The One D&D Druid Handbook – Mastering Druids

I do a standard S-F tier ranking and here’s how I categorize them:

S Tier – The absolute best of the best. These options can even broach into unfair territory and may be subject to being banned at certain tables. If you’re looking for power level alone, there’s functionally no reason not to use these.

A Tier – While not as broken as the S Tier options, these are as good as you can get without broaching into unfair territory, although some of them may be strong enough to feel unfair!

B Tier – These will not be as inherently powerful as A Tier options, but are still quite strong in their own right. These are likely a bit more situational or slightly weaker than the A tier options, but still very good.

C Tier – Decent options, but likely not particularly strong. These options don’t offer too much or may just be a bit too situational to be ranked higher, but are still options you should consider as these will be the average power level.

D Tier – While not completely useless, these options are either very weak or very situational so are unlikely to be used, but unlike F tier, these aren’t completely unusable or actively detrimental.

F Tier – Either so weak or so situational that these should functionally never be taken or considered unless in the most niche of circumstances.

Level 1

Starting Proficiencies – B- Tier – Solid proficiencies, but you’re probably taking the Warden Primal Order feature anyway.

Druidic – D Tier – Worthless unless you’re dealing with other Druids.

Primal Order – B+ Tier – Proficiency with Medium Armor is really nice, even if the other two abilities really don’t matter much.

1st Level Spells – A+ Tier – First level spells are foundational to all casters, and Druid is no different. You get really powerful utility options here you are going to use for the rest of your campaign.

Level 2

Wild Shape – B+ Tier – The average Druid can’t fight in their Wild Shape form, but this will still provide enough utility that this will be similar to additional spells per day which is really nice.

Wild Companion – B Tier – Getting Find Familiar that doesn’t require material components but does require a spell slot or Wild Shape charge is decent, but not as good as just having access to the spell.

Level 3

2nd Level Spells – S Tier – Druids have access to the best 2nd level spells in the game making this level a huge power spike for them.

Level 5

Wild Resurgence – C+ Tier – Being able to recharge your Wild Shape is nice, but at the cost of your spell slot does hurt. That said, in situations where you need to use a lot of Wild Shape charges, being able to convert 1st level slots into more (you can also do it the opposite way specifically for 1st level slots) is solid.

3rd Level Spells – A+ Tier – 3rd level spells, like a martial characters Extra Attack, is a huge power spike for every full caster as you have a lot of extremely powerful spells to pick from now.

Level 7

Elemental Fury – C- Tier – You get a choice between two alright abilities, nothing special here.

4th Level Spells – A+ Tier – Unsurprisingly, you get excellent options here as the few 4th level spells you want are extremely powerful. Better yet, Druids get better 4th level spell options than nearly any other class.

Level 9

5th Level Spells – B Tier – While 5th level spells are great, they do lack the power that the earlier options have for Druids.

Level 11

6th Level Spells – B+ Tier – Druids can pretty solid options for 6th level spells, even if you only want a couple of them.

Level 13

7th Level Spells – B Tier – While Druids may have the trophy for best 4th level spells, their 7th level spells are definitely not as exciting.

Level 15

Improved Elemental Fury – D Tier – While improved is in the name, it certainly doesn’t feel like Elemental Fury really gets improved here.

8th Level Spells – B Tier – Like 7th level spells, you do have a decent option, but nothing too exciting.

Level 17

9th Level Spells – S- Tier – 9th level spells are absolutely broken and the game is very much going to revolve around when you get to use them. That being said, Druids may have the weakest 9th level spells so instead of an S class ranking, they get marginally downgraded to A+ tier.

Level 18

Beast Spells – C Tier – This is an alright ability as not needing to come out of Wild Shape to spellcast is nice, but for the average Druid, this isn’t going to be that useful.

Level 20

Archdruid – C Tier – Unfortunately, the 5e version of Archdruid was much more powerful as this only really gives you more Wild Shapes or lower level spell slots to work with. This is still a decent ability, but not super exciting as a capstone.

Aasimar – A Tier – A generically strong species that gives you a lot of things for any class. Two damage Resistances (Necrotic and Radiant), Darkvision is great to have, some free healing, the Light cantrip for free, and a cool form to transform into with 3 reasonable options. Just a great all around choice and my general pick for Druid.

