I have read a lot of the various guides and often disagree with how they rank 9th level spells. The problem is all too often they get excited about the cool stuff but have not actually played enough high level games to realize how little something is worth in actual 17th level+ game play. I am currently playing a 17th level wizard and have decided to rank all (not just wizard) 9th level spells. I will discuss power, versatility, and limitations. I am color coding as Blue = get FIRST, Green = get when you can, red = avoid unless absolutely necessary.
Feel free to tell me how very badly I am wrong!
Very best 9th level spell: Foresight. Yes, this spell is better than wish. Wish has higher versatility, but this spell has less limitations and more power over a session. Foresight grants advantage on attacks, saves, and abilities and also gives anyone attacking the subject disadvantage. Oh yeah and you can't be surprised. It lasts 8 hours and can be used on your allies. Given that you are already 17th or higher level, advantage should be enough to win most rolls, so it's power is high. It is versatile because you can cast it on your self or others and it is utility, offensive and defensive. The major limitation is that you can not have two uses of it up at the same time - which is not much of a limitation normal rules of one 9th level spell cast per day. (scrolls, etc. can increase this which is why that limitation exists). Also, get used to saying to the DM: "Because I have Advantage on EVERYTHING!"
Second best spell: Wish. Most versatile spell that exists. Can duplicate any spell of 8th or lower level, negating the wizards most common complaint about only preparing so few of their own spells. But the power level is EIGHT, not nine. So it is weaker than any other 9th level spell. This is NOT the mightiest spell you can cast, sorry. While the spell can do other things, the 33% chance of never being able to cast Wish again is nasty. The only time this is worth it is the last session you plan on playing, i.e. one off games. Worse, most of the other things it does is so subject to DM interpretation that it ends up becoming the DM's spell, not yours. Also your strength drops to 3 and you start taking damage from casting other spells. Not worth using on a non-spell effect except as your very last action as that character.
3. Invulnerability: This spell is lots of fun to play. Go swimming in lava, drink the acid, all with a smile. Very powerful, if not that versatile. But it has some significant limitations. You need to concentrate and lots of things can still make your roll a concentration check. It only protects against damage, not conditions, not charm, not death - so hope you have more than 100 hp or Power Word Kill will take you out. It can also be dispelled. But DMs will sometimes overlook this spell so it can solve some puzzles (I dive into the dragons mouth and retrieve the artifact it swallowed, Dim dooring out), as well as keep you alive when facing the big bads.
4. Prismatic Wall. Almost as much fun to play as Invulnerability. Both defensive and offensive because your allies are immune to it. Fun to push your enemies into and out of it. Blocks ranged attacks, line of sight and spells (Indigo layer). One of the best parts about this spell is it takes 8 saves to walk though it and no creature has 8 legendary saves. Very hard to get rid of (antimagic field does not help), it takes 7 spells to get rid of. Your best case a victim is blinded, takes 50d6 damage, restrained, blinded again, then sent to another plane, and finally petrified. But don't count on that. At this level a target is likely to be immune to at least one of five 10d6, and resistant to two of them. Still, they are likely to take significant damage and/or petrification/teleported. So have your alllies take turns pushing/pulling and enjoy!
5. Meteor Swarm: Massive 40d6 damage, even if you save for half that is big! Huge area! Starts fires! But half of it is only fire damage, most common resistant/immunity. And Dex saves are common not to mention Evasion negates that half damage becomes nothing. Power is great, and the ability to design the area of effect grants you a bit of versatility. But the limitations make this only the 5th best spell.
6. True Polymorph. Very versatile spell. Buff your allies, capture your enemies, 'summon' a 9th level ally, even sell a monster, sneak that demon into the church. One of the best ways to deal with hard to kill creatures such as Lichs is to turn them into a painting of themselves. Who wants to spend the time to find their phylactery? Of course you first have to defeat it's legendary saves before you whip this out. Why only #6? Concentration for an hour. Losing mental ability scores. Allies do not WANT to stop being PC's and become creatures whose CR = their level. Legendary saves means this spell takes a while to get used on the big bad. Wisdom saves are common. Does not work on shapechangers (vampires...) Oh and it can be dispelled even when made 'permanent'. By the way would you like to buy this really nice painting of a lich? Makes for a great present.
