Conjurer Wizard: D&D 2024 (5.5e) Subclass Optimisation Guide

Conjure resilient summons to command in battle with this conjuration focused wizard.

At a glance

What’s changed in D&D 2024?

The 2014 school of conjuration wizard was alright, but it needed beefing up a bit to really make it a master of conjuration and make conjuring properly worthwhile. That’s exactly what they’ve done with the 2024 version with the following changes:

• Subclass at level 3: Like all subclasses in D&D 2024, the conjurer features now kick in at level 3 rather than level 2.
• Conjuration savant completely changes: No longer makes it easier and cheaper to copy conjuration spells to your spell book. Instead, you get an extra conjuration spell known whenever you gain access to a new spell level.
• Benign transposition moved to level 3: It’s also improved, requiring only a bonus action to cast (rather than an action) and having more uses without having to replenish by casting a conjuration spell.
• Minor conjuration is gone: With benign transposition now at level 3, you can no longer just conjure a small object you’ve seen before.
• Longer range summons at level 6: Now that benign transposition is at level 3, you get longer range benign transposition at level 6.
• Durable summons moves to level 6: This was previously the level 14 feature. To handle the reduced power levels, this now provides scaled temporary hit points rather than a flat 30 for all your summons.
• Splintered summons at level 14: To replace the space left by durable summons at level 14, you now get splintered summons which halves the hit points of a summoned creatures, but produces 2 of them.

Conjurer features

Benign transposition (Lv3) – 4/5

Depending on your intelligence, this should be 3-5 uses of something a little better than misty step. Misty step is great on its own for extended movement and just getting out of hairy situations, but this adds another fun facet to it by being able to swap places with a willing creature.

Imagine an assassin attacking your conjurer when a barbarian suddenly appears in their face and you escape to safety. This is great for maneuverability and better than what the cartographer gets at this level.

Conjuration savant (Lv3) – 4/5

Conjurers really lean heavily into summon spells as many of their features enhance your summoned creatures. The school of conjuration isn’t all about summons, but you should make sure you have at least a few of these on hand. Preferably with different effects they can be causing so you can adapt to the enemies you face.

You can also look to some other teleportation effects and battlefield control spells like web and stinking cloud. The following are all great conjuration spells:

• Cloudkill
• Conjure minor elementals
• Dimension door
• Evard’s black tentacles
• Find familiar (durable summons at level 6 will work on a familiar too so you have one of the toughest familiar around)
• Mage hand
• Maze
• Steel wind strike (cast this then use your benign transposition to teleport away from your targets to safety)
• Summon X (Any summon spell can be good options but in my data analysis of summoning spells, I found that summon dragon was one of the strongest options)
• Web
• Wish

Distant transposition (Lv6) – 4/5

60ft range to your benign transposition is some really far bonus action teleportation. I probably would prefer to use my level 3 spells slots on other things (even if the level feels roughly right). But it is a good option in an emergency.

Durable summons (Lv6) – 4/5

12-40 temporary hit points for each of your summons is a solid buff. You need to be investing in conjuring summons to make that worthwhile, but that is the primary reason to be playing a conjurer after all.

There’s some really strong resistances here to most damage types. It only lasts while the temporary hit points are there which may only be a couple of attacks, but the higher your level, the longer the resistance should last. This goes a long way to making your summons last longer.

Focused conjuration (Lv10) – 4/5

Losing concentration on a spell is a major pain. Being immune to this (from damage at least) is a big boost for your conjuration spells.

It’s noteworthy that this makes a large chunk of the conjuration adept feat obsolete as that boosts your concentration saving throws for conjuration school spells. Because of Conjuration savant as well, and your better version of misty step, I’d probably say that Conjuration savant isn’t worth taking for a conjurer. Unless you’ll only be playing at levels lower than 10.

