Why is Flight So Powerful?
Access to flight, even at extremely low speeds, puts creatures at a huge tactical advantage in Dungeons and Dragons. Monsters which can fly and attack at range have higher CR than other creatures with similar stats according to the 2014 monster creation rules. Player races/species with access to flight before level 3 were banned in Adventurer’s League for years after the Aarakocra gave us 5e’s first playable flying race.
Many creatures in DnD both can’t fly and can’t attack at range. Anything from mundane beasts like wolves and bears all the way up to high-CR creatures like the Tarrasque have no way to counter flying enemies with ranged attacks. Even many humanoid enemies simply don’t have ranged attack options in their stat block despite being anatomically capable of throwing a spear or firing a crossbow.
With access to flight either from their race/species or from low-rarity magic items like the Broom of Flying, players can easily negate huge parts of 5e’s growing roster of monsters. This has made flight in 5e a defining and exceptionally powerful tactic across the level spectrum. If you can fly just slightly out of a creature’s melee reach, many enemies have no option except to run or seek shelter.
Did the 2024 DnD Rules Change Flight?
The 2024 rules did not change the mechanics of flight, and I doubt that we’ll suddenly see wolves and tarrasques with the ability to throw rocks at flying enemies written into their stat blocks.
But we did get Weapon Mastery.
The Topple Weapon Mastery offers wielders the ability to knock an enemy prone. Conveniently, it’s also available on the Trident, which has the Thrown property, and can therefore be effectively used at range. This makes the Trident an effective counter to flying enemies through the entire level spectrum, making it an essential tool for adventuring parties of any level.
We’ve seen very few stat blocks updated to the 2024 rules, so it’s impossible to say what new capabilities monsters will have. It’s entirely possible that humanoid enemies will have features that mimic Weapon Mastery. Goblins with Vex on their weapons, Orcs with Cleave, Bugbears with Graze, etc. We may see a few enemies with Topple-like effect, allowing them to knock flying players out of the air. But I expect these capabilities to be rare, and Topple would certainly be a tiny minority of them.
Is Flight Still Dominant?
Almost certainly, yes.
I don’t expect creatures in the Monster Manual to change in such fundamental ways that it would make flight less powerful. A level 1 Aarakocra with Sacred Flame can probably still solo the Tarrasque. If we do see the Topple Weapon Mastery on humanoid enemies, I expect that it will be a handful of humanoids who have nothing else going on, such as the Guard getting to use the Push Weapon Mastery with a pike. If a handful of enemies do get Topple, they’ll be a rarity.
I also don’t expect the environments of adventures to change very much. D&D has increasingly moved away from cramped dungeons in favor of larger structures or outdoor environments where flight is at its best.
There’s still room for me to be wrong, I expect that Aarakocra, Fairies, and Owlin will remain exceptionally powerful in the 2024 rules.
