As a frequent D&D player, I get into conflicts a lot. AND THE NUMBER ONE SPELL THAT KEEPS KILLING ME IS......Meteor swarm. I think that is does just to much damage and the fact that It requires no Material components is just freaking insane!!
It is a Level 9 spell and is specifically designed to be the most powerful "damaging" spell in D&D. It's not that overpowered for Level 9.
Yes it does a lot of damage but things to consider:
By the time you would encounter or use this you are basically end-game and your adventures are epic quests involving the fate of the world and beyond with battles that shake the world. You will therefore be going against the most powerful spells and should have prepared accordingly.
It has a Dex save and most characters should have considered some Dexterity bonuses as it is the most common save type. Monks and Rogues are not only proficient in these saves but have Evasion which means if they fail it they take only half damage and if they succeed they take no damage at all. Those using shields and the shield master feat basically get the effect of Evasion as well.
It deals bludgeoning and fire damage both of which you can very easily get temporary or permanent resistances for halving the damage dealt by this spell.
The spell is just a spell and can be countered with counterspell or completely negated by antimagic field.
It can only be used once and generally by the time you get to this level to encounter this spell you should have the HP to survive a hit once or twice even if you fail the saving throws.
You can prevent an enemy casting this by using Feeblemind on them.
By this level material components are trivial so the lack of material components is irrelevant.
Although it can only target one (or two if sorcerer with twinned spell) Power Word Kill is technically more efficient at killing you as an enemy could kill you in 1 or 2 turns and no saving throws. Be glad your DM isn't putting your party against a few spellcasters who all have this.
However, if you feel you are encountering this too often and not being given a chance to prepare for a spell like this (and if you were given the chance but were not preparing for it that's your fault not the spell's or DM's) then talk to your DM about it.
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You want an overpowered spell in every way? Wall of Force.
Wall of force is an impenetrable barrier. The only things that can destroy it are disintegrate spells and Antimagic Field. Yup, that's right. It's immune to dispel magic. It also blocks planar travel. Also, in case you say that meter swarm is still more overpowered, let me tell you this; if your party has this spell, and the enemy casts meteor swarm. they can just hole up inside the wall and be protected completely. Also, keep in mind that this is a grickin' fifth level spell. You have a really fun encounter for your players? Bam. Wall of Force, and your players can simply walk away, unharmed. They have done this so many times in Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage, They have had only one fight. And they are on the sixth level out of 23.
It is a Level 9 spell and is specifically designed to be the most powerful "damaging" spell in D&D. It's not that overpowered for Level 9.
Yes it does a lot of damage but things to consider:
By the time you would encounter or use this you are basically end-game and your adventures are epic quests involving the fate of the world and beyond with battles that shake the world. You will therefore be going against the most powerful spells and should have prepared accordingly.
It has a Dex save and most characters should have considered some Dexterity bonuses as it is the most common save type. Monks and Rogues are not only proficient in these saves but have Evasion which means if they fail it they take only half damage and if they succeed they take no damage at all. Those using shields and the shield master feat basically get the effect of Evasion as well.
It deals bludgeoning and fire damage both of which you can very easily get temporary or permanent resistances for halving the damage dealt by this spell.
The spell is just a spell and can be countered with counterspell or completely negated by antimagic field.
It can only be used once and generally by the time you get to this level to encounter this spell you should have the HP to survive a hit once or twice even if you fail the saving throws.
You can prevent an enemy casting this by using Feeblemind on them.
By this level material components are trivial so the lack of material components is irrelevant.
Although it can only target one (or two if sorcerer with twinned spell) Power Word Kill is technically more efficient at killing you as an enemy could kill you in 1 or 2 turns and no saving throws. Be glad your DM isn't putting your party against a few spellcasters who all have this.
However, if you feel you are encountering this too often and not being given a chance to prepare for a spell like this (and if you were given the chance but were not preparing for it that's your fault not the spell's or DM's) then talk to your DM about it.
Just a quick comment ... but at the levels where power word kill would be common it is actually less useful.
If the creature targeted has more than 100 hit points it is unaffected by the spell. Even a level 20 wizard with 14 constitution should have at least 120 hit points at full health. PWK might be effective on later rounds if characters have taken some damage but even then the caster would have to guess whether the target is sufficiently damaged that their hit points have fallen to 100 or less, otherwise it will be a waste of a level 9 spell slot (of which the character/NPC likely only has one).
Meteor swarm on the other hand does an average of 140 damage (70 fire and 70 bludgeoning) to a potentially huge number of targets (4 target areas of each 40' radius). A wizard or sorcerer without absorb elements or something similar to mitigate damage is likely to be reduced to zero hit points. However, a wizard with meteor swarm and a sorcerer using a twinned power word kill could be a very nasty pair of opponents.
Ouch. The Wizard casts Meteor Swarm to soften everyone up and the Sorcerer follows up with twinned Power Word Kill on 2 weakened opponents. That’s just brutal!
I think the most powerful stuff comes with combos. For example, getting a spell caster to cast wall of force and using the boxed form, then getting another to concentrate on cloud kill. Assuming neither concentration is broken, anyone trapped is taking 500d8 damage (varies depending on rolls, and if they succeed on con saves). Not many are walking out of that alive. Plus the wall of force completely blocks the cloudkill from escaping, so you can be safe and sound. You can take it a step further, and cast forcecage, which lasts for a full hour, and doesn’t require concentration. Then you can repeatedly cast AOE spells, like moonbeam, flaming sphere, etc.
