2024 Cleric vs. 2014 Cleric: What’s New

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The Cleric is one of the most versatile and formidable spellcasting classes in Dungeons & Dragons. Frequently underrated as meek sideline healers, Clerics can hold their own next to Fighters and other martial classes. A Cleric knows that the best way to keep your allies on their feet is often to chop your enemies off at theirs. The 2024 Player’s Handbook recognizes the raw divine power that Clerics bring to the table and offers you a smorgasbord of customizable options like Divine Strikes or Potent Spellcasting to build out heroes worthy of the gods they champion.

Below, we’ll highlight key changes to the 2024 Cleric that you’ll find in the new Player’s Handbook. If there’s a feature we don’t cover, such as basic spellcasting, that means it remains unchanged or only saw minor changes.

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What's New for the 2024 Cleric?

Class Feature

Level

What's New

Divine Order

1
  • Select one of two sacred roles:
  • Protector: Grants proficiency in Martial weapons and Heavy armor
  • Thaumaturge: Gain an extra cantrip. Add Wisdom modifier to Intelligence (Arcana or Religion) checks.

Channel Divinity

2
  • Adds Divine Spark, another way for Clerics to use Channel Divinity in addition to Turn Undead.
  • Clerics have one more use of Channel Divinity across the board (so, two uses at level 2, three uses at level 6, etc.).

Cleric Subclasses

3
  • Selected at level 3, instead of level 1.
  • Life Domain: Aid has been added to your Domain spells, and Disciple of Life and Preserve Life have received small tweaks.
  • Light Domain: See Invisibility has been added to your Domain spells. Warding Flare and Improved Warding Flare are better at protecting your allies, and Corona of Light makes it harder for enemies to resist your Radiance of Dawn and spells that deal Radiant or Fire damage
  • Trickery Domain: You can use Blessing of the Trickster on yourself, Invoke Duplicity is easier to use in combat, and Improved Duplicity now grants Advantage on your and your ally's attacks and can heal when it ends. Plus, there have been some significant spell list changes.
  • War Domain: Your Channel Divinity can be used to cast Shield of Faith or Spiritual Weapon without using a spell slot or requiring Concentration. There have also been some spell list changes and War Priest allows you to make an Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action and recharges after either a Short or Long Rest.
  • Previous level 1 and 2 subclass abilities are accessed at level 3.

Sear Undead

5
  • Replaces Destroy Undead, instead deals Radiant damage to every Undead, regardless of CR, that fails their saving throw against your Turn Undead.

Blessed Strikes

7
  • Select one option:
  • Divine Strike: Deal an additional 1d8 Radiant or Necrotic damage when you hit a creature with an attack roll.
  • Potent Spellcasting: Add your Wisdom modifier to damage dealt with a Cleric cantrip.

Divine Intervention

10
  • As a Magic action, choose any Cleric spell of level 5 or lower that doesn’t require a reaction. You can cast it without needing Material components or expending a spell slot.
  • Restores after Long Rest.

Improved Blessed Strikes

14
  • Divine Strikes: Damage increases to 2d8.
  • Potent spellcasting: When you deal damage with a Cleric cantrip, you can grant yourself or another Temporary Hit Points.

Epic Boon

19
  • Choose one Epic Boon feat or another qualifying feat of your choice.

Greater Divine Intervention

20
  • You can cast Wish when selecting a spell for Divine Intervention. After used this way, you cannot use Divine Intervention again for 2d4 days.

2024 Cleric Class Features Overview

Artist: Michael BroussardA dwarf cleric sheathed in radiant light holds a glowing mace aloft.

Divine Order — Level 1

As you’ve likely noticed, the biggest change to the 2024 Cleric is that you no longer receive a subclass at level 1. This might take a little getting used to, but there is a pretty beneficial new feature in the exchange. In the 2014 Cleric, some subclasses carried the features of Heavy armor training and Martial weapon proficiency. But some didn’t.

