I'm about to play a 3rd lvl Abjuration Wizard in a new campaign and my DM told me that he houserules the Blade Ward cantrip as a 1st lvl spell with bonus action casting time. Everything else still applies - no concentration, 1 round duration and so on.
I want to ask if you think it is a useful spell now? No concentration and resistance for one turn seem tempting but there is still some planning involved because of the "one spell per turn" rule.
That means you can still cast another cantrip every round that you cast Blade Ward as an action. The rules on the Casting Times for spells state that if you cast a spell that has a casting time of a bonus action you can still cast a cantrip that takes a full round to cast.
That changes Blade Ward from a, "Why would I take that cantrip when there are so many other ways to protect myself in an emergency?" spell to a, "Why would I NOT take that cantrip?" spell. Especially for Warlocks!
In my opinion, that makes the spell overpowered, but that's just my opinion. Almost every class needs something to use their bonus actions for, so I'd always take it any way I could.
Your DM's change makes Blade Ward far superior to the 5th level spell Stoneskin since Stoneskin is a Concentration spell and doesn't protect versus magical weapons. Blade Ward requires no Concentration and lasts until the end of you NEXT round, so you only need to cast it every other round.
I want to ask if you think it is a useful spell now? No concentration and resistance for one turn seem tempting but there is still some planning involved because of the "one spell per turn" rule.
Remember, you can cast up to 2 spells a round as long as one of them is a cantrip. So you could cast a cantrip and Misty Step, or a cantrip and Booming Blade.
Yes, as a cantrip it would be super overpowered but he changes not only the casting time but makes it a 1st Level Spell. Thus I have to spend spell slots for casting it. I might have been imprecise on that point.
Does that change your opinion or would you still recommend taking it?
That changes everything. Compare Blade Ward as a 1st level spell with a casting time of 1 Bonus Action with Shield as it’s written. For an arcane caster who is in melee a lot I’d be tempted to learn both of them, especially at higher levels when 1st level spell slots aren’t used very often so that I could use Shield when fighting opponents who miss a lot and Blade Ward when fighting opponents who will hit most of the time even with a +5 to my AC. Both would have different uses.
I would still take this. I would probably still take Shield, and never die ever, especially at high levels when you can just spam this. It's definitely overpowered
Honestly I don't think it's all that "over-powered"
The problem with Blade Ward is it's your Action. So it's easy for the monsters to go "OK, not attacking that target, because it's also not drawing any aggro."
the character isn't participating IN the fight, it's not attacking. If you're casting Blade Ward you're basically a non combatant.
Blade Ward is a Cantrip and a Bonus Action cantrip means that the caster cannot cast a leveled spell. That means the caster is restricted to basic cantrips. While these can be reasonably effective and of course there are ways to try to min-max thing. It's keeping the caster from casting a leveled spell and anytime they do cast a leveled spell it's open season. Plus it doesn't effect anything by physical attacks from weapon attacks only.
I'd never cast Blade Ward as a lvled spell unless it was a Reaction, otherwise it's garbage for the same reason. You cast it and none will target you, which makes it a non-elemental Absorb Elements.
Maybe if you keep Blade Ward a Cantrip and a Bonus Action spell have it only effect the 1st hit a turn not every hit. Sadly in my opinion Blade Ward is like True Strike hot garbage as an Action.
I'd say that it is incredibly powerful on half casters like Arcane trickster and Eldritch knights. As long as they have spell slots and are not using there bonus action (okay, better on Eldritch knights then tricksters). An Eldritch knight that doesn't have to give up their important attacks to cast a very useful spell? Count me in! This makes a powerful alternative to shield against enemies with really high chances to hit. Not game breaking, but certainly raising an eyebrow. (this can be used in conjunction with shield for ultra tankiness if you are in that bad of a spot).
Edit: This also makes full caster tanks more viable, but I'm not sure how good/bad it would be without play testing first on wizards and sorcerers. I could totally see a tank abjuration wizard that uses this and shield in combat to make the ultimate "you can't kill me" machine. You will burn out of slots relatively quickly though.
As a cantrip using an action to cast, I would rather use my action to dodge in the hopefully rare occasions that it would be the best thing to do. That way I can use my precious cantrip slot for another cantrip.