7. Blade Of Disaster. Most powerful of the Bonus Action attack spells. Two chances to get an 18 or higher and do 12d12 damage, instead of the normal 4d12 for a regular hit. Ignores Walls of Force and similar effects (not Prismatic Wall or Antimagic). But low versatility, its just damage and the enemy can run away faster than it's 30 ft speed. Worst of all it takes your concentration, unlike Crown of Stars which is once per round 4d12, rather than twice with enhanced crit. Concentration and 30 ft speed keep this spell from being among my favorites, but it is fun to send this thing directly through a Wall of Force.
8. Shapechange: A seductively versatile spell. Stealth, deception, utility, defense, offense, it has it all. Changing shapes unlimited times is very fun to play. Power is also good, but it has some nasty hidden limitations that keep this spell out of the top 5. Costs a bit of cash, concentration, limit of an hour, and two worst limitations are HP and form limitations. Yes, the FIRST time you use it you can get a lot of 'free HP'. But every time after that, you cannot gain any hp. So for maximal combat use, you start big and lose HP every time you change form! If you started out as a stealth or deceptive, your free HP are likely to be crap when you have to start fighting. And being a 17th level spell caster chances are you might not want to stop being a caster shape. Worse, artifacts may require you to maintain the general medium sized humanoid form. Is your Staff of Super Mage really going to let you absorb it, even temporarily? The combination of Self only PLUS being an item using caster makes this spell less useful than you think. But it makes a great spell for the DM's big bad to use... This is still a very good spell, but not top five.
8. Psychic Scream. Save or Stun plus 14d6 is powerful. Even on a succeeded save you get half damage. Especially as it is a Intelligence save. And you get upto 10 enemies in 90 ft! But little versatility besides avoiding allies. Head explosions means no worries about death saves. What keeps this spell out of the top five? Legendary saves are common now. Exploding heads does nothing to defeat the high level death protection of lichs, vampies, oEsr even trolls. It really only hurts players. New save every round means that Stun is not going to last. Good spell, not great.
9. Mass Heal: Powerful spell, not versatile Heals damage, disease, blindness and deafness, spread out among all your non-undead, non-construct allies. If one of them needs it, than others should too. Stun and other conditions, you are out of luck. Some people think if you need this spell, you made a mistake. No. The DM is OUT TO GET YOU. If you do not need this spell, then your game is probably boring. But the total lack of offense, the absence of other conditions (not even poison?) and the range of only 60 ft means this spell cannot crack the top 5. Still a good spell.
10. Gate. Great travel, escape, and summon spell. High versatility, high power. Who wouldn't want a souped up version of Plane Shift without having to have a fork designed for the plane and not having to know a teleportation circle on the plane near your desired location? But it has some major limitations. At 17th+ Gods and other planar rulers are a real threat that will keep you out of areas. They are not ignoring you anymore. The DM is fully aware of this spell and it will not work when you really want it to unless the DM says yes. Otherwise, Loth says NO. Also, the spell is clearly states both the leaving plane and the going plane get a 'front' of the portal, which means not only can enemies follow when you leave if they are quick enough but you may be importing something as well. 5,000 gp diamond is a real cost, even at that level. You might have the cash, but can't find one to buy. Finally you are likely going to have to negotiate with your ally. For these limitations, Gate is a good spell, but not in the top 5.
11. True Resurrection. Lucky 11 is still a very good spell, worth considering. Very powerful with almost all the limitations of the lower level resurrection spells gone. Fixes almost anything (not insanity), even undeath. Just has to be willing. But not much versatility. Why isn't this in the top 10? 25,000 gp is a lot of money, even at your level and most of the time a lower level and cheaper spell will get the job done.
12 . Astral Projection. Unfortunately, we have come to the end of the good spells. Astral Projection is Gate's uglier sister. Clerics and Wizards should not get it and Warlocks should think twice about it. Advantages over Gate include costs less, can get you places the God does not want you, and if your intended destination is on the Astral plane you cannot be killed by normal means. Huge weaknesses: It is an hour long spell that leaves your body defenseless (can be killed on your home plane), you can still be dispelled or killed on the Astral plane particularly by Githyanki Supreme Commander, and most importantly if you are sent back your allies cannot 'resurrect' you, they have to go on without you or quit and start again. Minor weaknesses, this is the opposite of instant travel, saving you no game time. It's not a good spell, but not bad.
