Bard - D&D 2024 Class Optimisation Guide

Suave, skillful spellcasters with a cool charisma, bards are the jack of all trades of classes. See how you can optimise one with the revised D&D 2024 class.

Bards are performers. They sing, act, juggle swords and can dance on the head of a pin as well (at least with the new dance bard they can)! But they’re even more than this. They are students of the arts, trained in colleges in stage arts as well as swordsmanship and sorcery. They tap into the very words of creation to cast magical effects, using music and dance to channel their powers.

Most classes excel in one particular thing, and to some extent, bards are no different. They ooze charisma, making them the ultimate socialite. If you’re looking for a character that can schmooze and lie their way into any lair or dungeon, then a bard is the one for you.

But bards are so much more than just kings (or queens) of charisma. They are also the ultimate jack of all trades class. Capable of practically any role in a party (if not expert in it). They can make a great backup rogue, spellcaster or even melee combatant, especially with the right subclass and build.

And on that note, this is exactly what my guide is for. Bards are tricky to balance with so many competing abilities and ways to use them. Beware though, that all of this makes them a tricky class to play (probably one of the hardest) and I generally wouldn’t recommend them for new players. This particular guide is for the D&D 2024 version of the bard, but we also have a guide for the 2014 bard too.

At a glance

Choose a bard if you want…

The best face skills in the game
To play a full spellcaster
Want lots of versatility
Want a lot of options outside of combat
To be a buffing specialist

A bard might not be for you if…

You don’t want to cast spells
Prefer your spells to just deal damage
Really don’t want to be the party face
You hate having too many options
Prefer playing someone with a more defined expertise

What’s changing for bards in D&D 2024?

Bards were already a very strong class in D&D 2014 and they remain that way for the 2024 version too. We do get some interesting changes though that keep the essence of the class the same, but ensure you can really maximise on your bardic inspiration, change a couple of un-useful features and get more chances to grab spells from other classes.

The main changes for bards are:

Can change cantrips known when levelling up
Characters can use bardic inspiration an hour after receiving it
Bardic inspiration can be used after you’ve found out a roll has failed
You can exchange spell slots for uses of bardic inspiration at level 5
Countercharm is a reaction, granting advantage on a reroll of a failed charmed or frightened saving throw
Magical secrets now lets you pick spells from other class lists with much less limitations on numbers of spells, but you can only choose from the spell lists of wizards, clerics and druids
At level 20, you know power word heal and power word kill and can cast them on 2 targets simultaneously!

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Tactics

Yolande high elf wizard DnD 2024 — Bard: Wizards of the Coast

Bards are big on buffs and debuffs as well as being skill masters, but are also pretty capable at most roles in a party (if not specialists). I’d suggest using the below tactics when playing as a bard:

Face skills

Bards use charisma for their spellcasting ability, combine this with lots of skill proficiencies and expertise and you have a top tier party face. Invest in things like persuasion, deception, intimidation and insight for a very reliable socialite.

Out of combat utility

On top of that, you not only have loads of other skills you can invest in, you also have jack of all trades making you decent at all skills. Many bard spells can also be used outside of combat making you the utility specialist. Grab things like mage hand to grab things out of reach or minor illusion to distract guards. Invisibility will help with stealth while speak with dead will help with information gathering.

Picking the right spells

Bards are a little unique as they have their own spell list, but from level 10 (or level 6 if you play a lore bard) you can start picking spells from the spell lists of clerics, druids and wizards. This means you can basically fill whatever spellcasting role you won’t. Before this point though, bards are big on buffs and debuffs but with some capacity to deal damage and heal. You can check out my guide to bard spells for a load of advice on what spells to take and I’ll dig into magical secrets in a future article too.

Bardic inspiration

Bardic inspiration is a great buff you can give your allies. Beef up your charisma for more bardic inspiration uses and hand it out to those most in need of improved rolls. Rogues trying to land a sneaky attack are a good option, as are front lines warriors that take the brunt of attacks. Subclasses usually have a separate use for bardic inspiration to consider as well.

Different play styles for different subclasses

Depending on how you want to play will depend on what subclass you take. Valor bards make solid melee combatants and are capable of mixing cantrip damage with their attacks. Dance bards also work well in melee using unarmed strikes and hit and run tactics while supporting allies. Glamour and lore bards tend to be more spell focused, steering clear of danger a little more.