As a 1st level bonus action spell, I’d rather prepare Shield as my defensive spell. There may be occasions when casting both would be great but hopefully that would be rare as well.
The Eldritch Knight’s War Magic ability and the fact that the EK is likely to be in the front line, taking hits, changes the equation some.
Blade Turn is usable. It’s just that Blade Turn is most useful when the caster is getting hit a lot, something most casters want to avoid. The other factor is that it’s almost always better to kill your enemy rather than letting him keep hitting you for half damage..
Don't forget you can go all out and make a gish wizard doing this a bit easier. Let's say you multiclass paladin (very mad I know) for 2-3 levels . You can choose not too just bump con up too some indescribable amount in order to survive better since you can just cast this as a bonus action and use shield in order to survive on those front lines, making the mad build a little easier (you still want con, but it's not as mandatory anymore). You can go bonus action blade ward, attack booming blade, I hit? Smite. Reaction shield if needed. You now have yourself a gish! The only problem is that this is one trick pony class at most levels since you would be burning through spell slots incredibly quickly, but if you are usually running into 1 big encounter a day and maybe a small, this build easily fits that and is good. But you would be investing into 4-5 stats too a minimum of 13-14 so it's tough.
Going sorc/paladin instead of wizard/paladin is a lot less mad but still mad. It would be better though. Maybe some kind of divine soul redemption paladin would be fun. (sorry for the double post, I thought I was editing my previous post XD)
Just want to say that Sorcerers can already do Blade Ward as a bonus action...by spending 2 Sorcery Points...which is the effect of cannibalizing a 1st level spell slot. I'm playing a Forge Cleric Sorcerer now and just got the ability to use metamagic. Since I'm one of two party members with good AC, I'm going to be on the front lines a lot. Quickening Blade Ward will be my main use of SP until level 7 or so.
So maybe the devs made Blade Ward a kinda crap action economy choice for a reason? Not sure, just open to interpretation.
And yes, I agree that Stone Skin has been really nerfed for this edition.
I'm about to play a 3rd lvl Abjuration Wizard in a new campaign and my DM told me that he houserules the Blade Ward cantrip as a 1st lvl spell with bonus action casting time. Everything else still applies - no concentration, 1 round duration and so on.
I want to ask if you think it is a useful spell now? No concentration and resistance for one turn seem tempting but there is still some planning involved because of the "one spell per turn" rule.
That means you can still cast another cantrip every round that you cast Blade Ward as an action. The rules on the Casting Times for spells state that if you cast a spell that has a casting time of a bonus action you can still cast a cantrip that takes a full round to cast.
That changes Blade Ward from a, "Why would I take that cantrip when there are so many other ways to protect myself in an emergency?" spell to a, "Why would I NOT take that cantrip?" spell. Especially for Warlocks!
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In my opinion, that makes the spell overpowered, but that's just my opinion. Almost every class needs something to use their bonus actions for, so I'd always take it any way I could.
Magical Initiate (Green flame blade, Blade Ward, and Shield - 1/day) . . . sweet.
Your DM's change makes Blade Ward far superior to the 5th level spell Stoneskin since Stoneskin is a Concentration spell and doesn't protect versus magical weapons. Blade Ward requires no Concentration and lasts until the end of you NEXT round, so you only need to cast it every other round.
Remember, you can cast up to 2 spells a round as long as one of them is a cantrip. So you could cast a cantrip and Misty Step, or a cantrip and Booming Blade.
Watch your back, conserve your ammo,
and NEVER cut a deal with a dragon!
Thank you for your thoughts!
Yes, as a cantrip it would be super overpowered but he changes not only the casting time but makes it a 1st Level Spell. Thus I have to spend spell slots for casting it. I might have been imprecise on that point.
Does that change your opinion or would you still recommend taking it?
That changes everything. Compare Blade Ward as a 1st level spell with a casting time of 1 Bonus Action with Shield as it’s written. For an arcane caster who is in melee a lot I’d be tempted to learn both of them, especially at higher levels when 1st level spell slots aren’t used very often so that I could use Shield when fighting opponents who miss a lot and Blade Ward when fighting opponents who will hit most of the time even with a +5 to my AC. Both would have different uses.