Now when you build a 2024 Cleric, you get to decide for yourself if you want:

  • Protector: Proficiency with Martial weapons and training with Heavy armor.
  • Thaumaturge: An extra cantrip from the Cleric spell list. You also gain a bonus to your Intelligence (Arcana or Religion) checks equal to your Wisdom modifier (minimum of +1).

Moving this feature out of the subclass column into the base Cleric perks gives you a lot more customizability for your role in the world from the jump. This is a repeated theme with the 2024 Cleric, as we hinted at above and will get into below.

Channel Divinity — Level 2

An upgrade from the 2014 Cleric, you gain two uses of Channel Divinity at level 2 and get an extra usage at level 6. You also get more options on how to use it as a base Cleric:

  • Divine Spark: This is actually a two-fer! As a Magic action, you can focus divine energy towards a creature you can see within 30 feet of yourself. Then you can choose to heal or harm them. You roll a 1d8 and add your Wisdom modifier, and if you’re choosing to heal, they’ll recover that number in Hit Points. This ability scales up as you gain levels, with 2d8 at level 7, 3d8 at level 13, and 4d8 at level 18. But you can also force the creature to make a Constitution saving throw and deal that number in your choice of Radiant or Necrotic damage if they fail the save, or half that if they succeed.
  • Turn Undead: Turn Undead at level 2 remains mostly the same. The 2024 Player’s Handbook specifies that the Undead creatures who fail their save against your Channel Divinity (equal to your spell save DC) have the Frightened and Incapacitated conditions for 1 minute. It still uses its movement to get as far away as possible but no longer uses its action to Dash, thanks to the Incapacitated condition.

Building off the major change from level 1, the 2024 Cleric’s level 2 looks different in that you aren’t getting a Channel Divinity feature from your subclass yet. Don’t fret, those will be coming along at level 3, and your patience is rewarded by getting a whole new use of Channel Divinity that isn’t tied to your subclass.

Turn Undead is certainly one of those quintessential Cleric abilities, but sometimes there just aren’t any Zombies around. Having a default ability that lets you heal up some allies or deal some damage to an enemy is a nice little perk and a welcome addition to the Channel Divinity feature. Heck, you might even be able to get away with not preparing any healing spells and just holding onto those Divine Sparks for when your party runs head-first into the enemy’s blades.

Cleric Subclass — Level 3

Artist: Irina NordsolA Cleric performing a ritual to prepare their spells.

At level 3, the 2024 Cleric gains their subclass. This brings the Cleric in line with the other class options in the 2024 Player’s Handbook.

It’s important to note that while mechanically, you don’t get the benefit of subclass features till level 3, that doesn’t mean you can’t roleplay your Cleric’s connection with their deity at prior levels. It also gives you the opportunity to play your character for a couple of levels before feeling like you need to decide on a subclass. This can be helpful if you follow a deity who straddles different domains. A Cleric of Selune, for example, could easily be of the Light or Trickster Domain.

The 2024 Player’s Handbook presents four familiar domains for Clerics, and with one exception, the features are nearly identical to their 2014 Cleric version. Each of these subclasses has also had some adjustments to their always-prepared Domain Spells, including new spells for each.

