Hello, welcome back to the Apprentice’s Guide. Today, I’ll talking about spells. Now, spells are used by classes in the game. However, there are some spells that are not worth taking. Unfortunately, there are some players, especially new players, that don’t know a good spell from a bad spell. If you need help with which spells your character should get, this guide is for you.
Now, I will be starting off with cantrips and I will go from there. Cantrips are great because you can cast them at will. However, most spellcasting classes get very few of them, so cantrips should be chosen wisely. So, let’s get started.
Disclaimer: Just remember that this is all just my opinion and the ratings of the spell may change due to the nature of your campaign.
Color Guide
Blue: This spell is amazing.
Green: This spell is above average.
Purple: This spell is about average. It’s not terrible, but it’s not good either.
Orange: This spell is pretty poor or very situational.
Red: This spell is very bad and shouldn’t be taken.
Acid Splash (Sorcerer, Wizard): This spell does d6 damage and only damages the target(s) if they fail the saving throw (unless you’re an Evoker). A d6 is very little damage. The only advantage is that you can affect two creatures with this spell, but both targets have to be within 5 feet of each other in order to work.
Blade Ward (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell makes you resistant to weapon (magical and nonmagical) damage for 1 round. But, it takes an action to cast it. This spell can be useful if you have a way casting this spell and doing something (such as an Eldritch Knight), but most classes don’t have that ability.
Booming Blade (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell lets you make a melee attack and it damages the target if they move. You don’t get any initial damage until 5th level, but this spell can be really helpful. I would recommend getting this spell for a melee Arcane Trickster so you can add your sneak attack to go with the damage of this spell. Don’t get this spell if you have Extra Attack. This spell requires an action to cast and it doesn’t count as the Attack action, so you get only one attack with this spell.
Chill Touch (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): Despite the spell’s title, this spell is a ranged attack. It deals d8 damage, but an uncommon damage type (necrotic). The target also can’t regain hit points for a little while. That can very useful if the monsters have a healing ability (such as spells or regeneration), but it’s useless if they don’t. Plus, if the target is undead, it has disadvantage on attacks against you (not other people) for a bit. While this is useful, there are many undead that are resistant or immune to necrotic damage. Still, this can be a useful spell.
Control Flames (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard): This spell is like prestidigitation, but with fire. And it only works if fire’s around. So, now you have to light a torch or set something on fire for this to work. You could use this to take out fires, but needing to take out fires is pretty situational. Plus, most of the features of this spell can be done using other cantrips. Not very useful.
Create Bonfire (Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell deals d8 damage to creatures that enter a 5 foot cube of fire or end their turn there if they fail a saving throw (and does nothing otherwise). This can be a very good spell to block creatures from certain places, but any creature with any common sense isn’t going to run or stay in fire. Plus, this spell requires concentration. There are many good spells that you can be concentrating on and this not one of them.
Dancing Lights (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard): This spell allows you to create four lights anywhere within 120 feet. But, it requires concentration. Again, there are many good spells you could be concentrating on and it isn’t this spell. Sure you can use the lights to create a humanoid shape, but you can do that with another cantrip (spoiler alert, it’s Minor Illusion).
Edit: Someone told me this spell can be used to light high areas or holes, so I changed my rating for Red to Orange. Still not better than Light.
Druidcraft (Druid): When it comes to utility spells like this, I’m a big fan. This spell can cause plants to bloom, ignite or snuff out small flames (campfires, torches, etc), or even predict the weather. This is a good utility spell.
Eldritch Blast (Warlock): This spell is why you play a Warlock. This spell deal 1d10 damage and it’s force damage. Almost all creatures have no resistance or immunity to force damage. And at higher levels, you can shoot multiple rays, allowing you to hit more than one target. As a warlock, getting this spell is a no-brainer. Don’t get any other ranged attack cantrips if you have this spell, trust me.
Encode Thoughts (Wizard): This spell allows you to copy a memory, message, or idea in your brain into a physical object for everyone to see. Anyone touching it can observe the memory, message, or idea. If you are using a spell that affects the brain (such as Detect Thoughts), you can copy a memory, message, or idea using this spell. This is pretty situational, but it can be useful.
