Alarm Great for keeping safe and secure, can be used to track enemies by placing them at strategic points, and can be used as distractions by placing in a public space set to trigger only when your familiar runs through and have it be audible. You then have your familiar go through and suddenly there is a loud alarm bell ringing and nobody knows why. Lots of options and can be cast ritually - this is a spell I always choose.
Charm Person Great for social interactions, obviously, and even better for interrogations. Despite the name you get advantage even to Intimidation and the person is charmed meaning they cannot attack you. This is good for when you need to interrogate somebody you think might betray you or turn on you.
Chromatic Orb Decent damage and you can choose the damage type so this is a great attack spell. It's costly at 50 gp diamond for a material component but it is reusable and even at low levels it isn't too difficult to get this. If you choose "wealth" option instead of starting equipment and roll high enough you could even have this to start with.
Comprehend Languages This can be surprisingly useful if you delve into obscure dungeons and ruins a lot. It is common to encounter different languages in books and clues so this spell makes it so you don't miss out on potentially important information.
Ice Knife Now, this isn't the "best" spell or anything but I like it. If you lack the means of getting Chromatic Orb this spell is a decent replacement (better than Catapult because while Catapult does the same damage as Chromatic Orb it's a Dex save which will often be saved against and if they save it has no effect). Even if you miss the attack of it there is a small AoE part too. Plus I like the thematics behind it - creating a sharp shard of ice and launching it at an opponent? Hello Sub-Zero (not even joking in the MK TV series "Mortal Kombat: Conquest" we see Subby use this twice!).
Detect Magic Find if magic nearby, discover magic traps, know what something might do, know if there's invisible people or illusions around, this is very useful!
Feather Fall Want to get down somewhere quickly? Just jump and cast this. Can be a literal lifesaver.
Disguise Self Fun and hijinks and get-outta-dodge. From just making yourself look fancy to impersonating people or hiding amongst the crowd to lose puruers, so many uses.
Find Familiar I don't think I even need to explain this one. One of the most helpful 1st level spells in 5e D&D.
Magic Missile **** the dice, just hit the damn thing!
Unseen Servant Pure utility, nothing beats being waited on hands and foot. And invisible for sneaky things and also not a living thing so can have it go set off traps at a safe distance etc.
Snare Restrain a target while you unleash area spells like Cloud of Daggers? Oh yes. Combine with a Glyph of Warding and you can make rather perfect traps. XD
Of course there's staples like Mage Armor and Shield but I include them in my spells only out of necessity rather than because they're faves.
My list are things I often take, not necessarily that I take all of them. Although, even if you add them later on (copying, rather than levelling) they're worthy additions in my opinion.
This is an interesting topic bc there are so many types of spells to choose from. But if you're going for combat THUNDERWAVE is definetly one of the best combat spells out there, not only does it do pretty good damage it also pushes enemy's back
Magic Missile-Send three darts doing 1d4 plus spell casting mod is a classic but damage wise doesn't do a lot but looks super cool
Detect Magic is always super useful when interacting with NPC's but again this would depend on the situation your in, if you're fighting a dragon detect magic won't do you any good.
Witch Bolt is suprising underrated and as you gain levels it becomes sucky but as a first level wizard it is not a bad 1st level combat spell.
Mage Armor is also good considering lots of Wizards don't have good AC and this is a easy spell to fix that problem, this also matches up with how shield is a good spell because your spellcasters are your heavy hitters but they usually don't have the best health or AC so protecting them is of uptmost importance. (And of course keeping yourself alive is good too :)
Shield-Definetly good for protecting but if you have a Cleric in your party don't worry about it because they have spells that do the same thing but better.
Another factor that comes into play with this topic is who else is in your party because certain spells can be covered by different class types, for example if you have a bard in your party don't worry about charm person because they'll have it. Another classic example is don't worry about healing spells if you have cleric/paladin. Wizards are usually the heavy hitters/illusions so anything else you can take on but don't waste spell slots if you have a adventurer who can handle that area of spells.
Witch Bolt is suprising underrated and as you gain levels it becomes sucky but as a first level wizard it is not a bad 1st level combat spell.
