Everything you need to know about the new paladin for D&D 2024 (5.5e) including rules and tactics
Wizards of the Coast are preparing to release the new 2024 Player’s Handbook which is a revision for D&D 5e (previously known as One D&D or sometimes referred to as 5.5e). Within that are some fairly large scale changes to how each class works. For this article, I’m going to tackle the changes coming into play for the paladin.
Below I’ve taken a look at everything that’s changing with the new 2024 version of the paladin and what new tactics you can use. If you want to see the original reveal, you can check out the video below:
Why are we getting changes to the paladin?
Paladins are pretty great in the 2014 PHB. They make excellent warriors and tanks, partial healers and spellcasters and work well as a party face. They’re not quite a jack of all trades like bards are, but they have broad capabilities; more so than fighters or rangers for example.
Despite their general competency, there are a fair number of smaller tweaks that address a few issues. Some of the broad problems the 2024 paladin addresses include:
- Streamlining auras
- Giving more flexibility to lean more into spellcasting
- Making certain abilities more viable so they don’t fully replace your attacks or have more charges available
- Making attacks more tactical through weapon mastery
- Preventing drain on spell slots for certain spell types
Ultimately, what we get is a slightly more balanced paladin with more options that are viable and compete less with your action economy.
What changes have been made to the 2024 paladin?
Lots of smaller tweaks have been made to the paladin for the 2024 PHB. Below I’ve detailed out all the incoming changes. If an ability isn’t featured below, it’s because it remains unchanged from the 2014 rules (as with the extra attack feature for example):
Weapon mastery – lv1
One of the biggest changes is the introduction of a new set of properties available to all weapons known as weapon mastery. These properties allow certain martial classes (barbarians, fighters, paladins, rangers and rogues) to make special attacks with their weapon any time they make a weapon attack (there’s no limit on uses).
Each weapon has a different property. Some may slow the enemy down, others might knock an enemy prone and others can do damage even when an attack misses. There are a bunch of different properties and you can check out our full guide to weapon mastery for a full explanation of the rules and tactics.
Paladins get 2 different weapon masteries and gain more as they level up. They can also choose to change their weapon masteries when they take long rests. All of this obviously makes martials far more versatile and useful when making attacks.
Fighting styles – LV1
In the 2014 rules, paladins and a few other classes were able to choose a fighting style. This remains the case, but all classes with fighting styles (like rangers and fighters too) now have access to all the fighting style options (including those from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything).
These fighting styles are also now considered feats that the paladin class allows you to pick up at level 1. You can also swap your fighting style for another one every time you level up (in case your play style changes).
Paladins also get a unique fighting style option called the blessed warrior, allowing them to pick a couple of cantrips from the cleric’s spell list. This gives you the option of playing a more spell heavy paladin.
Lay on hands – lv1
As with many of the paladin changes, the game designers have worked to ensure that various options that are weaker than the 1-2 attacks you might ordinarily make with your action, don’t consume too much of your action economy. The first example of this is with lay on hands which is now a bonus action.
There is a trade off here as it no longer affects diseases (though it can end the poisoned condition), and it will work on constructs and the undead.
Spellcasting – lv1
Paladins in the 2014 edition gained access to spellcasting at level 2. Now this is a level 1 feature allowing paladins to jump straight into spellcasting. It gives them a little more complexity early on (which may be a little harder for new players) but has some great implications for multiclassing (more on that later).
Paladins will also now have a fixed number of prepared spells.
Paladin’s smite – lv2
There are some subtle, but important changes to how divine smite works. Divine smite is now a spell granted as a prepared spell with the paladin’s smite class feature. You get one free use per long rest and can use spell slots to recast the spell.
Previously, divine smite didn’t cost a bonus action, but it will now. This is actually the one instance where the action economy for a paladin is diminished, but perhaps does make sense as it was a quite powerful option for paladins, especially at low levels. This does mean that you can’t burn through multiple smites per turn with your extra attack feature which does mean less explosive damage on a single turn and more balanced and moderate damage across multiple turns.
One very exciting change is that divine smite can now be used as part of an unarmed attack making holy punches very viable and potentially offering some interesting options for a monk/paladin multiclass…
Channel divinity – lv3
Channel divinity now gets 2 uses instead of 1 with 1 use recharging on a short rest and all uses recharging on a long rest. This gives you more flexibility to use it, especially as divine sense is now a channel divinity option.
Faithful steed – lv5
Not only do you get find steed as a prepared spell, you also get one free casting per long rest (another way of not eating too heavily into a paladin’s limited spell slots). On top of this, the steeds also get an upgrade, summoning an otherworldly steed to be your companion and making mounted combat a much more interesting option. Otherworldly steeds look like they’ll be tougher, better in combat and get healing along with you when you are healed, but we’re still to see how their stats will look.
Auras – lv6
At 6th level, you continue to get your aura of protection, but auras have been streamlined with additional auras not acting separately, but simply providing enhancements to your existing aura of protection. In most cases, this seems to enhance them too, often giving them greater range.
Auras themselves now fit under a group of AoEs now known as emanations.
Abjure foes – lv9
A new paladin feature that lets you attempt to frighten your foes (up to the number of your charisma modifier, so up to 5, though see epic boons for how this could be even greater). It’s a great new option for your channel divinity and allows paladins to engage more in battlefield control, for which they’ve tended to have limited options.
Restoring touch – lv14
Another new feature for paladins that allows them to engage in more support healer functions. They’re no longer just there to revive a downed ally with a few hit points from lay on hands. Restoring touch will also let you remove a condition from an ally. It’s an alternative use of lay on hands so in a similar vein, should simply require a bonus action to activate, allowing you to fight and heal in the same turn if you want.
