One of the most versatile classes out there, Druids are probably the most exciting spellcasters to play. They can work as scouts, support, strikers, controllers, and so much more. The flexibility within the class means that you have the power to create incredible and unstoppable builds.

At their core, they might feel very similar to a Cleric—support and healing—but that’s the thing about Druids, they take everyone by surprise. Whether you play as a pure Druid or you find yourself enjoying the various subclasses, they truly are a force of nature (hehe).

How to Use This Guide

Throughout this guide, you will see a series of emojis—we use these to rank how useful a feature or ability is for your chosen class.

✅ — A critical feature that you absolutely need in order to play your class to the best of its ability. May also provide exclusive bonuses.

🆗 — A good feature that should definitely be considered.

⚠️ — A weaker feature that might only work with specific builds. Definitely largely circumstantial.

⛔ — A terrible feature that could be detrimental to your class that often weighs you down. Can also be a dump stat that is completely useless.

The Basics of Druid 5e

For the Druid, wisdom is everything. You’re going to want to make it your priority when you are assigning rolls to attributes. If you’re a Moon Druid and you’re thinking about Wild Shape, you still don’t need to worry about physical scores, as you are using the scores and abilities of the shape you’ve taken.

What is Wild Shape? Well, it can be defined as an “at-will” utility power for Druids. It allows the Druid to switch between their humanoid form and beast form. While they are in their beast form they can use a wide range of spells and attacks, but cannot use most weapons.

Druids can be one of the easiest spellcaster classes to play, which makes them ideal for beginners. However, as your confidence grows you will find that you’re able to create truly complex and powerful builds that really take advantage of what this class has to offer.

Ability Scores

Let’s take a quick look at which scores are important for Druids, and which ones don’t matter so much (also known as ‘dump stats’).

⛔ Strength (STR)

This is a melee stat, therefore not particularly useful to a Druid. If in melee combat, you should be in animal form, which means you’re not using your own stats anyway.

🆗 Dexterity (DEX)

While not massively important, it does give you some extra Armor Class (AC) when you are in Wild Shape.

🆗 Constitution (CON)

This can be useful for gaining a few extra hit points while in your normal form. If you are a Moon Druid, it is not as handy because Wild Shape has its own set of hit points.

⚠️ Intelligence (INT)

This stat is only useful for a Druid if you want to gain knowledge skills, good for building a Druid based around arcana and religion.

✅ Wisdom (WIS)

The core stat for any Druid, Wisdom powers your spells and your rolls.

⛔ Charisma (CHA)

There is no specific need for this stat, but with it, you’ll be a smooth talker, convincing, and good looking—if you’re into that sort of thing.

Player Tip: Do Druids Need Dexterity?

Dexterity isn’t essential for Druids, but it can prove useful as a secondary stat. It boosts your AC while in Wild Shape, and considering the AC for Druids is fairly low as a standard, this is quite helpful when dodging blows and trying to take minimal damage.

If you are planning on wearing light armor instead of medium, the importance of Dexterity increases. If you are wearing medium armor, your DEX modifier for AC will max out at +2 (14 or 15 Dexterity).

Hit Dice

Druids use a d8 for their hit dice, which certainly makes them one of the better spellcasters to play. They aren’t as squishy as wizards, and while you’ll want to avoid charging into battle ahead of everyone else, you’ll be able to take a good hit if needed.

Saving Throws

You get two mental saves when you play as a Druid, which isn’t a surprise considering your primary stat is wisdom. However, making your second primary intelligence isn’t a great move unless you are putting a lot of focus on knowledge.

Proficiencies

The classic studded leather is everything a Druid needs (and it’s always been one of my favorite pieces of gear). Medium armor and shields will give you a great AC. Just remember, you can’t wear metal. As for weapon proficiencies, they don’t matter much for most builds.

Skills

The most important skills for a Druid are Perception, Arcana, Nature, Insight, and Religion. If you want to add Animal Handling you can, but the only thing this really does is add a little pizazz to your roleplaying. Survival can also be a handy one to have but it’s entirely situational.