Splintered summons (Lv14) – 5/5

While the hit points of the 2 summons you now create are halved, this is a considerable upgrade on your summons. Partly because the temporary hit points from durable summons applies to both summoned creatures. But the much bigger impact is that you now double the impact of your summons. If they have 2 attacks, between the 2, they now have 4 attacks. If one is affected by a condition, the other isn’t and so on.

This will work best on high level summon spells as the effect is magnified by doubling the summons. This is especially the case when it comes to multiple attacks.

How good is the conjurer?

The conjurer is a rock solid wizard subclass with some strong evasiveness through teleportation and some great enhancements to summons and conjuration spells. They essentially leave you with a bit of a meat shield and some extra damage output at the cost of your concentration.

Because summons last a while, they can be very generous on your spell slots making the conjurer a subclass that will likely preserve their spell slots better than most.

If you’re keen on enhanced summoning spells and using them regularly, then the conjurer does a really good job of this. That’s not the only trick up their sleeve though, so remember you can do other things like conjure webs, mage hands and mazes too.

4/5

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Building an optimised conjurer

Conjurers follow mostly the same pattern as other wizards when it comes to build optimisation. You want to build for a backline spellcaster. The spells themselves may be different (a greater leaning towards conjuration spells) but other aspects of your build will be largely the same.

Below I’ve pieced together loads of advice on how you can build an optimised conjurer.

Ability scores

Recommended options

• Intelligence: Your most important ability score. You’ll need this for spellcasting prowess, knowledge skills and more uses of benign transposition.
• Dexterity: You’ll need this to have any kind of decent AC. You should consider grabbing the mage armor spell or the lightly armored feat to complement this and enhance your AC further.
• Constitution: Wizards have the smallest hit die in the game making them highly susceptible to damage. Upping this where you can will help make your character a bit more durable and help with concentration saving throws. If you intend to mostly use conjuration concentration spells and will be playing a lot from level 10+, this may be less important for a conjurer (due to focused conjuration).

Options to avoid

• Strength: You’ve got almost no use for strength.
• Wisdom: Only useful for some skills and saving throws, otherwise, not worth investing in.
• Charisma: This is mostly for face skills which wizards aren’t that great at and you don’t have the space for.

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

Skills

Recommended options

• Arcana: Common knowledge skill and you have the intelligence to back it up.
• History: Another common intelligence skill.
• Investigation: Investigation comes up a fair bit and as one of the few intelligence based classes, you’re in a good place to help here.
• Nature: This feels like the domain of rangers and druids, but as an intelligence skill, this is another that a wizard is well placed to focus on.
• Religion: Unless you have a cleric in the party, religion proficiency can be useful for all that religious lore you need to know.

Species/race

I’d look for species with the following qualities:

• Resilience: You could use your species to make you more durable. Things like extra HP, damage resistances, flight and teleportation will all help you either survive more damage, or get away from danger.
• Innate spellcasting: The more spells you have in your repertoire, the more situations you can aid your party with. Innate spellcasting will help you fulfill that role more and often give you free castings of spells too.

Recommended options

• Aasimar (2024): Damage resistances make you more durable. Some bonus action healing helps you play backup healer (an area of spellcasting wizards happen to be quite poor at). But you’re mainly here for temporary flight which will keep you a lot safer in nasty battles.
• Elf (2024): An extra skill and darkvision are both helpful but innate spellcasting is the most useful aspect for a wizard. High Elf is a good option for misty step and an extra cantrip. Drow are good for buffs and debuffs with the likes of faerie fire and darkness. Wood Elves are more about speed and stealth.
• Gnome (2024): Gnomish cunning is great against magical effects. Minor illusion and speak with animals are good utility options for a utility caster.
• Human (2024): If you need to boost your skill proficiencies to take full advantage of all those knowledge skills, then Human’s a good option. The consistent supply of heroic inspiration is useful too. I’d use the extra origin feat on the kinds of feats that can be difficult to grab through a compatible background. Things like tough are good for this.
• Tiefling (2024): 4 extra spells known is mainly what you’re after here.

