Quick Answer
Buy the Dungeons & Dragons 5e Starter Set, the box built around Lost Mine of Phandelver, if you want the best first night for the least reading. Buy the D&D Essentials Kit instead if your table is two people or somebody wants to build their own character, since it is the only 2014 box with sidekick rules and blank character sheets. Choose Heroes of the Borderlands only if you specifically want to learn the 2024 rules, and skip Dragons of Stormwreck Isle unless it is the only box in the store.
Key takeaways
- Newest is not automatically right. Heroes of the Borderlands teaches the 2024 rules, and most existing groups still play 2014 5e.
- The box usually in stock is the weak one. Dragons of Stormwreck Isle is the set reviewers rate lowest of the four.
- Only two boxes include character creation: the Essentials Kit and Heroes of the Borderlands. The classic Starter Set does not.
- For two people, buy the Essentials Kit. Its sidekick rules are built to run with a single player and one DM.
- Every box already contains dice and a complete adventure, so the Player's Handbook and a dice set are both second purchases, not first ones.
Dungeons & Dragons 5e Starter Set
- Complete starter campaign - Lost Mines of Phandelver
- Pre-generated characters included
- Dice included - ready to play
Pre-made heroes, dice, and Lost Mine of Phandelver - the introductory campaign long-time DMs still rate highest, with the least for a first-time DM to read.
Watch the top pick: Dungeons & Dragons 5e Starter Set
Video by a third-party creator, hosted on YouTube. Loads only when you press play.
Side-by-side comparison
#1Dungeons & Dragons 5e Starter Set 4.7 | #2D&D Essentials Kit 4.8 | |
|---|---|---|
|  | |
| CurioRank | ||
| Verdict | The lowest-friction way into D&D: pre-made heroes, dice, and the introductory campaign DMs still rate highest. | The box for two people or for tables that want to build their own characters from night one. |
| Price | ~$111Buy on Amazon | ~$30.46Buy on Amazon |
| Rules edition | 2014 5e | 2014 5e |
| Character creation | No - five pre-made heroes | Yes - blank sheets included |
| Adventure in the box | Lost Mine of Phandelver | Dragon of Icespire Peak |
| Character levels | 1-5 | 1-6 |
| Two-player support | Not built in | Yes - sidekick rules |
| Buyer sentiment | Starter set Quality Gameplay Value for money Buyers praise starter set, quality, gameplay and value for money. Based on 2,053 user mentions | Starter Level Quality Value for money Fun Buyers praise starter level, quality, value for money and fun. Based on 990 user mentions |
| Pros |
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
* Prices are approximate. Click Buy to see current pricing on Amazon.
The one-line answer
If nobody at the table has played before and you want the best possible first night, buy the Dungeons & Dragons 5e Starter Set - the box built around Lost Mine of Phandelver. It is the simplest box on the shelf, and its adventure is still the one long-time DMs point new tables at. One honest caveat before you click: the box is out of print, and remaining Amazon stock now sells at collector prices - check the live price against the Essentials Kit before deciding, because at three times the money the Essentials Kit becomes the sane first buy.
Everything below is the exceptions: when a different box is the smarter buy, and why the newest one on the shelf is not automatically the right one. If you have not settled on D&D at all yet, our ranked comparison of RPG starter sets across systems covers Pathfinder 2e and the indie options. This page answers only the D&D-box question.
The four D&D boxes you are choosing between
Four different start-here D&D boxes share the shelf in 2026, and they are not interchangeable. They run on two different rules editions, and only two of them teach you how to build a character.
| Box | Rules edition | Character creation | Adventure in the box | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D&D Starter Set | 2014 5e | No - five pre-made heroes | Lost Mine of Phandelver | The strongest first campaign |
| D&D Essentials Kit | 2014 5e | Yes - blank sheets included | Dragon of Icespire Peak | Two players, or building characters |
| Dragons of Stormwreck Isle | 2014 5e | No | Dragons of Stormwreck Isle | Skip it - see below |
| Heroes of the Borderlands | 2024 5e | Yes - via cards | Three linked adventures | Tables learning the 2024 edition |
Rule of thumb: edition, not price, is the real fork in the road. Three of these boxes run the 2014 rules that most existing groups still play. Only Heroes of the Borderlands uses the 2024 revision.
What each box actually gives you
- D&D Starter Set. The 2014 original: pre-made characters, a slim rulebook covering levels 1-5, dice, and Lost Mine of Phandelver, an eight-to-twelve-session campaign that DMs and critics still rate as one of the best introductions D&D has published. Its one gap is character creation.
