The New 2024 Path of the Wild Heart Barbarian (DnD Subclass Deep Dive)
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Originally referred to as the “Path of the Totem Warrior” in the 2014 DnD rules, this unique subclass brought the power of nature to the DnD 5e Barbarian, allowing players to call upon various animal spirts to fuel their rage and deliver devastating attacks.
Now, these beastly Barbarians have been reborn in 2024 as the “Path of the Wild Heart.” In addition to the subclass name change, they’ve also been given a major overhaul in the pages of the 2024 Player’s Handbook, including changes to the types of animal spirts you can call on, enhanced abilities and a number of changes to terminology.
So is this subclass still a walk on the wild side for Barbarians? Below, we channel our inner DnD party animal to find out.
What’s changed in the new 2024 Path of the Wild Heart Barbarian?
Below are all the changes to the 2024 Path of the Wild Heart in DnD 5e. 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 subclass still fall under the DnD 5e core rules.
| Path of the Wild Heart Feature | Level | Changed from 2014? | Changes to the 2024 Path of the Wild Heart Barbarian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Path of the Totem Warrior (Name) | 1 | Yes | In the 2014 rules the subclass was known as “Path of the Totem Warrior.” In the 2024 rules it is now known as “Path of the Wild Heart.” The base subclass features, however, remain similar, with some notable differences (see below). |
| Animal Speaker | 3 | Yes | In the 2014 rules, this feature was referred to as “Spirit Seeker.” In the 2024 rules it is now known as “Animal Speaker.” The way the Feature works, however, has not been changed, |
| Rage of the Wilds | 3 | Yes | In the 2014 rules, this feature was referred to as “Totem Spirit.” In 2024 it is now known as “Rage of the Wilds.” In addition to the name change, the following updates have been made: – You can now choose a different animal every time you Rage (in the 2014 rules, you picked an animal when you unlocked this feature and were then permanently locked into that choice) -The Bear spirit in 2024 gives resistance to every damage type except Force, Necrotic, Psychic and Radiant (the 2014 version granted resistance to all damage types except Psychic). – The Eagle spirit in 2024 allows both Disengage and Dash as part of the Rage Bonus Action (the 2014 version offers Dash as a Bonus Action and imposes Disadvantage on enemies’ opportunity attacks). |
| Aspect of the Wilds | 6 | Yes | In the 2014 rules, this feature was referred to as “Aspect of the Beast.” In 2024 it is now known as “Aspect of the Wilds.” In addition to the name change, the following changes have been made: – The 2014 animal options of Bear, Eagle and Wolf have been replaced in 2024 with the new options of Owl, Panther and Salmon – You can now choose a new animal after each Long Rest (in the 2014 rules, you picked an animal when you unlocked this feature and were permanently locked into that choice) |
| Nature Speaker | 10 | Yes | In the 2014 rules, this feature was referred to as “Spirit Walker.” In 2024, it is now known as “Nature Speaker.” Other than this name change, the feature essentially functions the same. |
| Power of the Wilds | 14 | In the 2014 rules, this feature was referred to as “Totemic Attunement.” In 2024 it is now known as “Power of the Wilds”. In addition to the name change, the following updates have been made: – The 2014 animal options of Bear, Eagle and Wolf have been replaced in 2024 with the new options of Falcon, Lion and Ram = You can now choose a different animal every time you rage (in the 2014 rules, you picked an animal when you unlocked this feature and were then permanently locked into that choice) |
What are the Path of the Wild Heart 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 to the changes that have been made from the 2014 Path of the Totem Warrior.
Level 3: Animal Speaker
You can cast the Beast Sense and Speak with Animals spells but only as Rituals. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for them.
Level 3: Rage of the Wilds
Your Rage taps into the primal power of animals. Whenever you activate your Rage, you gain one of the following options of your choice.
- Bear: While your Rage is active, you have Resistance to every damage type except Force, Necrotic, Psychic, and Radiant.
- Eagle: When you activate your Rage, you can take the Disengage and Dash actions as part of that Bonus Action. While your Rage is active, you can take a Bonus Action to take both of those actions.
- Wolf: While your Rage is active, your allies have Advantage on attack rolls against any enemy of yours within 5 feet of you.
Level 6: Aspect of the Wilds
You gain one of the following options of your choice. Whenever you finish a Long Rest, you can change your choice.
- Owl: You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet. If you already have Darkvision, its range increases by 60 feet.
- Panther: You have a Climb Speed equal to your Speed.
- Salmon: You have a Swim Speed equal to your Speed.
Level 10: Nature Speaker
You can cast the Commune with Nature spell but only as a Ritual. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for it.
Level 14: Power of the Wilds
Whenever you activate your Rage, you gain one of the following options of your choice.
- Falcon: While your Rage is active, you have a Fly Speed equal to your Speed if you aren’t wearing any armor.
- Lion: While your Rage is active, any of your enemies within 5 feet of you have Disadvantage on attack rolls against targets other than you or another Barbarian who has this option active.
- Ram: While your Rage is active, you can cause a Large or smaller creature to have the Prone condition when you hit it with a melee attack.
Is the New 2024 Path of the Wild Heart Barbarian worth playing?
The 2014 Path of the Totem Warrior was a solid subclass that really offered up a more spiritual version of the rage-fuelled berserker most players associated with the Barbarian. Now updated in DnD 2024 as the Path of the Wild Heart, the changes that Wizards of the Coast have made, however, are more than just semantic. In particular, the inclusion of more animal spirit options for the Rage/Aspect/Power of the Wilds features really adds more versatility and flavor to the class. Even more useful is the ability to switch between these different animal spirts during Long Rests, rather than being locked in like the 2014 subclass.
In short, if you’re looking for more aggro version of the Druid, then this subclass is a definitely something you’ll want to take a closer look and a great option that works well with the other changes that have been made to the new 2024 Barbarian.
You can find the complete rules for the new Path of the Wild Heart Barbarian in the 2024 Player’s Handbook, which is available 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 offering more information on some of the key changes to to the subclass.
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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).
