The 2024 Cleric is the latest version of one of Dungeons and Dragons’ most versatile classes. With holy magic powered by the gods, the Cleric can support a party with healing, blast foes with radiant spells, or swing a mace with the best of them. This guide explains all the new Cleric rules found in the 2024 Player’s Handbook.
If you want to build a Cleric from scratch, STOP reading here. Our Cleric 5e guide has all the information you need – this is simply a changelog of changes between the two versions of fifth edition.
Level one
- Divine Order – An entirely new feature.
- Spellcasting – New entries on the Cleric spell list: Circle of Power; Power Word Fortify; Sunburst.
- Spellcasting – Clerics now have a set number of prepared spells rather than calculating it based on their level and Wisdom modifier.
Level two
- Channel Divinity – Now offers Divine Spark as well as Turn Undead, as Clerics don’t pick their subclass until level three.
- Channel Divinity – Clerics start with two uses of Channel Divinity rather than one, and they then have three uses from level six (instead of two), then four uses from level 18 (instead of three).
- Channel Divinity – Clerics now regain one use of Channel Divinity on a short rest and all uses on a long rest. Previously, they would regain all uses on short or long rests.
- Channel Divinity – Turn Undead now incapacitates creatures that fail their saving throw, meaning they can no longer Dash when trying to escape. If your Cleric becomes incapacitated, Turn Undead now ends.
Level three
- Cleric Subclass – Clerics now choose their subclass at level three rather than level one. All level-one and level-two subclass features have been moved to level three.
- Cleric Subclass (Life Domain) – Disciple of Life now specifies that creatures regain extra Hit Points “on the turn you cast the spell”.
- Cleric Subclass (Life Domain) – Life Domain Spells now include Aid, Mass Healing Word, Aura of Life, and Greater Restoration. Spiritual Weapon, Beacon of Hope, Guardian of Faith, and Raise Dead have been removed.
- Cleric Subclass (Life Domain) – This subclass is no longer proficient in heavy armor.
- Cleric Subclass (Life Domain) – Preserve Life can now only target Bloodied creatures.
- Cleric Subclass (Light Domain) – Light Domain Spells now include See Invisibility and Arcane Eye. Flaming Sphere and Guardian of Faith have been removed.
- Cleric Subclass (Light Domain) – These Clerics no longer have Light automatically added to their spell list.
- Cleric Subclass (Light Domain) – Radiance of the Dawn no longer mentions that creatures with total cover are immune to its effects.
- Cleric Subclass (Light Domain) – Warding Flare triggers when a creature within range makes an attack roll rather than when it attacks you. It can now also affect creatures that are immune to blindness.
- Cleric Subclass (Trickery Domain) – Trickery Domain Spells now include Invisibility, Hypnotic Pattern, Nondetection, and Confusion. Mirror Image, Blink, Dispel Magic, and Polymorph have been removed.
- Cleric Subclass (Trickery Domain) – Blessing of the Trickster now lasts until your next long rest or you use this feature again (rather than one hour).
- Cleric Subclass (Trickery Domain) – Invoke Duplicity no longer requires concentration.
- Cleric Subclass (War Domain) – Guided Strike can now apply to allies, and it’s now a reaction that triggers when an attack misses rather than being made as part of your attack roll.
- Cleric Subclass (War Domain) – War Domain Spells now include Guiding Bolt, Fire Shield, and Steel Wind Strike. Divine Favor, Stoneskin, and Flame Strike have been removed.
- Cleric Subclass (War Domain) – This subclass no longer has proficiency in heavy armor.
- Cleric Subclass (War Domain) – War Priest’s bonus action can now be used to make an unarmed strike or a weapon attack.
Level five
- Sear Undead – A completely new feature that replaces Destroy Undead.
Level six
- Cleric Subclass (Life Domain) – Blessed Healer now specifies that the spell you cast to trigger the feature must be cast with a spell slot.
- Cleric Subclass (Light Domain) – Improved Warding Flare has been completely redesigned. It now replenishes on a short rest and grants the target of the triggering attack temporary HP.
- Cleric Subclass (Trickery Domain) – Trickster’s Transposition is an entirely new feature that replaces Cloak of Shadows.
- Cleric Subclass (War Domain) – War God’s Blessing has been re-designed so it’s essentially a brand-new feature.
Level seven
- Blessed Strikes – Now a level-seven feature rather than level-eight. It also gives you two options to choose from (1d8 extra weapon damage or adding your Wisdom modifier to cantrip damage) rather than a 1d8 bonus to weapon or cantrip damage.
Level eight
- Cleric Subclass – Clerics no longer gain a subclass feature at level eight, as the benefits gained have been baked into the core class.
Level 10
- Divine Intervention – Rather than rolling a percentile dice to see if your god will grant any request that you like, Divine Intervention now lets you cast a non-reaction spell of level five or lower without a spell slot or material components. The feature can also now always be used once per long rest (rather than after seven days if the intervention succeeds).
Level 14
- Improved Blessed Strikes – An entirely new feature.
Level 17
- Cleric Subclass (Light Domain) – Corona of Light can now only be used a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier per long rest (rather than unlimited uses).
- Cleric Subclass (Trickery Domain) – Improved Duplicity has been completely re-designed so that it’s functionally a new feature.
- Cleric Subclass (War Domain) – Avatar of Battle now gives you resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage rather than non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
Level 19
- Epic Boon – An entirely new feature that replaces the 19th-level ability score improvement Clerics gained previously.
Level 20
- Greater Divine Intervention – Rather than guaranteed success for your original Divine Intervention feature, this now lets you select Wish when using Divine Intervention (though you’ll have to wait 2d4 long rests to do it again).
For more character-building options, here’s all you need to know about DnD races and DnD 2024 backgrounds. We can also give you an overview of all the DnD classes in their current forms.