13. Time Stop. This sounds so good. But it is not. Lets say you roll a 4 and get 5 actions that do not affect anyone but you. Don't want to shoot your hole wad in the first round, so you whip out the 5 scrolls you bought when you learn this spell. Expensive, but you got the cash and you are not going to shoot your entire wad of high level spell slots in one round! You move out of the area of obvious danger, cast Foresight on yourself (hm,should have done that this morning), but no other single action casting, non-concentration, buff 9th level spells, so move to lower level ones: Mind Blank, Programmed Illusion of yourself standing where you were, and True Sight. That leaves one attack spell, lets go with Crown of Stars which you cast and attack that same round. Or you could just have Teleported away (possibly drink some healing potions, a scroll and teleport back.) Time Stop is too expensive, even if you are using magic items rather than spell slots, for what you get. Not a good spell, but not bad.
14. Mass Polymorph. Seductively versatile but weak. You can make the entire party a beasts to sneak around, but they can do so little and have such few hp. Etherealness is usually better, except in rare circumstances. Turning into offensive beings is not worthwhile as they are CR of half your level (T-Rex ad King Kong/Giant Ape). You could save fighters who are low on hp for a few rounds, but just cast Mass Heal. Swimming/flying for an hour? Better options. And this all takes concentration. Only one real use left, transform upto ten enemies into snails, as long as they are not shapeshifters. But legendary saves are common now and it is a Wisdom save, and you only get ten. Not a good spell, not bad.
15. Storm of Vengeance. This spell is for the DM to use against you. It does reasonable damage but spread over 10 rounds over a huge area. If your allies try to fight the bad guys early, they get hit by the spell too. Do not do this to your fighter friends. Just use a better spell. For players, this is a bad spell to use, for DM's it is a good one to use.
16. Power Word Heal. Powerful spell, low versatility and MAJOR limitations. Healing all damage sounds good and cures some real conditions. But you have to touch them. Which likely means you are about to have happen to you what happened to them. If they need that much healing, then chances are other allies will as well. Most of the time there are better options, including Mass Heal. Bards get Magical Secrets - use them. Not a good spell, not a bad one, barely.
17. Imprisonment. The first of the actually bad spells. It has lots of variations all designed to allow specific DM situations but little real differences so no versatility. It takes a minute to cast, gets a save, can be dispelled multiple ways. Compare with just casting True Polymorph, having to concentrate for an hour beats taking a minute to cast. Let the DM play with this spell, you should not learn this bad spell.
18. Power Word KiIl. No versatility, low power. Kills people if their HP are lower than 100, no save, no damage if it is more than 100. It does not warn you of their current hp before casting. Most importantly, it does not prevent any of the many defenses against death. Lichs still come back. Clones come alive. If you can bring them down to 100 hp, you can kill them normally. This bad spell is not worth considering.
Worst 9th level spell: 19. Weird. There are 8th level spells that are better than Weird (Illusory Dragon). Weird is a concentration illusion spell that - on a failed Wisdom save frightens people in a 30 ft radius sphere at the end of every turn, if they are affected by illusions and also affected by fear and also they get another Wisdom save. Failure means 4d10 psychic damage and success means the entire spell ends. Both damage and additional effects are weak. It is not versatile at all - only a specialized attack, and it's limitations are many (Wisdom is a common save, true sight should at least grant advantage, Paladins grant frighten immunity, etc. etc. etc.). Do not learn this spell. Learn any other 9th level spell.
I feel like Prismatic Wall should be higher. Maybe even higher than Wish. It’s just so good, and more importantly so fun!
Time Stop is pointless and honestly shouldn’t even be a ninth-level spell. Even Power Word Kill has more use cases than Time Stop. IMO, the only spell worse than Time Stop is Weird, but at least Weird is interesting.
Power Word Heal is pretty pointless when there are already so many good healing spells. I’d place it below Imprisonment.
