DnD 2024 Druid Class Guide

Introduction

DnD 5e’s Druids are a very versatile class, mixing full spellcasting with powerful utility from their ability to turn into beasts. The Druid’s spellcasting has a strong emphasis on area control spells, allowing them to shape the battlefield to their party’s advantage. By spellcaster standards, the Druid is relatively simple to play because you so rarely need to track more than one ongoing effect, but it certainly doesn’t make them less fun or less powerful.

The Druid is primarily a spellcaster, and fills a role in the party similar to the Cleric, serving primarily as a Controller, Healer, Scout, Support, and Utility caster. Subclass features can emphasize those roles or expand them to include Blaster, Defender, and Striker. Druids also have notoriously poor AC in only light armor, and with only d8 hit points they can be frail compared to similar classes like the Cleric.

Druid subclasses vary wildly in complexity. Some Druid subclasses like Circle of Spores are exceptionally hard to build and play effectively, while some subclasses like Circle of the Land are relatively simple to play. If you stick to one of the low-complexity subclasses, the Druid is among the easiest spellcaster classes to play. For new players looking to try their first spellcaster, Circle of the Land can be a great introduction to the complexities of managing spellcasters. Beyond that, the ability to turn into an animal is always a recipe for fun.

This article is for the 2024 dnD 5e rules. For the 2014 rules, see our 2014 Druid Class Guide.

After reading this article, you might also enjoy our other support content for the Druid:

2024 DnD Wild Shape Guide

Introduction
Disclaimer
Druid Class Features
2024 Druid Changes from 2014 Rules
Druid Backgrounds
Druid Species
Druid Ability Scores
Druid Skills
Druid Feats
Druid Armor
Druid Multiclassing

Disclaimer

RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks, which is simple to understand and easy to read at a glance.

Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
Green: Good options. Useful often.
Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.

We will not include 3rd-party content, including content from DMs Guild, in handbooks for official content because we can’t assume that your game will allow 3rd-party content or homebrew. We also won’t cover Unearthed Arcana content because it’s not finalized, and we can’t guarantee that it will be available to you in your games.

The advice offered below is based on the current State of the 2024 DnD Character Optimization Meta as of when the article was last updated. Keep in mind that the state of the meta periodically changes as new source materials are released, and the article will be updated accordingly as time allows. Also be sure to check for errata periodically.

Druid Class Features

Hit Points: d8 hit points is good for a full caster.

Saves: Two mental saves. Intelligence is a dump stat for Druids, so even with proficiency it won’t be a great save.

Proficiencies: Simple weapons, light armor, and shields. You won’t be able to match the Cleric’s AC, and using weapons in any meaningful way isn’t an option for the vast majority of Druids. Primal Order adds medium armor and martial weapons, but proficiency in martial weapons doesn’t suddenly make you good at using weapons.

1. Spellcasting: The Druid’s spell list includes a lot of really fantastic options which are only available to the Druid (and a handful which are only available to Druids and Rangers). The Druid has many of the best area control effects, like Entangle and Spike Growth, and a lot of unique damage spells like Call Lightning. However, Druids lack many utility options available to Clerics and Wizards, and their approach to problems like raising the dead is often different from other spellcasters.

1. Druidic: The ability to speak Druidic and use Druidic symbols will never matter unless your DM specifically writes something into the campaign to use it. In 10+ years of 5e, I’ve never seen Druidic symbols written into a published adventure (they might be there, but I haven’t noticed them).

Having Speak With Animals prepared for free is likely more impactful. The ability to talk to local animals means that you can gather information from rats, bats, birds, bugs, and other beasts which are ubiquitous in most parts of the material plane. It’s up to your DM how useful it is for you to do so, but if your DM is willing to play along, local beasts can be a useful source of information.

1. Primal Order:

Magician: An additional cantrip and a huge bonus to two very important skills.
Warden: Medium armor is a nice upgrade to your AC, but what are you going to do with martial weapons? Druids don’t get Weapon Mastery or Extra Attack. Elemental Fury (Primal Strike) provides a modest damage boost, but, just like the Cleric’s Divine Strike, it doesn’t provide enough of a damage boost to compete with unmodified cantrips. Even worse, the Druid’s best weapon options are clubs and quarterstaves thanks to Shillelagh. Literally the only reason to take Warden is medium armor. If you’re worried about AC that much, start with a level of Cleric or Fighter to get heavy armor proficiency.

2. Wild Shape: Wild Shape is a fantastic utility option, but it’s only a combat option for Circle of the Moon. Other features like Wild Companion and some subclass features may use Wild Shape as a resource pool, and those uses are frequently more impactful than Wild Shape for many Druids.

Pay careful attention to your Wild Shape forms. Much like a prepared spell, each known form is a tool in your toolbox, and you want a diverse set of tools for solving multiple problems. At low levels, even non-Moon druids might find options like the Wolf useful in combat, but that stop being useful as enemies outpace the Wolf in combat. Options like the Rat are useful for stealth in a variety of environments, and options like the Octopus and the Bat can lets you explore in a variety of environments.

For more, see our Wild Shape Guide.

2. Wild Companion: A disposable familiar. Normally Find Familiar costs 10gp to cast, which deters you from throwing away your familiar at least slightly. Without that cost, and with an inexpensive renewable resource pool like Wild Shape, you can use this to summon familiars and use them with no regard for their safety. Send them to scout any even remotely dangerous environment.