  • Life Domain: Disciple of Life and Preserve Life have moved to level 3, and Blessed Strike has become a base Cleric ability. But your Domain Spells of Bless, Cure Wounds, and Lesser Restoration have been joined by Aid, which replaces Spiritual Weapon as a Life Domain spell. Disciple of Life is now restricted to only the turn that you cast the spell, and you can now use Preserve Life on Undead and Constructs.
  • Light Domain: These holy light bulbs’ Warding Flare and Radiance of the Dawn abilities are available at level 3. See Invisibility replaces Flaming Sphere as a Light Domain spell. Warding Flare works on other creatures from the start, instead of just yourself, as in the 2014 version. Improved Warding Flare lets you grant Temporary Hit Points to the target of the triggering attack, and it lets you regain your expended uses of Warding Flare when you finish a Short Rest. Finally, Corona of Light imposes Disadvantage against Radiance of the Dawn as well as spells dealing Fire or Radiant damage.
  • Trickery Domain: These mischievous Clerics now gain Blessing of the Trickster and Invoke Duplicity at level 3. Blessing of the Trickster can now be used on yourself, and it lasts until you finish a Long Rest (instead of 1 hour) or until you use this feature again. Invoke Duplicity now takes a Bonus Action instead of an action and no longer requires Concentration. For Domain Spells, Invisibility replaces Mirror Image, Hypnotic Pattern and Nondetection replace Blink and Dispel Magic, and Confusion replaces Polymorph. At level 17, your illusion grants Advantage to you and your allies when they attack a creature within 5 feet of it, and when the illusion ends, you can grant a number of Hit Points equal to your Cleric level to a creature within 5 feet of it.
  • War Domain: You can now make an Unarmed Strike with the Bonus Action conferred by the War Priest feature, and you regain all uses of War Priest after either a Short or Long Rest. Also, Guiding Bolt, Fire Shield, and Steel Wind Strike replace Divine Favor, Stoneskin, and Flame Strike, respectively, as War Domain spells. Finally, the level 6 feature War God’s Blessing has been changed from a bonus to an attack roll and now allows you to cast Shield of Faith or Spiritual Weapon without a spell slot, and without requiring Concentration, for up to 1 minute.

Sear Undead — Level 5

Taking the spirit of the 2014 Destroy Undead ability and reimagining it in a way that gives it more utility in battle, Sear Undead is a big upgrade for your 2024 Cleric. With Sear Undead, whenever you use your Channel Divinity to Turn Undead, you can roll a number of d8s equal to your Wisdom modifier. Each Undead, regardless of CR level, that failed their save against your Turn Undead suffers Radiant damage equal to your roll, and the Turn Undead effect also remains in place.

This exciting change really ups the effectiveness of this Channel Divinity for all 2024 Clerics. The CR threshold in previous versions often meant that Destroy Undead had very limited use. It was rare that a party of level 5 adventurers was still facing off against CR ½ monsters, so it was always kind of an all-or-nothing effect. With Sear Undead, you can potentially deal damage to every Undead within 30 feet. With even a +2 or +3 Wisdom modifier, you still have a chance of destroying Undead, but if not, they’ll still take a hefty amount of damage.

Blessed Strikes — Level 7

A variation on Blessed Strikes was introduced as an optional level 8 rule in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and has now become a standard feature of the class in the 2024 Player’s Handbook at level 7.

When you first level up to level 7, you choose one of the following two options:

  • Divine Strike: Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack roll, you can add an extra 1d8 of your choice of Radiant or Necrotic damage.
  • Potent Spellcasting: Add your Wisdom modifier to the damage dealt with any Cleric cantrip.

Neither of these choices is wholly new to the Cleric class, but previously they were tied to your domain. Some subclasses had empowered strikes and others had a boost to their spellcasting. Moving them to the base class and letting players choose which option you get ups the customizability of the Cleric by choosing the mechanics that best fit your playstyle regardless of the flavor of your domain.

Because the 2024 Player’s Handbook is designed to work with previously published D&D fifth edition sourcebooks, if you’re using a subclass found in an older book that has either feature as an ability, you only select one option for your 2024 Cleric.

Divine Intervention — Level 10

Few features in D&D live at the perfect intersection of flavorfully cool but functionally frustrating as the 2014 Divine Intervention. Because it required the use of percentile dice, the odds of it actually working were usually fairly slim, and when it did, the feature was written in a way that was a bit too vague. This led to a lot of discussion of how it would work in the moment. The feature often boiled down to the effect of a Cleric spell, so the difficulty of using it and the 7-day delay in even attempting it again added up to a pretty steep barrier of entry for an ultimately middling impact.

The 2024 Divine Intervention takes a big step up in clarity and functionality. The feature now allows a player to choose any Cleric spell of level 5 or lower that doesn’t require a Reaction to cast, and you can cast it without expending a spell slot or Material components. The 7-day delay in using it again is gone now as well, meaning you can invoke Divine Intervention again after completing a Long Rest.