I actually prefer true polymorph to foresight, they are simuilar because they are usually best cast on a martial member of the party and in my experiance an adult red dragon is more use to the party than a level 17 fighter with foresight (or an ancient brass dragon when you hit level twenty
I think mass heal has also been underrated, in the majority if boss fights most of the party are low on HP well before the enemy is close to being defeated, raher than wasting actions giving a few hit point to characters as they go unconcious mass heal usually gets everyone back up to full. For me the blue spells are wish, mass heal prismatic wall and true polymorph in that order.
I would put time stop somewhere in the middle, force cage doesn't affact a creature only the area around it, so putting one boss in a force cage (assuming it fits) casting a delayed blast fireball at the mobs casting a major image (at level 6) of you casting a spell while you hide behind a tree and casting dominate monster the other boss (breaking concentration on the delayed fireball) could be a pretty good use for time stop, if you want ot go all out . Not the best 9th level spell by any means but I would probably put it in the 8-10 range.
There are 3 spells I think you have overated.
Invulnerability is OK but nothing like 3rd. Using it out of combat is extremely circumstantial (you can usually fly over the river of laver rather than swim accross and swimming you can't take the rest of the party. Yest you might need to find an item in the middle of the pool of lava but that is very circumstantial. In combat you are greatly weakened if you can not ast any other concentration spell.
There is very little you can do with gate that you can not do with plane shift. If getting tuning forks is likely to be a problem make sure you have wish and cast plane shift using that.
You have also overstated the power of wierd, I know you put it last but you stated "there are 8th level spells better than wierd. I can't think of one 8th level spell worse than wierd. There are 4th level spells are better than wierd (Polymorph). Compare it to 3rd level fear, OK a 30ft spheres anywhere within 120ft is better than a 30ft cone and weird does do a tiny bit of damage is they fail 2 successive Wis saves, but if we are in a confined area I would often prefer fear because thet don't get to reroll the save if they are within 60ft. (Not saying fear is better than weird but it is close enough for weird to be about a 4th level spell)
A lot depends on what you're trying to do. For example, imprisonment is fairly useless as a general purpose spell, but it's the spell of choice for dealing with certain classes of otherwise hard to deal with creatures, because unlike using flesh to stone or true polymorph, it includes a permanent nondetection effect.
A lot depends on what you're trying to do. For example, imprisonment is fairly useless as a general purpose spell, but it's the spell of choice for dealing with certain classes of otherwise hard to deal with creatures, because unlike using flesh to stone or true polymorph, it includes a permanent nondetection effect.
I was viewing it as a player when I reach level 17 which spells am I most wanting to learn / put in my spell book / prepare each morning.
As a player I am struggling to think of a situation where I would want to cast imprisonment, unless the story is about a BBEG that can not be killed and can onmy be imprisoned (and even then you need to make VERY sure they fail the save), I can think of a lot of circumstances a DM might use it.
I would say that any creature completely inside a Forcecage is trapped and trapped is affected by the spell. I cannot see Time Stop letting you do that without ending. The rest of your plan involves more use of resources than it is worth. But if your DM allows Forcecage to count, that type of activity can boost Time Stop up to number 12. Borderline worth it. Time Stop is too expensive.
A lot of the other stuff may just be style of play.
I do want to add the Dunamancy spells for the Wildemount players.
4.5 Ravenous Void. Huge range. Huge area of effect. Every round gets another strength save to pull them, do 5d10, and restrain. Destroys non-magic items. Annihilates dead victims - so vampires are gone. Maybe a lich might survive, up to the DM. This spell scares low strength legendary monsters. Just destruction so low versatility. Weaknesses include any teleportation spell more than 100 ft, affects allies, concentration required, and the victims can still attack - they are only restrained. Done properly this spell can be nasty but you and your allies have to stay out of the huge area of effect.
14.5 Time's Ravage. 10d12, save for half and disadvantage on ability, attack and saves, walking speed cut in half. And you need a 9th level spell cast on you within the next 30 days. Just an offensive spell. Damage is poor, penalties are good, but its a Con save for no penalties and half of very poor damage. Throw in Legendary saves and I ask why learn this spell? It is a bad spell for a player. Better for a DM that wants you to role play being decrepit until you get a Greater Restoration upcast to 9th level or a Wish Spell.