3. Subclass: Druid subclasses are briefly summarised below. See our Druid Subclasses Breakdown for help selecting your subclass.

Circle of the Land: Expand your spellcasting with powers based on specific biomes.
Circle of the Moon: Turn into beasts and fight stuff.
Circle of the Sea: Summon a water-based emanation to damage and repel enemies, and eventually to let you fly and resist damage.
Circle of the Stars: Adopt one of three powerful modes in combat to expand your abilities.

5. Wild Resurgence: This gives you a great way to manage limited resources throughout the day. For subclasses dependent on Wild Shape, turning a spell slot into a Wild Shape can dramatically expand your resource pool. For other subclasses, you can get an extra level 1 spell slot once per day. That’s obviously very lopsided, but bottomless spells from consuming Wild Shape slots would be a huge problem.

7. Elemental Fury: Remember that your choice here locks you into your choice when you get Improved Elemental Fury at level 15.

Potent Spellcasting: Consistently useful.
Primal Strike: This is only useful for Circle of Spores and Circle of the Moon. Unless your subclass pushes you into making weapon attacks by giving you a good reason to do so, cantrips will consistently beat Primal Strike’s damage output with much less effort. But for Moon Druids and Spores Druids, this is a decent damage boost for things that you were going to do anyway.
This combine exceptionally well with Cold Caster, allowing you consistently apply the save debuff while doing what you were going to do anyway.

15. Improved Elemental Fury: Remember that your choice of Elemental Fury at level 7 locks you into your choice here.

Potent Spellcasting: Thorn Whip folks from an absurd distance away.
Primal Strike: Another damage increase. It still won’t compete with cantrips for most druids.

18. Beast Spells: For most druids, the ability to cast spells in Wild Shape allows you to use Wild Shape much more frequently in combat in order to improve your mobility. Turning into an owl or another flying beast with Flyby allows you to move in and out of melee safely, allowing you to deliver touch range spells with no risk or to get out of reach without relying on teleportation like many spellcasters.

For Circle of the Moon, this is even better. You could already cast your subclass spells while in Wild Shape, but this opens up your entire spell list. This presents a massive change in your tactics, so be sure to reexamine your prepared spells as soon as you get this.

20. Archdruid: You’ve had a much weaker version of these features since you got Wild Resurgence at level 5, but this is a massive upgrade.

Evergreen Wild Shape: This means that Circle of the Moon and other subclass that depend on Wild Shape uses can’t walk into combat without their signature feature. For other subclasses it’s a nice convenience, but you’re probably fine without it.
Nature Magician: By this level you get 4 uses of Wild Shape per rest. If you convert all of them, you can restore a level 8 spell slot once per day. Evergreen Wild Shape will guarantee you 1 use whenever you roll initiative, so you can cast a long-running level 8 spell outside of combat, recover the spell slot, then still use Wild Shape in combat. That’s a very powerful option even for subclasses that depend on Wild Shape uses in combat, though you may still want the ability to Wild Shape multiple times in the same encounter, so you’ll need to weigh your options before you use this.
Longevity: Almost never impacts the game, but very cool thematically.

2024 Druid Changes from 2014 Rules

This section is from our 2024 DnD Rules Transition Guide.

1. Weapon proficiencies are no longer a specific list; now just simple weapons, which omits scimitars. Druids have had proficiency with scimitars for as long as there have been druids, but there has rarely been a good reason for that to be the case.
1. Armor proficiencies no longer include medium armor, but druids have also lost the prohibition on metal armor, so if you get armor proficiency from other sources you might happily stomp around in full plate.
1. Druidic. Now gives you Speak with Animals prepared for free. The check to spot hidden druidic messages is changed from Wisdom (Perception) to Intelligence (Investigation).
1. Primal Order. New. Choose an additional cantrip and the ability to add your Wisdom modifier to Arcana and Nature checks or proficiency in martial weapons and medium armor.
1. Spellcasting. Now allows you to change a cantrip when you gain a Druid level.
2. Wild Shape. Big rework here.
- Now a Bonus Action for everyone rather than just Circle of the Moon
- You can use Wild Shape again without returning to your original form
- 2 uses per Long Rest at level 2, but scales to 4 per Long Rest and you recover one use per Short Rest
- Known Forms. Druids are now limited to just 4 known forms initially, scaling up to 8 at level 8. You can change one on a Long Rest, so it would take multiple days to replace all of your forms.
- Burrow and swim speeds are no longer restricted by level.
- You now gain temporary hit points instead of using a separate hp pool while in Wild Shape. Wild Shape doesn’t end when your run out of THP.
- You no longer retain any racial traits, removing complicated discussions around Dragonborn Druids and their breath weapons
2. Wild Companion. Functionally identical to the Optional Class Feature publishes in Tasha’s.
5. Wild Resurgence. A fantastic new addition. This adds a ton of sustainability to Moon Druids and Spores Druids, while also giving other Druids an extra spell slot every day.
7 and 15. Elemental Fury. Very similar to the Cleric’s Blessed Strikes.
20. Archdruid. Big rework here.
- Evergreen Wild Shape. Gain one use of Wild Shape if you’re out when you roll initiative. 2014 Archdruid gave you infinite uses. This prevents you from using Wild Shape as a bottomless pool of hp, but that’s already not a problem since you use your own hit points in Wild Shape.
- Nature Magician.