I'm gonna have to strongly disagree with you on this. Witch Bolt is one of the worst spells of any level. It does less damage than any other single-target level 1 spell. It has worse range than any other single-target level 1 spell. The "continuing damage" might sound good, but it's not: it is trivially broken by any creature with 30' speed by simply walking away from you (less, if you're not using it point-blank, which you probably aren't doing). It uses up your Concentration. About the only situation in which this spell would have any advantage over any other single-target level 1 spell is if you're targeting a grappled, but not restrained, enemy, and have no other use for Concentration, and can spare one, but not more than one, spell slot. If the target is restrained or worse (paralyzed, stunned, etc.), you're better off firing damage cantrips (better damage, no slot use). If the target is not affected by a condition that reduces its speed to 0, you're better off using any other single-target damage spell (including cantrips above level 5). If the target is vulnerable to lightning damage, you're better off using Chromatic Orb.
It's a very "fun"-looking spell, reminiscent of (if not outright lifted from) Sith Force Lightning from Star Wars. But, mechanically, it's no good. :(
I agree with Tonio on witchbolt for every reason given and for the other nails in its coffin - Yes you have to concentrate, but you also have to spend your action to deal 1d12 (unmodified by upcasting in higher slots) in each following round. Thats madness but the crazy doesnt end there because if you dont spend your action in this way the spell ends 'prematurely'. I know it costs money but if you really want to do damage every round think about using catapult on a flask of alchemist fire, then go back to cantrips or sprinkling oil in their space for more damage. (pro tip, dont apply oil between the legs of an immolated target by hand unless its a mage hand)
Here's why Witch Bolt is good for 1st through 4th level. At 1st level your Sorcerer and Wizard only have 2 spell slots and your Warlock only has 1 spell slot. Witch Bolt can last and do 1d12 damage for several rounds with a single successful to hit roll. If your DM isn't letting you take a Short Rest after every encounter, that's a huge benefit to a damage dealing spell! After 4th level you have more spell slots available and you can swap it out for a better spell, but until you have more spell slots it's a great 1st level spell choice. Especially for a Diviner who can guarantee to hit with it at 2nd level!
I think it is more of a situational spell in that if you can find times when your enemy cannot move or has limited movement (in a room or something similar) it might be more useful... mostly it is thematic, having a sustained arc of lightning connecting you to your enemy (as mentioned above somewhere, very Sith-like).
The thing that sours me on it the most is that it is not just concentration, it says under the spell description that you cannot use your action for anything else while you are concentrating on it.
Here's why Witch Bolt is good for 1st through 4th level. At 1st level your Sorcerer and Wizard only have 2 spell slots and your Warlock only has 1 spell slot. Witch Bolt can last and do 1d12 damage for several rounds with a single successful to hit roll. If your DM isn't letting you take a Short Rest after every encounter, that's a huge benefit to a damage dealing spell! After 4th level you have more spell slots available and you can swap it out for a better spell, but until you have more spell slots it's a great 1st level spell choice. Especially for a Diviner who can guarantee to hit with it at 2nd level!
You'll find very few situations in which you'll successfully land the spell and manage to do a 2nd round's worth of damage with it. Target moves away? Breaks the spell. If it's fast enough, or close enough to the 30', it can even move away and back in, in the same turn, to break it (spell doesn't break if the target ends its turn out of range, but if it's out of range at any time). You get hit? Might lose Concentration. Want to use your Action for anything other than dealing the damage? Spell breaks.
Mind you, Fire Bolt does 1 less damage before level 5, has 4 times the range, requires no material components, and is a cantrip (so no used spell slots). Warlocks can just use Eldritch Blast, which does better damage than Witch Bolt, as long as they're using the Agonizing Blast invocation (and, again, 1 less damage, before level 5, without the invocation). All single-target damage cantrips do better damage than Witch Bolt after level 5, too. So even between levels 1 and 4, even for a non-Warlock, a cantrip is a better option in nearly every circumstance. Preparing Witch Bolt for the very, very limited and rare occasions in which it will be every so slightly more useful than a cantrip is a very bad option.
Witch Bolt shines when you cast it in conjunction with another spellcaster's Hold Person or maybe even Command. One spellcaster keeps the guy from moving while the other does 1d12 per turn. Alternatively, a fighter or barbarian could grapple the guy to keep him from moving. (Though if I were the DM, I would definitely rule that the grappler would get shocked too)
3.) Have the wizard and the sorcerer use Witch Bolt. The bad guy is now taking 2d12 damage per turn, the sorcerer uses Quickened Spell for a shocking grasp that is an auto crit if he hits, and even though the unfortunate dude awakens, he's gonna have to make a DC 20 Athletics check before even making a run for it.
