Shining Smite

No longer works with Ranged Weapon Attacks like Branding Smite did :(

Quote from Piffinatour >>

No longer works with Ranged Weapon Attacks like Branding Smite did :(

 Yeah they really went hard on "Smites are for Melee" and didn't provide much for ranged weapon users.

Bright instead of dim light, and advantage - cool!

Branding Smite  *   Legacy This doesn't reflect the latest rules and lore. Learn More Basic Rules, pg. 219

Link to the legacy version of this spell

* Spell was renamed from Branding Smite into Shining Smite.

Quote from Piffinatour >>

No longer works with Ranged Weapon Attacks like Branding Smite did :(

Yes, but unless I’m mistaken (and I checked the 2024 rules glossary to try and make sure), you can still use it with melee weapons with the Thrown property when making a ranged attack.

Quote from Myastan_Torinn >>

Quote from Piffinatour >>

No longer works with Ranged Weapon Attacks like Branding Smite did :(

Yes, but unless I’m mistaken (and I checked the 2024 rules glossary to try and make sure), you can still use it with melee weapons with the Thrown property when making a ranged attack.

Yes, you can use this with any melee weapon you throw. The only requirements are:

"Immediately after hitting a creature with a Melee weapon or an Unarmed Strike."

Your DM would really have to jump through hoops to tell you why a longsword or dagger isn't a Melee weapon if thrown.

This is why you "Throw" fists.

I saw a ranking that had this as the worst 2024 smite spell. Do others agree? I just used it in two Rime of the Frostmaiden boss fights and it absolutely ruled. No saving throw and the entire party gets advantage on all attacks as long as I can hold concentration? How is that not OP?

Quote from LosMonstruos >>

I saw a ranking that had this as the worst 2024 smite spell. Do others agree? I just used it in two Rime of the Frostmaiden boss fights and it absolutely ruled. No saving throw and the entire party gets advantage on all attacks as long as I can hold concentration? How is that not OP?

I mean, if you want a serious answer, it's not overpowered because you don't get access to it until level 5 and (unlike almost all the other 2024 smite spells) you have to concentrate on it to keep its ongoing effect running

I don't really have an opinion on where it ranks against the other smite spells — obviously some spell has to be last — but I certainly wouldn't call it overpowered.

Yeah, being unable to throw up a Shield of Faith or whatever is certainly a downside. And there are plenty of other sources of advantage -- though I'm not sure how many give the whole party advantage with no saving throw to avoid/shake it. 

Advantage on all attack rolls against a creature for up to a minute with no save. From a 2nd Level spell. As a Bonus Action.
This is excellent value.

Quote from LosMonstruos >>

Yeah, being unable to throw up a Shield of Faith or whatever is certainly a downside. And there are plenty of other sources of advantage -- though I'm not sure how many give the whole party advantage with no saving throw to avoid/shake it. 

Having played with all of the smites, this one is the most restrictive one due to Concentration and it loses its edge in an optimized party where PC that want advantage already have a way to do that. I agree that it is the weakest overall and 2nd weakest for its level after Banishing Smite (too many loops to jump through and you get it way to late).

It also has the niche of creating bright light on a target which can hamper down some shadow themed monsters or PC-based opponents (like Gloomstalker Rangers or Shadow Sorcerers), or that rely on invisibility and hiding during combat.

That being is said, it's still a 3/5 spell. So still good and definitely better for new players who don't know how to get reliable advantage. Or veteran players that have a specific concept in mind and don't want to sacrifice that for optimization. Other Smites are simply less restrictive (non Concentration) and have a rider effect that is stronger, easier to benefit from, or isn't easy to dublicate using other spells or abilities.