Druid Backgrounds

An increase to Wisdom is too crucial to forego, so any Background which doesn’t include Wisdom is immediately out. Wisdom-based skills are also ideal, especially if you can get Perception.

For information and advice regarding Origin Feats, including those granted by your Background, see the Druid Feats section, below.

Acolyte ^(PHB) : Better skills than Sage, but Sage’s ability scores are better.
Archaeologist ^(EFotA): A potential fit if you need more skills. The additionals proficiencies from Skilled, plus good ability scores make a great basis for a high-Dexterity build. Unfortunately, the built-in skills aren’t a great fit. Chondathan Freebooter is a better option if you want Skilled.
Artisan ^(PHB): Bad all around.
Carouser ^(ABoH): Bad ability scores, and Charisma-based skills are hard for most Druids.
Charlatan ^(PHB): Maybe a good choice if you need more skills, but lacking a Wisdom increase is hard to justify. Chondathan Freebooter is a better option if you want Skilled.
Chondathan Freebooter ^(FRHoF): An easy choice if you’re trying to replace a Rogue in the party. Grab increases in Dexterity and Wisdom, then use Skilled to cover whatever proficiencies you need to cover for a Rogue. You already get Sleight of Hand, which is fantastic.
Criminal ^(PHB): Maybe a good choice if you’re trying to replace a Rogue, but lacking a Wisdom increase is hard to justify.
Dead Magic Dweller ^(FRHoF): Good ability scores, but you don’t need Healer, and the skills are bad.
Dragon Cultist ^(FRHoF): Cult of the Dragon Initiatiate is a great feat for the Druid, but the ability scores and skills are a hard fit, and you can’t get a Wisdom increase.
Emerald Enclave Caretaker ^(FRHoF): The feat is attrocious.
Entertainer ^(PHB): Musician is great, but it’s not enough.
Farmer ^(PHB) : Excellent ability scores for the Druid, and more hit points never hurt, but the skills aren’t great.
Flaming Fist Mercenary ^(FRHoF): No Wisdom increase, but otherwise a passable option for a melee build like Circle of the Moon.
Genie Touched ^(FRHoF): Comparable to Sage. Good ability scores, workable skills, and Magic Initiate (Wizard).
Guard ^(PHB) : The Wisdom increase, Perception, and Alert are enough to make this work.
Guide ^(PHB) : An easy default for the Druid. Perfect ability scores, more spellcasting, and decent skills.
Harper ^(FRHoF): Bad all around.
Hermit ^(PHB) : Decent ability scores, but the skills are middling, and there’s little reason for Healer when you can cast Healing Word.
House Agent ^(FRHoF): Bad ability scores and skills. If you want Lucky, look elsewhere.
Ice Fisher ^(FRHoF): Bad ability scores and skills. If you want Alert, look elsewhere.
Inquisitive ^(EFotA): Bad ability scores and skills. If you want Alert, look elsewhere.
Knight of the Gauntlet ^(FRHoF): Bad feat, bad skills, mediocre ability scores.
Lords’ Alliance Vassal ^(FRHoF): Bad all around.
Lorwyn Expert ^(LFL): Good ability scores and the skills are passable, but you can already cast Faerie Fire.
Merchant ^(PHB): Bad ability scores, bad skills.
Moonwell Pilgrim ^(FRHoF): Good ability scores, one decent skill, and Magic Initiate (Druid)
Mulhorandi Tomb Raider ^(FRHoF): No Wisdom increase, but otherwise good.
Mythalkeeper ^(FRHoF): Crafter is an awful feat.
Noble ^(PHB): No Wisdom increase and both skills are based on dump stats for the Druid.
Purple Dragon Squire ^(FRHoF): Decent ability scores, one good skill, and Purple Dragon Rook is a great feat.
Rashemi Wanderer ^(FRHoF): No Wisdom increase, bad skills.
Sage ^(PHB) : Better ability scores than Acolyte, though the Intelligence-based skills are harder for the Druid.
Sailor ^(PHB) : Decent ability scores for a melee build, plus one good skill, but you’re absolutely not going to use Tavern Brawler.
Scribe ^(PHB) : Decent ability scores, and with Skilled you may fill in for a Rogue in your party. That feels like an odd choice for a scribe, but here we are.
Shadowmasters Exile ^(FRHoF): No Wisdom increase, and most Druids will rarely benefit from Savage Attacker since Druids do so essentially nothing with weapons. Circle of the Moon might be an exception, but lacking a Wisdom increase is still really hard.
Shadowmoor Expert ^(LFL): The appeal here is getting Hex. Hex might be useful for Circle of the Moon as a low-level damage boost while in Wild Shape, but it will become obsolete beyond low levels.
Soldier ^(PHB): No Wisdom increase, and most Druids will rarely benefit from Savage Attacker since Druids do so essentially nothing with weapons. Circle of the Moon might be an exception, but lacking a Wisdom increase is still really hard.
Spellfire Initiate ^(FRHoF): You already have tons of options for radiant damage, and this doesn’t offer a Wisdom increase.
Vampire Devotee ^(ABoH): Bad all around.
Vampire Survivor ^(ABoH): Decent, but Vampire Hunter isn’t a good feat.
Wayfarer ^(PHB) : Good ability scores, and between the skills and Thieves’ Tools you could fill in for a Rogue in your party. Lucky is an easy feat on any character.
Zhentarim Mercenary ^(FRHoF): Bad all around.

