D&D rolled out a massive update for 40 different third-party subclasses, fixing it so they can be played with 5.5E classes.
D&D Beyond rolled out a massive update yesterday, bringing more than 40 subclasses into the 5.5E ruleset. Though don’t get too excited. This is a software update owing to the way that D&D Beyond is set up (and being rebuilt), and the fact that there are two editions of D&D going simultaneously between 5E and 5.5E. To be clear, no mechanical updates have been made to any of the subclass rules – they’ve just been updated to work with the 5.5E core classes.
D&D Beyond Updates Third-Party Subclasses
And to be fair, it’s a huge update. Even having the option to pick the old subclasses on a 5.5E character is sure to be huge for folks looking to use D&D Beyond to keep track of their character. This means that now, two years after the release of the Player’s Handbook, the dream of backwards compatibility is nearing completion.
If you wanted to make a 5.5E Echo Knight Fighter, previously, you would have had to homebrew it on D&D Beyond, which is a clunky endeavor if you’ve ever had to do it. Not impossible – not even difficult, just clunky, tedious, and awkward. But now, you can make a 5.5E Fighter and just pick the Echo Knight subclass, for instance. The same goes for subclasses from The Book of Ebon Tides and Grim Hollow: Player Pack, even the Humblewood Campaign Setting, just to name a few.
It’s a huge quality of life update. Even if it doesn’t mechanically change the subclass. Though in the case of the Echo Knight Fighter I’m sure that’s fine – it’s one of the most popular Fighter subclasses for a reason. Here’s a look at the announcement from D&D Beyond.
“One of our more exciting updates: almost all the remaining 2014 partner subclasses can now be played using the 2024 classes! A massive thanks to our partners for working with us to get this available to everyone. These updates are already available to use within the Character Builder, you will not need to repurchase anything to access these subclasses.”
If you were hoping that one of your favorite subclasses might have gotten an overhaul – don’t worry, that might still be in the cards. After all, we’ve seen some changes made in recent third-party releases. And updating from 5E to 5.5E feels like a good excuse to re-tinker with the balance of subclasses.
For a full list of the updated subclasses, check out the link below.
I would not mind a revised Chronurgy Wizard, that said!
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