⛔ Animal Handling (WIS)

This isn’t particularly useful except to enhance roleplay.

✅ Arcana (INT)

Definitely one of the most important Knowledge skills.

🆗 Insight (WIS)

Works really well for the face of the group.

⛔ Medicine (WIS)

Completely pointless, as you have magical healing capabilities.

🆗 Nature (INT)

A good Knowledge skill but less crucial than Arcana or Religion.

✅ Perception (WIS)

The most rolled skill in the game and great for Druids due to the Wisdom.

✅ Religion (INT)

Another one of the most important Knowledge skills.

⚠️ Survival (WIS)

The Wisdom is good, but this is definitely a situational skill.

What Race Is Best for Druids?

The key thing to remember when picking a race for your Druid is that any Wisdom bonuses are absolutely crucial to a successful build. There are some rare exceptions to this rule, such as a Circle of Spores Druid.

Furthermore, Dexterity and Constitution increases can also be incredibly useful— especially as they have a poorer AC, when compared to similar classes like Clerics. Otherwise, you have a lot of flexibility with racial traits and there is nothing too specific to look out for.

You might be thinking that racial traits such as Darkvision or Flight would be particularly useful, but these can be achieved using Wild Shape. Similarly, a Moon Druid doesn’t need to worry about Dexterity or Strength because of their Wild Shape forms.

🌿 Looking for the perfect name for your character? Check out our Druid name ideas

✅ Aarakocra

This race has the perfect ability score increase, while also offering flight. While this race can only fly in light armor, this isn’t an issue for Druids. The Dexterity increase offered by the Aarakocra balances out with the studded leather for a maximum of 14 AC.

Aasimar

⛔ Fallen: The ability spread here is pretty poor.
🆗 Protector: You get a great Wisdom bonus (which you need), and the transformation gives temporary flight—making it perfectly viable for any caster build.
⛔ Scourge: Just like Fallen, the ability spread here is really poor.

⚠️Centaur

They are built nicely for melee combat, which might make them appealing to those who want to play a Circle of Spores Druid – especially as most of their beneficial traits go away when in Wild Shape.

Dwarf

⛔ Duergar: This has a pretty bad ability spread.
🆗 Hill: Offers fantastic durability as well as a Wisdom bonus.
⛔ Mountain: Once again, we see a poor ability spread here.

Elf

⛔ Drow: Really poor ability spread.
⛔ Eladrin: Bad ability spread.
⛔ High Elf: Not a great ability spread for Druids.
⛔ Sea Elf: Poor ability spread (although some pretty cool homebrew options for Sea Druid).
⛔ Shadar-Kai: Bad ability spread.
🆗 Wood Elf: Great Wisdom bonus and you have the benefit of Mask of the Wild working while in Wild Shape.

✅ Firbolg

This is a great race option because it not only provides you with a wisdom increase, but also a load of innate spellcasting abilities that are all based around Nature.

Genasi

⛔ Air: This offers nothing useful for Druids.
⛔ Earth: Again, nothing good for Druids is offered.
⚠️ Fire: This makes spellcasting more effective since it is Constitution-based. However, it is the DM’s discretion whether or not the fire resistance applies during Wild Shape.
✅ Water: You get a great Wisdom bonus, which is crucial. shape water is also an exceptional innate spell to have at your disposal.

Gith

⛔ Githyanki: Nothing useful for Druids is offered here.
🆗 Githzerai: The Wisdom bonus is the obvious plus here, but it also gives you a nice range of spells that aren’t on the standard Druid spell list as well as mental discipline which works in Wild Shape.

Gnome

🆗 Deep: Not the best ability spread for Druid, but can be fun to play.
⚠️ Forest: Nothing particularly useful for Druid.
⛔ Rock: Once again, pretty bad ability spread.

⚠️ Goblin

If you are a Circle of the Moon Druid, Nimble Escape, and Fury of The Small can be useful abilities to have as they both work in Wild Shape. However, other Druid paths will struggle with this race, as there is no Wisdom increase.