Dragonborn – B Tier – A decent species in general as you get a damage resistance, Darkvision, Flight at level 5, and a breath weapon that can be useful in a pinch. Dragonborns are good, but are generally just outshined by Aasimar who offer a similar, but stronger package.

Dwarf – C- Tier – Long range Darkvision, Tremorsense for scouting, and extra health is nice. Resistance to poison damage and advantage to save against the poisoned condition is alright, but pretty rare so it’s not going to come up that often and the poisoned condition is not that relevant to spellcasters.

Elf – A- Tier – Darkvision is great, an extra skill proficiency is nice, and advantage on saving throws against being Charmed can be useful in some situations. The real treat, however, is being able to pick your lineage for free, prepared spells. High Elf in particular to get Misty Step is definitely appealing as Druid rarely gets good movement options.

Gnome – C+ Tier – Darkvision is obviously good, but more importantly, advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws is excellent. This is a decent choice if you want to be relatively resistant to enemy spells/effects, but that’s literally all that Gnome offers you. Definitely solid, but the lack of abilities does hurt.

Goliath – C+ Tier – Extra movement speed and a free ability is nice, but the only one you’d be super interested in is Cloud’s Jaunt for a functional Misty Step, and you could’ve just chosen Elf with High Elf ancestry if you wanted that (you do get more teleports for free, but you’re trading off all the other abilities Elf gets for it).

Halfling – D Tier – Brave is ok and Luck is a fun feature, but Druids don’t really get much out of being a Halfling.

Human – A- Tier – A free Heroic Inspiration every day, a free skill, and a free Origin feat is great for any class. A generically good choice.

Orc – C Tier – Long range Darkvision, bonus action Dash, and not going down the first time you hit 0 health are all fine abilities, but none of them are super exciting for Druids in particular.

Tiefling – D Tier – Damage resistances and Darkvision are always great, but the spells package is just worse than what Elves could give you.

Acolyte – C Tier – Buffing Wisdom is great, you get solid proficiencies, and you get access to Cleric cantrips and a spell which is nice (even if there is a lot of overlap in the spell lists either literally or in function). Bless would be my personal pick if you were to go this route!

Artisan – F Tier – Beyond good skill proficiencies, you don’t get anything that you would realistically want or need.

Charlatan – C- Tier – You get an ok feat and you can buff both Dexterity and Constitution which is alright, but that’s the extent of what you’d be happy with if you chose this background.

Criminal – C Tier – Same deal as the Charlatan, but your feat is much stronger making this a more appealing option.

Entertainer – D+ Tier – You get arguably the best Origin feat and you can at least buff Dexterity, but those are the only things you’d be happy if you chose this.

Farmer – A Tier – Your proficiencies aren’t great, but it’s the perfect ability scores and a great feat making this an awesome and thematic choice.

Guard – B- Tier – While not being able to buff Constitution hurts a bit, you get an excellent feat, proficiency in Perception, and you can still buff Wisdom.

Guide – B+ Tier – Perfect ability scores, solid proficiencies, and Magic Initiate (Druid) makes this a solid option. While it may seem weird to want Magic Initiate (Druid) on a Druid, the Druid spell list has enough appealing 1st level options to make this relatively worthwhile.

Hermit – B Tier – Perfect ability scores and solid proficiencies, but the feat is pretty redundant considering you are the Druid who can heal their allies. Still, it’s not bad as in earlier levels you may not always have enough spell slots for heals.

Merchant – C- Tier – You get to buff Constitution, Persuasion proficiency, and a decent feat, but this still isn’t that exciting of an option.

Noble – D Tier – Ok feat and good proficiencies, but none of the ability scores you would want to buff.

Sage – B Tier – While you only get Wisdom as a good ability score to increase, Magic Initiate (Wizard) can give you access to better attack cantrips (if you’re interested, you can pick up utility cantrips instead of course) and one of the many excellent first level spells like Find Familiar, Shield, or Silvery Barbs (If you’re playing with Strixhaven).

Sailor – C Tier – You get to buff Dexterity and Wisdom which is good and you get proficiency in Persuasion, but the rest of the package is not great. Still a decent option for you.

