Honestly Storm Sorcery feels thematically awesome, a storm filled, lightning bolting, flying sorcerer. Who wouldn't? But to me the abilities feel super niche and kind of under-powered compared to the other sorcerer subclasses, even the PHB ones. I'm not saying it's a bad choice or anything, just that it's super niche. That being said, I'm curious what everyone else's thoughts on the subclass are. How would one go about effectively using this subclass and its features, and what do you like about it?
It's a blaster that is best when at close range. It has an escape feature, but that uses your bonus action which makes it hard to use if you use quicken. I feel it's at it's best when MC'd with Tempos Cleric.
When I did a Sorcerer 1 Tempest Cleric X from level 2 through level 8, Storm Sorcery would have made the most sense thematically. But instead I went with Draconic Sorcerer ancestry because level 1 in Storm Sorcerer was so uninteresting. The limited use 10ft Bonus Action movement is quite uninteresting. Even if it was unlimited use instead of only being available when I use a spell slot, it's still just not an interesting ability. And when level 1 consists of just getting an extra niche language and a limited use 10ft Bonus Action movement that doesn't provoke opportunity attacks, it's a horribly uninteresting level. I think this was their effort to make a Sorcerer more capable of being up in melee range. But it doesn't do nearly enough to cover for the squishiness of a Sorcerer which makes them inclined to avoid melee range.
Level 6 is slightly better. The resistance to damage is thematic and decently useful. The ability to control weather is nice flavor. The damage boost is interesting because it gives Shocking Grasp a decent damage floor, and it boosts spells like Thunderwave. But the restriction on range is unfortunate, because it means that casting Lightning Bolt often won't get any damage boost at all. Again, they're trying to put you up in melee range, and they're giving a nice boost to a melee range attack cantrip, but they're giving nothing to ranged cantrips, nothing to ranged damage dealing spells, and still nothing worthwhile to make a low armor low HP Sorcerer feel like they belong up in melee range with the Fighter, Paladin, and Barbarian.
Level 14 is also disappointing. The ability to deal damage and push away melee attackers is cool. And it is unlimited use, which is nice. But it costs your reaction, which means you can't cast Shield and use this ability. I found as a Tempest Cleric that knew Shield from my 1st level in Sorcerer, that it was hard to use my level 1 Wrath of the Storm ability because so often I would cast Shield if I got hit by an attack. It was only when a fairly weak creature was attacking me that I would just accept the damage and use my reaction to deal damage instead. But just like level 6, it's an ability which only helps when you're up in melee range.
By this point, it's quite clear that the intent was to make the Storm Sorcerer a melee range Sorcerer. But they came up short in giving it adequate tools to want to get up in melee range.
For level 18, they finally stop giving the Storm Sorcerer melee abilities, and instead they give immunity to a pair of thematic and somewhat common damage types, and a nice utility boost of flying without using your concentration and even giving flying to your allies. It's probably the best of the four Storm Sorcerer levels.
The extra damage on Shocking Grasp at level 6 is somewhat cool: it allows your Sorcerer to close the gap a bit versus martial characters at sustained damage and it increases your floor on damage, one of the gripes of the cantrip casting caster. But it's still not going to match a martial character in damage because extra attack lets them add their strength or dexterity in twice, and Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master give big damage boosts. And it doesn't really do much to boost their spells that they cast with a spell slot.
And it hasn't done enough to boost their survivability up with the martial classes. Rogues and Monks get Evasion, a nice AC from maxing out their dexterity, and a D8 hit die, Clerics get shields and armor, nice self buffs like Aid, and a D8 hit die, and Paladins, Rangers, Fighters, and Barbarians all get shields and armor and a D10 or D12 hit die. And Storm Sorcerers get ..... a 10ft bonus action movement when casting a spell of 1st level or higher. Heck, even Draconic Sorcerer gets an ability that in effect almost gives them a D8 hit die on top of an innate mage armor AC value. But Storm Sorcerers get basically nothing.
And if a Storm Sorcerer chooses to avoid being in melee range because they basically got nothing to boost their ability to survive being up at the front lines, they lose out on almost all their abilities, except for their damage resistances & immunities and their non-concentration flying speed at level 18.
Xanathar's Guide introduced a lot of cool subclasses, including two really cool Sorcerer subclasses. But they came up short with the Storm Sorcerer.
The sorcerer is a full-caster with a d6 hit die and no armor proficiency. They're not supposed to have the "survivability" of a martial class, so don't compare them to one.