Fire Bolt (Sorcerer, Wizard): This spells deals d10 damage, just like Eldritch Blast. But, it’s fire damage and the damage stacks at higher levels (i.e. no extra rays). It can also set objects on fire, which can be a problem if your DM likes to make missed attacks really sting. Still, d10 is pretty good damage.
Friends (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): I hate this spell. Here’s what it does: it uses your concentration (which is already bad), and you have advantage on charisma checks against the target. Sounds good, right? Wrong. After the spell ends, the target turns hostile toward you. This is a terrible trade-off. You get an ally for 1 minute only to get a life long enemy afterward. Now, you could use this spell combined with Disguise Self and turn back after Friends ends so you don’t get an additional bad guy (which makes it Orange instead), but there’s always a chance you can get caught. Don’t get it, it’s a trap!
Frostbite (Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell deal d6 damage and requires a saving throw (Constitution, unfortunately). On a success, it does nothing (unless you’re an Evoker). On a failure, the target also has disadvantage on its next weapon attack (not spell attack). This doesn’t apply if it ends its next turn not attacking. There is a spell similar to this that is much better (stay tuned). But, this spell can be useful.
Green-Flame Blade (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell is like Booming Blade, but with a different effect. After a creature takes your attack’s damage, a second creature within 5 feet of the original creature takes fire damage equal to your spellcasting ability modifier (more at higher levels). While it isn’t very much damage, it is reliable and guaranteed. The first creature doesn’t take any extra damage until 5th level (d8). But, this spell only works if the two targets are next to each other (Acid Splash all over again). I have the same advice for this spell as Booming Blade.
Guidance (Cleric, Druid): This spell is very good. It gives 1d4 to ability checks to a creature you touch (including yourself. This can very useful outside combat. The only problem is this spell requires concentration. While you mainly use concentration during combat, there are times when you have to concentrate outside combat (like Scrying). But, it’s still very helpful. Your party will be thankful.
Gust (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard): This spell has effects that can be replaced by cantrips. It can push objects (Mage Hand) and creates an effect related to air or wind (Prestidigitation). Now, you could use this spell to push a creature, but it has lots of limitations. It doesn’t work on Large or larger creatures, it requires a saving throw (Strength), and it only pushes the target 5 feet. That’s it. Not worth an action.
Infestation (Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell deals d6 damage (poison, very commonly resisted) and the target gets a saving throw. If they pass, nothing happens. But if the target fails, it moves 5 feet in a random direction (no, it doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks). This spell could be useful if the target is close to ledge like a cliff, but there’s a chance that the target won’t fall off even if they fail. Not worth the gamble.
Light (Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard): In my opinion, this spell trumps Dancing Lights. First off, this spell doesn’t require concentration unlike Dancing Lights. It sheds brighter light than Dancing Lights. It lasts longer than Dancing Lights. And here’s the final nail in the coffin for Dancing Lights: you can cast this on rocks and still get lights all around. So, why do people even think about getting Dancing Lights? Get Light instead.
Edit: You could still use Dancing Lights to light areas you can’t access, but it still isn’t better than Light.
Lightning Lure (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell is terrible for Wizards and Sorcerers, but for melee Warlocks and Eldritch Knights, this is amazing. It can pull a creature toward you if they fail their save and can do some decent damage (d8). If you are planning on being a melee attacker, get this spell (then, the rating is Green). Otherwise, avoid it.
Mage Hand (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell is very useful. You can open doors with it, feed allies healing potions with it, activate traps with it, pick up strange (and possibly cursed) objects with it, and so much more. And as an Arcane Trickster or a Gith, you get an invisible Mage Hand, which is very useful. Great spell.
Magic Stone (Druid, Warlock): If you are planning a game that is going to 5th level or higher, this is not going to be very helpful. On the other hand, if you have a fighter (or other melee attacker) that’s not very good at ranged attacks, you can cast this and give the pebbles to them before they charge in so they can get a ranged attack that’s fairly decent. But, don’t use it for yourself. You’ll probably have better luck with other cantrips.
