Subclasses add so much depth to a character, and Druids have some of the most fun out there. With access to exclusive spells and abilities, there is so much to explore. For Druids, subclasses are referred to as Circles, and they represent the path you follow.
There are six subclasses for you to choose from, and no two are the same, allowing you to benefit from a powerful and versatile build. But, which Circle is going to be right for you? After all, not every Circle benefits every build, and that’s why this guide is here.
Come, stay awhile, and let us teach you everything there is to know about the Druid Circles and what they have to offer.
Using This Guide
Throughout this guide, you will see a series of emojis—we use these to rank how useful a feature or ability is for your chosen class.
✅ — A critical feature that you absolutely need in order to play a Druid to the best of its abilities. May also provide exclusive bonuses.
🆗 — A good feature that should be considered.
⚠️ — A weaker feature that might only work with specific builds. Largely circ*mstantial.
⛔ — A terrible feature that could be detrimental to your class and often weighs you down. Can also be a dump stat that is completely useless.
What Are Druid Subclasses?
We know it can seem confusing at first, but for Druids, you get Circles instead of the standard subclasses that other classes choose from. Essentially, it’s just a different way of phrasing it.
Your subclass is like your clan, a community that follows the same path and harnesses specific elements or spells to enhance their build. The Circle you choose can have a major impact on the game you play and the way in which your Druid works. So, choose wisely.
Think of it as a way of specializing your skills and honing in on a chosen field. For example, a Druid that wants to try out a more melee-based build would benefit from Circle of Spores, and a Druid that wants Wild Shape focus should try Circle of the Moon.
What Are the Druid Subclasses?
While the Druid subclass doesn’t impact the core of your class, it does expand it. Your choice of Circle opens you up to a whole new range of spells and abilities that enhance your play experience and help you to create a truly powerful build.
We’ll take you through some of the key traits and spells of each subclass, as well as which ones are best for your class and which are left lacking:
Circle of Dreams
The Circle of Dreams has an interesting mix of utility and healing options, but its lack of definition means it can be hard to determine your role in the party. It’s a good spellcaster circle, but it’s important to remember that many of the traits are highly situational.
🆗 Balm of the Summer Court (2nd Level)
What’s great is that this can be used as a bonus action, and it creates a healing pool that allows you to rescue your party members from certain death. While it can be a little redundant when compared to Healing Word, there are some advantages. You can use several dice with the balm of the summer court spell, keeping party members conscious with temporary hit points that prevent them from dying. You can also use it in the same turn as casting a leveled spell, which is a very nice bonus indeed.
⚠️ Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow (6th Level)
This is a very situational trait, and there are other spells that can work in its place—namely, rope trick. However, you need a Wizard in the party for this, so it can be a good alternative if you don’t have one. It’s ideal for camping in dungeons.
✅ Hidden Paths (10th Level)
This offers excellent range and works as a bonus action—what more could you want? You get several uses per day, and it’s a great Druid version of misty step. You can get yourself and your allies out of dangerous situations and escape grapples.
⚠️ Walker in Dreams (14th Level)
This is moderately helpful. It’s an easy way to quickly teleport you and your party back to a safe location, but it can also be achieved through a flight form that allows you to carry your party members.
🌿Looking for a cool name for your character? Check out our Druid name ideas
Circle of Spores
The Circle of Spores is a really strong circle to choose and has the added fun of bringing undead to the party. Almost all of the circle features use your reaction and bonus actions, which frees up a lot of space and allows for some serious power.
Your Symbiotic entity does use an action, but it also provides you with masses of temporary hit points. This circle also thrives in melee without the need to shift into an animal, and while this does make a Circle of Spores build complicated, it’s an exciting challenge that’s worth the complexity.
✅ Circle Spells (2nd Level)
Pretty much everything on the spell list for this circle will be used regularly, and to great effect. In fact, it’s probably one of the most useful sets of spells that aren’t the core Druid options. This includes:
- Some fantastic cantrips, including Chill Touch (2nd Level), can be found buried in the circle spell list and table.