Generally speaking, caster sub classes with a melee focus will have better defensive features than the other subclasses from the same base class. Clerics that are expected to be up close get heavy armor, hexblades get medium armor, shields, and armor of hexes, moon druids get pools of extra HP, the bladesinger gets an AC boost, easier concentration, and a damage reducing reaction. Storm isn't completely without defensive features, but it doesn't stand out from the other sorc subclasses in survivability, despite it's features wanting you to put itself in a more dangerous position. I'm pretty sure I've seen clockwork referenced as a melee sorc top choice, and it is not because of close range features.
All that aside, I really like storm from a flavor/ concept standpoint, and honestly I kinda like the features even if they don't always play well with being squishy. In game I would probably view the features as nice bonuses when they come up rather than actively trying to use them though.
I tend to agree with you that it is thematically awesome. I chose storm sorcerer because of my hobby of meteorology, so I thought I could really flavor the character from an RP perspective. My experience with the subclass can be summarized with the words "glass cannon."
As for its features, the extra damage you deal when casting lightning and thunder spells (heart of the storm feature at level 6) is indeed underwhelming between the low range and low damage. Also, because I'm ALWAYS (or almost always) using metamagic with my spells, I have yet to take advantage of the level 1 class feature, tempestuous magic, which allows me to fly 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks after casting 1st level or higher spell. In my mind, at least, it would be advantageous in an escape scenario when combined with thunderstep or if you have to be in the thick of things rather than simply close to the action.
Storm is a subclass I /want/ to like, and just don't. It looks pretty underwhelming to me.
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I don't really see Storm Sorc as a melee focused Sorc, per se. It is a slippery class that has a lot of tools to escape melee - the level 1, 14, and 18 features all are suited to do that. Its level 6 feature offers a risk/reward source of damage, but you ultimately aren't intended to actually stay in the fray. You want to combine your BA, movement and spell to reposition, deal your damage, and then retreat to a safer location.
In that respect, the Storm Sorc niche is a slippery midrange caster, not a melee range caster. You aren't intended to function like a Hexblade or Bladesinger, who are otherwise encouraged to actually stay in melee. That's why you don't have AC or HP boosts.
I do think its a teensy bit weaker than some other options, but I don't think there is a fundamental design flaw here. A slight boost to its current strengths would be plenty, and even without a buff the subclass is still viable and fun.
Since this class likes keeping its bonus action for mobility, you might choose to avoid Quicken and go with some other options. Transmuted Spell is a wonderful new option that lets you really expand your spell list and get better use out of Heart of the Storm. Twinned and Subtle are always great options, IMO.
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Honestly Storm Sorcery feels thematically awesome, a storm filled, lightning bolting, flying sorcerer. Who wouldn't? But to me the abilities feel super niche and kind of under-powered compared to the other sorcerer subclasses, even the PHB ones. I'm not saying it's a bad choice or anything, just that it's super niche. That being said, I'm curious what everyone else's thoughts on the subclass are. How would one go about effectively using this subclass and its features, and what do you like about it?
It's a blaster that is best when at close range. It has an escape feature, but that uses your bonus action which makes it hard to use if you use quicken. I feel it's at it's best when MC'd with Tempos Cleric.
When I did a Sorcerer 1 Tempest Cleric X from level 2 through level 8, Storm Sorcery would have made the most sense thematically. But instead I went with Draconic Sorcerer ancestry because level 1 in Storm Sorcerer was so uninteresting. The limited use 10ft Bonus Action movement is quite uninteresting. Even if it was unlimited use instead of only being available when I use a spell slot, it's still just not an interesting ability. And when level 1 consists of just getting an extra niche language and a limited use 10ft Bonus Action movement that doesn't provoke opportunity attacks, it's a horribly uninteresting level. I think this was their effort to make a Sorcerer more capable of being up in melee range. But it doesn't do nearly enough to cover for the squishiness of a Sorcerer which makes them inclined to avoid melee range.
Level 6 is slightly better. The resistance to damage is thematic and decently useful. The ability to control weather is nice flavor. The damage boost is interesting because it gives Shocking Grasp a decent damage floor, and it boosts spells like Thunderwave. But the restriction on range is unfortunate, because it means that casting Lightning Bolt often won't get any damage boost at all. Again, they're trying to put you up in melee range, and they're giving a nice boost to a melee range attack cantrip, but they're giving nothing to ranged cantrips, nothing to ranged damage dealing spells, and still nothing worthwhile to make a low armor low HP Sorcerer feel like they belong up in melee range with the Fighter, Paladin, and Barbarian.
Level 14 is also disappointing. The ability to deal damage and push away melee attackers is cool. And it is unlimited use, which is nice. But it costs your reaction, which means you can't cast Shield and use this ability. I found as a Tempest Cleric that knew Shield from my 1st level in Sorcerer, that it was hard to use my level 1 Wrath of the Storm ability because so often I would cast Shield if I got hit by an attack. It was only when a fairly weak creature was attacking me that I would just accept the damage and use my reaction to deal damage instead. But just like level 6, it's an ability which only helps when you're up in melee range.