The changes to Divine Intervention really emphasize the 2024 Cleric’s role as a conduit to their chosen god. Giving them ostensibly a once-per-day ability to pack a powerful punch, or pull out a spell like Revivify in a clutch moment, plays into the spirit of the feature while also providing a mechanic that feels like it can be actively used.

Improved Blessed Strikes — Level 14

The Blessed Strike feature at level 7 lets you customize if your Cleric emphasizes cantrip casting or weapon attacks as their main form of combat. At level 14, you see a boost to the option you previously chose.

  • Divine Strike: If you chose Divine Strike at level 7, you now get a 2d8 of extra Radiant or Necrotic damage when you hit a creature with a weapon attack.
  • Potent Spellcasting: When you deal damage with a Cleric cantrip, you can grant Temporary Hit Points equal to twice your Wisdom modifier to yourself or another creature within 60 feet of you.

Both options can be pretty useful for a Cleric, whether you’re trying to take an enemy down faster or trying to help you or an ally stay on their feet just a little longer.

Epic Boon — Level 19

Epic Boons are a new type of feat introduced in the revised core ruleset, that all carry a prerequisite of level 19+ to access. A level 19 Cleric has access to one Epic Boon of their choice or another feat they qualify for. There are twelve Epic Boons found in the 2024 Player’s Handbook.

The following is the recommended Epic Boon for the Cleric:

  • Boon of Fate: Increase one ability score by 1, to a maximum of 30. When you or another creature within 60 feet of you succeeds or fails on a D20 Test, you can roll 2d4 and add or subtract the result from the d20 roll. Once you use this feat you can’t use it again until you complete a Short Rest, a Long Rest, or roll for Initiative.

Greater Divine Intervention — 20

The level 20 version of Divine Intervention for the 2024 Cleric truly leans into the idea of your Cleric being your god’s most special princess. Now your Cleric can use their Divine Intervention to cast the Wish spell.

The features of the Wish spell are largely similar in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, so the complications that can result from using it and the toll that it takes on the caster’s body and health really fit the mold of the impact on a mortal Cleric who is fully opening themselves up to the full might of their god’s power. After using Divine Intervention to cast Wish, you'll need to wait 2d4 Long Rests before using the feature again.

Pray for the Cleric’s Enemies

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!

The 2024 Cleric continues the tradition of pure divine fury with new combat options and clarity-of-use updates that will help you move into the fray. Now regardless of your Domain, your Cleric can bring the radiant smackdown on a foe or kick up the impact of a Toll the Dead by adding more damage. And if being a back-line support healer is more your Cleric vibe, you’ve got a bevy of new healing options like Divine Spark and Divine Intervention that can boost you and your allies when the chips are down.

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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Riley Silverman (@rileyjsilverman) is a contributing writer to D&D Beyond, Nerdist, and SYFY Wire. She DMs the Theros-set Dice Ex Machina for the Saving Throw Show, and has been a player on the Wizards of the Coast-sponsored The Broken Pact. Riley also played as Braga in the official tabletop adaptation of the Rat Queens comic for HyperRPG, and currently plays as The Doctor on the Doctor Who RPG podcast The Game of Rassilon. She currently lives in Los Angeles.

 This article was updated on August 13, 2024, to issue corrections or expand coverage for the following features and subclasses:

  • Channel Divinity: Clarified that you now get one more use of Channel Divinity at all levels, compared to the 2014 Cleric.
  • Cleric Subclass (Life Domain): Expanded coverage to outline the full breadth of changes.
  • Cleric Subclass (Light Domain): Expanded coverage to outline the full breadth of changes.
  • Cleric Subclass (Trickery Domain): Expanded coverage to outline the full breadth of changes.
  • Cleric Subclass (War Domain): Expanded coverage to outline the full breadth of changes.
  • Divine Intervention: Clarified that this ability allows you to ignore Material components.

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