I often hear or read comments about when evaluating an AOE spell to compare it to Fireballand that makes sense. One argument for this is that if you upcast Fireball, it performs as well as or better than other spell options you can use for that slot. However, sometimes an AOE spell is not what is best for scenario. Like when you are fighting the Ancient Dragon, you might do more harm to your party casting an AOE rather than hitting the monster with a targeted spell.
So is there a similar single target spell on the Sorcerer list to use as a metric. I feel like Magic Missile does not scale well with higher spell slots. And Chaos Bolt is a fun spell but its value peeks at around a 2nd level slot.
Or is it that most spells don't upcast all that well?
The big thing is that spells aren't really made for upcasting and AOE spells will always upcast better than single target spells because for every increase to damage, you are affecting multiple people so it adds up. One of the best spells to upcast for single target encounters is Amour of Agathy's but it's a warlock spell however it really is very worth getting. Magic missile i would say is one of the best to upcast because for every missile it is another attack, so for every +1 +d6 to damage, it is multiplied by the number of missiles you have, and unlike AOE, they can all target the same person. I am pretty sure those are the rules for it, but check with your DM.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Imagine a sorcerer riding a catoblepas into an epic battle to the last minute of black-heart by two steps from hell.
Personally I really like Chromatic Orb. The flexibility of being able to choose the damage type along with a base 3d8 damage makes it one of the best 1st level spells IMO
Personally I really like Chromatic Orb. The flexibility of being able to choose the damage type along with a base 3d8 damage makes it one of the best 1st level spells IMO
Just curious if you ignore the M component. 50 gp for a level 1 spell is a tall ask (even if it's not consumed), and is often cited as a big criticism of the spell.
Personally I really like Chromatic Orb. The flexibility of being able to choose the damage type along with a base 3d8 damage makes it one of the best 1st level spells IMO
Just curious if you ignore the M component. 50 gp for a level 1 spell is a tall ask (even if it's not consumed), and is often cited as a big criticism of the spell.
It's not that expensive. Characters could get this using Starting Wealth. The starter adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver would easily have characters up to level 2 and about 120 gp by end of Part 1 - typically, the end of Session 1 or 2 depending on group pacing.
Most critics are people who have (or are) a stingy DM who doesn't read their DMG properly or people who haven't actually played D&D yet.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Personally, I like upcasting disintegrate. 19d6+40 damage can do more than Power Word Kill, a spell that I have been continually lead to believe is worse than just up casting other spells.
Historically Magic Missile (MM) was a great baseline. Much like the BA stat in Baseball, it was the 1st measurable & common item. But the BA stat 125 years after it came to be, is now outdated and there are better stats to use to measure a quality offensive for a player. Back then and for the next 70 years there were not any better choices. About 110 years later, you finally had the mathematicians start capturing and creating new stats. So even though it is outdated, BA is still a common stat to measure players.
Every wizard had MM when I played in the 70s. And due to the "age" I think MM is still a default baseline. This is a spell every 1st level wizard has.
The big thing is that spells aren't really made for upcasting and AOE spells will always upcast better than single target spells because for every increase to damage, you are affecting multiple people so it adds up. One of the best spells to upcast for single target encounters is Amour of Agathy's but it's a warlock spell however it really is very worth getting. Magic missile i would say is one of the best to upcast because for every missile it is another attack, so for every +1 +d6 to damage, it is multiplied by the number of missiles you have, and unlike AOE, they can all target the same person. I am pretty sure those are the rules for it, but check with your DM.
That's not how magic missile works. Upcasting magic missile just adds more missiles. (2014 and 2024 versions)
I often hear or read comments about when evaluating an AOE spell to compare it to Fireball and that makes sense. One argument for this is that if you upcast Fireball, it performs as well as or better than other spell options you can use for that slot. However, sometimes an AOE spell is not what is best for scenario. Like when you are fighting the Ancient Dragon, you might do more harm to your party casting an AOE rather than hitting the monster with a targeted spell.
So is there a similar single target spell on the Sorcerer list to use as a metric. I feel like Magic Missile does not scale well with higher spell slots. And Chaos Bolt is a fun spell but its value peeks at around a 2nd level slot.
Or is it that most spells don't upcast all that well?
The big thing is that spells aren't really made for upcasting and AOE spells will always upcast better than single target spells because for every increase to damage, you are affecting multiple people so it adds up. One of the best spells to upcast for single target encounters is Amour of Agathy's but it's a warlock spell however it really is very worth getting. Magic missile i would say is one of the best to upcast because for every missile it is another attack, so for every +1 +d6 to damage, it is multiplied by the number of missiles you have, and unlike AOE, they can all target the same person. I am pretty sure those are the rules for it, but check with your DM.
Imagine a sorcerer riding a catoblepas into an epic battle to the last minute of black-heart by two steps from hell.
That's basically whats going on inside my head.
Personally I really like Chromatic Orb. The flexibility of being able to choose the damage type along with a base 3d8 damage makes it one of the best 1st level spells IMO
Just curious if you ignore the M component. 50 gp for a level 1 spell is a tall ask (even if it's not consumed), and is often cited as a big criticism of the spell.
It's not that expensive. Characters could get this using Starting Wealth. The starter adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver would easily have characters up to level 2 and about 120 gp by end of Part 1 - typically, the end of Session 1 or 2 depending on group pacing.
Most critics are people who have (or are) a stingy DM who doesn't read their DMG properly or people who haven't actually played D&D yet.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
Personally, I like upcasting disintegrate. 19d6+40 damage can do more than Power Word Kill, a spell that I have been continually lead to believe is worse than just up casting other spells.
Historically Magic Missile (MM) was a great baseline. Much like the BA stat in Baseball, it was the 1st measurable & common item. But the BA stat 125 years after it came to be, is now outdated and there are better stats to use to measure a quality offensive for a player. Back then and for the next 70 years there were not any better choices. About 110 years later, you finally had the mathematicians start capturing and creating new stats. So even though it is outdated, BA is still a common stat to measure players.
Every wizard had MM when I played in the 70s. And due to the "age" I think MM is still a default baseline. This is a spell every 1st level wizard has.
That's not how magic missile works. Upcasting magic missile just adds more missiles. (2014 and 2024 versions)
Homebrew spell: dominance
Extended signature
For divine soul sorcerer spirit shroud + scorching ray combo upcast for really good single target damage.