Weapon Mastery in One D&D

What is Weapon Mastery?

Weapon Mastery is a new system developed for the 2024 core rulebooks. It aims to close the martial/caster divide in the new iteration of D&D 5e.

Every weapon is given a mastery property, and if you get access to that property, you can use this property to control the battlefield, up your damage, or debuff enemies, much the same as casters can do with spells.

One important thing to note is mastery properties do not have a limited number of uses. If, for example, you have a weapon with the Vex property, you can use it each turn you hit with an attack.

What Classes Get Weapon Mastery?

Fighters, Paladins, Rangers, and Rogues get access to the Weapon Mastery features at level 1. But, each class leans into this feature a little bit differently.

• Rogues have the lightest involvement with the feature, only gaining two mastery properties (three if you’re a Soulknife using Psychic Blades). They also have the smallest range of mastery properties to choose from due to their limited range of proficiencies.
• Rangers and Paladins also only get access to two mastery properties, but they have a wider range of weapons to choose from than Rogues.
• Barbarians have Weapon Mastery more entwined with their core features because, while they start out with two mastery properties, they learn more as they level up, maxing out at 4 mastery properties by level 10. One notable limitation here is that barbarians only gain access to mastery properties with Melee weapons.
• Fighters are the most synergistic with Weapon Mastery. They start with 3 mastery properties of any weapon, and they learn up to 6 mastery properties by level 16. They also get Tactical Master at level 9, which allows them to swap out mastery properties when attacking with weapons that qualify for the swapped property (more on that below).

Which Weapon Mastery Properties Are the Best?

Based on this article on D&D Beyond (that, if you look closely, you’ll see I wrote), these are the finalized mastery properties that will be included in the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Below, we’ll break them down and assign each a ranking. Sky blue is excellent, blue is good, green is okay, orange is situational, and red is bad.

Cleave

How it Works: When you hit with an attack and another enemy is within 5 feet of your target and within your reach, you can make a second attack roll. If it hits, the target takes damage equal to a roll of your weapon damage dice.

Rating: Being able to make a second attack + damage roll is excellent, especially with a greataxe, as you can combine it with the Great Weapon Fighting Fighting Style. Having enemies within 5 feet of each other is the biggest limiting factor, but it should allow you to slice through mooks like a lawnmower when they’re clumped up.

Graze

How it Works: When you miss with an attack, your target still receives damage equal to the ability score modifier you used to make the attack.

Rating: This allows you to deal damage even when you miss, which is certainly okay in the early game. The damage only equals your ability modifier you used to make the attack, so you can’t use it to deal efficient damage, even with a weapon you may not be equipped to handle.

Nick

How it Works: If you’re wielding two weapons with the Light property, you can use the Nick property to take the attack you normally get as a Bonus Action as part of your Attack action.

Rating: This is a fantastic enabler for dual-wielding builds. Usually, Bards, Rogues, or Rangers, who are the frequently two-handed builds, would have to trade off their offhand attack in favor of a more powerful Bonus Action, like Bardic Inspiration, Cunning Action, or Hunter’s Mark. With Nick, you can make your offhand attack as part of your Attack action, freeing up your Bonus Action for other fun stuff.

Push

How it Works: When you hit with an attack, you can push the target 10 feet away from you.

Rating: Simple and straightforward. Push your enemy 10 feet away without a save. Not the most powerful option, unless you’re standing at the edge of a volcano. It can even play against you if you Push an enemy away and then can’t follow up on your attacks without taking an Opportunity Attack to chase them.

Sap

How it Works: When you hit with an attack, your target gets Disadvantage on their next attack roll before the start of your next turn.

Rating: Giving enemies a Disadvantage on their next attack can be okay for tanky builds, but it isn’t something you’re particularly interested in most of the time. This is especially true when facing enemies with multiattack, which is most of them past level 5. They can also get around this Disadvantage by using a spell or ability that invokes a saving throw, so it might be less effective than it seems.

Slow

How it Works: When you hit with an attack, your target’s Speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.

Rating: Reducing an enemy’s Speed by 10 feet can be an incredible enabler for hit-and-run builds, especially Rogues who have access to Cunning Action. Based on the linked article, it also applies the Light Crossbows, which can make an incredible ranged build that kites their foes.

Topple

How it Works: When you hit with an attack, you can make your target make a Constitution saving throw (DC = 8 + the ability modifier used to make the attack). If they fail, they’re knocked Prone.

Rating: For builds with multiple attacks, this can be an absolute beating. Just imagine a Fighter knocking an enemy Prone with their first attack, then using the rest of their attacks plus Action Surge to wail on them with Advantage. Just make sure you have another melee martial in your party to make the most of this ability, because attacks at range against a Prone target have Disadvantage.

Vex

How it Works: When you hit with an attack, your next attack against the target before the end of your next turn has Advantage.

Rating: This is another solid enabler, especially for martials that only get two attacks, like Barbarians, Paladins, and Rangers. It is also an incredibly easy-to-trigger source of Advantage for a Rogue’s Sneak Attack or the Barbarian’s Brutal Strike.

Start Training Now!

Weapon Mastery is a simple yet fleshed-out way to add more meaningful choice, damage, and battlefield control to the martial character’s suite of tools.

I’m sure there will be many cool combos with class features/multiclassing to maximize this ability as the 2024 core rulebooks continue to roll out, so check back for updates to this article!