Mending (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard): While the main use of this spell is pretty situational, I can’t remember the last campaign I played where it wasn’t useful. Half of the ranged ammunition used in combat is destroyed, but this spell can solve that problem. Archers will thank you most of all.
Message (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard): In combat, this is not very useful. But outside combat, this can be very useful. You talk to people like other party members without anyone eavesdropping. I also saw this spell used as a way to make sure a party member going solo (I’m looking at you, Rogue) was still alive. If the party member was dead, the spell won’t work. Very useful.
Minor Illusion (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): An illusion creation spell as a cantrip? Sign me up. If you don’t know how to use this spell, just look up ways to do it online. This spell is a must-have.
Mold Earth (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard): This spell doesn’t have a lot of useful stuff. Can excavate, move, and/or deposit loose earth; not very useful unless you’re hunting for buried treasure. The second use you can do with another cantrip (Prestidigitation). Create difficult terrain from earth or stone? Hum, that can be useful. You can use it to slow enemies down or to block out points before combat starts, but it’s proably not worth an action in combat and you proably won’t have a lot of time to prepare. Not very good.
Edit: I’ve recently heard you can use that you can use the excavate loose earth ability to build pit traps and trenches, but the limit of loose earth makes this spell situational.
Poison Spray (Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell does d12 damage, that’s huge! But, it deals poison damage (oh, dear) and it requires a saving throw (Con, yuck). If the save is successful, nothing happens. But here’s the worse part, the range is 10 feet. 10 feet! This is a terrible spot to be for most spellcasters and it’s bad even for spellcasters that can take melee combat. Not a fan.
Prestidigitation (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): I love spells like this. This spell is just as useful as it is hard to pronounce. You can clean or dirty stuff (good for the nobles in the party), light small flames (candles, torches, etc), create a harmless sensory effect (spark, gust of wind, an odd odor, etc), flavor food (turn rations into five-star quality food), create non-magical trinkets (make a duplicate of a key), and many other great uses. The only limit to this spell is your imagination.
Primal Savagery (Druid): This spell does d10 damage and it’s acid. The problem it’s a melee attack. For a Circle of the Moon Druid, this would be not a big deal. But for weak druids, this can be a problem. Still, it’s pretty good damage it scales better than Shillelagh.
Produce Flame (Druid): This spell can shed light (not as much as the Light spell), but you can also throw it to deal d8 damage. This is not as much as damage as Fire Bolt, but this a Druid spell. Overall, this is good, but not amazing.
Ray of Frost (Sorcerer, Wizard): If I had to choose from Chill Touch, Fire Bolt, or this spell, I would choose this spell. Here’s why; while Ray of Frost does only d8 damage and has less range than Fire Bolt, Ray of Frost causes its target to lose 10 movement speed. That’s pretty good for a cantrip. You can also combine this with difficult terrain to really ruin your enemy’s day. That movement penalty is always going to come up. Wonderful spell.
Resistance (Cleric, Druid): Really? Spend an action and your concentration just to add a d4 to a saving throw that might not actually happen? Just cast Bless and save yourself the pain. Don’t get this.
Sacred Flame (Cleric): This does d8 damage and it’s one of those saving throw cantrips. But, there are two reasons I made it green. First, it deals radiant damage (not very a common damage type. Secondly, this spell ignores cover. That’s amazing! And that includes total cover. Of course, you have to see the target, but it’s a great benefit for a cantrip. Just have your wizard cast Wall of Force on a creature, then just hit them with Sacred Flame every round. Very nice benefit.
Shape Water (Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard): Why are all the elemental utility spells bad? Most of the features of this spell can be done with other cantrips. The only good feature of this spell is the fact you can freeze water. This can be great as a low-level version of Water Walk, but it’s very situational.
Shillelagh (Druid): Which is better; Primal Savagery or Shillelagh? Well, Shillelagh turns your club or quarterstaff into a magical weapon that use a d8 for damage. And you can use Wisdom instead of Strength for attacks and damage. Now, you can’t give this to other creatures. So, which is better? If you’re going end your campaign at 10th level or lower, get Shillelagh. Otherwise, get Primal Savagery.