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3.) Have the wizard and the sorcerer use Witch Bolt. The bad guy is now taking 2d12 damage per turn, the sorcerer uses Quickened Spell for a shocking grasp that is an auto crit if he hits, and even though the unfortunate dude awakens, he's gonna have to make a DC 20 Athletics check before even making a run for it.
Thing is, if the target's restrained, your attacks have Advantage, so you might as well wail on them with cantrips, since you're unlikely to miss. Again, with Fire Bolt (assuming Wizard/Sorcerer), that's 1 less damage per round, no Concentration requirement, etc... and if the target's sleeping, you've already won, no need to zap him to death.
Again, I have to concur with Tonio, if your target is chained up Mr. melee attack (or if worried about nasty claws or teeth Ms. ranged attack) saves two spells that could be used for more sleeps later.
One thing which surprises me is that no one (including me) has picked Floating Disk. A level 1 ritual which allows you to loot 500 pounds of easily tradeable goods? You know, all that stuff you usually leave in the bandit cave because it's too cumbersome to carry?
One thing which surprises me is that no one (including me) has picked Floating Disk. A level 1 ritual which allows you to loot 500 pounds of easily tradeable goods? You know, all that stuff you usually leave in the bandit cave because it's too cumbersome to carry?
I love Tenser's Floating Disk, and now that it's a ritual, I love it even more. I even tried to make a trap with it, by loading it up with 500 lbs. worth of rocks and holding it above the opening where the stairs from the bottom floor came up, but upon re-reading the description, turns out it wouldn't work, since it wouldn't hover above the opening. As a Necromancer, though, it's been very useful to carry corpses, bones, and equipment (longbows and scale mail for my skeletons) around until I can (re-)animate them with Animate Dead. :D
The scenario where Witch Bolt is useful is when the party is fighting a tough opponent who is in melee with one or more other characters. Cast Witch Bolt and if you hit you can do an automatic 1d12 damage to the opponent every round, which potentially 10d12 of damage, for the cost of one 1st level spell slot. If the opponent withdraws without taking a Disengage action, which will require that the opponent know about Witch Bolt's 30' range, your friends in melee with the opponent will get free attacks against it. It's not always a great choice, but when the situation is right it's a very effective option at low levels when you have a limited number of spell slots. Once you get up to the point where you have 3rd level spell slots available it's pretty weak because you can easily do more than 1d12 damage per round with cantrips at 5th level. How long it's useful depends on what level you are and how fast your DM levels you up.
I agree that Floating Disk is awesome! Especially as a ritual!
Alarm
Great for keeping safe and secure, can be used to track enemies by placing them at strategic points, and can be used as distractions by placing in a public space set to trigger only when your familiar runs through and have it be audible. You then have your familiar go through and suddenly there is a loud alarm bell ringing and nobody knows why. Lots of options and can be cast ritually - this is a spell I always choose.
Charm Person
Great for social interactions, obviously, and even better for interrogations. Despite the name you get advantage even to Intimidation and the person is charmed meaning they cannot attack you. This is good for when you need to interrogate somebody you think might betray you or turn on you.
Chromatic Orb
Decent damage and you can choose the damage type so this is a great attack spell. It's costly at 50 gp diamond for a material component but it is reusable and even at low levels it isn't too difficult to get this. If you choose "wealth" option instead of starting equipment and roll high enough you could even have this to start with.
Comprehend Languages
This can be surprisingly useful if you delve into obscure dungeons and ruins a lot. It is common to encounter different languages in books and clues so this spell makes it so you don't miss out on potentially important information.
Ice Knife
Now, this isn't the "best" spell or anything but I like it. If you lack the means of getting Chromatic Orb this spell is a decent replacement (better than Catapult because while Catapult does the same damage as Chromatic Orb it's a Dex save which will often be saved against and if they save it has no effect). Even if you miss the attack of it there is a small AoE part too. Plus I like the thematics behind it - creating a sharp shard of ice and launching it at an opponent? Hello Sub-Zero (not even joking in the MK TV series "Mortal Kombat: Conquest" we see Subby use this twice!).
Detect Magic
Find if magic nearby, discover magic traps, know what something might do, know if there's invisible people or illusions around, this is very useful!
Feather Fall
Want to get down somewhere quickly? Just jump and cast this. Can be a literal lifesaver.
Disguise Self
Fun and hijinks and get-outta-dodge. From just making yourself look fancy to impersonating people or hiding amongst the crowd to lose puruers, so many uses.