Druid Species

With only light armor and shield, additional durability is wonderful since you are likely your party’s primary healer. Innate spellcasting and additional skills are nice, too.

Because Wild Shape doesn’t let you keep most of your Species traits, Circle of the Moon has slightly different needs. More hit points and skill proficiencies are probably your best choices, but innate spellcasting might still provide some utility outside of combat.

Aasimar ^(PHB): Two damage resistances, Darkvision, a once per day heal, and a once per day combat transformation. We don’t yet have a melee-friendly Druid that’s not relying on Wild Shape, and since species traits aren’t retained in Wild Shape, there’s very little appeal here. The transformation may still be useful for flight and for the modest damage boost, but at once per day I don’t think it’s enough to justify.
Changeling ^(EFotA): Druids generally can’t afford to be good at Charisma, but Shapechanger’s persistant Advantage on Charisma checks paired with two additional Face skills could offset relatively poor Charisma.
Dhampir ^(ABoH): You can replace the best parts of the Dhampir with Wild Shape. Of course, you may still want Spider Climb without turning into a spider so that you can walk up walls and fight from relative safety.
Dragonborn ^(PHB): Darkvision, a damage resistance, and once per day flight are great, but you will likely never use the breath weapon beyond very low levels.
Dwarf ^(PHB): Darkvision, resistance to the most common non-weapon damage type, and more hit points. Tremorsense is neat, but you have spells to handle invisible or hidden enemies. Without medium armor like the Cleric, you may find the extra durability helpful.
Elf ^(PHB): Darkvision and an extra skill are both great, plus you can get access to some spells from outside of the Druid’s spell list. The High Elf’s cantrip can get you a great offensive cantrips from the Wizard’s spell list.
Gnome ^(PHB): Darkvision and Gnomish Cunning are both great, and the added cantrips from Gnomish Lineage offer some interesting utility options. Paired with good Wisdom and proficiency in Wisdom saves, failing those saves will be exceptionally rare.
Goliath ^(PHB): Giant Heritage offers some great options. Cloud Jaunt offers teleportation, which normally isn’t an option for the Druid, and Stone’s Endurance offers some excellent damage mitigation. Unfortunately, the other options won’t do anything useful, and the Druid has little use for Large Form or Powerful Build.
Halfling ^(PHB): Brave and Lucky are both helpful, and Halfling Nimbleness may help you get past enemies to get into a safer position, though it won’t prevent Opportunity Attacks when you need to leave an enemy’s reach. Naturally Stealthy might let you hide before combat starts, but without Cunning Action it won’t see use in combat.
Human ^(PHB): An additional skill and origin feat are an easy choice on any build.
Kalashtar ^(EFotA): Dual Mind makes the Kalashtar comparable to the Gnome, but you trade Advantage on Intelligense saves for Resistance to Psychic damage.
Khoravar ^(EFotA): Very versatile. The additional Cantrip may remove the need for Magic Initiate if you wanted to grab Cantrips from another class, and the additional proficiency will give you more options without dipping into your limited spell slots.
Orc ^(PHB): Adrenaline Rush is an excellent option for getting out of dangerous positions quickly without a spell, and the Temporary Hit Points are great. If that doesn’t keep you alive, Relentless Endurance provides some insurance, which is great since you’re probably your party’s healer
Shifter ^(EFotA): The transformations can be useful combat buffs, but remember that sources of Temporary Hit Points don’t stack, so a big chunk of the benefit of Shifting won’t work with Wild Shape. If you have dreams of a Shifter Moon Druid, also remember that both are Bonus Actions.
Tiefling ^(PHB): Darkvision, a damage resistance, and some innate spellcasting almost entirely from outside of the Druid’s spell list. The spell choices aren’t crazy, but there are some consistently useful options here.
Warforged ^(EFotA): Durable and versatile. A good fit for literally any class.

Druid Ability Scores

Despite a conceptual split between Druids who take Primal Order (Magician) and those who take Primal Order (Warden), the practical reality changes almost nothing for the Druid. The only significant change is whether you want 14 Dexterity for medium or maybe 16 Dexterity for light armor.

The PHB recommended ability scores appear to assume Primal Order (Magician). Those stats scream “back line caster”.

Str: Dump.

Dex: 14 to max out medium armor for wardens. Maybe more for magicians, but likely no more than 16.

Con: Hit points and saving throws, including Concentration.

Int: A few useful skills.

Wis: Your primary ability score.

Cha: Dump.