Backgrounds

Backgrounds are much more important now with D&D 2024 with ability score increases, origin feats and skills all now linked to your background.

For a conjurer, I’d prioritise intelligence and then one of dexterity or constitution with the below being your best options:

Name	Ability scores	Origin feat	Skill proficiencies	Tool proficiency
Artisan	Strength, dexterity, intelligence	Crafter	Investigation, persuasion	One kind of artisan’s tools
Criminal	Dexterity, constitution, intelligence	Alert	Sleight of hand, stealth	Thieves’ tools
Merchant	Constitution, intelligence, charisma	Lucky	Animal handling, persuasion	Navigator’s tools
Mulhorandi tomb raider (HoF)	Dexterity, constitution, intelligence	Lucky	Investigation, religion	Mason’s tools
Sage	Constitution, intelligence, wisdom	Magic initiate (wizard)	Arcana, history	Calligrapher’s tools
Scribe	Dexterity, intelligence, wisdom	Skilled	Investigation, perception	Calligrapher’s tools
Spellfire initiate (HoF)	Constitution, intelligence, charisma	Spellfire spark	Arcana, perception	One kind of gaming set

Feats

Origin feats

I’d say the below are your best origin feats for a conjurer:

• Lucky: Invoking advantage and disadvantage is always handy. Consider using this for something like an upcast chromatic orb to increase the accuracy.
• Magic initiate: Grab some extra spells known from another spell list (or from your own). Wizards need a good range of spells and grabbing them from a other class list can help you fill any spellcasting gaps in the party (like becoming a backup healer with healing word for instance).
• 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).
• Skilled: If the party needs a bit more proficiency in knowledge skills, you’re a good candidate for that. This can bump up your number of skill proficiencies a decent bit.
• Spellfire spark (HoF): Some damage reduction against spells and a bonus action cantrip. The damage scales with your level too. While your teleportation requires a bonus action, this won’t be used most turns so this gives you another option for your bonus action.
• Tough: Really valuable extra hit points for a subclass with few hit points.

General feats

At level 4, you can start picking up general feats. These are some of the better options for a conjurer:

• Fey touched: Misty step is great for staying safe. Plus you get more spells known.
• Genie magic (HoF): An extra spell you can cast and the utility to pick any spell on the sorcerer spell list of 1st level is pretty good on a class that relies entirely on casting spells.
• Lightly armored: If you don’t want to keep spending spell slots on mage armor, then you could invest in this, especially as studded leather and a shield will give you better AC than mage armor.
• Mage slayer: Great for disrupting spellcasters and gives you something similar to legendary resistance. Depending on your spell list, you could be dealing damage most turns which gives you regular opportunities to disrupt concentration spells.
• Ritual caster: If you feel like you’re struggling to have enough of the spells you want available to you, then this is the best way to boost your utility with more spells gained through this feat than any other. You can check out my full guide to ritual casting for more tips.
• Shadow touched: Invisibility and an illusion or necromancy spell are great for a caster class.
• Spell sniper: Great for bypassing cover and getting some extra range on your spells. Pretty good for a subclass that might often be making ranged spell attacks.

Weapons

Wizards are no good with weapons and their cantrips will usually exceed the performance of any weapon attack.

I’d grab a light crossbow and a dagger in case you get caught in an anti-magic field, a silence spell or something similar (or if you want to use them for the true strike spell). Otherwise, you should be wholly focused on magical damage.

Armor

Wizards don’t naturally have proficiency in any armor, which makes them even more vulnerable to attacks. Increasing your dexterity and grabbing the mage armor spell is the easiest way to enhance your AC.

Alternatively, you could grab the lightly armored feat for light armor and shield training. The best setup for this (studded leather and a shield) will grant you 1 extra AC than mage armor and won’t require spell slots. You may need the war caster feat if you opt for a shield though so your spell casting isn’t hampered, but you may want war caster anyway.

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