DnD 5e Feats

Boon of Energy Resistance 5e (Updated for the 2024 Rules)

By Mike Bernier

Published on March 8, 2025, Last modified on March 13th, 2025

Master the manipulation of energy and redirect harm back at your foes with the Boon of Energy Resistance in D&D 5e!

A Wizard with the Boon of Energy Resistance redirects Lightning damage

Wesley Burt - Wizards of the Coast - Ral, Storm Conduit

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What Is the Boon of Energy Resistance Feat in 5e?

Sometimes, surviving at high levels means mitigating as much damage as possible, and the Boon of Energy Resistance lets you do just that. This Epic Boon grants Resistance to two damage types of your choice, which can be changed each Long Rest, and lets you turn enemy attacks into counterstrikes with a powerful Reaction, making this an excellent defensive and offensive tool.

How Does Boon of Energy Resistance Work?

Boon of Energy Resistance is one of the Epic Boons found in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Unlike regular feats, Epic Boons are only available to characters who reach level 19, making them a capstone reward for the most powerful adventurers.

When you take the Boon of Energy Resistance, you gain the following benefits:

  • Ability Score Increase: Increase one ability score of your choice by 1, to a maximum of 30. While hitting 30 is rare in a standard level 1–20 campaign, it’s a powerful long-term investment.
  • Energy Resistances: Gain Resistance to two of the following damage types: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Necrotic, Poison, Psychic, Radiant, or Thunder. You can swap these out each Long Rest, making this one of the most adaptable defensive boosts available in D&D.
  • Energy Redirection: When you take damage of one of your chosen Resistances, you can use your Reaction to force another creature within 60 feet (that you can see) to make a Dexterity saving throw (DC 8 + your Constitution modifier + Proficiency Bonus). On a failure, they take 2d12 + your Constitution modifier in damage of the same type. While this is a solid Reaction-based attack, usually redirecting a damage type projected by an enemy back on them means you’ll run into an Immunity or Resistance, especially at higher levels. Luckily, you can target other creatures with this ability, so you might not be able to throw fire back at that Ancient Red Dragon, but you can toast one of its Kobold minions.

How to Get the Boon of Energy Resistance Feat

Any class can pick up the Boon of Energy Resistance feat when they reach level 19 and gain the Epic Boon class feature.

Is Boon of Energy Resistance Good?

We gave Boon of Energy Resistance an S Tier rating In our 5e Feats Tier List, making it among the most potent feats in D&D 5e.

This feat offers significant offensive and defensive value. All of the most common elemental damage types are included in its list, and the ability to swap them out lets you tailor your defenses for each adventuring day. The redirection effect is essentially a free powered-up Hellish Rebuke every time you get hit with the elemental damage type you chose, so it’s an excellent way to punish enemies for targeting you, making it particularly useful for tanks and frontliners.

One of the most significant aspects of this ability is the redirected damage isn’t based on the amount of damage you took. So, if you get hit by a Cambion’s Claw attack, which deals 2d6 Fire damage, you can still turn around and blast them for 2d12 + your Consitution modifier worth of Fire damage.

It’s also important to note that characters with high Constitution will get the most value from the Energy Redirection benefit, as its damage scales with your Constitution modifier and increases the save DC for avoiding the redirected damage.

Which 5e Classes Make the Most of Boon of Energy Resistance?

The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good the Boon of Energy Resistance 5e feat is for a specific class/subclass.

  • Red: Weak, unlikely to contribute to your build
  • Orange: Situationally good, but below average
  • Green: A solid choice
  • Blue: A great option worth considering
  • Sky Blue: One of the best choices for optimization

Artificer: A strong choice for Artificers who want a bit more durability and have stacked into Constitution, especially Armorer or Battle Smith builds.

Barbarian: Already with Resistance from mundane damage types while Raging, Barbarians with this boon become even harder to kill. Since they tend to have high Constitution, Energy Redirection adds some extra offense to their tanky playstyle.

Bard: This is a great way to give your Bard an additional damage-dealing option and help shore up their defenses.

Cleric: Clerics can benefit from the extra Resistances to help stay alive and dish out buffs. Plus, they don't have a very common Reaction-based ability, which makes Energy Redirection a great once-per-round thing to do.

Druid: Druids can benefit from the extra Resistances to help stay alive and dish out buffs. Plus, they don't have a very common Reaction-based ability, which makes Energy Redirection a great once-per-round thing to do.

Fighter: Fighters will enjoy extra survivability from Resistances, and their typically high Constitution scores can help boost Energy Resistance's effectiveness.

Monk: This boon is a fantastic way to shore up the Monk's lackluster defense and help them pump up damage.

Paladin: Paladins are frontline combatants with high Constitution, making them great candidates for this boon. They also tend to attract enemy fire, so having Resistances and a counterattack Reaction is perfect.

Ranger: A decent pick for Rangers, especially because they don't usually have much to do with their Reaction.

Rogue: This boon is a fantastic way to shore up the Rogue's lackluster defense and help them pump up damage.

Sorcerer: Sorcerers typically stack into Constitution to help with their Hit Points and Concentration, which helps make Energy Redirection effective. Sorcerers get great defensive and offensive value out of this boon.

Warlock: A strong choice for Warlocks who want a bit more durability and have stacked into Constitution, especially Pact of the Blade builds.

Wizard: Wizards typically stack into Constitution to help with their Hit Points and Concentration, which helps make Energy Redirection effective. All in all, they will get great defensive and offensive value out of this boon.

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Mike Bernier

Mike Bernier is the lead content writer and founder of Arcane Eye. He is a Adamantine best-selling author of Strixhaven: A Syllabus of Sorcery on DMs Guild and is a contributing author at D&D Beyond. Follow Mike on Twitter.