5 ‘D&D’ Power Builds for ‘Player’s Handbook’ 2024

With the upcoming release of the 2024 version of the Player’s Handbook (PHB), we thought we’d share some of our favorite power builds which rely solely on the rules presented in that resource. If you want to use feats, spells, or other features from books like Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything or Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, you are absolutely welcome to do so, but not all DMs will allow all resources at their table, so we wanted the scope of this article to stick to the new PHB. Besides, if we optimized these builds any further, it honestly might not be fun for other players at the table. Also remember that while power builds are a lot of fun to explore, they can feel less fun to play because there is no natural challenge in normal situations. Use these builds with caution, and talk to your DM if you aren’t sure how to build the right power level for your campaign.

The five power builds we are previewing here are:

1. Who Needs Spell Slots? Celestial Warlock
2. Onslaught With Advantage – Beast Master Ranger
3. Everything Other Than AND Damage – College of Lore Bard
4. I Punch for Acid Cold Fire Lightning Thunder Damage – Warrior of the Elements Monk
5. You Can’t Touch This—But You Can Die – Circle of the Sea Druid

1. Who Needs Spell Slots? Celestial Warlock

This Warlock build is designed to have the greatest access to cantrips and rituals of any build. This allows us to circumvent the strict reliance on our limited Pact Magic spell slots and/or large numbers of short rests. By level 3, you will have a staggering 13 cantrips and 14 spells which are always prepared. Since we can use the Book of Shadows to access any level 1 ritual at the end of each rest, and the new crafting rules for spell scrolls only require having a spell prepared and training in arcana to create scrolls, this build allows you to have an endless library of scrolls, rituals, and cantrips which let you save your precious spell slots for spells like Gate and Power Word Stun. Finally, by using Magic Initiate feats, we grant ourselves an additional 3 spell casts (at level 1) for each day.

Class: Warlock, Complexity: High

1. Background: Acolyte (Magic Initiate: Cleric) 2 cantrips, 1 spell/slot
2. Species: Human (Magic Initiate: Druid) 2 cantrips, 1 spell/slot
3. Level 1 choices: Arcana and another skill, 2 cantrips, 2 prepared spells, 1 pact magic slot/short rest
4. Eldritch Invocation: Lessons of the First Ones (Magic Initiate: Wizard) 2 cantrips, 1 spell/slot
5. Level 2: +1 prepared spell, +1 Pact Magic slot/short rest, +Magical Cunning (+1 Pact Magic slot/day)
6. Eldritch Invocation: Pact of the Tome: +3 cantrips, +2 ritual spells, all changeable with each rest.
7. Eldritch Invocation: Armor of Shadows (+1 prepared, unlimited use on self)
8. Level 3: +1 prepared spell
9. Subclass: Celestial Patron: Grants +2 cantrips, +2 level 1 spells, +2 level 2 spells

Suggested Spells

The spells we suggest for this build are listed in order of when they are granted by the features above. For each spell, the level is indicated in parentheses or is marked with (c) for cantrips. For spells with special uses, those parameters are also included.

1. (c) Thaumaturgy, (c) Spare the Dying, (1) Inflict Wounds (1/day)
2. (c) Druidcraft, (c) Mending, (1) Goodberry (1/day)
3. (c) Eldritch Blast, (c) Toll the Dead, (1) Witch Bolt, (1) Speak with Animals (Ritual)
4. (c) Prestidigitation, (c) Shocking Grasp, (1) Feather Fall (1/day) 
5. 2x level 1 rituals chosen each rest, 3x cantrips chosen each rest, suggested:
            (1) Identify (Ritual), (1) Find Familiar (Ritual), (c) Sorcerous Burst, (c) Mage Hand, (c) Acid Splash
6. (1) Mage Armor (unlimited use)
7. (2) Misty Step
8. (c) Light, (c) Sacred Flame, (1) Cure Wounds, (1) Guiding Bolt, (2) Aid, (2) Lesser Restoration

