Unearthed Arcana has opened its pages again, and familiar arcane subclasses have returned after some tweaks.
The Fighter’s Arcane Archer subclass features a new arsenal of abilities to use in and out of combat. The Monk’s Tattooed Warrior subclass manifests its magical ink in new ways. And the Wizard subclasses—Conjurer, Enchanter, Necromancer, and Transmuter—have each been reshaped to better embody their arcane traditions.
You can read the full playtest packet yourself or click below for highlights from each subclass, which include designer insights from Ben Petrisor and Makenzie De Armas.
- Arcane Archer (Fighter)
- Tattooed Warrior (Monk)
- Conjurer (Wizard)
- Enchanter (Wizard)
- Necromancer (Wizard)
- Transmuter (Wizard)

Arcane Archer (Fighter)
Player feedback pointed that while they enjoyed the streamlining of the Arcane Shot Die, they didn’t find the die upgrades exciting. In this update, we’ve added several new features across levels. Magical Ammunition gives the Arcane Archer ways to have “trick shots” outside of combat.
Arcane Burst adds the benefit of pushing creatures away from you when you use the Indomitable feature, and Masterful Shots lets you reposition and attack after a creature misses you. Both features aim to give the Fighter the ability to keep fighting from a distance and make them difficult to pin down.
Tattooed Warrior (Monk)
Player feedback showed that the initial design did not succeed at delivering the fantasy of the subclass. Players had a strong desire for the narrative of a warrior with magical tattoos, so we redesigned the subclass. The subclass now provides magical abilities through your tattoos that aren’t spells. Beast Tattoos still provide a useful cantrip, but have been redesigned with an emphasis on enhancing your Flurry of Blows, Patient Defense, and Step of the Wind.
Celestial Tattoo provides benefits to the Search, Hide, and Study actions. Nature Tattoo has been condensed to grant Resistance to a damage type from a small list that can be changed when you finish a Short or Long Rest, or when you use Uncanny Metabolism. Monster Tattoo now includes Beholder, Chromatic Dragon, and Troll, providing new abilities. These changes keep the customization of the previous version, while still keeping the abilities feeling like what a Monk should do.
Conjurer (Wizard)
Conjuration spells typically transport creatures or objects. The previous design was shaped heavily by feedback from the 2014 version of this subclass, wherein players heavily favored the teleportation aspect of Conjuration.
However, the feedback has shown an increase in interest for summoning, and we were more than happy to provide. In this update, we condensed the movement features together and added new features focused on summoning spells. The updated Conjurer focuses on making their summoned creatures much more durable than previous iterations.
Enchanter (Wizard)
The previous iteration of the Enchanter took big swings at new design, but feedback showed it strayed too far from what players wanted for the subclass. We want the Enchanter to be a charmer and beguiler, capable of taking charge as the party’s communicator.
Enchanting Talker succeeded in this direction and scored very well, but other new features didn’t meet our standards. This update returns several features from the 2014 design with tweaks to address feedback we’ve seen over the years.
Necromancer (Wizard)
In the previous version, we moved away from animating the dead, but players made it clear that controlling hordes of Undead is the fantasy they want from the subclass. This update provides the Necromancer with ways to summon multiple Undead creatures.
To keep the Necromancer’s Undead potent at higher levels, the Necromancer learns how to use them as an expendable resource.
Transmuter (Wizard)
The Transmuter still has emphasis on the Transmuter’s Stone, but now also has shape-shifting abilities. The Durability option of the Transmuter’s Stone was consistently cited as the best option, and picking another option created the feeling of playing wrong.
We have updated the feature by making the Durability option part of bearing the stone by default. We revised the subclass to have more flexibility in its features, such as expanding the types of spells Split Transmutation affects.
Your Feedback Matters
Once you’ve read or played with these playtest materials, be sure to fill out the survey on D&D Beyond, coming on September 25, and let us know what you think.
I like the improvements to Arcane Archer, but asking a dexterity-based fighter class to base a subclass on intelligence seems liked mixing mechanics. I understand the lore behind it, weaving wizard-like magic with archery martial skills, but a little flexibility would be useful. As another person posted, why not allow a choice of INT, WIS, or CHA?
Or, for your alternate consideration, why not create a similar nature-themed archer subclass for Ranger based on WIS? It would have a lot more synergy. Food for thought.
Is this any different than Eldritch Kinghts?
Candidly, I am not super familiar with Eldritch Knight. I will look into it.
Still, I would love to see a nature-themed alternative for Ranger. If Eldrich Knight is too similar to Arcane Archer, maybe switch Arcane Archer to "Nature Archer" as a subclass of Ranger.
Edit: It's a similar challenge to the Eldritch Knight, too, though Eldritch Knight is very tightly tied to Wizard. I think Arcane Archer could have more flexibility because you could arguably create the Arcane Shot and Magical Ammunition from Wizard, Druid/Ranger, or Sorcerer/Warlock magics, IMO.
1 Arcane Archer - Although i really like him having some out oc combat options, i feel like his biggest problem hasnt been adressed here...and that is banishing shot being the best option out of all of his shots. There is literally little to no reason for using other arcane shots. I think this class needs a way of infusing magic/spells into his shots and using them that way.
2 Tattooed Warrior - I like that he has a lot of different tattoos and options, but i just feel that almost all of the options are way too passive. I think this class would benefit of at least one active usable option, maybe give him a way of tattoing other characters or creatures giving him utility or damage in that unique way.
3 Conjurer - I like it, I feel like it only needs one more small thing to make it more interesting. Something that lets him summon small harmless creatures... Maybe give him once per short rest a free cast of mage hand is actually two or three small creatures with HP that last until you cast it again or until they die.
4 Enchanter - I dont know if it just me, but i cant help but feel that the best part about playing ecnhanter type of a character is parts of the campaign that are not battle, and that is a little missing here. It needs like a small brain control outside of the combat maybe like : Number of times per short rest, when you touch a creature you can imbude with a specific message or action that actovivates when a sertain condition has been met.
5 Necromancer - I really like him now as a summoner, but i think he needs a little more of life manipulation effects. Maybe allow him to cast some necromancy spells without expanding spell slots, but at the cost of his life points.
6 Transmuter - I feel like it didnt tackle the biggest issue...losing the stone just wipes off the half of your subclass..., i just feel that creating one stone per long rest is a little bit too punishing for place when you lose the stone or there is a now way or retreaving it or a bearer is just too far away... i feel liek giving him option to summon back the stone or to expand its effect range a certain amount of times would be great. ALSO i feel like being able to create at least two stones per long rest would be better than giving that one stone multiple effects.