- Animate Dead (5th Level), create an undead servant. Do I need to say more?
- Debuffs and situational utilities for tricky situations (7th Level)
- Gaseous Form (5th Level)
- Excellent offensive options and single-target spells (9th Level)
✅ Circle of Spores (2nd Level)
The free 1d4 damage is a nice boost, and while it scales very slowly, it is still an excellent addition to your actions—especially considering the class. However, as a fair warning, the range is pretty short so you’re going to want a tank for an ally.
✅ Symbiotic Entity (2nd Level)
Not everyone wants to be the classic Shapeshifter Druid, and this is the perfect way to try something new. You get four (4) temporary hit points per level, which is impressive, and a 10-minute duration for some seriously powerful melee boosts.
⚠️ Fungal Infestation (6th Level)
This is cooler in theory than it is in practice. You are limited to small beasts and humanoids, and the creature you infest isn’t able to do a lot. In the best-case scenario, you can use them as an undead meat shield and hope the enemy goes for them first.
✅ Spreading Spores (10th Level)
Halo of Spores gets a wider range with this spell, allowing you to spread the love and use it as a bonus action. However, it is really important that you don’t drop this ability on yourself, as you aren’t immune to the damage caused by it.
✅ Fungal Body (14th Level)
This is fantastic for condition immunities, and it offers a rather nice selection of them. While you have a wide range of immunities, you can still take poison damage. This doesn’t make a huge amount of sense, but that’s Wizards of the Coast for you.
Circle of Stars
The Circle of Stars is an incredibly powerful subclass to choose, serving up some serious damage as well as having exceptional healing properties. Starry Form is the signature, similar to the Symbiotic Entity that Circle of Spores benefits from.
Even outside of this form, you’re sitting on a lot of power that you will want to take advantage of. Despite the power, it’s an approachable circle that is ideal for new players and veterans alike. If you ever felt Druid looked like an underwhelming class, well, you haven’t seen this circle yet.
✅ Star Map (2nd Level)
This particular feature has four key benefits that are pivotal to the subclass and make a huge difference:
- Star Map Focus. It’s not massively important from a mechanical perspective, but it adds a unique spin to spellcasting.
- Guidance. This is a fantastic support cantrip (possibly the best), and since you get it for free you don’t have to feel like you are sacrificing other cantrips.
- Guiding Bolt. This is a solid low-level as both a support and damage output.
- Free Guiding Bolts. This can be used in addition to the spell slot above, and you can cast it for free for a set number of times each day (according to proficiency bonus).
✅ Starry Form (2nd Level)
This is like the Circle of Spores abilities, in that it brings a unique twist to that classic Druid Wild Shape form. The great thing about Starry Form is that it benefits from an attack, healing, and utility mode to really spice things up.
Choosing your constellation is an important aspect of this form. It’s a tactical decision until you unlock Twinkling Constellation at level ten (10), so you’re going to want to take the time to ensure you make the right choice between these:
- Archer. Instantly, you get 1d8 + WIS radiant damage as a bonus action. It’s great on the offensive and useful in every combat situation. Plus, when you hit level ten the damage only increases.
- Chalice. This more than doubles the amount of healing from Healing Word, and you can heal two people or creatures at once. At level 10, the healing just gets better.
- Dragon. Since Druids have a lot of reliance on concentration spells, being able to guarantee a minimum roll of 10 on INT and WIS checks is really handy. At 10th level, you also get a 20-foot flying speed, while maintaining concentration.
✅ Cosmic Ocean (6th Level)
From a tactical perspective, this is similar to Bardic Inspiration. You can use it 3-6 times per day, and the fact that you can use it as a reaction makes it incredibly impactful and certainly something worth having in your arsenal.
✅ Twinkling Constellation (10th Level)
This boosts all the constellations and allows you to change your constellation at no cost. It gets rid of those difficult tactical decisions, providing you with full mastery over all three constellations.
✅ Full of Stars (14th Level)
This will boost your AC and hit points to help make your Druid a more durable character and really strengthens the build.