⛔ Goliath

Very poor ability spread, which makes this race less-than-ideal for Druids. However, they can be quite beneficial if you go for a customized route and use Stone’s Endurance.

⚠️Grung

This race works really nicely with Circle of Spores, thanks to the natural poison, but the ability scores and traits aren’t the best for Druids when compared to existing capabilities.

Half-Elf

⚠️ Aquatic: This only really works in an aquatic campaign, and even then, there are loads of different spells you can use instead for breathing underwater and faster swimming speeds.
⚠️ Drow: Faerie fire is a great spell, but the DC is Charisma-based. This isn’t ideal for Druids unless you have a specific build or multi-class in mind.
⚠️ High: This only offers Wizard cantrips, which isn’t of much use to Druids, especially as they are intelligence-based a lot of the time. However, booming blade can be pretty tempting for Circle of Spores Druids.
🆗 Standard: The fact that you get two skill proficiencies is excellent here, but you’ll need to dig deep to find anything really worthwhile aside from the class and racial standards.
🆗 Wood: if you have Stealth proficiency, the Mask of the Wild trait is absolutely ideal. Both regular Wood Elf and Half Woof Elf are equally good for Druids.

⚠️ Half-Orc

If you want to create a really lethal build, using Savage Attacks and Relentless Endurance will make your Druid truly formidable as they work in Wild Shape. You also have the bonus of the Orcish Fury racial ability, which ensures the reliable triggering of Relentless Endurance in Wild Shape.

However, these abilities are only useful for Circle of the Moon Druids. Furthermore, they can cause a lag in spellcasting, despite the fact that they create quite a deadly combination.

Halfling

✅ Ghostwise: You get a great Wisdom boost, especially through Silent Speech. This can be used in Wild Shape, allowing for telepathic communication between you and party members.
⛔ Lightfoot: This has a poor ability spread.
⛔ Stout: Once again, the ability spread is pretty poor.

Human

⛔ Vanilla: The majority of the ability increases available with Vanilla Humans are wasted on Druids.
✅ Variant: If you put the bonuses into Constitution and Wisdom, you’re well on the way to success here. Feats aren’t crucial for most Druids, but caster Druids may find that there are benefits to things like Elemental Adept and Polearm Master feats (Moon and Spore, respectively).

✅ Kalashtar

This race offers an excellent wisdom increase that your Druid will certainly benefit from. If your DM allows it, you can also use your natural telepathic traits to communicate with your party and NPCs.

🆗 Kenku

You get that Wisdom increase you need, but you also benefit from a Dexterity boost, which really helps with the AC. While there are extra skill proficiencies that don’t quite align with the class, you can use it to fill in where other classes in your party are lacking—such as a Rogue.

⚠️ Kobold

While there is nothing massively useful for Druids from Kobolds, there is an interesting feature: Pack Tactics could work really well with the Moon Druid. And while it will likely cause you to lag behind on spellcasting, you will be creating a pretty interesting character.

Lizardfolk

🆗 This race has Wisdom bonuses and was built for durability. As a Moon Druid, you can easily survive falling out of Wild Shape a few times thanks to their improved durability, and their natural armor gives a generous boost to your AC. Their Hungry Jaws feature can be quite fun while in Wild Shape.

⚠️Locathah

There isn’t much going for this race if you want to be a Druid, but the Dexterity bonuses are certainly worth keeping in mind. There are also a few free skills that a Druid might be able to utilize efficiently, depending on the build.

✅Loxodon

There are some fantastic ability cores for Druid with this race as well as some helpful passive benefits. Their Natural Armor trait is also Constitution-based, which means you can play around with some impressive durability.

⛔ Orc

Half-Orc is definitely the better choice here. While Aggressive works really well in Wild Shape (it’s quite lethal), it really isn’t enough to justify this racial choice.

Shifter

⛔Beasthide: Bad ability spread.

