D&D Beyond makes major character builder change that players hate

D&D Beyond has announced plans to remove the 2014 versions of spells and magic items and replace them with the new versions from the revised Core Rulebooks, sparking an outcry from frustrated users.

On the site’s changelog, Wizards of the Coast detailed how D&D Beyond’s digital tools will adjust following the release of Dungeons & Dragons‘ new Core Rulebooks, which will release between September 2024 and February 2025.

While much of the existing content like races (now called species), classes, and subclasses will remain intact and available in the character builder with an added Legacy tag, all spells and magic items will be removed and replaced with their 2024 equivalents.

The announcement has users furious, with many viewing it as a shift away from WOTC’s promise that the rules revision will be fully backward compatible with existing Fifth Edition content.

Wizards of the Coast

In a Reddit thread with over a thousand comments as of this writing, players expressed their frustration and concerns that this is only the beginning of older content being sunsetted.

“This is such a pain in the ass for everyone who is in the middle of a campaign right now,” said one commenter.

“Why would they not just make a legacy section like they’re doing literally everything else,” asked another.

“Expect for bit by bit, those legacy things to be slowly removed,” one Redditor theorized.

Many have also said they have canceled or plan to cancel their subscriptions in light of the announcement. Others hope fan pressure will convince WOTC to walk back the change as they did amid the OGL controversy in early 2023.

D&D Beyond does explain that players can still use old versions of spells and magic items by creating a copy as homebrew content and adding it to their character sheets the way they would be any original creations.

It’s also important to note that none of the old books are being removed from the site or people’s digital libraries. Players can still access the old content, but it won’t be available through the character builder without using the homebrew trick.

Still, with more major changes promised, including a new virtual tabletop that lets players control Baldur’s Gate 3 characters, players are worried that D&D Beyond will force users to transition to the new rules as soon as they’re available.