I have read a lot of the various guides and often disagree with how they rank 9th level spells. The problem is all too often they get excited about the cool stuff but have not actually played enough high level games to realize how little something is worth in actual 17th level+ game play. I am currently playing a 17th level wizard and have decided to rank all (not just wizard) 9th level spells. I will discuss power, versatility, and limitations. I am color coding as Blue = get FIRST, Green = get when you can, red = avoid unless absolutely necessary.
Feel free to tell me how very badly I am wrong!
Very best 9th level spell: Foresight. Yes, this spell is better than wish. Wish has higher versatility, but this spell has less limitations and more power over a session. Foresight grants advantage on attacks, saves, and abilities and also gives anyone attacking the subject disadvantage. Oh yeah and you can't be surprised. It lasts 8 hours and can be used on your allies. Given that you are already 17th or higher level, advantage should be enough to win most rolls, so it's power is high. It is versatile because you can cast it on your self or others and it is utility, offensive and defensive. The major limitation is that you can not have two uses of it up at the same time - which is not much of a limitation normal rules of one 9th level spell cast per day. (scrolls, etc. can increase this which is why that limitation exists). Also, get used to saying to the DM: "Because I have Advantage on EVERYTHING!"
Second best spell: Wish. Most versatile spell that exists. Can duplicate any spell of 8th or lower level, negating the wizards most common complaint about only preparing so few of their own spells. But the power level is EIGHT, not nine. So it is weaker than any other 9th level spell. This is NOT the mightiest spell you can cast, sorry. While the spell can do other things, the 33% chance of never being able to cast Wish again is nasty. The only time this is worth it is the last session you plan on playing, i.e. one off games. Worse, most of the other things it does is so subject to DM interpretation that it ends up becoming the DM's spell, not yours. Also your strength drops to 3 and you start taking damage from casting other spells. Not worth using on a non-spell effect except as your very last action as that character.
3. Invulnerability: This spell is lots of fun to play. Go swimming in lava, drink the acid, all with a smile. Very powerful, if not that versatile. But it has some significant limitations. You need to concentrate and lots of things can still make your roll a concentration check. It only protects against damage, not conditions, not charm, not death - so hope you have more than 100 hp or Power Word Kill will take you out. It can also be dispelled. But DMs will sometimes overlook this spell so it can solve some puzzles (I dive into the dragons mouth and retrieve the artifact it swallowed, Dim dooring out), as well as keep you alive when facing the big bads.
4. Prismatic Wall. Almost as much fun to play as Invulnerability. Both defensive and offensive because your allies are immune to it. Fun to push your enemies into and out of it. Blocks ranged attacks, line of sight and spells (Indigo layer). One of the best parts about this spell is it takes 8 saves to walk though it and no creature has 8 legendary saves. Very hard to get rid of (antimagic field does not help), it takes 7 spells to get rid of. Your best case a victim is blinded, takes 50d6 damage, restrained, blinded again, then sent to another plane, and finally petrified. But don't count on that. At this level a target is likely to be immune to at least one of five 10d6, and resistant to two of them. Still, they are likely to take significant damage and/or petrification/teleported. So have your alllies take turns pushing/pulling and enjoy!
5. Meteor Swarm: Massive 40d6 damage, even if you save for half that is big! Huge area! Starts fires! But half of it is only fire damage, most common resistant/immunity. And Dex saves are common not to mention Evasion negates that half damage becomes nothing. Power is great, and the ability to design the area of effect grants you a bit of versatility. But the limitations make this only the 5th best spell.
6. True Polymorph. Very versatile spell. Buff your allies, capture your enemies, 'summon' a 9th level ally, even sell a monster, sneak that demon into the church. One of the best ways to deal with hard to kill creatures such as Lichs is to turn them into a painting of themselves. Who wants to spend the time to find their phylactery? Of course you first have to defeat it's legendary saves before you whip this out. Why only #6? Concentration for an hour. Losing mental ability scores. Allies do not WANT to stop being PC's and become creatures whose CR = their level. Legendary saves means this spell takes a while to get used on the big bad. Wisdom saves are common. Does not work on shapechangers (vampires...) Oh and it can be dispelled even when made 'permanent'. By the way would you like to buy this really nice painting of a lich? Makes for a great present.