⛔Longtooth: Very poor ability spread.

⛔Swiftstride: Poor ability spread.

🆗Wildhunt: The ability scores actually line up quite nicely with this ability. Wildhunt Shifting gives you an advantage on ability checks, including those made with Dispel Magic.

✅Simic Hybrid

This race offers loads of versatility and a nice wisdom bonus. However, if you are planning on going Circle of the Moon then this isn’t recommended as Animal Enhancement vanishes when you jump into Wild Shape.

⛔ Tabaxi

Like the Orc, Tabaxi don’t have much going for them if you decide to play a Druid. Feline Agility works nicely in Wild Shape and can be advantageous, but it’s really not enough.

Tiefling

⛔ Asmodeus: Poor ability spread for Druid.

⛔ Baalzebul: Poor ability spread.

⛔ Dispater: Once again, we have a pretty bad ability spread.

⚠️ Fierna: This does offer a Wisdom boost, but the spells are better suited to the face of the party. Some say Druids don’t make good faces, but this can make for a pretty interesting build.

⛔ Glasya: Poor ability spread.

⛔ Levistus: There’s a theme here, and it’s a poor ability spread.

⛔ Mammon: Bad ability spread for Druid.

⛔ Mephistopheles: Poor ability spread.

⛔ Zariel: Poor ability spread.

🆗 Tortle

While the Strength modifier is wasted on Druid, the Wisdom bonus is great. This isn’t the best race for Circle of the Moon Druids, but all other Druids should take a good look at this option. If you’re worried about your survivability and splitting ability scores between DEX, CON, and WIS, this race option takes that stress away.

This is because the Natural racial ability that comes with Tortles matches the maximum AC a Druid can achieve without magic.

⚠️Yuan-Ti Pureblood

This race doesn’t have the best ability spread, but, from a thematic perspective it would make a really interesting build. It is possible that the Magic Resistance and Poison Immunity traits would pass onto Wild Shape as well, although this is down to the discretion of your DM. Sometimes, setting-specific races can provide the most fun.

🆗Vedalken

There are better races to pick, but Vedalken do offer a nice Wisdom increase as well as Tireless Dispassion if you want a good defensive option while in Wild Shape. You can also try playing with the limitations of Tireless Precision if you want a challenge.

✅Warforged

Since there is a flexible ability increase, you can put that straight into Wisdom. There is a handy bonus to AC as well as a nice selection of resistances and immunities. However, since none of it works in Wild Shape, so avoid Circle of the Moon.

Other Races

Not every race is suited to being a Druid, usually, because they have a poor ability spread that doesn’t work to their advantage. Some also have melee-focused abilities that, while good for Spore Druids, aren’t great for the rest. The following races are not well-suited to being a Druid:

Bugbear
Dragonborn
Hobgoblin
Triton
Changeling
Leonin
Minotaur
Satyr
Verdan

Player Tip: Do Druids Have to Prepare Spells?

Druids do not learn spells. Instead, they need to prepare spells every day. There are no restrictions on the spells you can learn each day, but your level limits the number. So, if you wanted to prepare all of your level-one or level-two spells, you would be able to.

If you want to prepare new spells or re-prepare the ones you used that day, you will need a long rest. However, as the player, you cannot choose when a long rest takes place—only the DM can. Therefore, it is important to know how your DM is running the game and communicate.

What Are the Druid Circles (Subclasses)?

While the Druid subclass doesn’t impact the core of your class, it does expand it. Your choice of Circle opens you up to a whole new range of spells and abilities that can enhance your play experience and help you to create a truly powerful build.

In this guide, we keep the subclass information brief so that you have a good idea of what each one offers. Want to get right into the juicy details? Make sure you check out our dedicated guide so you can pick the perfect Circle for your Druid.

🆗Circle of Dreams

This circle has an interesting mix of utility and healing options, but its lack of definition means that it can be hard to determine the role of this circle in the party. It’s a good spellcaster circle, but it is important to remember that many of the traits are highly situational.

