Hi all! First time poster, but I was told here would be the best place to crowdsource some information for a project I'm working on. I'm primarily a DM, and I tend to create a lot of homebrew systems and custom content for my campaign. At the moment one of these requires some information gathering, and I'm trying to get a decent sample of answers from anybody who plays regularly as a spellcaster.

If you're happy to participate, please reply with your class, and the top 5 spells you use most often. Any level at all, cantrips included. To be clear though: this is about the ones you rely on most, not your favourites necessarily. There may be some overlap, but what I'm really looking for is frequency. Feel free to list your subclass if you want to or if it's appropriate (as with Arcane Tricksters). You don't have to elaborate on why those are your most used spells, but feel free to if you like, I'm mainly just gathering data.

Thanks to anybody willing to help!

EDIT: I should have said, please feel free to list multiple if you do play several different casters!

In my opinion, Magic Missile and Cone of Cold are undervalued. I know Fireball can blast and provoke more damage but, in fact, Cone of Cold can freeze mobs just to allow oneself get a chance to Run-like-hell. ( it saves your arse more often than the expected, xD ).

Conjure Water & Tsunami are also a nice option if you are trapped on a room and you want the enemies as far as you consider safer. I unknown if the Tsunami could break doors and disable traps ( due to the fact it does ""sliding/displacing bludgeoning"" damage, which can cause to move away everything on its path ).

Mental note: I gonna cast those spells using my wizard char, just to see if the DM is enough smart & realises what I really wanted to do.

Great idea! Can I ask - what 5 spells does you Wizard currently use the most often? 

Class: Warlock

Spells

1. Eldritch Blast
2. Shadow of Moil
3. Hex
4. Minor Illusion
5. Maddening Darkness

Cleric: 

1. Cure wounds 

2. Guiding bolt

3. Mass healing word

4. Spiritual Weapon

5. Healing word 

Sorcerer: 

1. Magic missile 

2. Fireball

3. Shield 

4. Fly

5. Cone of cold

Class:

circle of the stars druid 

Spells: 

• Healing Word (I'm the only healer in our group) 
• Primal Savagery
• Guiding Bolt (comes with the subclass) 
• Entangle
• Faerie Fire 

Hexblade Warlock, level 7 

• Dimension Door
• Eldritch Blast
• Invisibility
• Armor of Agathys
• Hunger of Hadar

Great Old One Warlock, Pact of the Tome:

• Eldritch Blast
• Toll the Dead
• Identify (as ritual)
• Hex
• Suggestion

Artificer (Battle Smith)

1. Guidance
2. Green-Flame Blade
3. Cure Wounds
4. Enlarge / Reduce
5. Enhance Ability

Wizard (level 5) 

1. Burning hands

2. Fire Bolt 

3. Lightning bolt

4. Tashas hideous laughter

5. Fire Ball

Cleric (Level 5)

1.Cure wounds

2. Healing word

3. Animate dead

4. Sacred Flame

5. Guidence 

Bard (level 3)

1. Vicious mockery

2. Thunder wave

3. Heat metal

4. Sleep

5. Charm Person

Warlock (level 3)

1. Eldritch blast

2. Find Familiar

3.Tashas hideous laughter

4.Mirror image

Our warlock really only casts 4 spells

Thank you so much, everyone! I'm definitely finding the patterns I'm after, but I do need replies in the ways of probably a hundred or more to get the kind of spread of information I need data-wise. If anybody would be willing to share this request with any RPG groups or players they know, I'd be really grateful. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer!

During my last campaign as a College of Lore Bard this was easily my top 5:

1: Minor Illusion (used constantly for everything from just producing music or random stuff to hide behind)

2: Magnificent Mansion (This spell was cast pretty much every single night)

3: Telepathic Bond (crazy-helpful spell taken from the Wizard spell list. It's a ritual so it got cast before any major adventure)

4: Polymorph (The ultimate utility spell. Does the work of about a dozen other spells in one)

5: Animate Objects (Another utility spell that doubles as a way to deal a big mess of damage by swarming an enemy with tiny objects)

Druid

1. produce flame

2. spike growth

3. Lightning bolt (circle of land: mountain)

4. Conjure animals 

5. Wall of fire

Cleric:

1. Spare the Dying

2. Cure Wounds

3. Spiritual Weapon

4. Spirit Guardians

5. Word of Radiance

Bard: Faerie Fire, Polymorph, Blindness/Deafness, Dissonant Whispers, Silence

Wizard:

1. Shield
2. Misty Step
3. Counterspell
4. Hypnotic Pattern
5. Rary's Telepathic Bond (Because it is a Ritual prep for combat OR social )

Artificer: (Depends on subclass, but here I go)

1. Mending
2. Heat Metal
3. Animate Objects
4. Freedom of Movement
5. Dispel Magic

My wife wanted to offer her responses... she's playing a Homebrew Bard Subclass, but here's her list.

1: Prestidigitation

2: Enhance Ability

3: Polymorph

4: Cat Nap

5: Heat Metal

Edit:

Also I figured I'd offer up what I have for my Great Old One Warlock with Pact of the Tome that I used in Adventure League up to level 11:

1: Guidance (A no-brainer to cast every single time anyone in my group attempted anything)

2: Eldritch Blast (with multiple Eldritch Invocations tacked on)

3: Mold Earth (Great utility spell that consistently made DMs need to rethink how the adventure should continue)

4: Black Tentacles (If you're gonna be a GOOlock, why would you not?)

5: Banishment (It's a Charisma Saving Throw! There are so many big scary monsters with garbage Charisma to send back where ever they came from)

Warlock of the Fiend 7, Pact of the Tome

1 Fire Bolt

2 Detect Magic

3 Fireball

4 Alarm (as ritual)

5 Scorching Ray

(This character had a self-imposed challenge of building a warlock that didn't use Eldritch Blast or Hex)

My Changeling Hexblade, from most to least common:

1. Hex
2. Friends
3. Hold Person
4. Shadow of Moil
5. Eldritch Blast