Circle of Wildfire
Your pet is a spirit made of fire, and if that’s not awesome, I don’t know what is. The Circle of Wildfire is a combination of fire-based magic and healing, and the Elemental Adept feat will help to boost your power so that you fully benefit from everything this circle has to offer.
Elemental bane is also a spell worth considering, although less reliable than Elemental Adept because it relies on a CON save. However, it suppresses resistance to your choice of magic, which means using fire against a fire-resistant enemy is highly effective for you.
🆗 Circle of Wildfire Spells (2nd Level)
This is where that nice balance between healing and fire comes in. You get a good selection of fire spells from the Wizard and Sorcerer list. At 2nd level, you get staple damage and healing options—3rd level increases these choices.
5th level gives you the option for Revivify, which is a crucial choice since it is usually only an optional class feature. 7th level provides you with two defensive buffs that are quite situational, and at 9th level, you get Flame Strike, which is almost as good as Fireball.
🆗 Summon Wildfire Spirit (2nd Level)
It has a very small size and minimal strength, which makes this spirit purely combative in its function. The 30-foot fly speed will keep it out of melee combat, which is a good thing since it has 13 AC and low hit points.
However, what makes this spirit truly impressive is the fact that its short-range teleportation spell leaves a trail of area of effect (AOE) fire damage in its wake. It can be used to get an ally out of grapple and melee range as well as get them through small barriers like doors and jail bars.
✅ Enhanced Bond (6th Level)
This provides an excellent bonus to your damage and healing and can be applied to cantrips as well as leveled spells. The bonus is 1d8, which is quite similar to burning hands and cure wounds.
You can also originate spells from your spirit instead of yourself, which brings a little more durability to the Druid’s otherwise frail core build. Enhance Bond lets you cast short-range spells at a distance, keeping yourself safe while your spirit casts.
🆗 Cauterizing Flames (10th Level)
The healing and damage is a reaction, providing 2d10+WIS so you can pick off weak enemies when a group is charging you. You can be strategic with the application of healing lines and attack, allowing for greater versatility.
✅ Blazing Revival (14th Level)
With this, half-hit points are all you need to get back up and into the battle without going down again immediately. If you sacrifice your spirit for this, even better, since you can just resummon it and will benefit from the best possible results of this ability.
Circle of the Land
The Circle of the Land is all about simplicity and boosting spellcasting, making it great for those who don’t want to get too complex with their Druid. This is an approachable circle because you don’t need to manage spells and books as wizards do, and it keeps a linear focus.
✅ Bonus Cantrip (2nd Level)
This keeps you on even footing with other spellcasters since Druids typically have one less cantrip.
✅ Natural Recovery (2nd Level)
This boosts the sustainability of your build as you go through your day and adventures, keeping you functional as you spend leveled spells. Since you only have cantrips for backup, it is pretty crucial.
Circle Spells (2nd Level)
Your Circle spells vary according to the biome, so here is a quick look at what each of them provide:
- 🆗 Arctic. Provides some good control spells, but many of them are similar in that they require Concentration, which makes spell combinations difficult.
- ⚠️ Coastal. This starts off really strong at 3rd level, but as you progress, the options become less useful and rarely come in handy.
- 🆗 Desert. You get some well-balanced options here. It also contains several options that are usually unavailable to Druids.
- 🆗 Forest. There are some good buffs here, and you have the iconic call lightning spell, but it’s not the best option out there and the spells can be a little tricky to use.
- ⚠️ Grassland. Comes with some excellent buffs, a few of which are not normally available to Druids, but it does have the downside in that many of the spells are situational.
- ✅ Mountain. This is a really solid choice. No matter the level, it comes with great and powerful options and some buffs that will come in handy regularly.
- ⚠️ Swamp. Like the coastal spell, these start off really strong at 3rd level, but as you progress they become less useful and it loses its power compared to the others.
- ✅ Underdark. This is packed with fantastic options, most of which are normally unavailable to Druids. As a result, it can lead to a very interesting and unique build.
⚠️ Land’s Stride (6th Level)
This is quite situational, but it does allow you to walk through an area where a plant growth spell is in effect without it impacting you in any way.