Scribe – B Tier – You get to buff Dexterity and Wisdom, decent feat, and good proficiencies. Solid choice all around.

Soldier – D Tier – While you do get to buff Dexterity and Constitution, the rest of this package is not what a typical Druid wants.

Wayfarer – B+ Tier – Good ability scores, decent feat, and good proficiencies make this a great choice.

Arcana – B Tier – While Druids are not normally known for their intelligence, Arcana is such a good proficiency that it should be a consideration anyway, especially in parties that don’t have a Wizard.

Animal Handling – C Tier – While there’s likely an expectation that Druids are good at handling animals, this is not a check that comes up often in the average campaign making it a tougher choice.

Insight – A+ Tier – An absolutely excellent skill that at least one party member should be good at.

Medicine – B Tier – It’s hard to say how often you would need this, but it can be a decent proficiency to have if you are the parties resident doctor.

Nature – A- Tier – In functionally every campaign, there’s going to be a lot of interaction with nature as that’s kind of the deal with explorers making this a reasonably valuable skill.

Perception – A+ Tier – An awesome skill that you definitely want to be good at as it’s going to come up extremely often.

Religion – D Tier – Druids don’t normally have good intelligence and this isn’t a check that’s going to come up often unless you have a campaign setting that has a lot to do with religions.

Survival – B+ Tier – There is considerable overlap here with Nature which is awkward, but if you have to navigate in the wilderness often or you need to scrounge for food, this is a good skill to have.

While not every feat can be mentioned as that would be an oppressively long list, the ones I would at all consider would be here (all the Origin feats included as any of the backgrounds could be potential choices). Feats left off the list are not ones I would normally not consider for any Druid build, but a full reference on the all the feats in the Player’s Handbook and their associated rankings, check the link below.

The D&D Feats, Fighting Styles, and Epic Boons Tier List

Origin Feats

While your Origin feat is tied to your background, it’s good to know how good each feat is to help consider which background you may want or if you decided to pick Human as your species. Past level one, I would functionally never consider taking an origin feat (though it is allowed).

Alert – A+ Tier – An excellent feat for any spellcaster as going first can be a large boon, especially for Druids who are going to be responsible for laying down some CC for enemies to get caught up in.

Crafter – F Tier – The feat is just bad unless there’s something big about it I’m missing.

Healer – C- Tier – It’s an alright feat, but kind of unnecessary on Druids who are going to be the parties healer.

Lucky – C Tier – A decent feat in general, fine for any class or build.

Magic Initiate (Cleric) – C- Tier – Normally an excellent feat, the only spell I would be really interested in getting is Bless which is a nice addition to the Druid spell list, but very far from necessary.

Magic Initiate (Druid) – C Tier – Like Cleric, Guidance and Healing Word are great to have, and if you are feeling spicy, you can take something like Entangle or Goodberry instead. While your second cantrip option is less consequential (probably an attack cantrip for a decent ranged option, but a utility option can be reasonable as well), but if you are playing with spells from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Magic Stone can be a good pickup to synergize with your team if they are about that lifestyle.

Magic Initiate (Wizard) – B Tier – Unlike the other Magic Initiate options, this one can give you spells you are more interested in like Silvery Barbs (if you’re playing with that), Shield, or even something like Find Familiar. Furthermore, Wizards have the best cantrips so getting two good ones is never a bad thing! Definitely a solid choice.

Musician – A Tier – A generically excellent feat for any class.

Savage Attacker – F Tier – Already weak and even worse on a Druid.

Skilled – C+ Tier – A reasonable feat for nearly any class (save Bard or Rogue who doesn’t really need it).

Tavern Brawler – F Tier – No point to having this on a Druid.

Tough – A- Tier – Extra health is always great, especially on a class that’s going to be used predominately as a damage sponge.

General Feats

Fey-Touched – A Tier – A generally strong feat for casters as you get Misty Step and a Divination or Enchantment spell for free (generally Silvery Barbs if your table allows it).

Inspiring Leader – A+ Tier – An extremely good feat that gives allies a lot of temporary health with each rest. Between this and Aid, your party can be extremely durable throughout the adventuring day. That said, only one party member realistically needs this feat so whether you take this or not will be very party dependent.

Resilient – A Tier – An awesome feat even if it isn’t flashy, especially for Constitution for better concentration checks and saving throws.