As you can see, at this point, we have a spell list that no other caster could have at this level. We are free to take plenty of utility, and we have cantrips that do stacked AoE (Acid Splash), Split AoE (Eldritch Blast), melee-get-out-of-jail-free-card (Shocking Grasp), high-damage single-target (Toll the Dead), and a host of signature spells from other classes which add unique utility, such as sorcerous blast (lottery damage), and the signature trio of Prestidigitation, Druidcraft, and Thaumaturgy. Since this is all online at level 3, we will have another 7 eldritch invocations, which we can use to empower cantrips (3 repeatable choices) or unlock more spells we can cast at will (10 choices). And to pile onto the utility, the Celestial Patron subclass also grants Healing Light, which gives you another healing ability with scaling charges and no need for spell slots.

Taking all of this into consideration, I’d be terrified to fight a level 3 Celestial Warlock, and you will probably have a lot of fun with them. As you gain access to higher-level features, the class has scaling power, since every damaging cantrip scales with the total level of all classes, no matter which classes’ spell lists they come from, and they all use Charisma, thanks to the updates to those feats and features. Having another 13 spell preparation slots can open up even more flexibility from your spell slots, and Magical Cunning can restore 2 level 5 slots/day without a short rest, making spells more widely available when they are wanted.

Variation: Species

If you want a few more spells you can cast each day, you can choose a different species. Elves and Tieflings grant an additional cantrip, 1st-level spell, and 2nd-level spell. This does delay the full impact of the build a bit since we won’t have enough eldritch invocations to take Lessons of the First Ones again until level 5. That said, we have enough invocations to make this happen comfortably, and some species features, such as dark vision or trance might be enough incentive to shift the build. Do note that Tieflings get two cantrips at level 1, plus two spells, so they technically grant more spells/day than Magic Initiate, but you don’t get to select the spells, and they unlock at higher levels.

2: Onslaught With Advantage – Beast Master Ranger

If you want access to the most attacks per turn, look no further than the 2024 Beast Master Ranger. You might think of the Fighter as having the most attacks, but when optimized, Rangers get 4 attacks starting at level 5, where fighters unlock their fourth attack at level 20. Oh, by 11, the Ranger has 5 attacks per turn. This is due to the newly empowered Primal Companion, combined with Weapon Mastery features. Let’s look at the features required to make this resource-free onslaught happen. Note: I’ll be assuming we have a score of 16 in each of Wisdom and Dexterity for the calculations in this build.

Class: Ranger, Complexity Average

• Subclass: Beast Master
• Origin: Guide, Sailor, Scribe, or Wayfarer to improve DEX and WIS.
• Species: Any (Orc suggested for Relentless Endurance and Darkvision)
• Weapon Masteries: Shortswords (Vex) and Scimitars (Nick)
• Weapons: Shortsword and Scimitar
• Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting
• Primal Companion: Beast of the Land

Starting with Ranger and the Two-Weapon Fighting Style feat, we get two attacks per turn with our dexterity modifier added to both attacks. Nick is where things get interesting, though. Previously, for dual-wielders, the second attack took a Bonus Action. If your first attack is made with a weapon you’ve mastered with the Nick feature, your off-hand attack with a light weapon happens as part of your base attack. Hunter’s Mark adds 1d6 to each attack for a total of 4d6/Attack action. At level 3, we add our beast, which knocks enemies prone with its attacks when we have it attack (on our turn, using our bonus action), and its damage die is 1d8+2+WIS. So, we have (4d6+DEXx2+1d8+2+WIS) at level 3, or an average of 27 damage/turn without using any limited-use features other than free casts of Hunter’s Mark (remembering that Hunter’s Mark lasts for an hour, and we get more uses of it as we level up).

At level 5, we get to add another 1d6+Dex for our extra attack (which also benefits from Hunter’s Mark), and we get more daily uses of Hunter’s Mark. Next, at level 11, our pet gets a second attack and gets to use Hunter’s Mark damage once per turn, adding 2d8+2+WIS+1d6 to our damage every round. At level 11, the total number of attacks is three by the hunter, 2 by the companion, and four hits of Hunter’s Mark damage. This totals up to 7d6+6+2d8+4+6 or an average of 42 damage per round, with the damage being about half force damage. The max damage we can do this way without critical hits is 74 damage, with 32 of that being Force damage. If we take score improvements at 4 and 8, these amounts would improve accordingly.