Epic boon – lv19
Like all classes at lv19, you get an epic boon (kind of like a super feat). This will allow you to increase an ability score (even beyond the normal maximum of 20, allowing you to potentially go up to 30 in an ability score). You’ll also get an ability alongside that feat too.
The recommended epic boon for paladins is boon of truesight, granting them an ability score increase and the truesight ability.
To make things juicer, when you gain levels beyond lv20, you’ll get an epic boon each time making you even gnarlier!
Paladin 2024 subclasses
Like for the 2014 paladin, you get to choose a subclass at level 3 known as an oath. You get all 3 of the 2014 PHB subclasses (ancients, devotion and vengeance) plus the oath of glory from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
All these oaths have had some small tweaks and quality of life improvements in line with the class revision which I’ve detailed below:
Oath of Ancients
While the oath of ancients is largely the same as it was in the 2014 PHB, it has had some upgrades. For instance, undying sentinel will now grant you 3 times your paladin level in hit points rather than simply restoring you at 1 HP.
Nature’s wrath has also been beefed up a bit by adding an extra 5ft of range (it’s now a 15ft radius) and affects all creatures you choose within that radius rather than just a single target. On top of this, the target will struggle to escape as easily as they must take a strength saving throw rather than having the option of a dexterity saving throw instead.
On top of this is elder champion which now only requires a bonus action to use and can be reused with a 5th level spell slot.
Oath of Devotion
To allow devotion paladins to prepare in advance for combat (rather than spending precious actions in combat), sacred weapon and holy nimbus will now last 10 minutes instead of 1. Holy nimbus can also be recast using a 5th level spell slot.
Purity of spirit has now been replaced with smite of protection which will grant those within your aura of protection, half cover when you cast divine smite.
Finally, their prepared spells get tweaked. They lose sanctuary and lesser restoration and instead get shield of faith and aid. I suspect that lesser restoration was cut because restoring touch eventually achieves this anyway. The new spells should work better with a paladin’s action economy anyway with aid typically being cast out of combat while shield of faith is not only outstanding as a tanky spell, but also only requires a bonus action.
Oath of Glory
Not much has changed for the oath of glory. The main thing here is that aura of alacrity now uses your aura of protection radius and simply adds its features to this. This extends its influence, improving the ability.
Peerless athlete now lasts 1 hour instead of 10 minutes making it much more useful for out of combat activity.
You’ll also get access to a brand new spell called Yolande’s Regal Presence. It’s noteworthy that Yolande is a character from the Greyhawk setting which is featured strongly in the Dungeon Master’s guide and feels like it is getting something of a semi-refresh in the 2024 rules revision.
Oath of Vengeance
Vow of enmity is now simply applied when you make an attack rather than taking up a bonus action, further helping paladins with their action economy. It also has increased range and can be transferred when the existing target is knocked down to 0 hit points making it less burdensome to keep applying.
Relentless avenger will now also reduce the target’s speed to 0 while avenging angel can now be recast with a 5th level spell slot.
Tactics
Below are a few interesting, new ways you can approach playing as a paladin with the 2024 update:
Multiclassing for spellcasting: Paladins now get spells at 1st level, potentially making them a more tempting multiclass option. They currently get the likes of bless, cure wounds and protection from evil and good at 1st level making them a decent martial class if you want to dip for some buff and debuff spells. It’s not clear whether you get access to smite spells at 1st level as paladin’s smite is a feature at level 2 but some smite spells are level 1 spells. It will be interesting to see and potentially provides another good option for taking a level in paladin.
Smites also work on unarmed strikes now too so a paladin/monk combo may be a viable multiclass option. Paladins also have a set number of known spells which should also help for the purposes of multiclassing between spellcasting classes.
Helping hand: Paladins work well with friends, and work even better with friends now. Stay close to your allies to let them benefit from your aura. Not only will this help protect them, but you can also draw enemy attacks to yourself and away from less resilient party members. Add to the that the fact that paladins are better at providing recovery from being knocked to 0 HP and conditions (as lay on hands only requires a bonus action now), it definitely pays to keep a paladin close.
Weapon master: Paladins get a solid number of weapon mastery options allowing them to attack with more versatility. Consider things like cleave for extra damage in crowds. On potential application here is the use of divine smite. Does this continue to work on the follow through attack from cleave? Possibly not, but will be one to look out for when the rules are fully published.
Sap is a great option for a tanky paladin as you can apply disadvantage to an enemy’s attacks either making them attack less well against an ally (or yourself) or even encouraging them to focus their attacks on you to prevent the debuffs (which is often what a protector style tank class will want to accomplish anyway).
Push is a good option for battlefields control. You can either use it at great heights (say the ramparts of a castle) or to move enemies away from you or an ally, or even to coordinate with an ally for an AoE spell getting more enemies close together.
Mounted combatant: Always wanted to be that knight in shining armor? Well now you can be. With find steed so much easier to use, it pretty much makes sense to just be summoning steeds most days. With that comes the advantages of mounted combat. I’m keen to see whether mounted combat is revamped in the new rules as well as seeing the specific improvements for the otherworldly steeds paladins will get access to.
So there you have it, all the changes to the 2024 paladin. Mainly, paladins see tweaks to streamline their abilities and improve their action economy making previously rarely used abilities more viable.
What do you think of the changes to the paladin? Let us know in the comments below.
Spotlight on the D&D 2024 revision
All the latest updates on what’s changing with the 2024 rules revision.