Ritual Caster – B- Tier – If you’re the only spellcaster in your party, I can see grabbing this to have a greater suite of spell options to work with.

Speedy – C Tier – Not your best feat if you want to boost Constitution, but extra movement speed is always a good thing.

Telekinetic – B Tier – Not every Druid will always have something to do with their bonus action, so shoving enemies or allies around is definitely not bad.

War Caster – A Tier – An excellent feat that’s a necessity for any Druid that runs the risk of having both hands full when they need to cast spells. Even if that isn’t a common concern for you, getting advantage on concentration checks and the ability to use a cantrip in place of an opportunity attack is still a good choice. Choosing this feat would generally be contingent on how often you see needing to cast spells (without material components as you’ll need a hand free for that anyway to grab the components or your focus), as if that isn’t an issue, I would likely pick something else.

Unsure how to build your specific Druid? This section can help you! While each subclass guide has my specific way of building it (with plenty of overlap between builds), there’s a lot of directions you could take Bard.

(For all builds, this is assuming you have 17 starting Wisdom between your initial ability score distribution and your background)

Battlefield Controller – A+ Tier – Druids excel at battlefield control as they have so many spells that can mess up enemy movement like Entangle, Sleet Storm, Plant Growth, etc. Lay one of these effects down, pelt your enemies with cantrips, and you’ll be good to go. For this style of Druid, I would normally pick either Inspiring Leader or War Caster at level 4, Resilient (CON) at level 8, boosting your Wisdom to 12 at level 12, and whatever you want at level 16 (I would normally boost Constitution to 18 at this point, but it’s really up to you.)

Front Line Blaster – B Tier – While not nearly as common for Druids, there is an option to be on the front lines and dealing damage with spells like Conjure Woodland Beings or just by being a Sea Druid. This isn’t so much a play style as it is an option most of the time, but to explain the rating, this is for someone who focuses on using their spell slots to deal damage rather than on battlefield control spells (where the Battlefield Controller would use either depending on the scenario). Druids are not the best at dealing damage so this isn’t the most effective plan, but it can certainly work. For your feat progression, I would go the same route as the Battlefield Controller.

Wild Shape Warrior* – This is really reserved just for Moon Druid as this would not be a tenable play style on anyone else. For more information on this build, visit the link or scroll below to see the rankings.

Not every potential multiclass option is going to be mentioned as most don’t synergize well with Druids, so this list will be just the ones I would at all consider. Druids in particular are awkward as they’re going to be a popular option to multiclass into because of their armor proficiencies and spell options, but not a common class to multiclass out of. To that end, I’m going to focus on keeping Druid as the base class for the purposes of this list. For a more thorough breakdown on multiclassing, check out the link below.

The Ultimate Guide To Multiclassing in One D&D

Cleric – A- Tier – An easy dip since you already have the requisite Wisdom, dipping Cleric gives you access to Bless and heavy armor without slowing down your spell slot progression which is really nice. This isn’t necessary per say as medium armor and shields will still give you a solid AC, but this is a decent option.

Wizard – B Tier – Needing 13 Intelligence is a bit painful as Druid normally has no use for it, but you do get some nice rewards even just for a one level dip. Wizard gets to start with six 1st level spells in their spellbook, and for any rituals, they don’t even need to be prepared which gives you so much flexibility in what you can pick. If you’re playing with access to both Absorb Elements and Silvery Barbs, these are two excellent choices right off the bat. If you aren’t, you still have Comprehend Languages, Feather Fall, Find Familiar, Expeditious Retreat, Shield, Unseen Servant, and more excellent options! This is a lot of versatility for a one level dip, and better yet, you can continue to put spells in your spellbook by learning them from other sources over the course of your campaign. All that said, this isn’t a multiclass I would generally go for even with the advantages it brings, but it’s definitely not a bad option.

Dreams Druid Build Guide: An interesting blend of different options, the Dreams Druid offers a huge amount of utility across all their abilities.

Land Druid Build Guide: The most versatile spellcasters on the Druid roster, Land Druid has the largest access to spells and can cast more of them than anyone else.

Moon Druid Build Guide: The masters of Wild Shape, Moon Druid focuses completely on fighting in animal form and using spells to support this play style.