Shocking Grasp (Sorcerer, Wizard): I used to think this was a great spell. I thought it could give you free Disengage action to go with a little damage. But then I realized that you have to hit in order to get the benefit of the spell. So, either take a 100% guaranteed Disengage action or a maybe Disengage action with a few damage. Just get out of melee. Now, you could use this spell to disable other bad reactions that enemies can do like Counterspell. But, it’s best to use your familiar for that.
Spare the Dying (Cleric): This spell can make sure an ally doesn’t have to make death saving throws. But you have to touch the ally and there’s always a chance they can get hit again. Just cast Healing Word or something and get them back in the fight. You can also buy a Healer’s Kit and get the same benefit. Not worth having. For Grave Clerics or Undying Warlocks, the rating is a Green instead.
Sword Burst (Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell effects every creature within 5 feet of you, which means friendly fire can be a problem. It requires a saving throw and it doesn’t even deal that much damage (d6). Also, this is melee range. For Sorcerers and Wizards, this is a bad place to be in. Even for melee attackers, this is still bad because you’re wasting an action doing something that might do a little damage to each creature. The only silver lining is that it deals force damage.
Thaumaturgy (Cleric): I said this before and I’ll say it again, I’m a fan of spells like this. This spell can boom our voice (great for intimidation), create sounds (ding, dong), open or shut doors (sorry Mage Hand), create harmless termors (Earthquake!), and many other things. This is great to have.
Thorn Whip (Druid): If I had a choice between Lightning Lure or Thorn Whip, it would be Thorn Whip. It pulls in targets, just like Lightning Lure. But unlike Lightning Lure, Thorn Whip requires an attack roll and no saving throw. The range is better than Lightning Lure. It also deals damage on a hit and not just when the target is within 5 feet of you. The only limitation is that Thorn Whip affects only Large or smaller creatures. Bummer.
Thunderclap (Bard, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): I’m not a fan of Sword Burst, but it’s a lot better than this spell! It does the same as Sword burst, but it’s thunder damage intead of force. And on top of that, the spell creates a noice that everybody within 100 feet can hear, which ruins the element of surprise. So this spell is good, how?
Toll the Dead (Cleric, Warlock, Wizard): When it comes to saving throw cantrips just do damage, I’m no fan. But if you can give me great damage and a great type along with a great range, that’s a different story. This spell does d8 base damage, but if the creature is damaged, it take d12 damage. That’s huge! The damage is necrotic, an uncommon damage type. If you want to pick a saving throw based spell, pick this one.
True Strike (Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard): This spell is terrible. It takes an action to cast and uses your concentration (noooooooo!). Why? Because on your next turn (notice the word “next”), you get advantage on your next attack roll against one target. This means it doesn’t combine with feature like the Eldritch Knight’s War Magic. Don’t get this.
Vicious Mockery (Bard): Remember when I said there was spell better than Frostbite? Well, here it is. This spell is pretty similar to Frostbite, but with a few differences. First, Vicious Mockery deal d4 damage, but it’s psychic damage. Second, it targets Wisdom saves instead on Constitution (which is better). Third, the target has disadvantage on its next attack roll, weapon or spell attack. Finally, you get to insult your enemy! As a bard, I got to be crazy not to get this spell.
Word of Radiance (Cleric): Out of all the cantrips that target each creature within 5 feet of you, this is probably the best one. It deals d6 damage, like the other two, but it deals radiant damage (pretty good damage type). Plus, you can choose your targets, so friendly fire is not a problem. Still not a fan of these types of spells, but this one is better than the rest.
So, that’s all the cantrips. Next time, you’ll take a look at 1st level spells. If you disagree with about the ratings, please write in the comments below. If you enjoyed, please hit the like button and follow if you haven’t already. Until next time, I wish you the happiest of gaming.
Mr Wizard, Lord of Dungeons
The Apprentice's Guide to D&D 