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I would still take this. I would probably still take Shield, and never die ever, especially at high levels when you can just spam this. It's definitely overpowered
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Honestly I don't think it's all that "over-powered"
The problem with Blade Ward is it's your Action. So it's easy for the monsters to go "OK, not attacking that target, because it's also not drawing any aggro."
the character isn't participating IN the fight, it's not attacking. If you're casting Blade Ward you're basically a non combatant.
Blade Ward is a Cantrip and a Bonus Action cantrip means that the caster cannot cast a leveled spell. That means the caster is restricted to basic cantrips. While these can be reasonably effective and of course there are ways to try to min-max thing. It's keeping the caster from casting a leveled spell and anytime they do cast a leveled spell it's open season. Plus it doesn't effect anything by physical attacks from weapon attacks only.
I'd never cast Blade Ward as a lvled spell unless it was a Reaction, otherwise it's garbage for the same reason. You cast it and none will target you, which makes it a non-elemental Absorb Elements.
Maybe if you keep Blade Ward a Cantrip and a Bonus Action spell have it only effect the 1st hit a turn not every hit. Sadly in my opinion Blade Ward is like True Strike hot garbage as an Action.
I'd say that it is incredibly powerful on half casters like Arcane trickster and Eldritch knights. As long as they have spell slots and are not using there bonus action (okay, better on Eldritch knights then tricksters). An Eldritch knight that doesn't have to give up their important attacks to cast a very useful spell? Count me in! This makes a powerful alternative to shield against enemies with really high chances to hit. Not game breaking, but certainly raising an eyebrow. (this can be used in conjunction with shield for ultra tankiness if you are in that bad of a spot).
Edit: This also makes full caster tanks more viable, but I'm not sure how good/bad it would be without play testing first on wizards and sorcerers. I could totally see a tank abjuration wizard that uses this and shield in combat to make the ultimate "you can't kill me" machine. You will burn out of slots relatively quickly though.
For anyone other than an EK:
As a cantrip using an action to cast, I would rather use my action to dodge in the hopefully rare occasions that it would be the best thing to do. That way I can use my precious cantrip slot for another cantrip.
As a 1st level bonus action spell, I’d rather prepare Shield as my defensive spell. There may be occasions when casting both would be great but hopefully that would be rare as well.
The Eldritch Knight’s War Magic ability and the fact that the EK is likely to be in the front line, taking hits, changes the equation some.
I think that's fine.
I mean, just because Stoneskin is one of the worst spells in the game doesn't mean we can't make Blade Ward usable. :P
Blade Turn is usable. It’s just that Blade Turn is most useful when the caster is getting hit a lot, something most casters want to avoid. The other factor is that it’s almost always better to kill your enemy rather than letting him keep hitting you for half damage..
Don't forget you can go all out and make a gish wizard doing this a bit easier. Let's say you multiclass paladin (very mad I know) for 2-3 levels . You can choose not too just bump con up too some indescribable amount in order to survive better since you can just cast this as a bonus action and use shield in order to survive on those front lines, making the mad build a little easier (you still want con, but it's not as mandatory anymore). You can go bonus action blade ward, attack booming blade, I hit? Smite. Reaction shield if needed. You now have yourself a gish! The only problem is that this is one trick pony class at most levels since you would be burning through spell slots incredibly quickly, but if you are usually running into 1 big encounter a day and maybe a small, this build easily fits that and is good. But you would be investing into 4-5 stats too a minimum of 13-14 so it's tough.
Going sorc/paladin instead of wizard/paladin is a lot less mad but still mad. It would be better though. Maybe some kind of divine soul redemption paladin would be fun. (sorry for the double post, I thought I was editing my previous post XD)
Just want to say that Sorcerers can already do Blade Ward as a bonus action...by spending 2 Sorcery Points...which is the effect of cannibalizing a 1st level spell slot. I'm playing a Forge Cleric Sorcerer now and just got the ability to use metamagic. Since I'm one of two party members with good AC, I'm going to be on the front lines a lot. Quickening Blade Ward will be my main use of SP until level 7 or so.
So maybe the devs made Blade Ward a kinda crap action economy choice for a reason? Not sure, just open to interpretation.
And yes, I agree that Stone Skin has been really nerfed for this edition.
I thought of the exact same thing, turn the effect to only focus on the First Attack that Hits you until the Start of your next turn perhaps?
I would maybe allow it to be a Reaction.