Perhaps the biggest appeal of playing a Druid in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons is Wild Shape. This class feature gives Druids the ability to transform into any 𒀰beast they have seen before. There is a long list of beast creatures in the standard Monster Manual and other resources like Xanathar's Guide to Everything, but some of these forms are just plain better than others. Today, we'll take a look at which shapes you should be turni♒ng into for the greatest impact at your table.

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All of the following options for Wild Shapes are ranked according to their Challenge Rating (CR). going from the lowest to the highest. The first eight beasts on this list are available to all Druid players, but the best forms are reserved for Druids who take the Circle of the Mo🌟on subclass. If Wild Shaping is your primary reason for playing Druid, Circle of the Moon is a necessity. Circle of the Moon Druids should ignore the first few options on thꦐis list. Your progression will be different since you gain access to Challenge Rating (CR) one forms at level two.

Updated January 17, 2025, by Alfredo Robelo: The Druid's Wild Shape ability has been heavily modified in the 2024 Player's Handbook, but that doesn't stop it from remaining one of the most useful abilities in Dungeons & Dragons. We've updated this article to include even more fantastic beasts for you to transform into, taking into account house rules when needed.

19 Owlbear

Challenge Rating: 3

Dungeons & Dragons image showing an Owlbear.

Owlbears aren't classified as beasts, they are technically a monstrocity, so they wouldn't normally be available for druids to wild shape into. However, it is so widely accepted as an available form in both personal campaigns and popular media,🐻 that we ജcouldn't leave them out.

Druids become owlbears in the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amonℱg Thieves, as well as in the video game Baldur's Gate 🥀3.

As far as w🌠hat the form gives you, it isn't all that different from the bear family, able to become a trustworthy tank and shred opponents with several attacks per turn. With a challenge rating of three, the owlbear becomes the best version of the bear that circle of the moon druids can aspire to.

18 Shark

Challenge Rating: From 1/2 To 6

A shark swimming in blue water from Dungeons & Dragons.
A fleshtearer shark by Jim Nelson 

You won't often need to🌱 go underwater during your adventures, often due to the need for specific extra rules for fighting while submerged. In the rare cases where you do need to get your feet wet, the beast family that will hel♚p you rise to the occasion are the sharks.

You might quickly ignore the sha🌃rk at lower levels, since druids can only become aquatic creatures at level four, but that is no longer true for the 2024 rendition of the rules. In the 2024 Players Handbook, druids can turn into aquatic creatures as soon as they gain their wild shape feature, making circle of the moon druids in particular able to turn into these deadly hu🤡nters as early as level 3.

17 𝐆 ൩ Giant Sea Turtle

Challenge Rating: 3

Dungeons & Dragons image showing a dragon turtle.
Dragon Turtle via Wizards of the Coast

While the shark family is your go-to form for underwater offense, sometimes you need a more defensive form. The other big creatures of the land would harmlessly sink in wet environments, but the giant sea turtle can bring its high health pool and 17 points in Armor Class to the front line and excel 🌟while doing so.

The form can still be used on land, but its speed is diminishedও by quite a lot. In those scenarios, a land variati🏅on of the turtle would be better, easily modified since what you want most is the AC, and that is all being brought by the shell.

16 Tressym

Challenge Rating: 0

A Tressym – a cat with wings – in D&D
Tressym via Wizards of the Coast

Sure, you can take the ordinary cat form, but why not an equally adorable and useful little monster that also has wings a♛nd can see invisible creatures?

If you happen to be playing Storm King's Thunder you can take the form of a Tressym, provided your Dungeon Master (DM) gives the Wild Shape their blessing. This is an Exploration beast, very 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:handy for spying and reconnaissance, but not great in combat.

15 Spider

Challenge Rating: 0

small spider with thin legs and fangs
Spider via Wizards of the Coast

While it might not be able to fly, theꦇ spider is among the best scouting forms available th𝓰anks to its tiny size and high stealth modifier. This form is especially good for scouting dungeons as you can crawl beneath most doors and get a lay of the land without alerting any of the dungeon's inhabitants.

This form can also be particularly useful for traversing any spider-infested corridors of a dungeon as the spider can cross webbing without having to wrestle against it. Of ꦉcourse, this won't help the rest of your party get through the webbing but maybe they won't have to!

14 ♍ Velociraptor

Challenge Rating: 1/4

Velociraptors from Neverwinter

Depending on your DM's world, this form may or may not be an option. If velociraptors aren't an option at your table, the🍰 wolf or giant wolf spider are great alternatives.

All that being said, the velociraptor yields the highest damage of all CR 1/4 forms. Couple that with its pack tactics, which provides advantage on 🐈any attack made against a creature that is standing next to one of your allies, and you'll be slashing open bellies as early as level two.

13 ༒ ℱ Giant Toad

Challenge Rating: 1

green frog with black spots
Frog via Wizards of the Coast

Circl🅘e of the Moon Druids will want to start here when it comes to Combat shapes. The giant toad form is a better version of the crocodile. It has the same grappling feature attached to its attack, deals twice as much damage, and has 20 more hit points. On top of that, it provides better single-target crowd control, as you are able to swallow medium-sized or smaller enemies whole.

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A swallow💮ed target takes 3d6 acid damage at the start of each of your turns and remains restrained. There is no way for the swallowed creature to escape your belly besides dealing enough damage to break🌱 your giant toad form. While somewhat sickening to think about too literally, the giant toad's swallow ability is incredibly strong.

12 Draft Horse 🐈

Challenge Rating: 1/4

A horse in Dungeons & Dragons
Riding Horse via Wizards of the Coast

We💦've got critters for outright fighting and others for espionage, but what about more practical beasts for shipping and travel? As one of the more ⛎ordinary Exploration options, the Draft Horse gets overlooked, but it's one of the most useful choices a Druid can make.

A standard dra💞ft ho♏rse can carry up to 540 pounds or two average-sized companions, and despite the size, a draft horse actually has a high movement speed. It's quicker than the elephant but not useful in combat.

11 🍌 Giant Hyena

Challenge Rating: 1

A pack of hyenas fighting with each other
Hyena via Wizards of the Coast

This is a relatively niche form, but it's worth including because Druids who 🌼can correctly decipher when to use it will be rewarded handsomely. The Giant Hyena appears to be a worse Dire Wolf at first glance, however, it can sometimes outperform the Dire Wolf thanks tಞo its Rampage ability.

This ability says that when the Giant Hyena reduces a creature to 0 hit points♛, it can move up to half its speed and make another attack 𓂃as a bonus action. In other words, the Giant Hyena is the best combat form when facing a large number of relatively weak enemies. Did somebody ring the Goblin dinner bell?

10 Dire Wolf

Challenge Rating: 1

A dire wolf with blood on its face from Dungeons & Dragons.
Dire Wolf via Wizards of the Coast

While the Giant Toad provides amazing crowd control in Combat situations, the Dire Wolf is a better all-purpose form. It has a much highꦦer AC of 14, skill bonuses in stealth as well as perception, a speed of 50 feet, and an attack that deals less damage but is more reliable due to the wolf's pack tactics.

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The wolf's bite attack also has a chance of knocking the target prone granted they fail a DC 13 strength save. Lastly, the Dire Wolf's keen hearing and smell give it an advantage on most perception checks. This is your go-to Wild Shape form until level six for 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Circle of the Moon Druids or level eight for Druids of other subclasses.