2024 Wizard vs. 2014 Wizard: What’s New

by Davyd Barker
Jun 27, 2024
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Tags author-davyd-atkins Player's Handbook

Masters of the arcane arts, scholars of the esoteric, and delvers of eldritch secrets, the Wizard class wields the forces of magic with greater poise and prowess in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Ten years of study have paid off as we look at the changes and tweaks made to one of the most iconic classes of Dungeons & Dragons.

Below, we cover key changes to the 2024 Wizard you’ll find in the new Player’s Handbook. If you don’t see a feature covered, such as Signature Spells, that means it is unchanged from the 2014 Wizard, or only saw very minor changes.

The 2024 Player’s Handbook is Now Available!

Buy the 2024 Player’s Handbook today and dive into revised rules, enhanced character options, and exciting gameplay innovations.

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What's New for the 2024 Wizard?
Class Feature	Level	What's New
Spellcasting	1	Number of prepared spells is now a fixed number in the Wizard table. Can replace one cantrip each Long Rest. Spellbooks can be used as spellcasting foci. Backing up your spellbook is faster and cheaper. Ritual Casting has been removed from Spellcasting. Classes can now cast any prepared spells with the Ritual tag as a Ritual.
Ritual Adept	1	Functions the same as the ritual casting rules for the 2014 Wizard, but these rules are now housed under their own feature.
Scholar	2	Gain Expertise in a select skill.
Wizard Subclass	3	Moved up to level 3 from level 2. All Wizard subclasses get two free spells from their school and another free spell each time they gain access to a new level of spell slot. Abjurer: Arcane Ward can now be refilled directly using spell slots and you get Counterspell and Dispel Magic as always prepared spells, and they don’t use spell slots if they fail. Diviner: Largely the same, although The Third Eye gives 120-foot Darkvision and the ability to cast See Invisibility without a spell slot. Evoker: Potent Cantrip and Sculpt Spells have swapped places. Potent Cantrip now applies to missed spell attacks as well as successful Saving Throws. Illusionist: You can ignore Verbal components for Illusion spells and can cast Minor Illusion as a Bonus Action. Get Summon Beast and Summon Fey as always prepared spells that can also be cast once per Long Rest without a spell slot.
Memorize Spell	5	Swap one prepared spell for one in your spellbook each Short Rest.
Spell Mastery	18	Chosen spells must now have a casting time of one action, but count as always prepared. You can swap a spell on a Long Rest rather than using 8 hours of study, but only one per Long Rest.
Epic Boon	19	Choose one Epic Boon feat, or another feat of your choice.

2024 Wizard Class Features Overview

A human wizard levitates in a dome of golden energy.

Spellcasting — Level 1

The Wizard’s Spellcasting feature hasn’t seen a huge number of changes but has certainly received some quality-of-life improvements. The most immediate difference you’ll notice is that Wizards no longer use their Intelligence modifier plus Wizard level to determine their number of prepared spells, instead referring to a fixed value listed in the Wizard table.

Pulling a page from Igwilv’s spellbook, the Cantrip Formulas optional class feature from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything is now a core spellcasting feature. Also, spellbooks receive a bit of love, with more defined properties, the ability to be used as a Spellcasting Focus, and are now impossible to read by anyone but you without the use of Identify.

Ritual Adept— Level 1

The 2024 Wizard still gets special treatment in the Ritual department, as seen in their other level 1 feature, Ritual Adept. As long as a spell with the Ritual tag is in your spellbook and you read the spell from your spellbook, you can cast it as a Ritual without needing to prepare it.

Scholar — Level 2

The 2024 Wizard has become much more multidisciplinary and can gain Expertise in one of the following skills that they’re proficient in: Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, Nature, or Religion.

Wizard Subclass— Level 3

A gnome wizard blocks a hostile incoming spell with a dome of force.

Wizards now pick their subclass at level 3. But, an extra level of study has paid off! Their Savant features now allow them access to two free level 1 or level 2 spells of their associated school rather than a reduction of cost and time when copying new spells. Additionally, thanks to the new Savant feature, they get to add a spell from their chosen school to their spellbook each time they unlock a new level of spell slot in the Wizard class.

Abjurer: Formerly the School of Abjuration, you’ll notice that the Abjurer’s signature Arcane Ward feature has had its language clarified, and you can refill it directly as a Bonus Action by expending a spell slot. At level 10, Abjurer Wizards get a new feature called Spell Breaker which, in addition to absorbing 2014's Improved Abjuration, grants Counterspell and Dispel Magic as always prepared spells, the latter being able to be cast as a Bonus Action. But the real standout of this feature is that if you use either spell and fail, no spell slot is consumed!
Diviner: The Diviner subclass doesn’t see many changes from its previous incarnation as the School of Divination, other than some refinements to The Third Eye. The feature now uses a Bonus Action, and the Darkvision feature has increased its range to 120 feet. The See Invisibility option now allows you to cast the See Invisibility spell without using a spell slot, combining and boosting the benefits of the 2014 Ethereal Sight and See Invisibility benefits.
Evoker: The most explosive Wizard subclass has seen Potent Cantrip and Sculpt Spells swap places, with the former now applying half damage on missed spell attacks as well as successful saving throws against your cantrips. Beyond this, the subclass is largely unchanged from the 2014 Wizard's School of Evocation.
Illusionist: Despite a multitude of improvements, the first you’ll notice is Improved Illusions, which absorbs Improved Minor Illusion and includes new benefits—it now also allows you to ignore Verbal components for Illusion spells and increases the range of certain spells. At level 6, Illusionists get the new Phantasmal Creatures feature which grants Summon Beast and Summon Fey as always prepared spells. These can be cast as Illusion spells, which summons a modified version of the creature, and also allows a free casting of each once per Long Rest. Finally, Illusory Self has been clarified to trigger on a hit instead of an attack roll, and it can be restored by expending a level 2+ spell slot without requiring any action.

Memorize Spell — Level 5

A new level 5 feature, Wizards can now swap out one prepared spell for one in their spellbook whenever they take a Short Rest.

Spell Mastery — Level 18

Spell Mastery sees a few minor changes, starting with the limitation that the chosen spells must have a casting time of one action, and you can only swap one spell at a time rather than both. However, the chosen spells now count as always prepared and can be swapped out on a Long Rest rather than requiring 8 hours of dedicated study.

Epic Boon — Level 19

Previously a special reward found in the 2014 Dungeon Master’s Guide, Epic Boons have made their way over to the 2024 Player’s Handbook as a new type of feat with the prerequisite of being level 19+. While Wizards can take any of the twelve Epic Boons, the recommended pick is the Boon of Spell Recall, which we’ll look at here:

Boon of Spell Recall: Increase your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma ability score by 1 up to a maximum of 30, and when you cast a spell using a level 1-4 spell slot, roll 1d4. If you roll the spell's level, the slot isn’t expended.

Turn to Page One of Your Spellbook

The 2024 Player’s Handbook is now available on the D&D Beyond marketplace, which means it's time to set out on new adventures with fresh or familiar characters!

Much like the spellbook of a level 20 Wizard, the pages of the 2024 Player’s Handbook contain a plethora of exciting arcane options in the form of the 2024 Wizard class. Always the spellcasting class with the most toys and tools at their disposal, the new and improved Wizard has even more options at their crackling fingertips.

We’re delighted to share with you the changes to fifth edition D&D that appear in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Make sure to keep an eye out on D&D Beyond for more useful guides on using the wealth of new options, rules, and mechanics found in the 2024 Player's Handbook!

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