	Point Buy	Adjusted	Standard Array	Adjusted	PHB Recommended	Adjusted
Str	8	8	8	8	8	8
Dex	14	14	13	14	12	12
Con	15	16	14	14	14	15
Int	10	10	12	12	13	13
Wis	15	17	15	17	15	17
Cha	8	8	10	10	10	10

Druid Skills

Animal Handling (wis): Basically useless.
Arcana (Int): One of the most important knowledge skills. Magician Druids also get to add their Wisdom modifier as an additional bonus, making this an easy choice.
Insight (Wis): Great for a Face, but many Faces don’t have good enough Wisdom to back this up.
Medicine (Wis): This skill is useless. Medicine is best done magically.
Nature (Int): Good knowledge skill, but not as crucial as Arcana or Religion. Magician Druids also get to add their Wisdom modifier as an additional bonus, making this an easy choice.
Perception (Wis): The most rolled skill in the game, and you have the Wisdom to back it up.
Religion (Int): One of the most important knowledge skills.
Survival (Wis): Very situational.

Druid Feats

This section does not address every published feat, as doing so would result in an ever-growing list of options which don’t cater to the class. Instead, this section will cover feats which we think work especially well for the class or which might be tempting but poor choices. For more specific advice on individual feats, see our 2024 DnD Feat Guides.

Origin Feats

These feats typically come from your Background, but you can also select an Origin Feat any time that you could select a General Feat, and you may get more from sources like the Human’s species traits.

Alert ^(PHB): Great for starting big area control spells or for dropping big area damage spells before allies get in the way or enemies get into melee range.
The second benefit allows you to trade initiative with a willing ally. To maximize this benefit, you want to have numerous allies in combat who roll initiative on their own. A familiar is an easy addition with Wild Companion. Between Advantage and a familiar, you effectively get to roll initiative 3 times and choose your favorite.
Child of the Sun ^(LFL): Faerie Fire is already on the Druid’s spell list, so there’s basically no benefit here.
Crafter ^(PHB): Neat, but not especially impactful. Crafting mundane gear stops being impactful early in the game as players quickly accumulate enough to afford nearly anything in the Player’s Handbook. This notably omits the Herbalist Kit as a choice, so you can’t even use this to craft Potions of Healing.
Cult of the Dragon Initiate ^(FRHoF): An easy fear effect with a Wisdom-based DC. An easy fit for the Cleric.
Emerald Enclave Fledgling ^(FRHoF): Bad. Take Ritual Caster if you want to talk to animals.
Harper Agent ^(FRHoF): The Help Action isn’t useful enough to justify this unless you’re a Hobgoblin.
Healer ^(PHB): Rerolling dice on healing spells is nice, but not especially impactful. The vast majority of hit point restoration is either Healing word to rescue dying allies or hit dice during a Short Rest. Sources of healing intended to bring creatures up to a significant portion of their hit points usually use a static number rather than dice (ex: Heal).
Lords’ Alliance Agent ^(FRHoF): Clerics don’t do enough with attack rolls to justify this.
Lucky ^(PHB): An easy choice on any character. It won’t directly impact your build, but it’s a great default if you don’t need anything else.
Magic Initiate ^(PHB): Wizard spells to get more cantrips and access to Shield can have a huge impact.
Musician ^(PHB): A great way to contribute to any party.
Purple Dragon Rook ^(FRHoF): The ability to give your whole party Heroic Inspiration once per Long Rest is amazing. The extra skill is nice, too, but Insight is the only good choice for the Cleric.
Savage Attacker ^(PHB): Only works with weapons, and beasts’ attacks in Wild Shape are not weapons.
Shadowmoor Hexer ^(LFL): Hex might be useful as a damage boost for Moon Druids, but it will become obsolete quickly.
Skilled ^(PHB): Decent, but you can probably get all of the skills you want between your Background and your class skills unless you’re trying to fill in for a Rogue.
Spellfire Spark ^(FRHoF): Druids don’t have as many Radiant damage options as the Cleric, but using Sacred Flame as a Bonus Action a few times per day many not impactful enough to justify the cost unless you’re rarely using your Bonus Action.
Tavern Brawler ^(PHB): The named attacks in stat blocks that you’ll use in Wild Shape are not Unarmed Strikes, so this does nothing to help Wild Shape.
Tireless Reveler ^(ABoH): A great choice on literally any character. While it doesn’t set you up for any specific build, Heroic Inspiration is always useful.
Tough ^(PHB): Helpful for keeping your party’s healer alive. Even better for Circle of the Moon because you still use your own pool of hit points while in Wild Shape.
Tyro of the Gauntlet ^(FRHoF): Only worthwhile if you Ready actions frequently.
Vampire Hunter ^(ABoH): Too situational, and too ineffective when it does matter.
Vampire’s Plaything ^(ABoH): Timely Retreat is really good.
Zhentarim Ruffian ^(FRHoF): Druids don’t do much with Opportunity Attacks, but the ability to give your whole party Advantage on Initiative is great on anyone. Moon Druids will get more value here since you retain your feats while using Wild Shape.