Sea Druid Build Guide: Completely focused on their Wrath of the Sea aura, Sea Druid is all about getting near enemies and then blasting them away!

Shepherd Druid Build Guide: The true summoning subclass, the Circle of Shepherd has a huge emphasis on conjuring creatures to fight for you while still having additional utility.

Spores Druid Build Guide: While themed around spores and fungus, this subclass is actually the tankiest of all the Druids as they’re able to gain massive amounts of temporary health in combat.

Stars Druid Build Guide: Focusing on the nature of the stars, this Circle has extremely unique and powerful abilities that make them a huge menace in combat.

Wildfire Druid Build Guide: Focusing on the natural element of fire, Wildfire Druids are far from one trick ponies as they have a specialized summon that can help them in combat!

Druid Rankings

With all the changes, Land Druid now reigns supreme as the best casters of the bunch. Despite not receiving changes, Wildfire Druid is close behind as they use Conjure Minor Elementals better than any other Druid. The new Sea Druid makes a splash at the top half of the list which is nice to see. However, easily my favorite changes were to the Moon Druid which took it from a completely unbalanced mess to a very reasonable subclass option. Kudos to Wizards on that one!

1. Land – B+ Tier
2. Wildfire – B Tier
3. Stars – B- Tier
4. Sea – C+ (Sea) Tier
5. Moon – C+ Tier
6. Spores – C Tier
7. Dreams – C Tier
8. Shepherd – C Tier

Dreams

Balm of the Summer Court (Level 3) – A- Tier – You have a functional wellspring of Healing Words, and better yet, this actually scales really well. You have to devote so many spell slots to Healing Word normally that this frees up both a prepared spell and a bunch of spell slots per day.

Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow (Level 6) – C Tier – While this is a bit weaker than Tiny Hut, this is still a pretty great replacement for it if you don’t have access. Still, this is a little niche for an ability as it only does this.

Hidden Paths (Level 10) – A- Tier – First Healing Word, now better Misty Step! Druids don’t get good short range teleportation options generally, so this is a pretty nice pick up, especially as you can move your allies around as well.

Walker in Dreams (Level 14) – C- Tier – This is a very cool, but very strange ability. You aren’t always going to get good use out of this, but you certainly can without a terrible amount of effort.

Land

Land’s Aid (Level 3) – C Tier – Middling early and pretty mediocre later as well. Still being able to hurt and heal simultaneously at the cost of a Wild Shape which this build probably isn’t using much isn’t much of an opportunity cost.

Cantrips, 1st Level Spells, & 2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – B+ Tier – Land is unique in that you can cycle through different prepared spells, and with versatility, comes with a lot of strength! That said, spell lists come in packages so you have to evaluate them as a group rather than individually. That said, Temperate is pretty good for your 1st and 2nd level options as both Sleep and Misty Step are solid spells that are not normally accessible to Druids.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – Your third level options are pretty strong with Fireball being the best on the list, but Lightning Bolt out of Temperate being a close second that still lets you keep the strong 1st and 2nd level spells.

Natural Recovery (Level 6) – A+ Tier – At level 6, this ability gives you two additional 3rd level spells lots per day, and by level 10, you can get two additional 5th level slots (or lower). That is obviously very strong, even if one of those slots has to be dedicated to casting one of your Land spells.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D Tier – A pretty big whiff on all the spell lists this level unfortunately, especially as the best spell (Polymorph) is a spell you can already pick up and on the weakest land spell list.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – B Tier – You have some solid options here with the best one being Wall of Stone on the Arid spell list which you wouldn’t mind being on anyway.

Nature’s Ward (Level 10) – C Tier – Immunity to the Poisoned condition is super specific, but resistance to elemental damage can definitely be solid if you know what type of creatures you may encounter.

Nature’s Sanctuary (Level 14) – B- Tier – If this ability only grants half-cover, it is alright, but nothing special. If the elemental damage resistance is relevant, though, then this becomes really strong. That said, you probably won’t have the right resistance enough to make this ability excellent, but it definitely will come up some amount of the time.

Moon

Circle Forms (Level 3) – A- Tier – It’s hard to know exactly how good this is going to be without seeing the new Monster Manual, but considering this still works similarly enough to the 2014 version, I’m going to assume that this is still a very good ability.

