Tip 1: Prepare Your Spells Wisely
Druids are similar to Clerics in how they prepare spells. Every day, you can prepare a set number of spells from the Druid spells list, and the number of spells you can prepare increases as your level increases. After a long rest, you can change out your spells if you desire.
Note that there’s an important difference betweenspells preparedandspell slots. You can think of spells prepared as the arsenal of potential spells you carry with you, while spell slots is a resource that gets used up every time you cast a prepared spell.
Casting a spell of 1st level or higher consumes a spell slot, which means you’re limited in the number of times you can cast your spells per day. Spell slots are refreshed after a long rest, and the only way to increase your number of spell slots is to level up.
In other words, as a 1st level Druid, you might have four or fivespells preparedbut only twospell slotswith which you can cast spells.
Druids also get access to a fewcantripseach day. Cantrips are simpler spells that don’t consume spell slots, meaning you can cast them as many times as you want. They generally aren’t super powerful, but there are some solid cantrips available to Druids.
Thorn Whip and Shillelagh are great choices for melee-focused Druids while Poison Spray and Infestation can deal solid damage from a distance. All Druids should consider taking Guidance, as it’s one of the most useful buff cantrips in all ofD&D 5e.
Related:Useful D&D 5e Spells You Shouldn’t Overlook
Tip 2: Understand Wild Shape
While it doesn’t kick in until 2nd level,Wild Shapeis one of the most defining features of the Druid. With Wild Shape, you can transform into any beast that you’ve encountered before (as long as it falls within the Challenge Rating for your level as listed in theCore Rulebook).
The creatures you can transform into may not be terribly powerful, but the important thing is thatusing Wild Shape gives you a separate pool of hit points for your character.
If you’re in Wild Shape form, any damage you receive is dealt to your Wild Shape before your real self. This means if you turn into a wolf with 11 hit points (according to theMonster Manual), you’ve effectively boosted your health pool by 11 while in wolf form.
It’s worth getting familiar with the Monster Manual to see which creatures you’re able to assume using Wild Shape. Any creature with theBeastlabel and aChallenge Rating of 1 or loweris a possibility by the time you reach level 11, provided your character has seen it at some point in their lives.
And don’t be afraid to get creative with it! When in doubt, ask your DM if some of the more outlandish creatures are an option.
Related:What D&D Class Should I Play? How to Pick Your D&D Class, Explained
Tip 3: Choose Your Druid Circle
While Druids have a lot of flexibility in changing their spells or using different creatures for Wild Shape, one thing theycan’tchange later is their Druid Circle. Your choice is locked for good.
YourDruid Circlerepresents the flavor of how your character interprets their bond with nature and the role they take in combat.
While thePlayer’s Handbookonly has two Druid Circles to choose between, subsequent releases offer expanded options. For beginners, we recommend sticking with one of the two in the Player’s Handbook because they’re the simplest and most straightforward.
Related:How to Be a Good D&D Player: Tips That’ll Make DMs Love You
TheCircle of the Landis for players who want to emphasize the spellcasting abilities of their Druid. Not only does it let you choose an extra cantrip to cast, but also grants the Natural Recovery ability.
With Natural Recovery, you can regain some of your spent spell slots during a short rest, and it’s available once per day. This gives your Druid more spellcasting stamina than any other spellcasting class, making it a strong option for those who want to fight with magic.
Conversely, theCircle of the Moonis for players who want to boost their Wild Shape ability. It’s one of the few ways for players to transform into creatures stronger than Challenge Rating 1, allowing them access to even more creatures from the Monster Manual.
Related:First Time Playing D&D? Critical Tips for New Players
Tip 4: Don’t Ignore the Flavor!
Most of the interesting aspects of the Druid class primarily exist for flavor. For example, the Druidic language is only accessible to players who choose this class. Half of the fun of playing a Druid is leaning into the inherent conflict between nature and civilization.
This doesn’t mean you have toalwaysinsist on sleeping outdoors oralwaysrefusing to enter a city, which was the case in earlierD&Deditions. However, you should embrace your role as guardian of nature and use the rulebook’s flavor text to help you decide what that means.
Druids are much more diverse in5th Editionthan they’ve ever been before, lacking the alignment requirements and limits on where they can go. Explore these aspects of the class and have fun!
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