General Feats

Actor ^(PHB): Not useful for the Cleric.
Athlete ^(PHB): Not useful for the Cleric.
Bloodlust ^(AboH): Potentially very useful for Moon Druids, but I would wait until you hit 20 Wisdom before you consider this.
Bomber ^(AboH): Terrible.
Charger ^(PHB): This would be interesting, but not especially effective, on a Moon Druid.
Chef ^(PHB): Looks tempting for Circle of the Moon, but remember that Temporary Hit Points don’t stack, and you’ll get more from Wild Shape.
Cloying Mists ^(AboH): Cast Fog Cloud, then Wild Shape into something with Blindsight or Tremorsense. Druids can already cast Fog Cloud, of course, and the 5-foot speed debuff may not be enough to justify the feat.
Cold Caster ^(FRHoF): A great save debuff, but it only applies on attacks. Circle the Moon and Circle of Spores may find a ton of value here since they’re likely already making attacks and can use Primal Strike to add cold damage to them in order to apply the debuff.
Crossbow Expert ^(PHB): Clerics don’t rely on weapons enough for this to make sense.
Crusher ^(PHB): This will work in Wild Shape, but very few beasts deal bludgeoning damage.
Defensive Duelist ^(PHB): I can’t think of a good reason why a Druid would wield a qualifying weapon.
Delicious Pain ^(AboH): The damage mitigation is only useful if your AC is bad and you’re taking a lot of hits. You generally shouldn’t do that. Moon Druids might get some use out of this while in Wild Shape since your AC won’t be amazing even with 20 Wisdom..
Dual Wielder ^(PHB): Clerics don’t get the sort of damage boost which makes two-weapon fighting worthwhile.
Durable ^(PHB): Cast Healing Word.
Elemental Adept ^(PHB): Druids rely heavily on elemental damage, but you don’t have any spells so important and amazing that you can’t just change damage types. Circle of Wildfire may be an exception.
Enclave Magic ^(FRHoF): Terrible.
Fairy Trickster ^(FRHoF): Interesting, but not an easy fit. You can’t get a Wisdom increase, which is already hard, and you need to hit with an attack to trigger the debuff. The best Druids to use this will have much better results with Cold Caster.
Fey Touched ^(PHB): Two more prepared spells and access to some 1st-level spells from outside of your spell list. Misty Step is great on any spellcaster.
Genie Magic ^(FRHoF): The Sorcerer’s spell list includes a lot of spells that aren’t on the Druid’s spell list, and having broad access to the Sorcerer’s level 1 spells on a moment’s notice offers a ton of flexibility.
Grappler ^(PHB): Beast forms’ attacks are not unarmed strikes, so there’s no synergy with this feat.
Great Weapon Master ^(PHB): Druids don’t use the types of weapons which qualify for this.
Harper Teamwork ^(FRHoF): The Harper Agent feat is too heavy a text to justify this.
Heavily Armored ^(PHB): You might consider Primal Order (Warrior) and then this feat, but that’s a lot of investment just to get better AC. Take a single level of Cleric or start your build with a level of Fighter.
Heavy Armor Master ^(PHB): The only Druid that can justify this is Circle of Spores, and even then it’s a hard choice because Strength is utterly useless for the Druid.
Inspiring Leader ^(PHB): A massive amount of temporary hit points.
Keen Mind ^(PHB): Only situationally useful.
Light Bringer ^(ABoH): Only situationally useful. I would only consider this in a campaign that takes place in the Underdark or in a game with vampires as common enemies.
Lightly Armored ^(PHB): A 1-level class dip into Fighter is almost always a better idea unless you’re expecting to reach 20th level.
Lordly Resolve ^(FRHoF): The Bonus Action buff is neat, but not enough without a Wisdom increase.
Love Bites ^(ABoH): Hilariously, this doesn’t work with biting things while you’re in Wild Shape since it only works with melee weapons and unarmed strikes. Spore Druids could use this, but it’s not great.
Mage Slayer ^(PHB): Druids are already proficient in two mental saves, and they’re really good at Wisdom saves, which is the important one, so the benefits here are minimal.
Martial Weapon Training ^(PHB): A 1-level class dip into Fighter is almost always a better idea unless you’re expecting to reach 20th level.
Medium Armor Master ^(PHB): Borderline worthless. Put +2 into Dexterity and wear light armor.
Moderately Armored ^(PHB): A 1-level class dip into Fighter is almost always a better idea unless you’re expecting to reach 20th level.
Mounted Combatant ^(PHB): With no way to get a special mount of any kind, there’s no reliable way to make this work.
Mythal Touched ^(FRHoF): Unpredictable, dangerous, and self-destructive.
