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

D&D Beyond has recently announced its intention to replace the 2014 versions of spells and magic items with the updated versions from the revised Core Rulebooks, causing an uproar among disgruntled users.

On the changelog page of the website, Wizards of the Coast provided information on the upcoming changes to D&D Beyond’s digital tools in response to the release of the new Core Rulebooks for Dungeons & Dragons. These rulebooks are set to be released between September 2024 and February 2025.

Existing content, such as races (now referred to as species), classes, and subclasses, will continue to be accessible in the character builder with an additional Legacy label. However, all spells and magic items will be replaced with their 2024 versions.

The announcement has caused anger among users, as many see it as a departure from WOTC’s assurance that the revised rules will remain fully compatible with current Fifth Edition material.

D&D Player's handbook (2024) cover art — Wizards of the Coast

As of writing this, there are over a thousand comments on a Reddit thread where players discussed their frustrations and concerns about the deletion of all 2014 spells and magic items on D&D Beyond. Many expressed worry that this is just the start of older content being phased out.

According to a commenter, this situation is causing difficulties for all those currently involved in a campaign.

“Another individual questioned why a legacy section was not being created, considering that a section for everything else was being made.”

One Redditor speculated that, bit by bit, those legacy things would gradually be eliminated.

Some individuals have also reported canceling or intending to cancel their subscriptions following the announcement. However, there are also those who believe that fan outcry may persuade WOTC to retract the change, as they did during the OGL controversy in early 2023.

D&D Beyond clarifies that players have the option to continue using previous versions of spells and magic items by duplicating them as homebrew content and including them on their character sheets as they would with any new creations.

It should be noted that the old books will not be removed from the site or from people’s digital libraries. The old content can still be accessed by players, however, it will not be accessible through the character builder unless the homebrew trick is utilized.

Despite the promise of more significant updates, such as a virtual tabletop that gives players control over their Baldur’s Gate 3 characters, there is concern among players that D&D Beyond will require a transition to the new rules as soon as they are released.