D&D: Five of the Best Low-Level Wildshapes
Druids can turn into a variety of animals (for now), and these five Wildshapes are some of the best to pick at low levels.
Wildshape is in the air right now, both playing a big role in the D&D movie and also featuring front and center of the new playtest rules for One D&D Druids. For the latter, we got a much more simplified version that nobody liked. But for the former…
As you can see, in 5th Edition, there are a lot of animals to pick from. And we’re going to help you pick out five of the best Wildshapes. For now, we’re sticking with the lower-level ones that you’re likely to play first.
Velociraptor (CR 1/4)/Deinonychus (CR 1)
Nothing like transforming into a dinosaur to kick things off. And these two dinosaurs are sure to be a Druid’s best friend. The humble velociraptor is for those non-Moon Druids, while the deinonychus is for more active shapeshifters.
Both benefit from a multi-attack, with the velociraptor getting two attacks and Pack Tactics (for advantage on both) while the deinonychus delivers a whopping potential 4 attacks per round as early as 2nd level, thanks to their Pounce ability and multi-attack action that consists of two claws and a bite.
Giant Space Hamster (CR 1/4)
Introduced in Boo’s Astral Menagerie, these creatures are large-sized, decently hardy at 22 hp, and moreover, they have a burrowing speed so that they can reach those hard to get into places. You could tunnel your way into a fort and open the gates, for instance.
Plus you can always go for the eyes.
Giant Wolf Spider (CR 1/4)/Giant Spider (CR 1)
Giant spiders are a staple of Druid power, for two good reasons. For one, they have a climb speed, which means you can use them for access to hard-to-reach areas/to get around those troublesome mobility puzzles.
And secondly, they are all about webs. They can both walk on and shoot webs, meaning you can blanket an area with webbing and walk safely in it while waiting for some creature to come close (or for your web to recharge).
Giant Hyena (CR 1)
This is the low-level Wildshape with the highest total hit points. You get 45 hp, which is more than twice that of even a high Constitution Barbarian at 2nd-level. And they hit hard, dealing 2d6+3 with each bite, and if it kills a target, they can go on a Rampage, making another attack as a bonus action.
Brown Bear (CR 1)
Brown bears don’t have the hit points of a giant hyena, but they come pretty close. And on top of that, they move 40, have a climb speed of 30, and can make two powerful attacks as a single Multiattack action. On top of that, they do have 34 hit points to run together, so this is a good default form if you don’t know what you might need out of an animal form.
What are your picks for best Wildshape?