The only downside to this build is that you will sometimes need to use your bonus action to move your Hunter’s Mark, instead of commanding your pet. This may make it frustrating against small targets, where it will be better for you and your pet to attack separate targets, and save uses of Hunter’s Mark for later. Against a Giant, Dragon, or other big beasty, however, you use a single bonus action to apply Hunter’s Mark, and you wail away until it dies. Either way, you can maintain concentration on Hunter’s Mark even if it isn’t on an enemy, and use a bonus action at any point during its duration to apply it to your target. To add to this, at level 13, your Concentration can’t be broken by damage, and if you cast Hunter’s Mark at higher spell slots it gains up to 24 hours of duration (with Concentration), meaning you can keep the buff up indefinitely.

But What About Rogues?

If you’re wondering why this build is superior to another DPS class, such as the monk or rogue, allow me to explain. Rogues have a slightly superior amount of single-target damage through Sneak Attack, but they can’t spread that damage out if there are more targets. Having 5 separate attacks allows the Ranger to spread out the destruction if needed. Monks have a similar ability to spread out their damage, but their flurry of blows requires focus points, which could be better used on other things (See below). On top of all of that, the Vex mastery and the Beast of the Land’s ability to knock enemies prone give the Ranger a significant amount of self-sustaining advantage against their opponents, allowing them to fish for crits or just guarantee more hits.

All in all, if you’ve ever wanted to feel like Drizz’t Do’Urden, wading through waves of enemies and tag-teaming with a panther to take down massive enemies, this build is the power build for you.

3: Everything Other Than AND Damage – Lore Bard

If you are preparing to play in a high-intrigue or low-combat campaign, this is the power build for you. The revised Lore Bard and Origin options allow you to gain proficiency and expertise in an unparalleled fashion. Though we will take most of our levels in Bard, we are going to start with Rogue as a base, because they get more starting skills and get two uses of expertise at level 1. We will then progress as a Warlock for a couple of levels for utility and damage, then we will level as a Lore Bard for some time.

• Species: Human (one proficiency, one origin feat: Skilled)
• Background: Charlatan: increase DEX, CON, and CHA. Feat: Skilled, Deception, Slight of Hand, Forgery Kit.
• 1 Rogue, Proficiency with Stealth, Insight, Investigation, and Perception, Simple and Martial weapons with Finesse or Light property, Thieves’ Tools, Weapon Mastery: Scimitar (Nick) and Shortsword (Vex) Expertise in two skills.

At this point, level 1, we have 4 skills of our choice from choosing Human, another 3 of our choice along with Deception, Slight of Hand, and the Forgery Kit from our background, and 4 skills from taking a level of rogue, along with strong weapon options which will keep us alive when we do need to fight, and two instances of Expertise, for a total of 11 trained skills and two of those with expertise. So, how do we get another 7 skills as quickly as possible? You might be tempted to think of the Bard, but we’re going to make a pit stop at Warlock first.

Classes: Rogue, Warlock, Bard, and/or Ranger, Complexity Very High

1 Rogue + 2 Warlock

By taking two levels in Warlock, we get some powerful utility and some more skill proficiencies. Notably, we get three Eldritch Invocations, access to some unique cantrips, and 2 pact magic slots which recharge on a short rest. Our first Invocation has to be available to a level-1 Warlock, which is limited to a few, so we will take Pact of the Tome for powerful utility. For the second of those invocations, we’re going to select Lessons of the First Ones, which can give us another instance of the Skilled feat for another 3 proficiencies. For the final invocation, we want some unique utility Bard can’t offer, so we will take our pick from among Eldritch Mind, Mask of Many Faces, Devil’s Sight, or another instance of Lessons of the First Ones, which can give us access to Lucky for some advantage rolls. While we’re here, we will pick up the Eldritch Blast cantrip, which continues to be one of the most powerful cantrips in the game.

