D&D Weapon Mastery Guide: The Best Properties & Tactical Builds

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One of the biggest issues with Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition has been the power difference between martial classes and magic users. For many martial players, the game can often feel like just repeatedly hitting something with a big stick, while casters can draw on dozens of unique spells and abilities to meet just about any tactical situation.

That’s an issue that Wizards of the Coast attempted to correct in the D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook with the introduction of Weapon Mastery, a new mechanic that provides martial classes with additional effects for ranged and melee attacks. The idea is to make every swing or shot into a crunchier tactical decision.

So does Weapon Mastery actually work? With D&D 2024 now several years old (and WotC officially classifying the rules as D&D 5.5e), we’re now able to better answer that question and identify which properties are actually worth your time and how to inflict maximum damage. Below, this guide breaks down the meta, the math and the best combos for your next martial character.

Weapon Mastery Tier List: Which Properties Are Best?

Not all Weapon Masteries are created equal. When crunching the numbers it’s important to look at DPR (Damage Per Round) calculations and overall battlefield control utility. With that in mind, below is our selection for the best to worst properties, including listing why it wins and which weapons are associated with each property.

Tier	Property	Why it Wins	Best Weapon
S-Tier	Topple	Forcing the Prone condition without an action cost is broken. It grants the whole party Advantage.	Maul, Battleaxe
S-Tier	Nick	Frees up your Bonus Action while still giving you an extra attack. Essential for Rogues and Rangers.	Dagger, Scimitar
A-Tier	Vex	Permanent Advantage loop. If you hit, your next attack is almost guaranteed to hit.	Shortsword, Rapier
A-Tier	Graze	Guaranteed damage. Even on a miss, you deal damage equal to your ability modifier. Great for high-AC bosses.	Greatsword, Glaive
B-Tier	Push	Incredible for battlefield control and “environmental kills” (shoving enemies off cliffs, kicking them into a fire etc.).	Warhammer, Pike
B-Tier	Slow	Kiting potential. Reducing speed by 10ft can keep a melee enemy from ever reaching you.	Longbow, Whip
C-Tier	Sap	Disadvantage on one attack is fine, but it doesn’t scale as well as properties like Topple.	Mace, Longsword
C-Tier	Cleave	Highly situational. Requires two enemies to be standing perfectly adjacent.	Greataxe

The “Nick” Property: A Game Changer for the Action Economy

The most misunderstood Weapon Mastery is the Nick property. In the 2014 rules, dual-wielding required your Bonus Action to make an off-hand attack. In the D&D 5.5e rules, however, if you use a weapon with the Nick property (such as a Dagger or Scimitar), that extra attack becomes part of your main Attack Action.

Why this matters:

• Rogues: Can now use a Bonus Action to Dash, Disengage or Hide while still getting two chances to land Sneak Attack.
• Rangers: Can now cast Hunter’s Mark and still get an off-hand attack on the same turn.

“Weapon Golfing”: How to Chain Masteries

Because the D&D 5.5e rules allow you to equip or unequip one weapon as part of every attack, high-level Fighters can now “cycle” through weapons to trigger multiple effects in one turn. Fans have coined the phrase “weapon golfing” to describe the technique of swapping out multiple weapons. This opens up a few new combos. For example:

1. Attack (Maul): Trigger Topple. If the enemy falls Prone, all subsequent attacks have Advantage.
2. Swap to Shortsword: Since they are Prone, you already have Advantage, but hitting with the Vex property ensures you have Advantage on your next turn too.
3. Attack (Nick Scimitar): Use your free Nick attack to finish them off, keeping your Bonus Action free for a Tactical Shift.

Combining Feats & Weapon Masteries

Weapon Mastery doesn’t exist in a vacuum. You can also maximize properties by connecting them to the new D&D 5.5e Feats. Below, are a few solid combinations of Feats and Weapon Mastery properties:

• Great Weapon Master + Graze: Even if you miss your heavy swing, Graze ensures the enemy still feels the sting.
• Polearm Master + Topple: Use your Reaction attack when an enemy enters your reach to Topple them. They are now Prone and have 0 movement left to get closer to you.
• Sentinel + Slow: If they try to run, you hit them, their speed becomes 0 (Sentinel), and even if they escape that, they are slowed (Slow).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Weapon Mastery?