Find Familiar
I don't think I even need to explain this one. One of the most helpful 1st level spells in 5e D&D.
Magic Missile
**** the dice, just hit the damn thing!
Unseen Servant
Pure utility, nothing beats being waited on hands and foot. And invisible for sneaky things and also not a living thing so can have it go set off traps at a safe distance etc.
Snare
Restrain a target while you unleash area spells like Cloud of Daggers? Oh yes. Combine with a Glyph of Warding and you can make rather perfect traps. XD
Of course there's staples like Mage Armor and Shield but I include them in my spells only out of necessity rather than because they're faves.
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Don’t forget that Comprehend Languages is a ritual so you don’t need to use a spell slot to cast it.
Other than that, the only problem I have with your list is how hard it is to find all of those spells for the first few levels of being a Wizard!
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you get to pick any 6 to start and can pick 2 more at 2nd level... so that will get you any 8 first level spells
My list are things I often take, not necessarily that I take all of them. Although, even if you add them later on (copying, rather than levelling) they're worthy additions in my opinion.
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This is an interesting topic bc there are so many types of spells to choose from. But if you're going for combat THUNDERWAVE is definetly one of the best combat spells out there, not only does it do pretty good damage it also pushes enemy's back
Magic Missile-Send three darts doing 1d4 plus spell casting mod is a classic but damage wise doesn't do a lot but looks super cool
Detect Magic is always super useful when interacting with NPC's but again this would depend on the situation your in, if you're fighting a dragon detect magic won't do you any good.
Witch Bolt is suprising underrated and as you gain levels it becomes sucky but as a first level wizard it is not a bad 1st level combat spell.
Mage Armor is also good considering lots of Wizards don't have good AC and this is a easy spell to fix that problem, this also matches up with how shield is a good spell because your spellcasters are your heavy hitters but they usually don't have the best health or AC so protecting them is of uptmost importance. (And of course keeping yourself alive is good too :)
Shield-Definetly good for protecting but if you have a Cleric in your party don't worry about it because they have spells that do the same thing but better.
Another factor that comes into play with this topic is who else is in your party because certain spells can be covered by different class types, for example if you have a bard in your party don't worry about charm person because they'll have it. Another classic example is don't worry about healing spells if you have cleric/paladin. Wizards are usually the heavy hitters/illusions so anything else you can take on but don't waste spell slots if you have a adventurer who can handle that area of spells.
I'm gonna have to strongly disagree with you on this. Witch Bolt is one of the worst spells of any level. It does less damage than any other single-target level 1 spell. It has worse range than any other single-target level 1 spell. The "continuing damage" might sound good, but it's not: it is trivially broken by any creature with 30' speed by simply walking away from you (less, if you're not using it point-blank, which you probably aren't doing). It uses up your Concentration. About the only situation in which this spell would have any advantage over any other single-target level 1 spell is if you're targeting a grappled, but not restrained, enemy, and have no other use for Concentration, and can spare one, but not more than one, spell slot. If the target is restrained or worse (paralyzed, stunned, etc.), you're better off firing damage cantrips (better damage, no slot use). If the target is not affected by a condition that reduces its speed to 0, you're better off using any other single-target damage spell (including cantrips above level 5). If the target is vulnerable to lightning damage, you're better off using Chromatic Orb.
It's a very "fun"-looking spell, reminiscent of (if not outright lifted from) Sith Force Lightning from Star Wars. But, mechanically, it's no good. :(
I agree with Tonio on witchbolt for every reason given and for the other nails in its coffin - Yes you have to concentrate, but you also have to spend your action to deal 1d12 (unmodified by upcasting in higher slots) in each following round. Thats madness but the crazy doesnt end there because if you dont spend your action in this way the spell ends 'prematurely'. I know it costs money but if you really want to do damage every round think about using catapult on a flask of alchemist fire, then go back to cantrips or sprinkling oil in their space for more damage. (pro tip, dont apply oil between the legs of an immolated target by hand unless its a mage hand)
Here's why Witch Bolt is good for 1st through 4th level. At 1st level your Sorcerer and Wizard only have 2 spell slots and your Warlock only has 1 spell slot. Witch Bolt can last and do 1d12 damage for several rounds with a single successful to hit roll. If your DM isn't letting you take a Short Rest after every encounter, that's a huge benefit to a damage dealing spell! After 4th level you have more spell slots available and you can swap it out for a better spell, but until you have more spell slots it's a great 1st level spell choice. Especially for a Diviner who can guarantee to hit with it at 2nd level!