Observant ^(PHB): This is only helpful if your DM likes to use stealthy enemies and/or likes to include traps in combat encounters.
Order’s Resilience ^(FRHoF): Strength saves are not common enough to justify this.
Piercer ^(PHB): Many beasts deal piercing damage, making this a useful choice for Circle of the Moon.
Poisoner ^(PHB): A few druid spells and a few beast forms deal poison damage, but not enough to justify this.
Polearm Master ^(PHB): Works with Shillelagh, but short of Circle of Spores, there’s no reason to take this.
Purple Dragon Commandant ^(FRHoF): This is what your spellcasting is for.
Putrefy ^(ABoH): Even for the tiny handful of Druids using weapons, this isn’t great.
Rebuke ^(ABoH): Even for the tiny handful of Druids using weapons, this isn’t great.
Resilient ^(PHB): Constitution saves are crucial for Concentration. War Caster may be better if you’re building for the front lines so that you can use Reactive Spell, but if you only care about Concentration, Resilient is better.
Ritual Caster ^(PHB): There are some great level 1 Ritual spells like Comprehend Languages and Find Familiar, but the fact that this only lets you get level 1 spells significantly limits its usefulness. Getting rituals from outside of your own spell list is nice, but unless there are specific Rituals that you want, this isn’t worth a feat.
Sentinel ^(PHB): Potentially useful for melee builds like Circle of the Moon.
Shadow-Touched ^(PHB): Two more prepared spells are always nice, and Invisibility is a staple spell, but Shadow Magic’s options for 1st-level spells simply aren’t as good as those available via Fey Touched.
Sharpshooter ^(PHB): Druids don’t use ranged weapons in any meaningful way. That’s what spells are for.
Shield Master ^(PHB): You won’t have the Strength to back up Shield Bash.
Skill Expert ^(PHB): There are some great Wisdom-based skills that might be worth Expertise.
Skulker ^(PHB): Without Cunning Action to allow you to Hide as a Bonus Action, you lose much of the benefit.
Slasher ^(PHB): Many beasts deal slashing damage, making this a useful choice for Circle of the Moon.
Speedy ^(PHB): Potentially useful for reaching allies in need, but you can Wild Shape as a Bonus Action into an owl or something else
Spell Sniper ^(PHB): Druids have a few interesting ranged spell attacks, but not enough to justify this. If cover is an issue, use a different spell.
Spellfire Adept ^(FRHoF): Ignoring resistance to Radiant damage could be very useful, especially for Circle of the Moon, which relies on changing damage types to Radiant to get around other resistances.
Street Justice ^(FRHoF): Druids aren’t built for grappling, and your equipment transforms when you use Wild Shape, so you can’t turn into a snake and then bind enemies in chains.
Telekinetic ^(PHB): An easy choice on any spellcaster. Telekinetic Shove will compete for your Bonus Action with options like Healing Word, but you won’t be able to use it effectively every turn, so it’s not really an issue. Remember that creatures can willingly fail saving throws, allowing you to use this on allies in order to move them out of dangerous positions, break grapples, or otherwise help them.
Telepathic ^(PHB): Very cool, but usually talking works fine.
Treacherous Allure ^(ABoH): Charm Person isn’t good enough to justify a feat, and most Druids only attack while in Wild Shape, which prevnets them from casting Charm Person until extremely high level.
Vampire Touched ^(ABoH): Access to some great spells from other spell lists. Most Clerics have almost Illusion options, and there are many great Enchantment spells on other spells lists which will remain useful for your whole career.
War Caster ^(PHB): Great for Druids built for the front lines, such as Circle of the Moon. If you only care about Concentration, Resilient (Constitution) provides a bigger bonus, but War Caster can improve your mental ability scores, so it’s often easier to fit into a build.
The text of the Opportunity Attack rules allow you to make an Opportunity Attack whenever a creature leaves your reach. War Caster’s Reactive Spell feature allows you to replace that attack with a single-target spell. This is intended to be used on enemies, but RAW this also allows you to cast buffs or healing spells on your allies when they leave your reach.
Weapon Master ^(PHB): A 1-level class dip into Fighter is almost always a better idea unless you’re expecting to reach 20th level.
Zhentarim Tactics ^(FRHoF): Potentially useful for Circle of the Moon since you have good enough attacks to make Opportunity Attacks scary. Expertise is also really nice.

