. Your first chance to teleport comes at level three, when you can spend half your movement to teleport a measly 10 feet. That's 15 feet of movement to move 10 feet, and because you can't benefit from the feature while your speed is zero, you can't even use it to break a grapple.
By level five, you can teleport 60 feet, but only a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier. That's essentially a Misty Step with extended range that doesn't cost you a spell slot. Level five is where most DnD character builds tend to 'come online', so spending it on a basic teleportation feature feels wasteful.
Things get a lot better from level nine onwards. You can add a free teleport to your Flash of Genius, and you can teleport downed allies to your side and immediately stabilize them. Both are efficient and handy ways to provide support, but they come far too late to make the Cartographer enticing.
6. Psi Warper Psion
Not only is this subclass still in playtesting, the whole damn class is. Wizards of the Coast is hoping to add the Psion to the main roster, but the whole thing is still in the development stages. Maybe that's why the Psi Warper Psion feels a bit underwhelming.
One of its two level-three features gives you the ability to Misty Step once per long rest without a spell slot. That saves you picking up the Fey-Touched feat at level four, but it offers you less value for your impatience.
By level six, you can immediately cast a free Psion cantrip after using Misty Step, but given that most of your options are for utility, this doesn't seem like a strategic revolution.
The Psi Warper gradually picks up some interesting area control features, and it can easily swap places with willing creatures as a reaction, which is extremely efficient. Finally, the subclass capstone gives you a method of mass teleportation - though it can't transport the whole party if you and your NPC companions number more than four or five.
The Psi Warper has the potential to become an interesting control-focused subclass, but its current features are a bit all over the place. Plus, we don't feel like the ability to teleport overhauls or improves the core class in any significant way. Finally, like the Cartographer, things don't get really interesting until you're in the upper tiers of DnD level ups - and some campaigns never make it that far.
5. Warrior of Shadow Monk
Shadow Monks are all about skulking in darkness and using it to their advantage. For some reason, that involves a lot of teleporting - though this subclass doesn't get that power until level six.
Even then, they can only teleport from and to dim light or darkness. They can create a moveable blob of Darkness to concentrate on from turn to turn, but this is still a fiddly setup for 60 feet of teleportation. The payoff is that you gain advantage on your next melee attack after teleporting, but knocking someone prone achieves the same thing.
D&D comes to the rescue at level 11 and removes that limitation entirely, but that's after more than half of your adventuring career. Your reward for waiting that long is the ability to make an unarmed strike as part of the teleport. That's nice for a class whose whole schtick is cramming multiple body shots into a turn, but it's not explosive.
We can't help but feel that, if you want a teleporting Monk 5e, you should just pick up the Fey-Touched feat rather than go all in on the Shadow subclass. It saves you all that hassle with Darkness-themed mechanics, which don't offer too much damage or utility anyhow.
4. Path of the World Tree Barbarian
We're fond of the World Tree Barbarian 5e because it addresses a few problems that the core class has. Ranged attackers are usually the bane of a Barb, who isn't well-designed for sprinting from target to target. This subclass uses teleportation to make the whole Rage thing a little smoother.
You don't gain teleportation powers until level six, and even then, you're only able to move creatures that fail a Strength saving throw. Your odds should be pretty good against enemy spellcasters, but results aren't guaranteed, which is always a bit of a bummer.
You yourself don't get to teleport until level 14, but at least you get unlimited access to it. High-level World Tree Barbarians can teleport any time they Rage or as a bonus action during that Rage. It's got a range of 60 feet - or 150 feet once per Rage - and you can bring up to six nearby creatures with you.
That Fey-Touched feat still looks appealing for lower-level teleportation, but otherwise these seem like appropriately leveled benefits. The only other downside is that you're playing a Barbarian - a mid-tier martial class whose damage output tends to pale at higher levels compared to their Fighter buddies.
3. Conjuration Wizard
On the other end of the spectrum, the Conjuration is a good pick because, when you strip the subclass away, you're still playing a Wizard 5e. It's far from our favorite Wizard subclass, but it's incredibly effective without teleportation - and slightly more powerful with it.
The Conjuration Wizard wasn't always so obsessed with teleportation. In the 2014 rules, it had only the Benign Transportation feature. However, in recent playtesting for the upcoming Forgotten Realms books, the subclass has replaced two of its old features with upgrades for its teleporting powers.
Benign Transportation starts out as an action that lets you teleport 30 feet once per long rest. If there's a willing creature in the space you want to end up in, you can swap with them. It's a sluggish, limited form of teleportation versus Misty Step, but it can be invaluable if you want two people moved at once. And, unlike the Psi Warper, you don't have to wait until egregiously high levels to use it.
The range of this feature becomes 60 feet at level six, and you can use it once per short or long rest. The subclass spends the rest of its time focusing on casting improved summoning and AoE spells until level 14. At this point, your Benign Transposition becomes a bonus action - or a reaction you can take after a creature attacks you.
At low levels, you'll use Benign Transposition intermittently, as a spell will usually take precedence in your action slot. However, it becomes increasingly easy to use alongside your truly excellent Wizard spell list - which, y'know, still includes Misty Step.
2. Archfey Warlock
The Archfey is the most efficient of all the teleporting subclasses. From the get-go, it can cast Misty Step with a variety of free benefits.
At first, this might be gaining temporary HP or giving nearby creatures disadvantage on attacks against anyone but you. Later, you can Misty Step as a reaction when you take damage, turn invisible after moving, or dole out some psychic damage to nearby enemies.
By the time you reach the subclass capstone, you can cast Misty Step for free after casting any enchantment or illusion spell with your action and a spell slot. This class doesn't do much else other than teleport, but doing so is flexible and leaves your Warlock free to spam their usual Eldritch Blasts. For such a squishy Warlock 5e with so few slots to spend, there's lots of appeal.
1. Echo Knight Fighter
We weren't sure whether to add the Echo Knight 5e to this list. Firstly, it's from a Critical Role sourcebook, so it's far from a standard, in-house-designed subclass. Secondly, teleportation makes up a fairly small part of its subclass rules. It's really a sub-feature of another subclass feature - but man that feature is powerful. So much of this subclass is about maneuverability and acting from alarmingly far-away spaces that we felt it needed including.
Once you pick this subclass, your Fighter 5e can manifest an echo within 15 feet. You can teleport and swap places with the echo as a bonus action, or you can make attacks from its space. You will need to spend movement to use that teleportation, but there are no other major restrictions on its use.
The rest of the subclass is solely dedicated to making this echo stronger, allowing you to make extra attacks with it and swap spaces more efficiently. Eventually, you'll be able to use its senses and, as long as you don't mind being blinded and deafened, move it up to 1,000 feet away. The rules don't say that you can't attack or swap places while this is happening. While the chances of you getting to exploit that are vanishingly rare, it's still a ridiculous level of teleportation.
This is a deceptively simple subclass that makes the core Fighter class (already an excellent striker) even better at its primary role. Honestly, it seems a bit broken compared to D&D's usual designs. It's also incredibly unique flavor-wise, something that has appealed to many roleplayers since its release.
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