7. Blade Of Disaster. Most powerful of the Bonus Action attack spells. Two chances to get an 18 or higher and do 12d12 damage, instead of the normal 4d12 for a regular hit. Ignores Walls of Force and similar effects (not Prismatic Wall or Antimagic). But low versatility, its just damage and the enemy can run away faster than it's 30 ft speed. Worst of all it takes your concentration, unlike Crown of Stars which is once per round 4d12, rather than twice with enhanced crit. Concentration and 30 ft speed keep this spell from being among my favorites, but it is fun to send this thing directly through a Wall of Force.
8. Shapechange: A seductively versatile spell. Stealth, deception, utility, defense, offense, it has it all. Changing shapes unlimited times is very fun to play. Power is also good, but it has some nasty hidden limitations that keep this spell out of the top 5. Costs a bit of cash, concentration, limit of an hour, and two worst limitations are HP and form limitations. Yes, the FIRST time you use it you can get a lot of 'free HP'. But every time after that, you cannot gain any hp. So for maximal combat use, you start big and lose HP every time you change form! If you started out as a stealth or deceptive, your free HP are likely to be crap when you have to start fighting. And being a 17th level spell caster chances are you might not want to stop being a caster shape. Worse, artifacts may require you to maintain the general medium sized humanoid form. Is your Staff of Super Mage really going to let you absorb it, even temporarily? The combination of Self only PLUS being an item using caster makes this spell less useful than you think. But it makes a great spell for the DM's big bad to use... This is still a very good spell, but not top five.
8. Psychic Scream. Save or Stun plus 14d6 is powerful. Even on a succeeded save you get half damage. Especially as it is a Intelligence save. And you get upto 10 enemies in 90 ft! But little versatility besides avoiding allies. Head explosions means no worries about death saves. What keeps this spell out of the top five? Legendary saves are common now. Exploding heads does nothing to defeat the high level death protection of lichs, vampies, oEsr even trolls. It really only hurts players. New save every round means that Stun is not going to last. Good spell, not great.
9. Mass Heal: Powerful spell, not versatile Heals damage, disease, blindness and deafness, spread out among all your non-undead, non-construct allies. If one of them needs it, than others should too. Stun and other conditions, you are out of luck. Some people think if you need this spell, you made a mistake. No. The DM is OUT TO GET YOU. If you do not need this spell, then your game is probably boring. But the total lack of offense, the absence of other conditions (not even poison?) and the range of only 60 ft means this spell cannot crack the top 5. Still a good spell.
10. Gate. Great travel, escape, and summon spell. High versatility, high power. Who wouldn't want a souped up version of Plane Shift without having to have a fork designed for the plane and not having to know a teleportation circle on the plane near your desired location? But it has some major limitations. At 17th+ Gods and other planar rulers are a real threat that will keep you out of areas. They are not ignoring you anymore. The DM is fully aware of this spell and it will not work when you really want it to unless the DM says yes. Otherwise, Loth says NO. Also, the spell is clearly states both the leaving plane and the going plane get a 'front' of the portal, which means not only can enemies follow when you leave if they are quick enough but you may be importing something as well. 5,000 gp diamond is a real cost, even at that level. You might have the cash, but can't find one to buy. Finally you are likely going to have to negotiate with your ally. For these limitations, Gate is a good spell, but not in the top 5.
11. True Resurrection. Lucky 11 is still a very good spell, worth considering. Very powerful with almost all the limitations of the lower level resurrection spells gone. Fixes almost anything (not insanity), even undeath. Just has to be willing. But not much versatility. Why isn't this in the top 10? 25,000 gp is a lot of money, even at your level and most of the time a lower level and cheaper spell will get the job done.