1 Rogue + 2 Warlock + 3 Bard

Most of the rest of your progression with this build will be Bard. When you take the first level of bard, you gain an additional skill proficiency which leaves you with three untrained skills. We can get this by taking two more levels of Bard and selecting the College of Lore, which grants three skills. At level 2, we gain expertise in two additional skills, which is still faster access to that feature than if we had gone straight Rogue or Bard. Once we take our subclass at level 3, we have every skill proficiency, four instances of expertise, and the ability to do almost anything in the game. We’ve also collected Spellcasting, Pact Magic, Sneak Attack, Cutting Words, and the Bardic Inspiration feature, all of which keep this build competitive with other builds in combat, and make it devastating in non-combat scenarios.

1 Rogue +2 Warlock + 17 Bard

By the time you make it to level 20 as a character, you will have delayed access to level 9 spellcasting, but you’ve benefited from the effects of the Epic Boon “Boon of Skill” 13 levels early, while still keeping your 4 Ability Score Improvement feats intact to customize and improve your character along the way. With the changes and improvements to spells for combat and non-combat situations, you will be able to leverage the Bard’s access to every spell in the game to become the master of any scene, whether you’re needed for debating or beheading. We won’t ever get an Epic Boon with this build unless the DM uses those for level 20+ progression, but this build won’t even notice.

Alternate Build

If you don’t want to play Lore Bard, there are two other options for this build. For either of them, you’ll simply drop your third Eldritch Invocation to take Lessons of the First Ones again to get +3 skills. Then take a single level in Ranger or Bard for the last skill proficiency. Both classes have access to expertise with minimal investment, so you can choose how to progress in that based on how much expertise you’d like. After the 4th level, you can continue in Ranger, Warlock, or Rogue, based on what you’d like your gameplay to look like going forward. Update: This alternate build requires a DM judgment call, because RAW, the warlock cannot repeat an Origin Feat taken with Lessons of the First Ones, which could mean we miss out on 3 skills if we don’t take Lore Bard.

So Much To Do

The primary build here may well be too complicated for many players’ preferences. Juggling the many class features and rules interactions from taking three classes that have little synergy can be cumbersome. That said, this is probably the most powerful and fun low-combat build, as it gives us the roundest toolkit possible while keeping our ability to deal damage on track. If we use an option from the Alternate Build section, do note that you don’t get more complexity from spellcasting, but the class features for  Bard and Warlock are considered high-complexity, so even a single-level dip into those classes can really add a lot of details for a newby player to track.

4: I Hit for Acid Cold Fire Lightning Thunder Damage

The Monk’s new subclass, known as Warrior of the Elements, is a power build in its own right. Using their scaling unarmed attack based on Dexterity, Monks now start with a Martial Arts Die of 1d6, scaling to 1d12 instead of the former 1d4-1d10. To lean into this buff, the Warrior of the Elements uses the Martial Arts Die for its scaling effects. Unlike the removed subclass Way of the Four Elements, Warrior of the Elements Monks don’t cast spells, they simply channel the rage of the primal world, turning their unarmed attacks into magical attacks that deal acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage. This allows them to deal the damage type needed to overcome and circumvent resistances and immunities.

Class: Monk, Complexity: Average

Beginning at level 3, they gain the ability to spend a single focus point to activate Elemental Attunement, which increases their Unarmed Attack range by 10ft and empowers their unarmed attacks with the element of their choice. If they hit a target with this damage, up to 15 feet away, they can push that target 10 feet away (contested by a Strength save). This means that at level 3, Monks can more easily disengage, move, hide, or change targets without taking opportunity attacks. While this feature doesn’t increase our damage directly, being able to change the damage type we deal with every attack is a great way to get around resistances and immunities, and pushing our enemies gives us significant survivability and utility.

