Summary

• Martial classes in DnD 5e are getting some much-needed improvements, but still struggle to compete with spellcasters in of power.
• Weapon Mastery provides cool, unique abilities for martial characters, but doesn't scale well at higher levels.
• Certain classes will be much improved in the new Player's Handbook, but others still languish compared to spellcasters.

The release of Dungeons & Dragons' next Player's Handbook is close on the horizon, and recently, Wizards of the Coast released some of the content that will be included in the new version of the iconic tabletop game – previously known as One D&D and sometimes referred to colloquially as 5.5e. This sneak peek at the updated content primarily concerned the game's new classes. One question the player base has been waiting for an answer to is how the new rulebooks will improve the martial characters of the fifth edition.

In DnD 5e, martial classes are notoriously underpowered in comparison to spellcasters. The higher-level abilities they get, attacking multiple times and greater weapon damage simply don't stack up to the massive power of mid- and high-level spells like polymorph, wall of force, or wish. While still viable options for players to choose from, a change in the abilities of martial classes has always been a priority when it comes to updating Dungeons & Dragons.

D&D's Martial Classes Need An Extensive Makeover

Spells Are Much More Powerful

While the official player's handbook and other guide books are not yet released, Wizards of the Coast has provided a look at the abilities of several of the classic martial classes. In DnD, martial classes include fighters, barbarians, rogues, monks, and, to some extent, rangers and paladins. Looking at their new statistics and what they can do, it is safe to say that at least some of the power indifference has been solved.

But not nearly enough has been done to put them on the same level as a character with ninth-level spells like time stop. It must be ed that the released content is possibly still subject to change and that the community suggestions in Unearthed Arcana have often been considered when it comes to rule revisions. At this point, though, the criticism of some of the new DnD mechanics has already made it clear that changes must be made.

Weapon Mastery Is Now Given To Most Martial Classes

Certain Weapons Gaining Special Abilities Is Cool, But Not Groundbreaking

Many of the martial classes now have access to special skills with an ability called Weapon Mastery. Essentially, this provides each weapon in the game with some sort of unique attack or way of dealing damage. Some of the release masteries include Graze, which deals damage to a creature even if the attack misses, and Vex, which allows players to gain an advantage on a creature they have just dealt damage to.

The idea of Weapon Mastery is ittedly cool and does provide some versatility for martial characters while simultaneously improving DnD's weapons. Instead of just making the same attacks each round, they now have some options to mix up combat and even have more reasons to experiment with different weapon types. But Weapon Mastery abilities don't scale particularly well, and will be much less useful as a character gains levels. All in all, while this ability gives martial characters more options, it is underwhelming in the long run.

The Game's Weakest Class Is Now A Lot Better

Monks Are No Longer The Game's Punching Bag

Monks in 5e are notoriously weak. With poor damage and low health in comparison to other martials, they have long been seen as nonviable in high-level and difficult campaigns. In this update, however, they seem to be benefiting from a great deal of work done on their abilities, more so than other characters.

Everything about the new monk is improved, with higher-damage martial arts, more powerful options through the use of their Focus Points, and even a capstone ability that boosts their Dexterity and Wisdom by four points each. The difference between a 5e monk and this new version is night and day, and this will no doubt redeem the class in many players' eyes. However, it's worth noting that even with all of this rework, the monk still faces issues with its health and a lack of ranged options. Still, out of all the martial classes, the monk has certainly received the biggest improvements.

Rangers & Paladins Are Now More Like Spellcasters Than Before

These Hybrid Classes Are Leaning Away From Their Martial Roots

Contrary to the monk, the ranger and paladin have probably seen the biggest downgrades in this update. And oddly enough, this comes along with them becoming more like spellcasters, which are thought of as inherently more powerful than martials. The main reason for these two classes seeming worse now has to do with each of their main magic abilities: Divine Smite and Hunter's Mark.

Divine Smite is a 5e paladin's bread and butter. It expends a spell slot to deal bonus radiant damage with a weapon attack. It makes paladins good damage dealers, especially since they can do it multiple times per turn and since it is exclusive to them. Neither of those things is true anymore.

Divine Smite is now a spell that can be cast as a bonus action. It is on the paladin spell list, and since they now get spells at level one, they have access to the ability earlier. However, since casting it costs a bonus action, they can only use it once per turn, even at higher levels. Furthermore, other classes may be able to gain access to the spell with feats like Magic Initiate, meaning players wouldn't have to be paladins to get this ability.

Rangers Got Worse Debuffs In The Dungeons & Dragons Update

Hunters Mark Is More Important Than Ever

The situation with Hunter's Mark for the ranger is far worse. The spell was already a bonus action and in the ranger list, so no changes were made there. However, many of the new ranger class abilities revolve around casting the spell. Even their capstone ability is specifically about Hunter's Mark, giving rangers a simple damage increase.

The fact that many of the ranger's class abilities now only apply when they are casting and concentrating on Hunter's Mark limits them in what spells they can cast and what actions they can take. Any other bonus action ability will be competing for space in combat, and any other concentration spell will be unavailable unless rangers are willing to give up some of their core powers. Rangers are getting some other perks they didn't before, like Expertise and Blindsight, but this does not make up for their new reliance on a first-level spell.

Certain Subclasses Are Virtually Untouched In The New Player's Handbook

Tasha's Cauldron & Its Contents Are Here To Stay

All the martial classes have new versions of previous subclasses available to them. Some of them, like the Champion fighter, have seen extensive improvements. Others, like the Gloomstalker ranger, are now weaker than they were. But each class has at least one subclass from a certain 5e handbook that is practically the same as it was.

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything brought a ton of new content to 5e back in 2020, and the subclasses introduced there are often regarded as some of the most powerful. From the Mercy monk to the Beast barbarian, these subclasses were far and beyond their peers power-wise. It seems Wizards of the Coast recognized this and decided to keep most of them in the game with little change.

The other subclasses have mostly been brought up to the same levels, and to some extent, this has improved the power level of the martial characters. But it's important to consider that spellcasters will also get similar power bumps in their subclasses. This may result in a similar power imbalance between martial classes and casters in this version of the game that existed in 5e, with just a few revisions.

Ultimately, it would be unfair to say that the martials did not receive a good number of improvements to their abilities in the new material for Dungeons & Dragons. Much of what has been changed is changed for the better, and some of the new abilities these classes have are truly great. But it simply won't be enough to even out the imbalance between these classes and the absolutely monstrous power of high-level spellcasters.