12 . Astral Projection. Unfortunately, we have come to the end of the good spells. Astral Projection is Gate's uglier sister. Clerics and Wizards should not get it and Warlocks should think twice about it. Advantages over Gate include costs less, can get you places the God does not want you, and if your intended destination is on the Astral plane you cannot be killed by normal means. Huge weaknesses: It is an hour long spell that leaves your body defenseless (can be killed on your home plane), you can still be dispelled or killed on the Astral plane particularly by Githyanki Supreme Commander, and most importantly if you are sent back your allies cannot 'resurrect' you, they have to go on without you or quit and start again. Minor weaknesses, this is the opposite of instant travel, saving you no game time. It's not a good spell, but not bad.
13. Time Stop. This sounds so good. But it is not. Lets say you roll a 4 and get 5 actions that do not affect anyone but you. Don't want to shoot your hole wad in the first round, so you whip out the 5 scrolls you bought when you learn this spell. Expensive, but you got the cash and you are not going to shoot your entire wad of high level spell slots in one round! You move out of the area of obvious danger, cast Foresight on yourself (hm,should have done that this morning), but no other single action casting, non-concentration, buff 9th level spells, so move to lower level ones: Mind Blank, Programmed Illusion of yourself standing where you were, and True Sight. That leaves one attack spell, lets go with Crown of Stars which you cast and attack that same round. Or you could just have Teleported away (possibly drink some healing potions, a scroll and teleport back.) Time Stop is too expensive, even if you are using magic items rather than spell slots, for what you get. Not a good spell, but not bad.
14. Mass Polymorph. Seductively versatile but weak. You can make the entire party a beasts to sneak around, but they can do so little and have such few hp. Etherealness is usually better, except in rare circumstances. Turning into offensive beings is not worthwhile as they are CR of half your level (T-Rex ad King Kong/Giant Ape). You could save fighters who are low on hp for a few rounds, but just cast Mass Heal. Swimming/flying for an hour? Better options. And this all takes concentration. Only one real use left, transform upto ten enemies into snails, as long as they are not shapeshifters. But legendary saves are common now and it is a Wisdom save, and you only get ten. Not a good spell, not bad.
15. Storm of Vengeance. This spell is for the DM to use against you. It does reasonable damage but spread over 10 rounds over a huge area. If your allies try to fight the bad guys early, they get hit by the spell too. Do not do this to your fighter friends. Just use a better spell. For players, this is a bad spell to use, for DM's it is a good one to use.
16. Power Word Heal. Powerful spell, low versatility and MAJOR limitations. Healing all damage sounds good and cures some real conditions. But you have to touch them. Which likely means you are about to have happen to you what happened to them. If they need that much healing, then chances are other allies will as well. Most of the time there are better options, including Mass Heal. Bards get Magical Secrets - use them. Not a good spell, not a bad one, barely.
17. Imprisonment. The first of the actually bad spells. It has lots of variations all designed to allow specific DM situations but little real differences so no versatility. It takes a minute to cast, gets a save, can be dispelled multiple ways. Compare with just casting True Polymorph, having to concentrate for an hour beats taking a minute to cast. Let the DM play with this spell, you should not learn this bad spell.
18. Power Word KiIl. No versatility, low power. Kills people if their HP are lower than 100, no save, no damage if it is more than 100. It does not warn you of their current hp before casting. Most importantly, it does not prevent any of the many defenses against death. Lichs still come back. Clones come alive. If you can bring them down to 100 hp, you can kill them normally. This bad spell is not worth considering.
Worst 9th level spell: 19. Weird. There are 8th level spells that are better than Weird (Illusory Dragon). Weird is a concentration illusion spell that - on a failed Wisdom save frightens people in a 30 ft radius sphere at the end of every turn, if they are affected by illusions and also affected by fear and also they get another Wisdom save. Failure means 4d10 psychic damage and success means the entire spell ends. Both damage and additional effects are weak. It is not versatile at all - only a specialized attack, and it's limitations are many (Wisdom is a common save, true sight should at least grant advantage, Paladins grant frighten immunity, etc. etc. etc.). Do not learn this spell. Learn any other 9th level spell.
I feel like Prismatic Wall should be higher. Maybe even higher than Wish. It’s just so good, and more importantly so fun!
Time Stop is pointless and honestly shouldn’t even be a ninth-level spell. Even Power Word Kill has more use cases than Time Stop. IMO, the only spell worse than Time Stop is Weird, but at least Weird is interesting.
