The New DnD 2024 Circle of the Land Druid (Subclass Deep Dive)

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Guardians of the natural world who can tap into powerful spells associated with specific environments, the Circle of the Land is one of the most iconic and versatile subclasses when it comes to the DnD 5e Druid.

Now, these all-terrain magic users are back and ready to forge ahead in the new 2024 Player’s Handbook. The updated version of the subclass, however, has seen some major overhauls, including a significant change to land types and their associated spells, plus a range of new defensive and offensive capabilities.

So does the Circle of the Land Druid cover any new ground in DnD 2024? Below, we track down all the details.

What’s changed with the new 2024 Circle of the Land Druid?

Below are all the changes to the 2024 Circle of the Land Druid in DnD 5e. For ease of reference we’ve included the level of each feature and whether or not it’s changed from the 2014 legacy Circle of the Land.

Circle of the Land Druid Feature	Level	Changed from 2014?	Changes to the 2024 Circle of the Land Druid
Subclass Access	3	Yes	One of the biggest changes in 2024 is that Druids now access their subclass at Level 3 (in the 2014 rules you accessed Druid subclasses at Level 2).
.Circle of the Land Spells	3	Yes	In the 2024 rules you gain spells associated with one of four types of land: Arid, Polar, Temperate and Tropical (in 2014, there were eight land types: Arctic, Coast, Desert, Forest, Grassland, Mountain, Swamp and Underdark). You can, however, swap out the type of land after a Long Rest (something which was not possible in 2014, as your Druid was permanently associated with one land type). Notably, the 2024 spells associated with each land type have also changed from 2014 (with some being dropped and new spells being added). The 2014 Bonus Cantrip feature has also been removed.
Land’s Aid	3	Yes	This is a new feature for the 2024 Circle of Land Druid.
Land’s Stride	6	Yes	This 2014 feature has been removed. (It previously allowed you to move normally through difficult, nonmagical terrain and vegetation, plus gave advantage on saving throw against terrain effects from magical plants).
Natural Recovery	6	Yes	In 2024 this feature allows you to cast a Level 1 or greater Circle Spell without expending a spell slot (it can only be used once per Long Rest). During a Short Rest you can also recover spell slots with a combined level equal to half your Druid level (rounded up), with no spell being level 6 or greater. (In 2014, this feature was available at Level 2 but only provided the spell slot recovery feature described above and did not allow you to cast a free Circle Spell).
Nature’s Ward	10	Yes	In the 2024 rules, your Circle of the Land Druid is immune to the Poisoned condition, and you have Resistance to a damage type associated with your current land choice: Arid (Fire), Polar (Cold), Temperate (Lightning) Tropical (Poison). (The 2014 version of this feature was also available at Level 10 but granted only immunity to poison, and prevented you from being charmed or frightened by elementals or fey. It did not grant any resistance to damage.).
Nature’s Sanctuary	14	Yes	In 2024 this feature lets you expend a use of Wild Shape and cause spectral trees and vines to appear for one minute in a 120 foot area, providing you and allies with half cover and granting Resistance based on the type specified by the Nature’s Ward feature. As a bonus action, you can also move the effect 60 feet. (In 2014, this feature was also available at Level 14 but only meant that when a beast or plant creature attacked they had to make a Wisdom saving throw against your Druid spell save DC. If they failed, they automatically missed.)

What are the Circle of the Land Druid features for 2024 DnD 5e?

Below is the full list of all the features using the new 2024 core rules. You’re able to access these features only at Level 3 when you choose the subclass (notably this is a new universal rule that applies to all subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook).

Level 3: Circle of the Land Spells

Whenever you finish a Long Rest, choose one type of land: Arid, Polar, Temperate or Tropical. Consult the table below that corresponds to the chosen type; you have the spells listed for your Druid level and lower prepared.

Arid Land Spells

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3	Blur, Burning Hands, Fire Bolt
5	Fireball
7	Blight
9	Wall of Stone

Polar Land Spells

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3	Fog Cloud, Hold Person, Ray of Frost
5	Sleet Storm
7	Ice Storm
9	Cone of Cold

Temperate Land Spells

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3	Misty Step, Shocking Grasp, Sleep
5	Lightning Bolt
7	Freedom of Movement
9	Tree Stride

Tropical Land Spells

Druid Level	Circle Spells
3	Acid Splash, Ray of Sickness, Web
5	Stinking Cloud
7	Polymorph
9	Insect Plague

Level 3: Land’s Aid

As a Magic action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape and choose a point within 60 feet of yourself. Vitality-giving flowers and life-draining thorns appear for a moment in a 10-foot-radius Sphere centered on that point. Each creature of your choice in the Sphere must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC, taking 2d6 Necrotic damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. One creature of your choice in that area regains 2d6 Hit Points. The damage and healing increase by 1d6 when you reach Druid levels 10 (3d6) and 14 (4d6).

Level 6: Natural Recovery

You can cast one of the level 1+ spells that you have prepared from your Circle Spells feature without expending a spell slot, and you must finish a Long Rest before you do so again. In addition, when you finish a Short Rest, you can choose expended spell slots to recover. The spell slots can have a combined level that is equal to or less than half your Druid level (round up), and none of them can be level 6+. For example, if you’re a level 6 Druid, you can recover up to three levels’ worth of spell slots. You can recover a level 3 spell slot, a level 2 and a level 1 spell slot, or three level 1 spell slots. Once you recover spell slots with this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a Long Rest.

Level 10: Nature’s Ward

You are immune to the Poisoned condition, and you have Resistance to a damage type associated with your current land choice in the Circle Spells feature, as shown in the Nature’s Ward table.

Land Type	Resistance
Arid	Fire
Polar	Cold
Temperate	Lightning
Tropical	Poison

Level 14: Nature’s Sanctuary

As a Magic action, you can expend a use of your Wild Shape and cause spectral trees and vines to appear in a 15-foot Cube on the ground within 120 feet of yourself. They last there for 1 minute or until you have the Incapacitated condition or die. You and your allies have Half Cover while in that area, and your allies gain the current Resistance of your Nature’s Ward while there. As a Bonus Action, you can move the Cube up to 60 feet to ground within 120 feet of yourself.

Is the New 2024 Circle of the Land Druid worth playing?

The updated Circle of the Land subclass is definitely an improvement over the 2014 version and works well with the overall changes that have been implemented to the new 2024 Druid class as a whole. While Wizards of the Coast has whittled down the number of available land types from eight to just four, the tradeoff is that you get far more spells and the ability to swap out land types each Long Rest. That ends up making Circle of the Land Druids far more versatile. The updated versions of Nature’s Ward and Nature’s Sanctuary also means that they can take far more punishment than before, offering up plenty of strategic possibilities on the battlefield. In other words, if you’re looking to play a Druid who leans heavily into spellcasting, then the Circle of the Land has you covered.

You can find the complete rules for all the new Druid subclasses in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, which is available for pre-order now on D&D Beyond and Amazon.

Below is also a video from the official Dungeons & Dragons YouTube channel, with DnD lead designer Jeremy Crawford breaking out some of the key changes to the Circle of the Land Druid.

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