Hidden paths is the best spell this subclass has to offer, and it’s a solid Druid version of misty step. You also have balm of the summer court which can be pretty handy and works as a healing pool that is capable of keeping your entire party alive.

✅Circle of Spores

This is a really strong circle to choose from, and it has the added fun of bringing the undead to the party. Almost all of the circle features use your reaction and bonus actions, which frees up a lot of space and allows for some serious power.

Symbiotic entity does use an action, but it also provides you with masses of temporary hit points. This circle also thrives in melee without the need to shift into an animal, and while this does make a Circle of Spores build complicated, it’s also an exciting challenge that’s worth the complexity. Not to mention a fantastic spell list.

✅Circle of Stars

This is an incredibly powerful circle to choose, serving up some serious damage as well as having exceptional healing properties. Starry Form is the signature, similar to the Symbiotic Entity that Circle of Spores benefits from.

Even outside of this form, you’re sitting on a lot of power that you will want to take advantage of. Despite the power, it’s an approachable circle that is ideal for new players and veterans alike. If you ever felt Druid looked like an underwhelming class, well, you haven’t seen this circle yet.

🆗Circle of Wildfire

Your pet is a spirit made of fire, and if that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is. It’s a combination of fire-based magic and healing, and the Elemental Adept feat will help boost your power so that you fully benefit from everything this circle has to offer.

Elemental Bane is also a spell worth considering, although less reliable than Elemental Adept because it relies on a CON save. However, it suppresses resistance to your choice of magic, which means using fire against a fire-resistant enemy is highly effective for you.

🆗Circle of the Land

This circle is all about simplicity and boosting spellcasting, which makes it great for those who don’t want to get too complex with their Druid. This is an approachable circle because you don’t need to manage spells and books like a Wizard, and it keeps a solid focus.

Your bonus cantrip gives you more freedom with spellcasting, and Natural Recovery adds functionality to your build as you become more resilient and sustainable. The spells can be a little hit-and-miss, but the good ones are definitely worth it.

✅Circle of the Moon

Since Wild Shape adds all those delicious hit points to your pool, it is arguably the most durable circle to choose for your Druid. Wild Shape also offers a great deal of versatility, which is what makes this such a popular choice among players.

While a Circle of the Moon Druid is classed as the most powerful in the game, Wild Shape can take time to master and is not always easy. Therefore, you will need to be prepared to put a lot of time and patience into this build for it to reach its full potential.

✅Circle of the Shepherd

This makes for an excellent party support option, allowing you to summon powerful creatures and fey to buff your party and help increase their capabilities. Summoning creatures is a central aspect of this circle, so be prepared to put some practice in if you want to get it right.

The Spirit Totem is a fantastic addition that doesn’t cut into your spellcasting, leaving you with a powerful and versatile option. You also get Speech of the Woods, allowing you to talk with animals constantly which makes them more like scouts instead of buffers.

What Can Druids Shapeshift Into?

Using Wild Shape, there are countless things that you can shapeshift into as a Druid. However, it must be a beast that you have seen before. The environment your Druid grew up in (namely, the biome) will determine the list of beasts they have already seen.

Similarly, if they have been adventuring for a few years, they are likely to have seen a wider range of beasts that can be added to the list—depending on the regions they traveled to. The included beasts will usually be agreed upon by the player and the DM.

There are also a few core rules to remember when using Wild Shape:

You can only transform into a beast at a specific CR or lower according to your level
You cannot transform into a beast with swimming speed until 4th level or higher
You cannot transform into beasts that fly until 8th level or higher
You can use the proficiency bonus of the beast or yourself, whichever is higher
A creature of CR 4 or lower has a proficiency bonus of +2
A creature of CR 5 or 6 has a proficiency bonus of +3

If you want a full list of creatures that your Druid can shapeshift into, D&D Beyond has a fantastic list that you can check out. To give you a good idea of the options, we have selected a few of the best transformations that you could potentially use.