Weapon Mastery is a new feature found in the D&D 5.5e rules that allows martial classes to specialize in a specific type of weapon in order to deliver unique combat effects known as mastery properties. Each weapon in the new 2024 Player’s Handbook lists a mastery property next to it. For example, a battleaxe has the “Cleave” property, which allows you to target another nearby creature after you make a successful attack. Properties can apply to both melee and ranged weapons. A crossbow, for example, has the “Slow” property, which allows you to reduce a target’s movement speed.

Notably, different mastery properties have different triggers. For example, the “Graze” property triggers when you miss a creature with an attack roll, while the “Topple” property only triggers when you hit a creature.

Unlike some abilities, there’s no limit to how many times mastery properties can be used per Short or Long Rest. So in theory, you could use the same mastery property every single time you attack without any limitations.

Learning a mastery property also isn’t permanent. During a Long Rest, you can swap out one of your mastery properties, provided your class is able to use it.

Which classes can access Weapon Mastery?

Weapon Mastery is not available to all DnD 5e classes. Instead it can only be accessed by the martial classes of Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger and Rogue. Each class, however, is limited in the number of mastery properties they start with and are able to learn as they progress in level (all of which is described in the Features section for each class in the new 2024 Player’s Handbook).

Rogues, Rangers and Paladins for example, can only access two mastery properties at a time. Barbarians and Fighters start with two and three properties, respectively, but eventually gain access to more mastery properties as they level up.

At level 1, all martial classes get access to the mastery properties for certain types of weapons, as listed below:

• Barbarian: Simple and Martial Melee weapons
• Fighter: Simple and Martial weapons
• Paladin: Based on weapon proficiencies (Simple and Martial weapons)
• Ranger: Based on weapon proficiencies (Simple and Martial weapons)
• Rogue: Based on weapon proficiencies (Simple and Martial weapons with the Finesse or Light property)

Some subclasses allow you to access more mastery properties. For example, the Soulknife Rogue can use the Vex mastery property with their Psychic Blades and it doesn’t count toward their learned Weapon Mastery limit.

If you choose to multiclass, you can access Weapons Mastery, as long as you second class is a martial one.

What are the Weapon Mastery Properties?

In the new D&D 5.5e rules there are currently 8 weapon mastery properties, as follows:

Weapon Mastery Property	Effect	Weapons Associated
Cleave	If you hit a creature with a melee weapon attack, you can make a second attack against a creature within 5 feet that is also within your reach. When you hit with the second attack, you can roll your weapon’s damage, but you don’t add your ability modifier unless it’s negative.	Greataxe, Halberd
Graze	If you miss a creature with your weapon, you deal damage equal to the ability modifier you used to make the roll.	Glaive, Greatsword
Nick	You can make an additional attack against a target creature if your first attack was made while wielding two Light weapons.	Dagger, Light Hammer, Scimitar, Sickle
Push	You can launch a creature you hit (up to a Large size) 10 feet away from you.	Greatclub, Heavy Crossbow, Pike, Shotgun, Warhammer
Sap	An enemy you hit has Disadvantage on their next attack roll before the start of your next turn.	Antimatter Rifle, Flail, Longsword, Mace, Morningstar, Revolver, Spear, War Pick
Slow	When you hit a creature and deal damage, you can reduce its Speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.	Automatic Rifle, Club, Hunting Rifle, Javelin, Laser Rifle, Light Crossbow, Longbow, Musket, Sling, Whip
Topple	When you hit a creature, you can force it to make a Constitution saving throw or fall Prone. The DC for this save is 8 plus the ability modifier used to make the attack plus your Proficiency Bonus.	Battleaxe, Lance, Maul, Quarterstaff, Trident
Vex	When you hit a creature and deal damage, you gain Advantage on your next attack roll before the end of your next turn.	Blowgun, Dart, Hand Crossbow, Handaxe, Laser Pistol, Pistol, Rapier, Semiautomatic Pistol, Shortbow

Can you use two Mastery properties on the same attack?

No. You can only use one property per attack, even if you have multiple ways to access them. However, if you have Extra Attack, each individual attack can use a different property if you switch (equip/unequip) weapons.

Does Weapon Mastery work with Unarmed Strikes?

By default, no. Weapon Mastery requires the “Weapon” requirement. Monks generally do not benefit from this unless they are using dedicated Monk weapons that have these properties.

Can I change my Masteries?

Yes. You can swap one of your known Masteries every time you finish a Long Rest. This allows you to adapt your “golf bag” to the monsters you expect to face.

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