- D&D Essentials Kit. The 2019 box, and the quiet value pick. It adds what the Starter Set leaves out - character-creation rules with blank sheets, a DM screen, a bigger dice set, and sidekick rules that let the adventure run with a single player and one DM.
- Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. Usually the box physically on the shelf, and the weakest of the four. Reviewers describe it as a step back from both earlier sets: character creation removed, the rulebook trimmed, and a shorter, more forgettable adventure.
- Heroes of the Borderlands. The 2025 release, and the only box built for the 2024 rules. It is by far the most component-heavy - three short adventures split by focus (combat, exploration, roleplay), player boards, illustrated cards, poster maps and eleven dice - and it is card-driven, which cuts how much rulebook a first-time DM has to read.
The two boxes we rank
Only two of the four are boxes we would send a new table to - though only the Essentials Kit remains in print at its normal price. The Starter Set is out of print, and what is left on Amazon sells at collector prices. Both run the 2014 rules, and their adventures stitch together if you end up owning both.
1. Dungeons & Dragons 5e Starter Set - the strongest first campaign
Check price on Amazon →This is the box that removes every barrier to a first session. The characters are already built, the rulebook stops at level 5 so nobody has to read past what they need, and Lost Mine of Phandelver is a paced, prepped adventure with read-aloud text written for someone who has never run a game. Most groups get three to four months of weekly play out of it.
The trade-off is honest and narrow: there are no character-creation rules, so your table plays the five pre-generated heroes for the whole campaign.
2. D&D Essentials Kit - the two-player and character-creation box
Check price on Amazon →Pick this one if your table is two people, or if somebody at the table will be disappointed not to design their own character. The sidekick rules are the reason: they are built so a single player and one DM can run the adventure together, with an NPC ally filling out the party. You also get a DM screen, blank sheets, and Dragon of Icespire Peak, which is structured as a quest board rather than one linear story.
What a lot of DMs do: buy both 2014 boxes - at least while the Starter Set could be had for starter-set money. Their adventures and monster lists stitch into months of play - the Starter Set for the story, the Essentials Kit for character creation and the DM screen.
The box to skip, and what to buy instead
Skip Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. It is the 2022 starter set, it is frequently the only D&D box a chain store has on the shelf, and it is the one reviewers rate lowest of the four: no character creation, a thinner rulebook, and a short adventure that few groups remember. Nothing about it is broken - it is just strictly worse than the box beside it at a similar price.
If Stormwreck Isle is genuinely the only one in the store, it will run a fine evening. Otherwise order the D&D Starter Set and get the better campaign for the same shelf space.
What most buyers get wrong
What actually picks the right box:
- Which rules edition your table, or the table you are joining, plays
- Whether anyone needs to build their own character from night one
- How many people will genuinely sit down - two changes the answer
What buyers go on instead, and should not:
- Newest must be best - Heroes of the Borderlands exists to teach the 2024 rules, so if the group you are joining plays 2014 5e you will learn a slightly different game than everyone else
- Its glossary-style rulebook, where rules are dictionary entries rather than step-by-step instructions, which reviewers flag as genuinely confusing for a first-time DM
- Whatever is on the shelf - which is usually Stormwreck Isle
Match the box to your table
- Total beginners, biggest group, smallest budget - the D&D Starter Set. Best adventure, least to read.
- Two people, one DM and one player - the Essentials Kit. Its sidekick rules exist for exactly this.
- Somebody wants to build a character on night one - Essentials Kit or Heroes of the Borderlands, the only two boxes with creation rules.
- Your friends already play the 2024 rules - Heroes of the Borderlands, so you learn the same edition they use.
- You want the most cards, boards and bits on the table - Heroes of the Borderlands.
- You are not sure D&D is the system you want - read the starter sets ranked across systems before you spend anything.
Prices on the older boxes swing hard by seller, so check the live listing before you order rather than assuming the classic box is always the cheapest one. Everything else we rank in this space sits in tabletop RPGs.
What you do not need to buy yet
The Player's Handbook is the second purchase
You do not need the core rulebooks to start. Every box above is a complete, playable game on its own - dice, rules, characters and an adventure in one package. The Player's Handbook is for when your group finishes the box campaign and wants to build original characters for a longer game. Buying it first is the classic beginner overspend, and it is the single most common thing new tables waste money on.
You do not need a dice set either
Every one of these boxes ships with dice. A dice set is a nice gift for someone who already plays and wants their own, not a thing to add to a first order.