One of my favorite characters I played in a one-shot was moon druid and bear totem barbarian. He would turn into a cave bear then go bananas. It was a ton of fun.

2:00 their number of ways to get around this while still following RAW for druids. Caduceus Clay for example while he's a grave cleric has armor and shield made out of chitin, a nonmetallic material. You could also do proto Kevlar by way of gambison with an internal ceramic plate.

While i don't find alot of your multiclass combinations optimal enough for my standards, i do like the way you've presented your builds and agree with your conclusion that druids aren't pre-disposed to multiclassing. this is due to 5 reasons: 1. they have the best capstone in the game 2. they don't have alot early level abilities that work well with abilities with other classes 3. most people who are looking for something from the druid spell list typically find it on the cleric or on the ranger or obviously on the bard 4. the armor restrictions 5. alot of the druid's best abilities, like wild shape, scale with druid levels Here's my multiclassing assessment of each druid subclass: dreams-meh subclass. low multiclassing synergy. land-meh subclass. that extra spell list doesn't really have alot of standouts and the standouts are typically accessible through feats, races or background spell lists. low multiclassing synergy. moon-arguably the best druid subclass. good multiclassing synergy. multiple paths to go such as either focusing on being a striker or controller or tank. shepherd-good subclass. good multiclassing synergy. the bear totem in particular is great on summon grappler control builds. spores-meh subclass. trap multiclassing synergy. on paper, symbiotic entity makes this an attractive 2 level dip for sustained strikers. however, what most fail to realize is that it costs an action to setup and the duration is reliant on them keeping a paltry amount of temp hp. The only way to increase that temp hp is by taking more spore levels which become dead levels to a striker. plus the bonus dmg is poison dmg, the most commonly resisted/immune dmg type in the game. so in reality, there's low multiclassing synergy here. stars-good subclass. good multiclassing synergy. archer starry form is good on classes that want a wis based bonus action attack but don't want to use spiritual weapon. dragon starry form is my favorite as this can be combined with abjurer 10 for one of the best if not the best counterspeller in the game. if for some weird reason that a wizard decides not to use wall of force with it's 5th level slots, dragon starry form also makes this combo one of the best telekinesis users in the game. wildfire-good subclass. good multiclassing synergy. fiery teleportation is a good way to force enemies to move with booming blade. since the wildfire spirit flies, this is a good dip early game for anyone who wants access to flight early on without picking a flying race. You can ask the wildfire spirit to grapple+drag you to the air essentially giving you flight as well.

I’ve played a Swarmkeeper/Wildfire mix pretty powerful also reflavored the fire elemental as a bear…. Perfection Also Spores/Grave Gloomstalker/Shepherd Dream/Fey Wanderer Wildfire/Purple Dragon

The one I'm working on right now is a level 17 Land Druid (Grasslands) with 3 levels of rogue to get Scout. It's such a versatile build both on and off the battlefield. So many skills to be useful out of battle with lots of options on the battlefield with the rogue bonus action stuff. Causing difficult terrain and then dashing out of it is *chef's kiss*

Great video and article, I'd add stars druid X swarm keeper ranger 4 to consideration. You could have a swarm of bioluminescent water bears bullying the enemy into well placed spike growth or moon beams via the archer constellation bonus action smack down. I'm working on that with my Yuan-Ti librarian stars druid (she has a headband of intellect) to play a hyper intelligent blaster Druid. So far, Himari is an absolute menace on the battlefield.

Nice succinct and useful video.

I really like the idea of a Circle of Stars druid with just a two-or-three-level dip into Divination wizard, as both subclasses focus on foretelling the future in different ways. This is another combo that doesn't have to be particularly MAD, since the wizard spell list could focus on spells that aren't dependent on casting ability (Shield, Magic Missile, Mirror Image, rituals). I also think a bugbear Wildfire druid with 3-4 levels of Gloom Stalker ranger would make an excellent striker using the Scorching Ray spell between the bugbear's extra 2d6 damage per attack against monsters that haven't taken their turn yet and the Gloom Stalker's initiative bonus and invisibility in darkness. But the druid multiclass I *REALLY* want to try is Way of Four Elements monk (5 or 6 levels) combined with Wildfire druid, as I think this would make a far better "elemental bender" class than any single-class monk could ever manage.