Condition protection

Countercharm lets you use your reaction to protect from the effects of the charmed and frightened conditions (both common conditions). If you know you’re facing creatures that inflict these things, it’s worth sticking by your allies for support. On top of this, bardic inspiration works on all d20 tests, including saving throws, making you a great protection from conditions.

Not that tough

While some bards can mix it as melee warriors, even the valor bard isn’t particularly tough. You’ll typically have HP and AC on the lower end of things. Be aware of this in combat. Spell-focused bards should stick away from enemies where possible while melee-focused bards should often try and use hit and run tactics.

How to optimise a bard

Bards can be tricky to optimise as there are a lot of ways to approach them. Below I’ve given a load of advice on how to do this, but consider checking out my subclass guides for bards if you’re looking to build around a particular subclass.

Ability scores

Recommended options

Charisma: Important for spells, bardic inspiration and face skills.
Dexterity: Perhaps slightly more important than charisma for a Valor bard (depending on your play style), but important for all bards. You’ll need it for AC and weapon attacks.
Constitution: You’re a relatively vulnerable class so this makes a decent tertiary ability. If you plan to play a melee bard though, you may want to focus a little more on this.

Options to avoid

Strength: Use dexterity if you’ll be making weapon attacks.
Wisdom: Of little use to a bard.
Intelligence: Of little use to a bard.

Ability score	Point Buy	Standard Array
Strength	8	8
Dexterity	15	14
Constitution	15	13
Intelligence	8	10
Wisdom	8	12
Charisma	15	15

Skills

Recommended options

Deception: Important for a face (which you surely will be as a bard) especially if you intend on lying a lot.

Intimidation: Another useful one for a party face.
Persuasion: Your most important face skill.
Stealth: Regularly useful and you often can’t rely on one character being good at this.
Perception: Important for anyone in the party and highly used.
Insight: Important face skill and you may find you need this to compensate for a lower wisdom score.

Options to avoid

Nature: Used far too little to be of much use.
Survival: Used far too little to be of much use.
Animal handling: Used far too little to be of much use.
Athletics: You’re not strength based so go with acrobatics if you want one of these.
Medicine: You’re better off healing magically.

Species/race

I’m going to split this into 2 sections as different species work better for different bard builds.

Melee bard

Resilience: You’re a bit vulnerable for a frontline warrior, so anything you can do to increase your resilience will be beneficial.
Damage dealing: Even a Valor bard can be a little light on damage output. Consider picking up traits that can enhance your combat prowess to help you keep pace with other martials.

Recommended options

Aasimar (2024): Resistance to necrotic and radiant damage increases your hardiness. All the celestial revelation options are great for a valor bard. You can use flight when you need to get safe or use necrotic shroud or inner radiance for a more aggressive approach. A bit of healing is decent too for a backup healer.
Dragonborn (2024): You don’t get many AoE spells as a bard so a Dragonborn makes a good option with their breath weapon. You can use it in place of one of your attacks and combine it with thunderclap for a turn of somewhat explosive AoE damage. You also get temporary flight which is great for hit and run tactics. Plus there’s a resistance for better durability.
Dwarf (2024): An extra hit point per level is great for a vulnerable melee specialist. And for even more resilience, you have resistance against poison and advantage on saving throws against the poisoned condition.
Goliath (2024): Faster movement makes you even better at traversing the battlefield. Your giant ancestry grants some very useful options too. For a melee bard, I’d lean into being more durable by taking stone giant ancestry for the damage reduction as you’re quite vulnerable on the front line. If you do want to be more aggressive though, you can go with the fire giant for extra damage.
Orc (2024): A couple of great endurance features here with temporary hit points and relentless endurance to save you when knocked to 0HP. Great for a vulnerable melee warrior.

Spellcasting bard

Innate spellcasting: Bards can cast spells so this is a useful option for repeat castings and gaining some extra spell options. Bards can be a bit limited on damage dealing spells too so it can be worth trying to pick up one or 2 of these as well for better ranged combat options.
Keeping safe: Bards aren’t particularly durable, especially those that focus on spellcasting. Instead, you’ll need to keep yourself safe and out of harm’s way. Anything that can keep you safe then is a great boon. This includes things like flight or misty step-like abilities.