At level 6, they can create a burst of elemental energy spanning—not a typo—a 20-ft-radius sphere within 120 feet, hitting every creature within for 3 rolls of their Martial Arts Die, or half as much on a saved throw. It costs 2 Focus Points, so you can use it several times a day once you have access to it.

Starting at level 11, you gain a fly and swim speed while your elemental attunement is active. Long reach+Fly is hard to argue with!

Finally, at level 17, the Warrior of the Elements gains Elemental Epitome, which is bananas. Damage resistance and an aura which deals damage to creatures we walk by combine with our innate AC and movement speeds to make us a walking nuke which can also throw Fireball-sized attacks. Need an army erased?

Feats: This build gets extra silly if you take the feat Speedy (increases your speed and allows you to ignore difficult terrain) or the Epic Boon of Speed, which grants you an extra 30 feet of movement. These stacking feats will bring monks up to 100+ ft of movement per turn.

In the end, uncapped AOE and solid single-target make this subclass an absolute menace for any NPC or DM you play with.

5: You Can’t Touch This—But You Can Die

The last power build is centered on the new Druid subclass Circle of the Sea, which combines sea and storm themes into a devastating spellcaster. We’re going to start with Goliath as the species since it has a speed of 35ft and access to Giant Ancestry which gives us Cloud’s Jaunt, a teleportation ability. The Sage background gives us access to some distance utility from Magic Initiate: Wizard, and it buffs our ability scores for Wisdom and Constitution which improve our damage and ability to maintain concentration. The Circle of the Sea features help us stay out of range and defend ourselves, but this combination gives us a combination of abilities that is hard to shut down since the Druid can stay at range and easily create range if a creature manages to close the space.

Class: Druid

• Subclass: Circle of the Sea
• Background: Sage
• Feat: Magic Initiate (Wizard) Toll the Dead, Shocking Grasp, Expeditious Retreat or Find Familiar
• Class Spells: Produce Flame, Mending, Cure Wounds, Entangle, Longstrider, and Purify Food and Drink (R)

We take Toll the Dead and Shocking Grasp because they allow us to attack from a distance or create some distance (Shocking Grasp through a familiar stops an enemy from making opportunity attacks for a round). If we want more mobility, we can take Expeditious Retreat, or we can pick up Find Familiar to save us the daily use of a Wild Shape charge to have a familiar that can help us do things from a distance. We will take Produce Flame and Mending from the class list for the utility, and we will choose the Magician Primal Order, which gives us another cantrip, which will be Spare the Dying (which is now a ranged spell). Our level 1 spells are going to be Cure Wounds, Entangle, Longstrider, and Purify Food and Drink. Our main hope is to avoid needing to use spell slots because we want to save them for emergencies where Cure Wounds, Entangle, or Longstrider can save a life. Purify Food and Drink can be cast as a ritual, and is useful utility outside of combat.

Wild Shape Forms: Whichever forms you like. We aren’t going to use our Wild Shape very often, so I’d suggest utility forms such as Rat or Spider. These forms get you into small spaces and can be the difference between being trapped or escaping until we get access to bats and birds at higher levels. At higher levels, pick up the owl form for long-lasting flight.

Skills and Weapons: The skills you choose for this build aren’t going to be very consequential, but you can skip both Nature and Arcana since your Primal Order already boosts those skills. Similarly, weapons aren’t something we’re going to be interested in using. If we’re in melee, we’ll just use Shocking Grasp so we can get out without being attacked.

This build is pretty generic until level 3 when you unlock the Circle of the Sea. The primary ability here is Wrath of the Sea, which grants you an emanation effect (a new mechanic that represents an aura) that allows you to deal cold damage and push a creature away every turn as a bonus action. You get a number of d6s equal to your wisdom modifier, so at unlock this will likely be 3d6 damage as a bonus action which you can use every turn while your emanation is active. The only catch is that this emanation uses your Wild Shape charges (or spell slots if you are out of Wild Shape charges). The effect lasts for 10 minutes, so you can’t keep it up at all times, but you can use the Bonus Action attack as part of the Bonus Action needed for you to summon it.

