Ape 5e: Stats, Tactics and the Ape Wild Shape

An ape is a CR 1/2 Medium beast with AC 12, 19 hit points, 30-foot walking and climbing speeds, and a Multiattack of two fists at +5. It can also throw a rock out to 50 feet. In the 2014 rules each fist and each rock deals 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning damage. The 2024 rules (SRD 5.2.1) shrink the fists to 5 (1d4 + 3) but turn the rock into a Recharge 6 attack that deals 10 (2d6 + 3). Either way the ape is a straightforward bruiser that fights from trees and cliffs, and it's one of the better level 4 Wild Shape forms because it has hands.

Table of Contents

• •Ape Stat Block (2014)
• •The Ape in the 2024 Rules
• •How Apes Fight
• •How Many Apes for a Level 1 or 2 Party?
• •The Ape as a Wild Shape and Summon
• •How Players Beat Apes
• •Ape vs Giant Ape
• •Ape Encounter Ideas
• •Frequently Asked Questions

Ape Stat Block (2014)

The SRD 5.1 ape.

The 2014 ape's Rock is the same damage as a Fist, 6 per hit, with no recharge. That makes it a fallback: an ape that can reach someone always punches twice, and only throws when it can't close the distance. Athletics +5 and a climb speed equal to its walking speed mean walls, trees and rubble slopes don't slow it down.

The Ape in the 2024 Rules

The 2024 ape hits a little softer in melee and a lot harder with its first throw. It still gets to throw the rock on its first turn, since a recharge ability starts the fight available. After that, the rock comes back only on a 6 at the start of the ape's turn, about one round in six.

How Apes Fight

Expected damage. Against AC 15, a typical level 1 or 2 front-liner, the ape's +5 hits on a 10 or better: 55%.

The table explains the ape's behavior in each edition. A 2014 ape gets half the damage from a rock that it gets from its fists, so it charges. A 2024 ape gets the same expected damage from one rock as from two punches, so it opens from range at the target it can't easily reach (the wizard behind the line), then drops down and closes.

Use the climb speed. An ape in a tree 20 feet up is out of reach of every melee character who can't climb. Climbing costs a character without a climb speed 1 extra foot per foot moved, and a slick or sheer trunk can call for an Athletics check. The ape throws from the branch, and when someone climbs up after it, punches them while they cling to the trunk. On a cliff path, an ape that climbs above the party and drops rocks controls the fight.

Focus. With Intelligence 6, apes are smarter than most beasts. Play a troop that picks a target and swarms it: three apes on one character is about 20 expected damage a round from 2014 apes, enough to drop most level 2 characters in one round. A troop that loses its biggest member, or two of its number, scatters into the canopy.

Retreat. A wounded ape climbs out of melee reach in one move, and the party has to decide whether to chase it up a tree.

How Many Apes for a Level 1 or 2 Party?

With the 2024 budgets, for four characters:

Each ape is 100 XP. At level 1, four apes is a High fight on paper and dangerous in practice: 19 hit points each means a level 1 party needs three or four hits to drop one, while the apes deal 5 to 7 damage a round each.

The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide guidelines, which drive our encounter calculator, are stricter. Three apes are 300 XP, doubled by the group multiplier to 600. That's Hard for four level 2 characters (Hard is 600, Deadly 800) and well past Deadly for four level 1 characters (Deadly is 400).

Apes stay useful up to about level 4 as a troop. After that, send a giant ape with the troop as its escort.

The Ape as a Wild Shape and Summon

Wild Shape. The ape is CR 1/2 with no fly speed, so a druid can take its form at level 4 in both editions. Its climb speed is allowed. Why pick it:

• •Two attacks. Multiattack gives two +5 attacks a turn.
• •Hands. In 2014, actions that require hands are "limited to the capabilities of your beast form"; in 2024, "your ability to handle objects is determined by the form's limbs." An ape's hands can open a door, pull a lever or haul an unconscious ally, which a wolf or a crocodile can't (how much an ape can manipulate is the DM's call).
• •Climbing. 30 feet of climb speed makes an ape-form druid the party's way up a wall to drop a rope.