Recommended options

Aasimar (2024): As above, but you may want to consider an Aasimar more for their temporary flight alongside their other very useful features.
Dragonborn (2024): Similarly, you could opt for a Dragonborn more for their temporary flight for that extra safety. A breath weapon is less useful for you, but if you happen to get in trouble with a crowd at some point, it could be a good option.
Elf (2024): An extra skill and darkvision will help you be a better scout and general skill guru. But you’re mainly here for the innate spellcasting. High Elf is a good option for misty step and an extra cantrip (toll the dead will make you more effective at dealing damage without expending spell slots, but you can change this around if you want too). Drow is good for buffs and debuffs with the likes of faerie fire and darkness. You could go for a Wood Elf for the better stealth, but it’s generally the weaker option.
Gnome (2024): Extra magic resilience is great. A Forest Gnome is best with speak with animals which works really well for a high charisma character while minor illusion is great if you want to get involved in stealth (which is easy to build for with a bard).
Tiefling (2024): Repeat uses of 4 innate spells is great for a spellcasting class. If you take the infernal legacy, you gain access to firebolt for scalable ranged damage that will outstrip damage from a light crossbow. You get a resistance to a common damage type for extra durability too.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds are much more important now with D&D 2024 as the ability score increases previously tied to your race/species are now linked to your background. You also get an origin feat linked to your background too.

The best backgrounds for a bard are pretty similar whether you go for a melee or spellcasting specialist, but you may choose to prioritise certain feats and ability score increases over others depending on your build. I’d recommend the following backgrounds:

Name	Ability scores	Origin feat	Skill proficiencies	Tool proficiency
Charlatan	Dexterity, constitution, charisma	Skilled	Deception, sleight of hand	Forgery kit
Entertainer	Strength, dexterity, charisma	Musician	Acrobatics, performance	One kind of musical instrument
Merchant	Constitution, intelligence, charisma	Lucky	Animal handling, persuasion	Navigator’s tools
Wayfarer	Dexterity, wisdom, charisma	Lucky	Insight, stealth	Thieves’ tools

Wayfarer is an excellent option for any bard, as is charlatan.

Choosing your subclass

Like all classes in D&D 2024, bards get their subclass at level 3 known as a college. You can find my guides on each of the 2024 bard subclasses below or you can check out my guide to bard subclasses for some broader advice:

College of dance

A brand new bard subclass that uses their fancy footwork to weave in and out of danger as well as to kick their enemies into submission. They are also buffing specialists that work best with a partner or 2.

College of dance

College of glamour

Wielding the magic of the Fey, these enigmatic bards can enrapture audiences and invoke terror in equal measure with the power to pull at the emotional strings of their enemies.

College of glamour

College of lore

Students of magic, politics, history and many other disciplines, lore bards make excellent spellcasters with a wide range of spells at their disposal.

College of lore

College of the moon

Draw upon the power of the Moonwells of the Moonshae Isles to both harm and heal.

College of the moon

College of valor

Trained in swordsmanship, valor bards are capable of going toe to toe with their enemies. They’ll stab with one hand while invoking magic with the other.

College of valor

Feats

Origin feats

To help with picking your background (or if you’re playing a Human), I’ve evaluated your origin feat options for a bard:

Recommended options

Alert: Ensures your initiative rolls are higher allowing you to go earlier in combat. Works best on a spell-focused bard that wants to land an AoE spell early in combat (the best time to do this normally). May be a little wasted on a melee bard who likely needs some friends in combat to support them, but you can always pass your initiative boost to someone else (or cast a spell).
Lucky: Great on any class to have some extra rerolls available.
Magic initiate: Grab some extra spells known from another spell list. Something like toll the dead from the wizard’s spell list will outperform starry wisp for damage, at least if you don’t want to wait till level 10 for this from magical secrets.
Musician: A generally excellent origin feat for helping your allies out with some heroic inspiration (kind of like a slightly better lucky, you give to your friends). Not that you need proficiency with 3 more musical instruments though.
Tough: Really valuable extra hit points for a melee bard who can expect to take a beating. Decent enough for other bards too as resilience is always useful.

General feats

At level 4, you can start picking up general feats.