By this point, it's quite clear that the intent was to make the Storm Sorcerer a melee range Sorcerer. But they came up short in giving it adequate tools to want to get up in melee range.
For level 18, they finally stop giving the Storm Sorcerer melee abilities, and instead they give immunity to a pair of thematic and somewhat common damage types, and a nice utility boost of flying without using your concentration and even giving flying to your allies. It's probably the best of the four Storm Sorcerer levels.
The extra damage on Shocking Grasp at level 6 is somewhat cool: it allows your Sorcerer to close the gap a bit versus martial characters at sustained damage and it increases your floor on damage, one of the gripes of the cantrip casting caster. But it's still not going to match a martial character in damage because extra attack lets them add their strength or dexterity in twice, and Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master give big damage boosts. And it doesn't really do much to boost their spells that they cast with a spell slot.
And it hasn't done enough to boost their survivability up with the martial classes. Rogues and Monks get Evasion, a nice AC from maxing out their dexterity, and a D8 hit die, Clerics get shields and armor, nice self buffs like Aid, and a D8 hit die, and Paladins, Rangers, Fighters, and Barbarians all get shields and armor and a D10 or D12 hit die. And Storm Sorcerers get ..... a 10ft bonus action movement when casting a spell of 1st level or higher. Heck, even Draconic Sorcerer gets an ability that in effect almost gives them a D8 hit die on top of an innate mage armor AC value. But Storm Sorcerers get basically nothing.
And if a Storm Sorcerer chooses to avoid being in melee range because they basically got nothing to boost their ability to survive being up at the front lines, they lose out on almost all their abilities, except for their damage resistances & immunities and their non-concentration flying speed at level 18.
Xanathar's Guide introduced a lot of cool subclasses, including two really cool Sorcerer subclasses. But they came up short with the Storm Sorcerer.
Tbf, storm is a reprint.
The sorcerer is a full-caster with a d6 hit die and no armor proficiency. They're not supposed to have the "survivability" of a martial class, so don't compare them to one.
Generally speaking, caster sub classes with a melee focus will have better defensive features than the other subclasses from the same base class. Clerics that are expected to be up close get heavy armor, hexblades get medium armor, shields, and armor of hexes, moon druids get pools of extra HP, the bladesinger gets an AC boost, easier concentration, and a damage reducing reaction. Storm isn't completely without defensive features, but it doesn't stand out from the other sorc subclasses in survivability, despite it's features wanting you to put itself in a more dangerous position. I'm pretty sure I've seen clockwork referenced as a melee sorc top choice, and it is not because of close range features.
All that aside, I really like storm from a flavor/ concept standpoint, and honestly I kinda like the features even if they don't always play well with being squishy. In game I would probably view the features as nice bonuses when they come up rather than actively trying to use them though.
I tend to agree with you that it is thematically awesome. I chose storm sorcerer because of my hobby of meteorology, so I thought I could really flavor the character from an RP perspective. My experience with the subclass can be summarized with the words "glass cannon."
As for its features, the extra damage you deal when casting lightning and thunder spells (heart of the storm feature at level 6) is indeed underwhelming between the low range and low damage. Also, because I'm ALWAYS (or almost always) using metamagic with my spells, I have yet to take advantage of the level 1 class feature, tempestuous magic, which allows me to fly 10 feet without provoking opportunity attacks after casting 1st level or higher spell. In my mind, at least, it would be advantageous in an escape scenario when combined with thunderstep or if you have to be in the thick of things rather than simply close to the action.
Storm is a subclass I /want/ to like, and just don't. It looks pretty underwhelming to me.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
I don't really see Storm Sorc as a melee focused Sorc, per se. It is a slippery class that has a lot of tools to escape melee - the level 1, 14, and 18 features all are suited to do that. Its level 6 feature offers a risk/reward source of damage, but you ultimately aren't intended to actually stay in the fray. You want to combine your BA, movement and spell to reposition, deal your damage, and then retreat to a safer location.
In that respect, the Storm Sorc niche is a slippery midrange caster, not a melee range caster. You aren't intended to function like a Hexblade or Bladesinger, who are otherwise encouraged to actually stay in melee. That's why you don't have AC or HP boosts.
I do think its a teensy bit weaker than some other options, but I don't think there is a fundamental design flaw here. A slight boost to its current strengths would be plenty, and even without a buff the subclass is still viable and fun.
Since this class likes keeping its bonus action for mobility, you might choose to avoid Quicken and go with some other options. Transmuted Spell is a wonderful new option that lets you really expand your spell list and get better use out of Heart of the Storm. Twinned and Subtle are always great options, IMO.