At level 3, the ability to push a creature and deal 3d6 damage as a bonus action is already a lot of power. For comparison, Sorcerers and Wizards can use Dragon’s Breath to deal 3d6 damage, half on a save, but it requires a level 2 spell slot and needs concentration to last multiple rounds, and costs a Magic Action every turn. The Wrath of the Sea lasts 10 minutes without concentration and uses a bonus action to deal damage and push the target, leaving you free to cast spells with concentration, such as Moonbeam. Most importantly, the ability for a spellcaster in light armor to push enemies is massive. And since it’s triggered by you, rather than by circumstance, you can circle the opponent to push them in a specific direction, which allows you to support your allies from a distance while also creating opportunities to move into melee, push an enemy away with a bonus action, and use an action to heal a hurt ally.

Scaling

At level 6, the Wrath of the Sea feature grows to 10 feet, keeping you out of melee range, and giving a swim speed that is always active. At level 10, you can fly while the emanation is active, and you have resistance to cold, lightning, and thunder damage. At level 14, you can put the emanation on yourself, an ally, or both of you. The ally will be able to fly, resist damage, or use their bonus action to deal damage, (likely 5d6/turn, using your stats, not theirs) while you are also able to benefit from the effect. This can give classes with less need for a Bonus Action economy, including some Fighters, Rogues, Paladins, Clerics, Rangers, or even Wizards.

Level 18+

The benefit of reaching level 17 as a spellcaster is the ability to prepare 9th-level spells. But since we never get a second slot of this, and the features for Druids level 18-20 aren’t that useful, you can opt to pick up 1-3 levels of another class to dip into their features. Sorcerers and Wizards are better if you’re going for 3 levels, but if you want to take an Epic Boon at level 19, you can take a single level of Warlock to get some bonus cantrips, an invocation, a bonus spell slot, and access to any number of level 1 rituals or cantrips with Pact of the Tome, without sacrificing the Epic Boon Feat. The suggested Epic Boon for Druids is the Boon of Dimensional Travel, which works well for this build, as it’s escape-heavy. On the other hand, we already have a lot of mobility at this point, so taking the Boon of Skill can round out an area we’ve largely neglected, or the Boon of Spell Recall could give us a 25% chance to not spend spell slots when we use them. Either of these might be a better pick, but your mileage may vary.

Update: Honorable Mentions

DM Oak reached out to mention a couple of honorable mentions you’ll want to check out.

1. Humans: You gain Heroic Inspiration at the end of every long rest. Since Heroic Inspiration can be used to re-roll any one die roll, not just D20 tests, this is a powerful ability. If you manage to keep it through a long rest, you can give the bonus to an ally instead. You can use this for such spectacular situations as rolling Hit Dice when leveling up, rolling how many charges you regain when rolling for a magic item, and re-rolling Bardic Inspiration, Divination, or Bless dice
2. Champion Fighter: Like the Human species, Level 10 Champion Fighters grant themselves Heroic Inspiration, but they do it every round they start combat without it. Just keep rolling!
3. Sorcerer: The Innate Sorcerer feature allows sorcerers to grant themselves advantage on attacks and +1 to their spell saves for a minute at a time, with 2 base uses, and the ability to use it more by spending Sorcery Points. Trigger this effect as a Bonus Action, then unleash Cone of Cold, Cloud Kill, and Chain Lightning. Your enemies will drop faster than flies in a blizzard.

TL;DR

Every class has powerful new options, but with so many classes getting major reworks to class features, spells, feats, species, and backgrounds, there is a huge space for new powerful combinations that will bring entirely neglected subclasses, such as Beast Master Ranger or Warrior of the Elements Monk out of the closet of shame, and into the limelight. But with some of the more stereotypically powerful classes such as Druids, Warlocks, and Bards being reworked, there are new ways to explore combinations of features, and that’s always something to celebrate. Do you have a new favorite build? Share it in the comments! The Player’s Handbook 2024 is available for preorder now and will hit the shelves on September 17th.