Cantrips and 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Starry Wisp is good, but Druid cantrips are generally weak, so getting an additional one is not that helpful. Cure Wounds isn’t terrible, but still worse than Healing Word.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Moonbeam isn’t bad, but it’s not particularly good either. Not too exciting of a pickup, especially since you could’ve just prepared it normally if you wanted to.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C Tier – Conjure Animals is a great spell, but one you probably would’ve prepared anyway. That said, freeing up a prepared spell slot to grab a different third level spell is nice.

Improved Circle Forms (Level 6) – C- Tier – It’s hard to say how much damage resistance there’s going to be in the new Monster Manual, but without that context, this ability still seems pretty weak. Better Constitution saving throws is nice, but nothing special.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C- Tier – Fount of Moonlight is decent on Moon Druids, and again, you could’ve just prepared this normally, but the opportunity cost would be a little high considering Druid has a lot of solid 4th level options.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D Tier – Not an exciting pickup here unfortunately.

Moonlight Step (Level 10) – A- Tier – This is similar to the Dream’s Druid Hidden Path feature, and while their ability is better, getting advantage on your next attack is nice. Obviously, you have to teleport near an enemy to get the full effect, but functionally getting Misty Step prepared for free as you can trade in 2nd level slots to use this is sweet.

Lunar Form (Level 14) – B Tier – Improved damage in Wild Shape and bringing a buddy along with your Moonlight Step is definitely solid!

Sea

Wrath of the Sea (Level 3) – B Tier – Having to stand right next to enemies is not ideal, but using a bonus action every turn to deal a decent amount of damage and potentially shove enemies around is definitely very interesting.

Cantrips and 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Thunderwave is something, but not nearly enough to salvage this ranking.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Shatter isn’t useless, but Gust of Wind certainly is.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – Lightning Bolt is already an excellent option for Druids as they get functionally no good damage options and Water Breathing isn’t half bad either! This is a really nice level for the Sea Druid.

Aquatic Affinity (Level 6) – C- Tier – While doubling the emanation range sounds good, you are probably in no less danger from 10 feet away than you were 5 feet away. The only advantage that distance brings is not being hit with an opportunity attack if the enemy has no form of reach. The swim speed is a nice little addition as well making this an alright, but unexciting ability.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – F Tier – Two truly terrible spells.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D+ Tier – Once again, pretty rough spells. It’s sad that the only great spell on this spell list is Lightning Bolt from 4 levels ago.

Stormborn (Level 10) – A- Tier – A fly speed is already very nice, but three elemental damage resistances is quite strong.

Oceanic Gift (Level 14) – B+ Tier – Doubling up on your main ability, even if you have to pay the cost twice, is a pretty strong ability. The downside is that you will be really limited in how many fights you can use this. Alternatively, you may be able to really change your team dynamic if you want to stay back and put this on an ally who can make better use of it than you can.

Shepherd

Speech of the Woods (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This is a functional Speak with Animals that works all the time! While I don’t love Speak with Animals, you can use it a lot more liberally when it’s always active.

Spirit Totem (Level 3) – B+ Tier – This ability has a lot of utility and many good options on top of it. None of the totems are super stand out, but all of them have their purpose.

Mighty Summoner (Level 6) – C+ Tier – This is a reasonably decent buff to your summons, but non-magical weapon resistance no longer exists so the second half of this ability is kind of awkward. If your DM makes a reasonable house rule to make this work (maybe just saying it’s force damage which was kind of how this operated in 5e rules anyway), then this ability is around B tier. If not, then this is probably C- tier as some additional health isn’t great.

Guardian Spirit (Level 10) – C+ Tier – As long as you can keep your summon inside the totem area, then they do get a decent stream of healing, even if it’s just a little bit at a time. Not too bad, but nothing incredible here.

Faithful Summons (Level 14) – B- Tier – This ability kind of breaks under the new rules as Conjure Animals no longer summons literal animals, but if you just use it as it summoning four CR 2 or lower beasts, then this works just fine. Anyway, this ability is good, it just sucks that you can’t really control when it happens making this pretty unreliable.

Spores

Halo of Spores (Level 3) – D- Tier – I have been saying that free damage is free damage and Druids really don’t use their reaction, but this is pitiful damage.

