Dungeons & Dragons is completely reworking Baldur’s Gate 3’s worst subclass

Dungeons & Dragons’ upcoming Player’s Handbook (2024) is overhauling the Monk class, with the Way of the Four Elements subclass getting a much-needed rework.

Wizards of the Coast has been sharing more details on how the upcoming rules revision will change and improve each of Dungeons & Dragons‘ classes. Of those detailed so far, the Monk is easily getting the most attention, with the designers sharing plenty of brand-new feats and buffs to existing ones.

While Monks in both D&D and Baldur’s Gate 3 have the potential to be quite powerful, with Open Hand Monks, in particular, being considered OP in Larian’s game, the class itself has often suffered from low player satisfaction scores and actual play numbers.

Beyond that, as D&D lead rules designer Jeremy Crawford explained in a video breaking down the changes to the Monk class, the Way of the Four Elements “was often the lowest rated subclass in the 2014 Player’s Handbook.”

Because of all this, the subclass has essentially been scrapped and recreated as the Warrior of the Elements Monk.

With the rework, Element Monks gain access to the new Elementalism cantrip and 10-foot reach with their Unarmed Strikes. Additionally, these attacks can deal Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder damage with their Unarmed Strikes, and players can force the target to make a saving throw to either push them away or pull them closer.

Starting at level 6, these Monks will also be able to deal area-of-effect elemental damage, which scales as they level up.

Rather than tying these Monks to a particular element, Crawford explains that “you are tapping into the chaotic mixture of all of [the elements],” hence the subclass name change. Anytime an Element Monk uses an ability that gives them a selection of damage types, they can pick a different element, providing plenty of versatility.

These changes aim to address issues that both D&D and Baldur’s Gate 3 players have noticed with the previous iteration of the subclass.

The old Way of Four Elements basically gave players access to a handful of spells. However, not only were the spells underwhelming, but they cost ki points meant these Monks couldn’t access other crucial class abilities.

That led to plenty of homebrew solutions that aimed to make the class viable at the time before the actual buffs came through.

Reactions to the changes seem positive, with many commenters on the video praising the designers for giving the Monk class so much attention. “From the bottom of my heart: thank you for helping my favorite class get to a happier place,” said one.

Another specifically praised the Warrior of the Elements rework, saying, “So far this is my favorite revamped class yet. Unless one of the remaining classes turns out to be even cooler than this one, my first 2024 character is definitely going to be a warrior of elements monk.”