NOTE: Circle of the Moon Druids can use Wild Shape to take the form of high CR beasts as early as 2nd level. Other Druids can only really use Wild Shape in combat at low levels.

Some of the coolest creatures you can shift into are below, but we have a pretty detailed guide on Wild Shape forms that you can check out if you want to know more.

Giant Wolf Spider: This has a CR of 1-4, and at low levels, there is a lot going for this form. It has incredible climbing speed, a high AC, and paralytic poison to wrap it up nicely.
Dire Wolf: They don’t have the highest damage but have great staying power and also benefit from Pack Tactics, as well as a high AC and a good number of hit points.
Brontosaurus: I mean, the fact you’re turning into this is reason enough, but if you need a little more convincing, then 20ft attack reach should tickle your fancy.

Giant Eagle: We’re talking Tolkien-style eagles here, able to carry a couple of party members on their backs. Did I mention the 80ft flying speed as well?
Elephant: You can only have this form as a Circle of the Moon Druid, but you can carry the whole party since you can take 1,320lbs.

What Are the Druid Multiclasses?

Technically, the subclasses are the Druid Circles that we have detailed above. However, there is also the option for multiclassing—which can be an interesting form of subclass to explore. There are loads of multiclassing combinations, but here are some popular choices.

NOTE: When you are coming up with your own multiclassing options, keep in mind that Druids are prohibited from wearing metal armor.

🆗 Barbarian

Moon Druids have the Barbarian as a common choice because of Rage and Unarmored Defence. You get two Rages per day and a +2 strength, which is pretty good, and Primal Path makes for a tempting choice if you want a third rage.

⚠️ Cleric

Since it is a Wisdom-based class, it is a sensible choice, and it offers some really helpful benefits and spells that can make your class more interesting to play.

🆗 Monk

If you’re going for a single level, this is the better choice for Unarmored Defence. All the extra AC makes it an ideal combo for the Circle of Spores Druids because it allows for more reliable melee combat. Plus, martial arts gives Symbiotic Entity an extra attack.

⚠️ Paladin

For Moon Druids, two levels for Divine Smite and Fighting Style are good choices. Many of the Paladin abilities will work in Wild Shape, but it can lead to you giving up a lot of offensive potential as a result. Overall, Paladin can be a mixed bag for multiclassing.

⚠️ Warlock

For Druids who spend a lot of time in Wild Shape (guilty), the telepathy granted with a single level can come in really handy. However, if you have a high-level party with the Wizard, consider that Telepathic Bond is more effective.

Druid Feats and Magic Items

Feats and magic items are important, but it should be noted that we can’t go into detail about every single one here because that would be an entire guide in itself. Instead, let’s start with the Druid feats—but only the ones that are actually beneficial to the Druid class.

Feats

🆗 Elemental Adept: Land Druids in particular are going to get a lot out of this.
🆗 Fey-Touched: You get some great additional spells that add a lot to your versatility.
🆗 Lucky: Quite self-explanatory and good for everyone.
✅ Metamagic Adept: This is ideal for any spellcaster, and gives Druids some great bonuses.
🆗 Mobile: All of the effects apply during Wild Shape, which tells you everything.
🆗 Observant: In addition to Perception being a great Druid spell, also gives a +1 to Wisdom.
🆗 Resilient: Offers you a really helpful Constitution proficiency that adds a lot of durability.
🆗 Shadow Touched: Opens up nice options that Druids don’t usually have like invisibility.
🆗 Skill Expert: Get your expertise in Perception for a really solid and reliable skill.
🆗 Telepathic: For Circle of the Moon Druids, this solves the telepathy issues.

Magic Items

Like feats, there are just too many of these to go through to be able to list them all—you’ll have to check out our magic item guides for something more detailed. Instead, we’ll take you through some of the very best options for the Druid class.

Common

Staff of Adornment/Birdcalls/Flowers: This quarterstaff can overcome resistance to non-magical attacks. It is most helpful for Druids that are using Shillelagh.