Dont overlook the versatility of wish. As RAW Not having to meet ANY requirements means you don’t have to concentrate (please correct me if I’m wrong)
Having access to all spells of 8th level and lower is really significant. For example, if you are a wizard, you cast wish. You decide to use it to emulate the Holy Aura spell. For a minute (10 rounds) you can get some decent affects, no concentration required, and no 1000 gp material component.
I wonder if WotC will ever include spells that don’t require any components. You just will it to happen. I know you can technically do this with subtle spell as a sorcerer, but I still think it would be cool. I’m thinking mage hand, but the hand is invisible, and it requires no components. Then it would truly be telekinesis. Although there is already a spell for that...
I wonder if WotC will ever include spells that don’t require any components. You just will it to happen. I know you can technically do this with subtle spell as a sorcerer, but I still think it would be cool. I’m thinking mage hand, but the hand is invisible, and it requires no components. Then it would truly be telekinesis. Although there is already a spell for that...
Any Gith character has that power, and a Gith Arcane Trickster can get up to even more mischief. Several other monster races possess Psionics (component-free spells) but it is not widely available for PCs. I feel like it could make a decent Sorcerer subclass.
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As a frequent D&D player, I get into conflicts a lot. AND THE NUMBER ONE SPELL THAT KEEPS KILLING ME IS......Meteor swarm. I think that is does just to much damage and the fact that It requires no Material components is just freaking insane!!
Elliott Neve
It is a Level 9 spell and is specifically designed to be the most powerful "damaging" spell in D&D. It's not that overpowered for Level 9.
Yes it does a lot of damage but things to consider:
However, if you feel you are encountering this too often and not being given a chance to prepare for a spell like this (and if you were given the chance but were not preparing for it that's your fault not the spell's or DM's) then talk to your DM about it.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
You want an overpowered spell in every way? Wall of Force.
Wall of force is an impenetrable barrier. The only things that can destroy it are disintegrate spells and Antimagic Field. Yup, that's right. It's immune to dispel magic. It also blocks planar travel. Also, in case you say that meter swarm is still more overpowered, let me tell you this; if your party has this spell, and the enemy casts meteor swarm. they can just hole up inside the wall and be protected completely. Also, keep in mind that this is a grickin' fifth level spell. You have a really fun encounter for your players? Bam. Wall of Force, and your players can simply walk away, unharmed. They have done this so many times in Waterdeep Dungeon of the Mad Mage, They have had only one fight. And they are on the sixth level out of 23.
Plz remove this spell in 6th edition, Wizards!
Just a quick comment ... but at the levels where power word kill would be common it is actually less useful.
If the creature targeted has more than 100 hit points it is unaffected by the spell. Even a level 20 wizard with 14 constitution should have at least 120 hit points at full health. PWK might be effective on later rounds if characters have taken some damage but even then the caster would have to guess whether the target is sufficiently damaged that their hit points have fallen to 100 or less, otherwise it will be a waste of a level 9 spell slot (of which the character/NPC likely only has one).
Meteor swarm on the other hand does an average of 140 damage (70 fire and 70 bludgeoning) to a potentially huge number of targets (4 target areas of each 40' radius). A wizard or sorcerer without absorb elements or something similar to mitigate damage is likely to be reduced to zero hit points. However, a wizard with meteor swarm and a sorcerer using a twinned power word kill could be a very nasty pair of opponents.
Ouch. The Wizard casts Meteor Swarm to soften everyone up and the Sorcerer follows up with twinned Power Word Kill on 2 weakened opponents. That’s just brutal!
Professional computer geek
I think the most powerful stuff comes with combos. For example, getting a spell caster to cast wall of force and using the boxed form, then getting another to concentrate on cloud kill. Assuming neither concentration is broken, anyone trapped is taking 500d8 damage (varies depending on rolls, and if they succeed on con saves). Not many are walking out of that alive. Plus the wall of force completely blocks the cloudkill from escaping, so you can be safe and sound. You can take it a step further, and cast forcecage, which lasts for a full hour, and doesn’t require concentration. Then you can repeatedly cast AOE spells, like moonbeam, flaming sphere, etc.
Dont overlook the versatility of wish. As RAW Not having to meet ANY requirements means you don’t have to concentrate (please correct me if I’m wrong)
Having access to all spells of 8th level and lower is really significant. For example, if you are a wizard, you cast wish. You decide to use it to emulate the Holy Aura spell. For a minute (10 rounds) you can get some decent affects, no concentration required, and no 1000 gp material component.
I wonder if WotC will ever include spells that don’t require any components. You just will it to happen. I know you can technically do this with subtle spell as a sorcerer, but I still think it would be cool. I’m thinking mage hand, but the hand is invisible, and it requires no components. Then it would truly be telekinesis. Although there is already a spell for that...
Any Gith character has that power, and a Gith Arcane Trickster can get up to even more mischief. Several other monster races possess Psionics (component-free spells) but it is not widely available for PCs. I feel like it could make a decent Sorcerer subclass.