The edition changes how much the ape's 19 hit points matter. A 2014 druid takes the ape's hit points as a buffer on top of their own. A 2024 druid keeps their own hit points and gains temporary hit points equal to their druid level (4 at level 4), so the ape's hit points don't apply at all. You choose the 2024 ape for its attacks, hands and climb speed.

Conjure Animals (2014). The 2014 Conjure Animals can summon four beasts of CR 1/2 or lower. Four apes make eight attacks a round, about 26 expected damage against AC 15, for one 3rd-level slot and concentration. The 2024 version of the spell summons an intangible spirit pack instead of individual beasts, so the ape option doesn't exist there.

How Players Beat Apes

• •AC 12 is low. Apes rely on hit points, not armor. Most characters hit them two times in three.
• •Target its mind. The ape has no saving throw proficiencies, Wisdom +1, Intelligence −2 and Charisma −2. Wisdom-save spells land a bit more often than not at a typical DC 13. Check Command by edition: the 2014 spell has no effect on a creature that doesn't understand your language, which rules out an ape, while the 2024 text has no such limit, so "Flee" takes a 2024 ape out of the fight for a turn.
• •Talk first. Apes are Beasts, so Speak with Animals can find out why the troop is angry. Animal Friendship depends on your edition: the 2014 spell fails against a beast with Intelligence 4 or higher, so it can't affect an ape (Intelligence 6), while the 2024 spell has no Intelligence limit.
• •Fight on the ground. Lure the troop out of the trees, or fight where there's nothing to climb. Without height, an ape is a 19-hit-point punching bag with AC 12.
• •Area damage. Thunderwave pushes an ape 10 feet on a failed save, which off a branch means a fall.

Ape vs Giant Ape

They share a fighting style: two fists, a climb speed and something to throw. The giant ape is the boss of an ape troop, not a bigger version for the same party level.

Ape Encounter Ideas

The temple keepers. A troop of six apes lives in a ruined jungle temple and has learned to pull the lever that drops the portcullis on the main hall. They aren't guarding it for anyone. They do it because people trapped in the hall leave food behind. The party can fight six apes, or bring fruit and work out what the apes want.

The menagerie break. A traveling menagerie's ape cage was opened in the night. Three apes are loose on the rooftops of a market town, throwing roof tiles at the crowd. The menagerie owner wants them alive. The town watch wants them dead. Taking them alive is easy: a character who reduces a creature to 0 hit points with a melee attack can knock it out instead.

The druid's escort. A druid NPC keeps two apes as guards and Wild Shapes into a third ape when threatened. Under 2014 rules the party finds out which ape is the druid when its 19 hit points run out and a person drops out of it; under 2024 rules it's the ape that talks, or keeps fighting after damage that would drop a real ape.

Frequently Asked Questions

What CR is an ape in 5e?

An ape is CR 1/2 and worth 100 XP in both the 2014 and 2024 rules.

How much damage does an ape do?

A 2014 ape makes two Fist attacks for 6 (1d6 + 3) each, 12 if both hit. A 2024 ape's fists deal 5 (1d4 + 3) each, and its Recharge 6 Rock deals 10 (2d6 + 3) at range. Both attack at +5.

Can a druid Wild Shape into an ape?

Yes, at druid level 4 in both editions. The ape is CR 1/2 with no fly speed. Its hands let it open doors and carry objects, which most beast forms can't do.

What's the difference between an ape and a giant ape?

An ape is a Medium CR 1/2 beast with 19 hit points. A giant ape is a Huge CR 7 beast with 157 (2014) or 168 (2024) hit points and 22-damage fists with 10-foot reach. The giant ape is a boss for a party around levels 5 to 7; the ape is a troop member for levels 1 to 4.

Can apes climb in 5e?

Yes. Both editions give the ape a 30-foot climb speed, equal to its walking speed, so it moves up trees and walls at full speed.

Stat blocks: System Reference Document 5.1 (2014) and 5.2.1 (2024), Wizards of the Coast, CC-BY-4.0. Tactics, encounter math and ideas are Loreify's own.