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I think it is more of a situational spell in that if you can find times when your enemy cannot move or has limited movement (in a room or something similar) it might be more useful... mostly it is thematic, having a sustained arc of lightning connecting you to your enemy (as mentioned above somewhere, very Sith-like).
The thing that sours me on it the most is that it is not just concentration, it says under the spell description that you cannot use your action for anything else while you are concentrating on it.
You’re correct. It’s mainly useful in areas where movement is limited. Indoors or underground for example. In the open it’s much less useful.
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Damn, I'd even missed that. I had assumed the following rounds' damage was also increased.
You'll find very few situations in which you'll successfully land the spell and manage to do a 2nd round's worth of damage with it. Target moves away? Breaks the spell. If it's fast enough, or close enough to the 30', it can even move away and back in, in the same turn, to break it (spell doesn't break if the target ends its turn out of range, but if it's out of range at any time). You get hit? Might lose Concentration. Want to use your Action for anything other than dealing the damage? Spell breaks.
Mind you, Fire Bolt does 1 less damage before level 5, has 4 times the range, requires no material components, and is a cantrip (so no used spell slots). Warlocks can just use Eldritch Blast, which does better damage than Witch Bolt, as long as they're using the Agonizing Blast invocation (and, again, 1 less damage, before level 5, without the invocation). All single-target damage cantrips do better damage than Witch Bolt after level 5, too. So even between levels 1 and 4, even for a non-Warlock, a cantrip is a better option in nearly every circumstance. Preparing Witch Bolt for the very, very limited and rare occasions in which it will be every so slightly more useful than a cantrip is a very bad option.
Witch Bolt shines when you cast it in conjunction with another spellcaster's Hold Person or maybe even Command. One spellcaster keeps the guy from moving while the other does 1d12 per turn. Alternatively, a fighter or barbarian could grapple the guy to keep him from moving. (Though if I were the DM, I would definitely rule that the grappler would get shocked too)
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But yeah, for its level, Witch Bolt is pretty awful.
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My party uses it like this:
1.) Cast Sleep. Send the bad guy to snoozeville
2.) Wrap him in chains.
3.) Have the wizard and the sorcerer use Witch Bolt. The bad guy is now taking 2d12 damage per turn, the sorcerer uses Quickened Spell for a shocking grasp that is an auto crit if he hits, and even though the unfortunate dude awakens, he's gonna have to make a DC 20 Athletics check before even making a run for it.
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Thing is, if the target's restrained, your attacks have Advantage, so you might as well wail on them with cantrips, since you're unlikely to miss. Again, with Fire Bolt (assuming Wizard/Sorcerer), that's 1 less damage per round, no Concentration requirement, etc... and if the target's sleeping, you've already won, no need to zap him to death.
Again, I have to concur with Tonio, if your target is chained up Mr. melee attack (or if worried about nasty claws or teeth Ms. ranged attack) saves two spells that could be used for more sleeps later.
One thing which surprises me is that no one (including me) has picked Floating Disk. A level 1 ritual which allows you to loot 500 pounds of easily tradeable goods? You know, all that stuff you usually leave in the bandit cave because it's too cumbersome to carry?
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I love Tenser's Floating Disk, and now that it's a ritual, I love it even more. I even tried to make a trap with it, by loading it up with 500 lbs. worth of rocks and holding it above the opening where the stairs from the bottom floor came up, but upon re-reading the description, turns out it wouldn't work, since it wouldn't hover above the opening. As a Necromancer, though, it's been very useful to carry corpses, bones, and equipment (longbows and scale mail for my skeletons) around until I can (re-)animate them with Animate Dead. :D
The scenario where Witch Bolt is useful is when the party is fighting a tough opponent who is in melee with one or more other characters. Cast Witch Bolt and if you hit you can do an automatic 1d12 damage to the opponent every round, which potentially 10d12 of damage, for the cost of one 1st level spell slot. If the opponent withdraws without taking a Disengage action, which will require that the opponent know about Witch Bolt's 30' range, your friends in melee with the opponent will get free attacks against it. It's not always a great choice, but when the situation is right it's a very effective option at low levels when you have a limited number of spell slots. Once you get up to the point where you have 3rd level spell slots available it's pretty weak because you can easily do more than 1d12 damage per round with cantrips at 5th level. How long it's useful depends on what level you are and how fast your DM levels you up.
I agree that Floating Disk is awesome! Especially as a ritual!
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