However, with everything that the Druid has going for it, from combat to the guidance for better role playing, there are still ways that the class can be improved as Dungeons & Dragons prepares its next edition. One place to start when it comes to improving the design of the Druid from 5E to 6E could be to look at the spells available for this and other classes.
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More Druid-Specific Spells
The list of spells a Druid has available in D&D isn’t exactly limited, with dozens to choose from in the lower leveled slots, tapering off as the power of each available slot increases. This isn’t even an uncommon situation for most spellcasting classes, with many of them being able to learn numerous spells available to several different character types. However, it isn’t the base number of spells alone that needs a boost, but instead the number of spells that are specifically built for the Druid that could be improved.
Introducing some powerful spells to the Druid’s arsenal could help incentivize players to choose this specific caster over others, especially as this spellcaster is one of few that gets 9th level spells without access to Wish. So, introducing more spells that can only come from the best Druid builds in D&D could counter how limited the access to spells get at higher levels. Something along the lines of Moonbeam at higher levels that could be used for similar crowd control, or maybe even twisting illusions that can keep a party safe when out in the wilderness.
The important thing to note about some of these spells, which could pull some options from the list of Homebrew spells from D&D’s fans, is how it would better separate Druids from Wizards or Sorcerers. While the Druid Circle subclasses do grant the class a good amount of individualism, a spellcaster’s list of spells often becomes more important than features. It would just act as one more degree of separation that would make the Druid class more desirable to players looking to try something different.
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Increase and Meld Druid Subclasses
When Dungeons & Dragons 5E first launched, Druids only really had two Circles to choose from for players only using the Player’s Handbook to make their characters. Later expansions like Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and Xanathar’s Guide to Everything did expand the list of subclasses fairly widely. However, since then, some of the more interesting concepts for Druid Circles are still in the beta development that are referred to as the Unearthed Arcana, such as the Twilight subclass.
In addition to all-new subclasses, D&D’s Unearthed Arcana also has suggested reworks for each of the Druid Circles that give an attempted rebalancing between editions. These newly balanced versions of the subclasses could be the building blocks to expanding the number of Druid Circles that appear when D&D 6E launches. Some subclasses can even have elements melded together or swapped in order to create completely new ways for players to customize and utilize the Druid.
In addition to moving around some subclass features around among each other, the Moon Circle in particular could be a great candidate as one subclass to be cannibalized directly into the base class. The improvements that the current Moon Circle bring to shape-shifting could easily just be a part of the Druid’s main toolkit in 6E, as opposed to needing to sacrifice something else as interesting as Stars or Dreams. Considering that many of these features are what helps separate D&D’s Druids from Rangers, or any other spellcaster, leaning into what makes the class unique could be the best way to make things more exciting in the next edition of the game. Even making only small changes could be exactly what the Druid class needs to stay relevant.
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