Need to clear it with DM, but Armorer artificer could technically allow you to create your own (non metal) armor that can shape to fit your wild shapes. Not that the armor is too major of a boost, though that infusion to keep concentration up for spells whilst in wild shape could be extremely useful.

I rarely get to play which is okay as I prefer to DM but I do love the druid if I get to play I played a halfling cannibal druid in Darksun, a druid/mage half elf in another 2e game and I played in a 5e one shot a druid to check out 5e as my table was still using 3.5e then Druids have a special place in my heart along with mages Some very interesting combos in here I particularly liked the idea of the barbarian druid Thanks

a build that I'm doing is a circle spores druid with gloom Hunter Ranger stealth combat build it as an experiment I've been testing out for the last couple months and he has four levels right now into Ranger and four levels into druid and he's also a water genisa

Thanks, great video :) I have to wonder, though, why dnd content creators keep talking about level 20 builds. Class A 14 levels + Class B 6 levels has so little practical value. Apologies for the hyperbole but NOBODY plays level 20 characters. Barely anyone plays above, say 12 or 14. I'd say that play above level 7 or 8 is already rare. It would be really useful to hear suggestions for multiclassing that focus on the levels where it kicks in. Like "put levels into X at level 4"

Flutes, did you miss out on Twilight-Cleric/Stars Druid? It's self-explanatory, right? Also, I like my Hexblood-Mercy-Monk-Moon-Druid, Witch Doctor with Lycanthropy. Although you have to discuss with your DM what the damage of Flurry of blows is when in Animal Form. I think, at low levels the 2d6+4 from the brown bear's claws might be overpowered, and I should be the monk's martial arts damage.

I’m playing an Owlin moon Druid and I’m thinking of dipping into fighter but I don’t know what subclass I’d pick. I’m thinking either samurai or rune or champion. When not wildshaped I’m throwing magic stones from up high and using battlefield control and I’d like some suggestion

Cavalier fighter/moon Druid is low key a real good tank

Heres an idea: artificer 3 armorer for no str requirement for your plate armor (yes) Warforged so you don but don't wear the armor as you Are the armor (read it carefully😉) so you can have plate armor ac for your druid Druid 17 (I'd say go wildifer)

druid monk? monk-ey build!

My current character is a druid moon / div wizard (level 4), i was attempting to go with a very witchy vibe to her with utility/spells, but allow for some tankiness with the party since our other two are squishy. So witchy woodland dhampir witch 🧹 portent is a beast! I cannot fly or swim yet which i am sad about but i play it off that she is a little behind with it in her studies.

I have been playing a moon druid 3, rogue 1 for a little bit and rather enjoy him. I wanted survival and slight of hand to be up a bit and figure a dip in rogue would be nice. We started at lvl 3 he was 2 druid 1 rogue. The neat thing is magic stone and sling combo but that's a starting point til I get to close combat. I know the sneak attack isn't translated to Wildshape at all but the dip was more for the con artist orphan living off the land theme that I wanted for him. I also got to use the ua fairy so flying bear is cool, not to mention Pegasus without wings......

But with the beast barb/moon druid do you use your wildshapes strength instead of your own with the barbarian claws damage? What about the hit modifier?

I’ve always felt that Druids were better without multiclassing. Because your wildshape will always improve as you progress the class, Druid spells alone are AMAZING even if you took away their ability choose a new list every day. It’s not like Rangers and Paladins taking a 2 level dip in either fighter or rogue because at certain levels that is ABSOLUTELY a good idea. (Great for one shots at odd levels)

Lore reasons should be respected! Druids not wearing metal armor has always been a thing.

let me preface with: it's your table, do what you like now, here's my thing with metal armor, druids aren't fey, and by default don't work with fey, so fey being their reason doesn't work except for specific subclasses, outside of that, there's no logical reason they wouldn't wear armor, primarily because whilst the metal is shaped a bit, unless it's platinum, it's still a natural metal, especially if it's iron rather than steel, druids are about nature, so logically they should be able to use iron as much as wood, druids work for nature of our dimension, not of the fey, nor of the shadowfell, if you have a fey druid? sure, go ahead, but I've never understood the iron limit because of the fact that iron is an inherently natural resource, just as much as berries, or stone, or flint or wool. that's just my take though, good video for the rest of it tho

What bugs me about Druids not being able to wear metal armour is technology. In the world of Dungeons and Dragons it should be easy to get wood armour that is enchanted to be as good as metal armour, think Vegan armour.