Epic Boons

Boon of Blazing Dawn ^(ABoH): Immunity to Radiant damage is nice, but the only subclass that would want to change weapon attack damage types (Circle of the Moon) can already do that.
Boon of Bloodshed ^(FRHoF): A nice combat buff for Wild Shape.
Boon of Bountiful Health ^(FRHoF): The extra Temporary Hit Points benefit Wild Shape’s pool of THP, which is very useful for Circle of the Moon, but take Boon of Fluid Forms first.
Boon of Combat Prowess ^(PHB): This looks useful for Circle of the Moon, but beasts don’t use weapons or unarmed strikes, so this won’t help you. Circle of Spores might benefit, but by this level your weapon attacks have fallen far behind your spell damage.
Boon of Communication ^(FRHoF): Clerics are not built to be a Face.
Boon of Desperate Resilience ^(FRHoF): You’re probably your party’s primarily healer, and not dying makes it a lot easier to be a healer.
Boon of Dimensional Travel ^(PHB): Basically free Misty Step every time that you cast a spell as an Action. Unfortunately, Bonus Action and Reaction spells don’t qualify. According to the Rules Glossary: “When you take the Magic action, you cast a spell that has a casting time of an action or use a feature or magic item that requires a Magic action to be activated.”
Outside of combat, you can still use this to get around obstacles. Cast a harmless spell like Prestidigitation and you can teleport without making a mess.
Boon of Energy Resistance ^(PHB): A powerful defense on any character.
Boon of Exquisite Radiance ^(FRHoF): Druids don’t have as many instantaneous Radiant damage options as Clerics, but they do get Sunburst, and maximizing the damage on Sunburst once per day is pretty cool.
Boon of Fate ^(PHB): 2d4 averages to 5. Adding +5/-5 to a saving throw can rescue you or an ally, or it can cause an enemy to fail a save. On a d20 scale, 5 means that there’s a 25% chance on any given roll that this will have an impact. Granted, it is still a dice roll, so the smaller the gap, the safer this is to use. On a full caster where save-or-suck spells are such a huge part of your arsenal, this is devastatingly effective. The fact that you can use it once per encounter is amazing.
Boon of Fluid Forms ^(FRHoF): Transform into a CR 10 creature and retain your spellcasting. Also, +20 Temporary Hit Points whenever you shapechange, including with Wild Shape. Just remember that, unlike Wild Shape, you don’t retain your feats when you use the transformation feature here.
Boon of Fortitude ^(PHB): You will benefit more from Resilient (Constitution). Circle of the Moon will get more out of this than most Druids, but it’s still not an amazing choice.
Boon of Fortune’s Favor ^(FRHoF): Excellent on literally anyone.
Boon of Irresistible Offense ^(PHB): Circle of the Moon is the only subclass where this is remotely appealing, and Circle of the Moon can make their beast form attacks deal Radiant damage.
Boon of Looming Shadows ^(ABoH): Fantastic for Circle of the Moon and for any build that doesn’t lean heavily on its Bonus Action.
Boon of Misty Escape ^(ABoH): Great insurance for any character. Compare this to Boon of Recovery.
Boon of Poison Mastery ^(FRHoF): Druids have a lot of options for dealing Poison damage, but most of them are low level and are likely obsolete by this point in your career.
Boon of Recovery ^(PHB): The Last Stand feature is great insurance, but definitely not enough to justify your first Epic Boon. Try to get someone to cast Death Ward on you.
Boon of Revelry ^(FRHoF): Otto’s Irresistible Dance is a great save-or-suck spell, and it’s not on the Cleric’s spell list.
Boon of Siberys ^(EFotA): The Cleric and the Sorcerer’s spell list have very little overlap.
Boon of Skill ^(PHB): Potentially useful in a small party with poor skill coverage.
Boon of Speed ^(PHB): Wild Shape into a bird.
Boon of Spell Recall ^(PHB): This gives you a 25% chance to retain your spell slot when casting spells of up to level 4. You get 4 level 1 spell slots and 3 of each of levels 2, 3, and 4. On average, you get 1 extra level 1 spell slot, and slightly less than 1 for levels 2, 3, and 4. This is fine, but definitely don’t make it your first boon.
Boon of Terror ^(FRHoF): Charisma is a dump stat for Druids, which makes this hard to choose.
Boon of the Bright Sun ^(FRHoF): Give yourself and your allies 10 Temporary Hit Points each turn. Boon of Bountiful Health is a a good complement to this, giving you extra THP whenever you gain any.
Boon of the Furious Storm ^(FRHoF): The damage resistance/immunity is nice, but there just aren’t many Lightning and Thunder damage spells which justify this. Conjure Minor Elementals will work, but that’s not useful for most Druids.
Boon of the Night Spirit ^(PHB): Be invisible at all times outside of combat. Take advantage of invisibility at the start of combat, then look for ways to become invisible as frequently as possible. Even if you’re not making attack rolls (and you almost certainly aren’t doing so often), the defensive benefits of invisibility are massive. However, remember that a lot of things are an Action, so it’s very easy to break this invisibility. Notable examples that people easily overlook include Hide, Search, and Study.
Boon of the Soul Drinker ^(FRHoF): You’re only here for the damage resistance. The healing is negligible on a class that can cast Heal.
Boon of Truesight ^(PHB): You have magic options to handle invisible enemies.

Druid Armor

The Druid is proficient in light armor and shields. Primal Order (Warden) adds medium armor.

Players native to previous editions should note that Druids no longer have a prohibition on metal armor.

Leather Armor: Free starting gear.
Studded Leather Armor: Probably your best AC option.
Half Plate: The best armor you can get if you’re proficient in medium armor.
Shield: You need one hand for a spell focus, but since you probably don’t need weapons, there’s no reason to not carry a shield.

Druid Multiclassing

This section briefly details some obvious and enticing multiclass options, but doesn’t fully explore the broad range of multiclassing combinations. For more on multiclassing, see our Practical Guide to Multiclassing.

Artificer: Start with one level for medium armor and proficiency in Constitution saves without slowing your spell slot progression. Unfortunately, the ability score requirements are hard for the Druid.
Barbarian: Rage and Reckless Attack both work in Wild Shape, which can be very helpful for Circle of the Moon, but Rage twice per day may not be enough to get you through an adventuring day.
Cleric: One level to get heavy armor proficiency and more Wisdom-based spellcasting without slowing your spell slot progression.
Fighter: Starting with one level gets you proficiency in Constitution saves and proficiency in heavy armor and shields. Fighting Style (Defense) is great if you’re in armor (so not when you’re using Wild Shape). You likely won’t use Weapon Mastery unless you’re playing Circle of Spores.
Monk: The Monk’s Unarmored Defense will easily beat light armor, and you can use Martial Arts to make an Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action, including while you’re in Wild Shape.
Ranger: A compromise between the Fighter’s martial capabilities, the Rogue’s skills, and spellcasting progression. If you only want better weapon options or armor, go for Fighter. If you only want skills, go for Rogue. If you want both, or if you don’t want to slow your spellcasting advancement, go for Ranger.
Rogue: Expertise is nice, and options like Sneak Attack and Cunning Action work while in Wild Shape, making them interesting options for Circle of the Moon.
Sorcerer: 2 levels for Font of Magic is really tempting, but the ability score requirements are hard.
Wizard: 1 level for the Wizard’s level 1 Ritual spells and for powerful level 1 options like Mage Armor and Shield can be very powerful, but the ability core requirements are hard.