🆗 Nature’s Ward (10th Level)
This provides you with excellent protection against effects that are common and problematic—definitely one of the best perks of this particular circle.
⚠️ Nature’s Sanctuary (14th Level)
By the time you unlock this, it doesn’t have as much of an impact as it would at a lower level. You have near-immunity to beasts and plants but you’re 14th level, which means neither of these is massively threatening anymore.
Circle of the Moon
Since Wild Shape adds all those delicious hit points to your pool, it is arguably the most durable subclass to choose for your Druid. Wild Shape also offers a great deal of versatility, which is what makes this such a popular choice among players.
While a Circle of the Moon Druid is classed as the most powerful in the game, Wild Shape can take time to master and is not always easy. Therefore, you will need to be prepared to put a lot of time and patience into this build to reach its full potential.
✅ Combat Wild Shape (2nd Level)
Since this is a bonus action, you can transform, move, and attack all in the same turn. There’s no need to try and guess which form you need to take before you get started, and if you get knocked out of Wild Shape you can hop right back in.
✅ Circle Forms (2nd Level)
This allows you to take a whole range of useful combat forms. That’s something you can learn more about in the Shapeshifting section later on.
✅ Primal Strike (6th Level)
A crucial part of what makes this circle so effective. It’s there for when you run into enemies resistant to non-magical weapons. Let them feel your claws.
✅ Elemental Wild Shape (10th Level)
Until you hit 18th level and can turn into a mammoth, why not become a flaming ball of death? It takes up both Wild Shape uses, but if you are fast and nimble, you’ll find all of your surroundings on fire.
⛔ Thousand Forms (14th Level)
This is available at 2nd level, and while it’s an alright spell, Wild Shape achieves everything it sets out to in a much better fashion.
Circle of the Shepherd
The Circle of the Shepherd makes for an excellent party support option, allowing you to summon powerful creatures and fey to buff your party and help increase their capabilities. Summoning creatures is a central aspect of this circle, so be prepared to practice if you want to get it right.
✅ Speech of the Woods (2nd Level)
This t allows you to constantly speak with animals and is a massive help when you are summoning beasts. It transforms the beasts into more than just buffers and attackers; they also become scouts—like a swarm of scout rats, eh?
✅ Spirit Totem (2nd Level)
This bonus action won’t cut into your spellcasting, making it both powerful and versatile. There are three options for you to choose from:
- 🆗 Bear Spirit. Ideal for defensive moments, it boosts your party hit points to keep you temporarily safe. It’s also useful when summoning multiple low-CR creatures because the hit points apply to all allies in the area.
- ✅ Hawk Spirit. This will tend to be your number one totem, providing a buff for your whole party once per round. It’s especially good when you’re summoning a small number of creatures and not planning to flood the battleground.
- 🆗 Unicorn Spirit. Using this before rest will give you additional healing when you cast a healing spell – any of them will do. You can heal allies, but you can also heal a small army of summoned, which is pretty exciting.
✅ Mighty Summoner (6th Level)
This makes your summoned creatures more durable, meaning they are more likely to overcome damage resistance and non-magical immunities. Hit dice need to be discussed with your DM, as the rules remain fairly unclear on this topic.
✅ Guardian Spirit (10th Level)
Between this and Mighty Summoner, you can make conjure spells last for ages, especially in combat, even if you aren’t using the Unicorn Spirit to get your free heals.
🆗 Faithful Summons (14th Level)
You can’t trigger this willingly, but if you fall unconscious, a swarm of CR 2 creatures is likely to be able to keep enemies at bay long enough for your allies to find and rescue you. Uniquely, it also allows you to choose the beasts that you summon.
To Sum It Up
We hope this guide to 5e D&D Druid subclasses helps you choose the best Druid Circle for your build. There are so many pros (and a few cons) to each that it’s hard to choose. Ultimately, it comes down to the kind of magic you want to use. Tell us more about the kind of Druid you built! We love hearing about your games and characters, so get involved and leave us a comment or a question.