Symbiotic Entity (Level 3) – A- Tier – You get so many temporary hit points with this ability, it’s pretty incredible. This also makes you a decent martial character for a few levels until you are obviously outpaced by those who get Extra Attack (but you still surprisingly don’t lag behind too terribly). I wish I could rank this ability even higher as it does somewhat deserve it, but you are unlikely to be in the line of fire often so the temporary health is not super helpful on you, but still solid.

Cantrips and 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – The cantrip sucks, but Blindness/Deafness is a decent CC option that you’ll likely use.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – F Tier – Gentle Repose is butt cheeks.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – D Tier – Both spells are very unexciting, but neither is completely useless.

Fungal Infestation (Level 6) – D Tier – This is a super weird ability, but a free minion is a free minion. This definitely does not scale the best as the Zombie stat block never changes, but you don’t have to use it for combat necessarily!

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D- Tier – Not completely useless spells, but man are they flirting with it.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D+ Tier – I’m not really a fan of either spell, but it’s not like they’re unusable.

Spreading Spores (Level 10) – D Tier – This ability is really bad, but if you have a squad that can keep pushing and pulling enemies, then this can be somewhat acceptable, but much worse than any AOE damage option pretty much anyone else could do.

Fungal Body (Level 14) – C Tier – This is a lot of status immunities which is neat, but it’s hard to say how often this is going to come up. It really depends on what monsters your DM throws at you.

Stars

Star Map (Level 3) – B- Tier – Getting both Guidance and Guiding Bolt for free is pretty nice, but being able to get multiple free casts of Guiding Bolt per day is quite nice as it’s like a really good attack cantrip early and still a decent one in later levels.

Starry Form (Level 3) – A- Tier – Three good forms that are great now and remain great over the course of many levels.

Cosmic Omen (Level 6) – A- Tier – Even though this takes up your reaction, being able to use your reaction every turn to add an average of 3.5 to a friend’s roll or subtract 3.5 from an enemies roll is very strong and will likely be better than it may seem.

Twinkling Constellations (Level 10) – A Tier – A strong upgrade to an already strong ability.

Full of Stars (Level 14) – B+ Tier – While it’s unlikely that you’re getting hit often, having resistance to the most common damage types is still really nice.

Wildfire

Summon Wildfire Spirit (Level 3) – B+ Tier – While this isn’t the toughest in a fight, being able to teleport allies around the battlefield is really strong and this can be surprisingly annoying with a decent health pool and a natural flying speed.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Neither spell you’re excited about, but both are usable in a pinch.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – B Tier – Right now, both of these spells are just decent damage options, nothing spectacular. However, once you get access to Conjure Minor Elementals, having Scorching Ray makes your potential damage output extremely high, higher than any other Druid subclass by a pretty significant margin. You do need four more levels to get to this point and more levels to capitalize on it, but if your campaign is going to at least level 10, you will get some good value out of this. All that said, I’m trying to weigh abilities how they are now rather than how they will be, so right now it’s in the C+ to B- range, but by level 9, I would put this at A to A+ tier based on how strong the interaction between Conjure Minor Elementals and Scorching Ray is. To that end, I’m going with a rough average of B to not skew the rankings too much.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – B- Tier – Freeing up a prepared slot with Revivify is nice, but Plant Growth is definitely a solid option that Druids don’t normally get.

Enhanced Bond (Level 6) – B- Tier – A modest increase to your Fire and Healing spells as you gain an average of 4.5 to your rolls. Decent overall, but this is nice to functionally upgrade your Produce Flame.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D+ Tier – Not terrible, but really unexciting options here.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D+ Tier – Once again, not good but not unusable spells here.

Cauterizing Flame (Level 10) – C+ Tier – Being able to trade your reaction for a small amount of healing (or damage, but enemies are probably going to avoid that spot) is not a bad deal at all. An average of 11 + WIS isn’t a huge difference, but it can be relevant, especially since there is functionally no opportunity cost to use this.

Blazing Revival (Level 14) – A- Tier – Abilities that stop you from going down are really powerful, and they become even better when you have a choice in the matter, and they become better again when you get a big heal! This is a great ability and worthy of being a Druid capstone.