Level
Cantrip
Casting Time
1 Action
Range/Area
30 ft
Components
S
Duration
Concentration
1 Round
School
Divination
Attack/Save
None
Damage/Effect
Foreknowledge
You point a finger at a target in range. Your magic grants you a brief insight into the target's defenses. On your next turn, you gain advantage on your first attack roll against the target, provided that this spell hasn't ended.
This spell needs some rebalancing. The only use for this spell is to set up advantage for big spells that you can only cast a few times in combat. And even then it requires the spell to have an attack roll, of which there aren't many. Needs to also give disadvantage on saves to open up some more utility for it.
I honestly feel like the only time that True Strike is useful is if you are multiclassing as a rogue and you want that sneak attack damage
Personally, I think the spell would work better if, instead of giving you advantage, it grants you an automatic, non-critical, hit. Everything else about the spell remains. It still uses an action, still need to maintain concentration until the next turn, and can still only be used on the first attack of that next turn.
Pair with Green Flame Blade and Shillelagh on a warlock... This is basically a big middle finger to anything in Melee range. Note you need pact of the tome to do this.
So there I was, dangling from a rope in a 10' wide shaft. The rest of the party had been attacking the Oni for a while. Finally, the Oni had had enough. He decided to use Gaseous form and escape down the shaft. Unfortunately for him, I had gotten a glimpse of him and managed to cast True Strike. I remember smirking when moments before I used my battle-caster training to maintain my one-handed grip on the rope and cast the spell as I dangled there. As the Oni's gaseous form drifted past I used my quick reactions to cast Chromatic Orb. The diamond in my crystal ring flared as the acid ripped into the Oni's gaseous form. He didn't even have a chance to cry out as his body plummeted down into the shaft.
True Strike + Chromatic Orb at 2nd level which gave me an advantage on the reaction attack roll granted by being a battle-mage. Yes, it can be situational. But, it can be a fairly deadly tool in a wizard's arsenal.
RAW that didn't work. Your attack did not happen on your next turn. The spell only works on your next turn. a reaction isn't your next turn. A reaction is something you can do until your next turn begins again. This spell really is not great and so minutely situational that I have actively told my players to not bother with it.
Literally the only decent use I can think of this is combining it with Elven Accuracy and the Bolts From The Grave ability for the UA rogue subclass "The Revived". You can cast true strike, and then use cunning action on your next turn to get three chances to hit/crit on the next round.
And even then, I'd argue that it's highly sub-optimal. Not only does it lock in who your target is the round before (perhaps giving them a chance to negate your ability to attack them), but you also have to make it to the next round holding concentration (and perhaps deliberately making you a target due to that), or you just blew almost that entire round.
The Revived as it stands now is such a niche class in how it operates that even in this scenario, that's still not a reason to use it. You'd be far better off using your bonus action attack to sneak attack that round, holding your attack to sneak attack on a reaction trigger in the intervening space before your next round to apply sneak attack damage twice rather than crit-fishing with one. The only time it would even hedge into the optimal is with something that has such high AC that you would be unlikely to ever hit it, otherwise.
Why?
RAW this wouldn't gave worked. The spell specifies "on your next turn," which a reaction is not.
If I read the guy right - he cast True Sight in the prior round, and his reaction would apply.
It has nothing to do with the round. The oni was moving on its turn. The wizard can only apply this cantrip on his or her own next turn. It's a very limited cantrip. There are ways to make it work acceptably, but it's not great.
I'm actually agreeing with him. The spell is divination. A blind (or blinded) wizard could cast this spell. The spell grants foreknowledge of the targets defenses. Given it requires no attack role nor save, it simply takes effect. It's similar to the cantrip Message (You point your finger toward a creature within range and whisper a message.) but with less range and fewer restrictions.
Based on the wording and features, you could cast this from full cover, behind a wall, from inside a Darkness spell, or over your shoulder while looking the other way.
The same would be true of a Fighter throwing hand-axes over his shoulder while facing (and looking) away from his target. He can't see the enemy, but can target it within range. Ordinance would work the same way.
Nope.
- The effect only works on "your first attack roll against the target"
- Even then, the effect only works "On your next turn"
- The spell takes an Action to cast; why not instead swing both this turn and next for two attacks, and effectively have advantage anyway? (And if you have Extra Attack, you lose out even more by using the spell instead of just attacking.)
There's really no way to salvage this spell as-is. It's just terrible.
Feels like a solid setup spell for when the talking turns into fighting, considering only the somatic component. Or have the drop on a group/encounter, and the first round is when you say it is...
This spell really shines with an Eldritch Knight because it lets you set up an attack with advantage, while still attacking during your turn if you have War Magic. It gives your DM incentive to attack your armored fighter and break your concentration.
-INSTEAD of the squishier members of your party. If they don't break your concentration, then you have advantage to attack with a Cantrip next turn, and follow up with a normal attack from War Magic, again.
This spell is great for when you are negotiating or parleying, and the situation is beginning to escalate and will likely become violent, and you are preparing to strike first. After a round has passed- six seconds in game, the spell becomes active. The only component of the spell is somatic, so you can likely subtly point to your target and get ready to fight depending on what your DM rules. It is a great spell to cast as a held action, which lets you use this as a reaction, because it does not gamble a spell slot. The target of this spell can be an inanimate object, which is really great when you want advantage to break through a wall or a safe, or manacles restraining someone else.
From a mechanics-perspective, this spell really shines with the Eldritch Knight Fighter. A lot of "bad" cantrips become very good if you can follow-up with a weapon attack as a bonus action on the same turn using the War Magic feature. Doing so lets you set up an attack at advantage with your weapons or attack-roll spells. It's kind of a fun tactical spell that punishes your enemy for going after squisher members of your party with less AC.
You MUST designate the target by pointing at it. If you point at the empty space of wall in the dark cave instead of the basilisk, then you have advantage to attack the wall because that is what you are pointing at. Also, this spell will give you advantage to destroy an object in range.
It is a great held action for a caster because it doesn't gamble a spell slot. Also because am an Eldritch Knight fanboy, War Magic!
There are a few people here saying that this spell would be useful for ensuring that big spells hit.
Assuming that a "big spell" is something 3rd level or higher, there are only 6 spells with attack rolls that that would help with. These are all of the spells where the spellcaster makes an attack roll of one of the classes that can cast True Strike:
3rd Level: Vampiric Touch
4th Level: Storm Sphere
5th Level: Steel Wind Strike, Wall of Light
7th Level: Crown of Stars, Mordenkainen's Sword
If you want to be really generous and say that 1st and 2nd level spells are "big spells" that adds a few more.
1st Level: Chaos Bolt, Chromatic Orb, Ice Knife, Jim's Magic Missile, Ray of Sickness, Witch Bolt.
2nd Level: Acid Arrow, Melf's Acid Arrow, Ray of Enfeeblement, Scorching Ray.
If you're a low enough level for these to be game-changers, you don't have enough cantrip spots to justify taking this one. If you're high level enough to have enough cantrip spots, you won't have enough "big spells" that it can be used with to justify it over other cantrips. If you plan on using it with a cantrip, you run into the same problem as using this with attack rolls: Why not just cast the cantrip twice?
Based on the very low number of spells with an actual attack roll, I'd say this cantrip's niche usage makes pretty much any other cantrip (aside from Friends, maybe) more useful. I am unconvinced by the attack-roll-big-spell argument.
Forgot to quote