Recommended options

Defensive duelist: Worth considering for a valor bard for a bit more durability. Not much good for anyone else.
Fey touched: Misty step is great (and you don’t get it with your class). Plus you get more spells known.
Inspiring leader: Temporary hit points after every rest for your whole party is very handy. Just make sure you’re boosting your charisma for this feat.
Mage slayer: Great for disrupting mages and gives you something similar to legendary resistance.
Resilient: Grab proficiency in constitution saving throws to help you maintain concentration.
Shadow touched: Invisibility and an illusion spell are great for a caster class.
Warcaster: Great for better concentration and spells as opportunity attacks.
Weapon master: If you want your valor bard’s attacks to do more, you can grab a weapon mastery.

Epic boon feats

At level 19, you can choose an epic boon which will grant you a super feat and an ability score increase that also allows your ability scores to go above the usual maximum of 20!

Recommended options

Boon of the night spirit: Great for keeping ranged bards safe with invisibility and resistances.
Boon of fate: Universally useful for ensuring crucial d20 rolls are passed or failed.
Boon of dimensional travel: Free uses of misty step every turn keeps you safe or allows you to move easily between targets.
Boon of fortitude: A big stack of extra hit points is great for melee bards like dance and valor bards.
Boon of recovery: Another great one for melee bards. Allows you to heal yourself with a bonus action and recover half your hit points if you’re reduced to 0.

A dishonourable mention goes to the boon of skill which seems like a nice fit for a bard, but between so many proficiencies, expertise and jack of all trades, ends up having too little impact for a bard. The Player’s Handbook also recommends the boon of spell recall, but this is actually quite a weak epic boon as the number of spells you’re likely to recover from this is quite minimal, especially considering they’re low level spells (when you’ll be at least level 19 at this point).

Weapons

Once you hit level 5, a damage dealing cantrip will be your best option for damage. Before then, you can grab a light crossbow for ranged attacks and a dagger for the occasional melee attacks you might make.

This changes a bit if you’re playing a valor bard as you get access to martial weapons and can combine cantrips with weapon attacks. A heavy crossbow could work here once you can combine cantrips with weapon attacks, but you do sacrifice the use of a shield. Otherwise, go for daggers for the occasional thrown attack and use a rapier in melee.

Armor

Studded leather is your best option. Unless you’re a dance bard, then you’ll want to lean on your unarmored defence. A valor bard is usually best off taking a shield and could use medium armor (half plate is best) if needed but you should work to get your dexterity high enough that this wouldn’t be needed for long.

Bard quick builds

If you’re still struggling to know how to build your bard, I’ve popped a couple of ideas below for different types of builds you could use. I’ve taken these up to level 3 as this is where the Player’s Handbook recommends most players start (and because it allows you to see how these builds look once you get your subclass). If you are starting at 1st level, just remember to not include features you only get after level 1.

Support caster

Good for

Healing, buffs and debuffs. Expect to make your allies better and your enemies worse.

Creating a support caster

Ability Scores (Point Buy/Standard Array)

Strength: 8/8
Dexterity: 15/14
Constitution: 15/13
Intelligence: 8/10
Wisdom: 8/12
Charisma: 15/15

Skills: Persuasion (expertise), deception (expertise), sleight of hand, perception (High Elf), insight (wayfarer), stealth (wayfarer), performance (subclass feature), intimidation (subclass feature), acrobatics (subclass feature)

Species: High Elf – Take toll the dead as your cantrip and perception as your skill

Background: Wayfarer – If using point buy, add +2 to charisma and +1 to dexterity. If using standard array, add +2 to dexterity and +1 to charisma (to get them both up to 16).

Subclass: College of lore

Spells known

Cantrips: Minor illusion, mage hand, toll the dead (High Elf)
Level 1: Dissonant whispers, healing word, silent image, detect magic
Level 2: Hold person, shatter

Weapons: Light crossbow, dagger

Armor: Studded leather

Melee specialist

Good for

Great at getting involved in combat for hit and run tactics supplemented by spells and buffs.

Creating a melee specialist

Ability Scores (Point Buy/Standard Array)

Strength: 8/8
Dexterity: 15/15
Constitution: 15/13
Intelligence: 8/10
Wisdom: 8/12
Charisma: 15/14

Skills: Persuasion (expertise), deception (expertise), intimidation, insight (wayfarer), stealth (wayfarer)

Species: Dragonborn – Take acid resistance/damage

Background: Wayfarer – If using point buy, add +2 to dexterity and +1 to charisma. If using standard array, add +2 to charisma and +1 to dexterity (to get them both up to 16).

Subclass: College of valor

Spells known