The New 2024 Champion Fighter Subclass for DnD 5e (Deep Dive)

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Renowned for their iron will, physical prowess and ability to keep fighting in the face of overwhelming odds, the Champion is one of the most popular and accessible of all the DnD 5e Fighter subclasses. Since 2014, however, they’ve also been unscathed by any major rules changes, retaining their core identity.

That’s no longer the case, with the Champion being called back to battle by the new 2024 Player’s Handbook and facing down some significant changes to the way the subclass functions. This includes a brand new feature, enhanced combat abilities and even an updated way to come back from the brink of death itself.

So just how does the new 2024 Champion Fighter stack up in the face of these new rules? Below, we charge into all the details.

What’s changed in the new 2024 Champion Fighter Subclass?

Below are all the changes to the 2024 Champion Fighter subclass. For ease of reference we’ve included the level and whether the feature has changed from 2014. It’s important to note that both the old and the new version of the Champion still fall under the DnD 5e core rules.

Champion Fighter Feature	Level	Changed from 2014?	Changes to the 2024 Champion Fighter
Improved Critical	3	No	N/A
Remarkable Athlete	7	Yes	– When you score a critical hit you can move without triggering an opportunity attack -Advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks -Advantage on Initiative rolls – All other elements are the same as the 2014 rules.
Additional Fighting Style	7	Yes	– Moved from Level 10 to Level 7 – All other elements are the same as the 2014 rules.
Heroic Warrior	10	Yes	– New feature – Every time the Champion starts their turn in combat without Heroic Inspiration, they automatically get it
Superior Critical	15	No	N/A
Survivor	18	Yes	-Gives advantage on death saving throws -If they roll an 18, 19 or 20 on a death saving throw it counts at a critical success -All other elements are the same as the 2014 rules.

What are the Champion Fighter features for 2024 DnD 5e?

Below are the full list of all the features using the new 2024 core rules. Where applicable we have called out details on the changes that have been made from the 2014 Champion.

Level 3: Improved Critical

Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20. This is a surprisingly powerful feature as it actually means you have a 10% chance to score a crit on every attack roll. Notably, the 2024 version of this Champion feature has not been changed from how it first appeared in the 2014 version.

Level 7: Remarkable Athlete

You can add half your proficiency bonus (rounded up) to any Strength, Dexterity or Constitution check you make that doesn’t already use your proficiency bonus. In addition, when you make a running long jump, the distance you can cover increases by a number of feet equal to your Strength modifier.

In addition to these features, the new 2024 Champions rules have also added the ability to move after scoring a critical hit. In addition, you now have Advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks. Finally, you also receive Advantage on Initiative rolls. This latter feature is particularly powerful given the 2024 rules changes to the DnD 5e surprise rule.

Level 7: Additional Fighting Style

You can choose a second option from the Fighting Style class feature. Notably, in the 2014 rules this was previously available to Champion Fighters at Level 10, but is now available at Level 7 in the 2024 rules.

Level 10: Heroic Warrior

This is a brand new feature for the 2024 Champion Fighter that is closely related to the new Heroic Inspiration feature, which is a rework of the 2014 DnD 5e Inspiration feature and now lets you reroll any die, including attacks, damage, saving throws and even death saves. Using the Heroic Warrior feature, if you you start your turn in combat without Heroic Inspiration, you automatically get it. This means that for all intents and purposes, from Level 10 onwards a Champion Fighter in always has Heroic Inspiration.

Level 15: Superior Critical

Your weapon attacks score a critical hit on a roll of 18-20. This Champion Fighter feature has not been changed and function exactly the same as in the 2014 DnD 5e rules.

Level 18: Survivor

At the start of each of your turns, you regain hit points equal to 5 + your Constitution modifier if you have no more than half of your hit points left. You don’t gain this benefit if you have 0 hit points.

In the new 2024 rules, this feature has also been enhanced so that you gain Advantage on all death saving throws. Additionally, if you roll an 18, 19 or 20 on a death saving throw it automatically counts at a critical success and you gain 1 hit point and are no longer required to roll any more death saving throws.

Is the New 2024 Champion Fighter worth playing?

The Champion has been a Fighter fan-favorite for over a decade, and the changes that Wizards of the Coast have definitely made the subclass more powerful. This is particularly true of the revised Remarkable Athlete feature, which does a fantastic job of tapping into the thematic never-say-die attitutde of the Champion. Moving the Additional Fight Style feature from Level 7 to 10, also opens up a lot more possibility for combat, especially when combined with the new DnD 5e Weapon Mastery rules. Finally, the revamped Survivor and new Heroic Warrior features are fantastic, and really showcase what makes the subclass so fun to play in the first place. It remains to be seen, however, just how the larger DnD 5e community responds to the new subclass.

You can find the complete rules for the new Champion Fighter 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 doing a deeper dive into the core features of the new 2024 Champion.

More D&D News Coverage

For more from the world of Wizards of the Coast, visit our D&D News page.