[7] Numerous foreign editions of the Players Handbook were published, including versions for the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Germany.

[5] The book also included information on non-human races, such as dwarves, elves, and halflings, as well as character abilities, equipment such as armor and weapons, descriptions of spells, and optional rules to add psionics to the game.

"[1] Turnbull felt a bit of apprehension at the amount of time it would require to digest all the new material, but concluded by saying "I said of the Monster Manual that it was TSR's most impressive publication to date; that is no longer true—this accolade must belong to the Handbook which is nothing short of a triumph.

"[16] The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition Player's Handbook was a 256-page hardcover book written by David "Zeb" Cook and released in 1989.

[5] Gary Gygax originally started development of the next edition of AD&D and planned on incorporating rules revisions from the Unearthed Arcana (1985) and Oriental Adventures (1985) in a new Player's Handbook.

[19] In August 1987, Director of Games Development Michael Dobson outlined that "the two core books were to be done by December 1987, then turned over to the RPGA for playtesting in early 1988, then returned to TSR for redevelopment in late 1988" aiming to release in "March or April 1989".

[19] Shannon Appelcline highlighted that "Dobson's scheduling was quite accurate, as the 2e Player's Handbook (1989) appeared in February 1989, then the 2e Dungeon Master's Guide (1989) in May".

[22] A set of optional rules for proficiencies was added, to represent skills, and sections detailing role-playing, combat, magic, time and movement, equipment, and spell descriptions were all expanded from the original book.

[5][23] The book included major changes regarding character classes, races, and magic, and incorporated many new rules that had been published in supplements such as Unearthed Arcana (1985) and Dragonlance Adventures (1987).

Wallis felt that the many improvements called for by the "archaic mechanics" and "hugely overly-complex" rules had not been addressed, and that the game still provided "a terrible introduction to role-playing."

[38] Collins was put in charge of the Player's Handbook (2003) development with Rich Redman on the Dungeon Master's Guide (2003) and Skip Williams on the Monster Manual (2003).

"[39] Monte Cook, one of the lead designers of the 3rd Edition who left Wizards of the Coast in 2001,[40] was critical of v3.5 in his review of the new core rulebooks – "this revision is too much, too soon.

The first Player's Handbook includes eight classes: cleric, fighter, paladin, ranger, rogue, warlock, warlord, and wizard, and eight races: dragonborn, dwarf, eladrin, elf, human, half-elf, halfling, and tiefling.

[50] The Player's Handbook 2 includes eight classes: the avenger, barbarian, bard, druid, invoker, shaman, sorcerer, and warden, and five races: the deva, gnome, goliath, half-orc, and shifter.

[59] John Baichtal of Wired highlighted that he liked the various character changes included in the Player's Handbook (2008) – "a lot of people have been talking about how MMPORGs have influenced D&D, particularly toward making advancement more fun.

Baichtal opined that 4th Edition "certainly isn't a token update to sell more books" with "thoughtful" changes and an "easy start that makes newbie PCs tough enough to take care of business".

In the process, 4e characters lost an indescribable crunchy feeling, but I'm pleased to say that it's been brought back for the newest installment of this venerated table top series.

[79] Henry Glasheen of SLUG Magazine highlighted getting "lost in the artwork" of the 2014 Player's Handbook as the new edition's "art has the patient beauty of old-school high adventure, amped up with a distinctly modern aesthetic" and "everything has this magnificent watercolor texture that, while obviously digital in most cases, gives each piece a familiar, knowable feel".

[80] John Farrell at Gaming Trend called the 2014 Player's Handbook artwork "both iconic and evocative" although "of questionable quality in very few places".

[80] Similarly, Farrell commented that "character creation is fast and easy, without an overload of options at the outset" and with a simpler ruleset, this edition "has found substantial yet unobtrusive ways to bring your thoughts to roleplay without enforcing rigid methods of keeping in line with an archetype".

[80] However, those looking for "a hardcore RPG to test your skills at optimizing characters and crunching numbers" are probably not going to enjoy 5th Edition as much since the focus "is heavy on story and keeps the mechanics fast and loose".

[92][90][93] Alex Meehan, for Dicebreaker, highlighted that the standard edition features a party of adventurers with "a friendly golden dragon standing behind them" and the "artwork strongly implies that the group is in the midst of a battle".

[90] Herman explained that combat is a "huge pillar of D&D, but sometimes a lot of what D&D is, is just storytelling" and the alternate cover reflects the camp downtime the party has between adventures.

Class pages, some of the most used in the game, were frequently limited to one or two illustrations and decorative elements apiece, while the spell section was an unrelenting wall of text".

[99] Following the release, Charlie Hall of Polygon also emphasized the "user-friendly" aspects of the sourcebook which he thought "seamlessly" onboards players – "lead graphic designer Matt Cole and art director Emi Tanji should be given medals, because the very shape of the brand feels suddenly glossy, modern, and new".

[101] Christian Hoffer of ComicBook.com viewed the 2024 Player's Handbook as "an improvement from its 2014 predecessor in almost every single way" since the sourcebook "is more accessible, has better art, a better layout, and has clearer rules".

[102] Hoffer highlighted that the update "played it safe" and that the sourcebook features many changes which "were either already implemented via different expansions or exist in the same design space as third-party material".

[102] Hoffer opined that "the designers should be acknowledged" for their work on improving the game, "however, nothing about the new Player's Handbook excites me as a veteran DM or makes me want to play Dungeons & Dragons more than I already did".

[102] Mollie Russell of Wargamer rated the 2024 Player's Handbook a 9 out 10 and commented that a close reading of the sourcebook shows a "complex web of small changes" but at a distance, while playing, "things still feel like fifth edition.

[103] Russell thought that the sourcebook "loses a sense of place and character" in terms of world-building and there are some "issues with homogenisation", however, "the structure of the Player's Handbook is more logical, efficient, and beginner-friendly" and "most of the new rules you come across will delight rather than dismay".