Power Word Heal is pretty pointless when there are already so many good healing spells. I’d place it below Imprisonment.
Good list, glad someone made something like this!
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I agree prismatic wall should be higher.
I actually prefer true polymorph to foresight, they are simuilar because they are usually best cast on a martial member of the party and in my experiance an adult red dragon is more use to the party than a level 17 fighter with foresight (or an ancient brass dragon when you hit level twenty
I think mass heal has also been underrated, in the majority if boss fights most of the party are low on HP well before the enemy is close to being defeated, raher than wasting actions giving a few hit point to characters as they go unconcious mass heal usually gets everyone back up to full. For me the blue spells are wish, mass heal prismatic wall and true polymorph in that order.
I would put time stop somewhere in the middle, force cage doesn't affact a creature only the area around it, so putting one boss in a force cage (assuming it fits) casting a delayed blast fireball at the mobs casting a major image (at level 6) of you casting a spell while you hide behind a tree and casting dominate monster the other boss (breaking concentration on the delayed fireball) could be a pretty good use for time stop, if you want ot go all out . Not the best 9th level spell by any means but I would probably put it in the 8-10 range.
There are 3 spells I think you have overated.
Invulnerability is OK but nothing like 3rd. Using it out of combat is extremely circumstantial (you can usually fly over the river of laver rather than swim accross and swimming you can't take the rest of the party. Yest you might need to find an item in the middle of the pool of lava but that is very circumstantial. In combat you are greatly weakened if you can not ast any other concentration spell.
There is very little you can do with gate that you can not do with plane shift. If getting tuning forks is likely to be a problem make sure you have wish and cast plane shift using that.
You have also overstated the power of wierd, I know you put it last but you stated "there are 8th level spells better than wierd. I can't think of one 8th level spell worse than wierd. There are 4th level spells are better than wierd (Polymorph). Compare it to 3rd level fear, OK a 30ft spheres anywhere within 120ft is better than a 30ft cone and weird does do a tiny bit of damage is they fail 2 successive Wis saves, but if we are in a confined area I would often prefer fear because thet don't get to reroll the save if they are within 60ft. (Not saying fear is better than weird but it is close enough for weird to be about a 4th level spell)
A lot depends on what you're trying to do. For example, imprisonment is fairly useless as a general purpose spell, but it's the spell of choice for dealing with certain classes of otherwise hard to deal with creatures, because unlike using flesh to stone or true polymorph, it includes a permanent nondetection effect.
I was viewing it as a player when I reach level 17 which spells am I most wanting to learn / put in my spell book / prepare each morning.
As a player I am struggling to think of a situation where I would want to cast imprisonment, unless the story is about a BBEG that can not be killed and can onmy be imprisoned (and even then you need to make VERY sure they fail the save), I can think of a lot of circumstances a DM might use it.
I would say that any creature completely inside a Forcecage is trapped and trapped is affected by the spell. I cannot see Time Stop letting you do that without ending. The rest of your plan involves more use of resources than it is worth. But if your DM allows Forcecage to count, that type of activity can boost Time Stop up to number 12. Borderline worth it. Time Stop is too expensive.
A lot of the other stuff may just be style of play.
I do want to add the Dunamancy spells for the Wildemount players.
4.5 Ravenous Void. Huge range. Huge area of effect. Every round gets another strength save to pull them, do 5d10, and restrain. Destroys non-magic items. Annihilates dead victims - so vampires are gone. Maybe a lich might survive, up to the DM. This spell scares low strength legendary monsters. Just destruction so low versatility. Weaknesses include any teleportation spell more than 100 ft, affects allies, concentration required, and the victims can still attack - they are only restrained. Done properly this spell can be nasty but you and your allies have to stay out of the huge area of effect.
14.5 Time's Ravage. 10d12, save for half and disadvantage on ability, attack and saves, walking speed cut in half. And you need a 9th level spell cast on you within the next 30 days. Just an offensive spell. Damage is poor, penalties are good, but its a Con save for no penalties and half of very poor damage. Throw in Legendary saves and I ask why learn this spell? It is a bad spell for a player. Better for a DM that wants you to role play being decrepit until you get a Greater Restoration upcast to 9th level or a Wish Spell.