Uncommon

Bag of Tricks: You don’t get to choose what you get, but you do get a friendly creature that will obey commands and help you out using a bonus action every turn. They are friendly to you and your allies, make great scouts, and can be used as an expendable bundle of hit points.
Moon Sickle: The rarity of this varies, with the uncommon being a +1, rare +2, and very rare +3 to spell attacks, saves, attack rolls, and damage rolls. The healing is also fantastic for a Druid, but it is not the best weapon for actually attacking with.
Sentinel Shield: Nothing is rolled more than Perception, and you are likely the best at it. The advantage provides a great deal of protection against ambushes and other surprises. You also get a nice little advantage on initiative rolls and it’s perfect for multiclassing with a Cleric.

Rare

Amulet of Health: It can boost your Constitution to 19, which really helps with the whole durability issue that Druids often have. However, if you are able to get Barrier Tattoo as your magical item that is even better since it works with AC instead.
Barrier Tattoo: It will match the AC of half-plate without you having to wear armor, which is a huge boost for Druids and it works in Wild Shape. It costs a rare item to do it, but it’s worth it for how effective it is.
Belt of Giant Strength (Hill): It works in Wild Shape to give you strength-based attacks. Imagine shifting into a mouse and having 21 AC? It’s actually possible.
Cloak of Displacement: It is one of the best defensive items you will find, taking damage from any source and temporarily suppressing the damage.
Ring of Spell Storing: Another great potential defensive asset, you can fill it with useful spells that can be recharged whenever possible.

Very Rare

Belt of Giant Strength (Frost, Stone, Fire): Uses the elements mentioned in the title and can be used during Wild Shape. A really great choice.
Manual of Bodily Health: Gives you a permanent Constitution bonus and a +2 cap.
Staff of Fire: If you want access to things like Burning Hands or Fireball, this is exactly the magic item you need. It expands the spells available to your Druid.
Tome of Understanding: Gives you a permanent Wisdom bonus and a +2 cap.

Legendary

Belt of Giant Strength (Cloud, Storm): Once again, some great elemental powers and it works in Wild Shape for more versatility.
Cloak of Invisibility: One of the most powerful abilities in the game, you can still attack while invisible as well as your usual spells. It’s honestly pretty incredible.
Ring of Three Wishes: Everyone wants to be able to get a wish, and if you lose the ability to receive one you can pass it on to an ally. Use them wisely.

Player Tip: Why Can’t Druids Use Metal?

Wearing metal is taboo for Druids, and it has been that way since the inception of the class. The metal applies to both armor and shields—neither can be used by a Druid. This is because they prefer to be protected by animal skins and other natural materials.

It’s not that anything bad will happen to a Druid if they choose to wear metal, it’s that it goes against their moral code. It is part of their identity. However, if a Druid comes across scale mail that is not made of metal, they might choose to wear that—especially if it is natural.

Just because the lore says that Druids cannot wear metal doesn’t mean it won’t ever happen. If you have a Druid that you want to actively break taboo, this is possible. However, you will need to talk to your DM first as it is down to their discretion—make sure to keep communication open.

Are Druids Overpowered?

Druids definitely aren’t overpowered, there is a lot of balance in the class. Just like every other class, they do get combos that give them extra advantages, but none that put them head and shoulders above the rest.

Druids remain one of the most consistently powerful classes, but the key is in the build. You need to learn the formula and figure out how to construct a Druid that balances that power. The good news is that’s fairly easy to do and there is loads of versatility in the creation process.

Of course, if you decide to take a homebrew approach with your DM, there is a higher risk of an unbalanced class and overpowered spells that could break the game or make it less fun for other players. So, ensure you are being sensible if you decide to go with homebrew spells.

To Wrap It Up

We hope you enjoyed this guide to playing Druid in D&D 5e. We’d love to hear all about your Druid build and the way in which you’re exploring the class to create the best possible adventure. Why not show us how this guide has helped enhance your D&D adventures? We love hearing from you, so drop your experiences in the comment section below.