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The best Level 2 spell in the game is Magic Mouth. Why? Because you can have the pulpit shout *"FUCK GOD!!!"* whenever the high priest walks up, to give his sermon. That's what you get for kicking me out, for being a dirty Tiefling, Father McGreiber. >:3
Edit: Sorry I did not notice aid in the video 😅, and I overridden the content (thanks youtube) of this comment by mistake with a "B", anyway restcasting aid it's op, don't forget to do it it scales wonderfully with levels
Tasha's Mind whip with a LV10 Enchantment wizards 'split enchantment' is insane let alone when you can do it LV18 signature spell to cast it infinitely. Mind whip as a 2 target cantrip at lv18 is very powerful!
A magic mouth can be set to either say “yes” or “no” based on input. This makes it a single binary “bit”. Put 8 of them together and you have an 8-Bit processor. Ergo with enough castings of Magic Mouth, Dnd 5e can run DOOM
@@jessie-buns839 In theory you could make this faster and more efficient by having them communicate with longer numbers in Hexadecimal, or by replacing one and zero with faster words like I and a.
Honorable mention to Dragon's breath. Nothing beats a flying familiar that strafes the battlefield breathing fire - unless it's your warhorse that spews poison or lightning to destroy your foes....
I once strafed around a ghost with a silver knuckleduster while the sorcerer's dog kept spitting acid onto it. That was great, especially when the dog died and turned into an old man.
Thats a hilariously great way of using locate object as a way to track creatures Although the DM can also make you accidently track a similar object but it will be funny if you accidently found a plot by using Locate Object specificly to track a item belonging to the creature
@@Tupadre97 "The spell can locate a specific object known to you, as long as you have seen it up close-within 30 feet-at least once." So long as there is something distinctive about Jim's hat, and you have seen it up close, then it works. Of course, as Reno said, maybe Jim lost his hat gambling in a bar with a bandit captain last night...
Scratch tally marks into your arrowheads, pop one into someone, and use them as a tracking dart with that spell. How many people mark their arrows like that? Probably nobody within 1000 feet of you. They can be less lethal, too; reverse pickpocket your signet ring into the pocket of someone you need to tail, or make a mark on their coat with prestidigitation, and then track "a coat with [your prestidigitation mark] on it".
A spell I haven't really seen anyone talking about yet is a new one called Vortex Warp. Being able to teleport another creature at low level like that is obsurdly strong.
And the range is amazing for combat scenarios and kidnappings, anywhere within 90 feet of you to anywhere else within 90 feet of you. You can't drop people off cliffs, at least not with Vortex Warp alone, but you can put them in traps, hazards, and prisons, get them out of those places, send your barbarian for a chat with the wizard in the back line, bring the wizard in the back line for a chat with your whole party (from beyond counterspell range, no less), etc. The versatility is amazing.
Had a party member snag the red wizard and put her right smack in the middle of the party… she lasted less than 1 round from the time she was “invited”
@@sethb3090 In a pirate campaign I'm playing rn I've been using it to just take the helmsman on an enemy ship and warp them into the sea. Very effective.
@@sethb3090 My favorite trick was during the frequent chase scenes in our campaign, our Artificer/Rogue would BA dash and movement to get 80ft, then teleport our Rogue or Fighter 90ft past him. We also frequently setup "blenders" using AoE spells and teleporting people into them.
@@alezvolta And as a reminder Being invinsible still make you trackable with smell and noise While Pass Without Trace disable ANY tracking method except Magical Method and im guessing True Sight aswell
My pet theory is that PWT is OP because bad stealth can stymie an adventure from progressing. If the good guys can’t get past the first guard tower you’re going to be in for a very long night…
I'm quite fond of Mirror Image, because it doesn't JUST give a chance of enemies attacking one of your mirror images, it actively discourages them from even trying to attack you if they don't feel like playing the "guessing game" when there are other targets available......although I suppose that's kind of DM dependent.
You know ending up the unfortunate wizard tank in a game... Cause the rogue hides and the bard always runs cause he doesn't have any AC... Mirror image, sanctuary (via artificer dip) and the dodge action combo has been so useful in not unaliving us... If the DM doesn't target you with attack rolls though it can be a waste of a slot. So it's far better at lower levels when saving throw abilities aren't the main offense enemies have
Up until very recently my Hexblade was kind of THE frontliner in our party and I got sooooo much mileage out of this spell. It's too bad it doesn't get any upcasting benefits from Pact Magic's auto upcasting but I still found it to be an incredibly useful spell that tanked a LOT of hits over about 10 months of playing that character.
"Nystul's Magic Aura. This is a curse spell. Let's not talk about this spell." I've done some absolutely insane things with that spell, and it delighted me to no end. One of my all-time favorites.
I am surprised heat metal wasn't on the list. Either disarm a foe or trap them in continuous damage that also gives continuous disadvantage on attacks/abilities. Since the save is irrelevant for armor it seems like a great addition. I suppose the downside is its situational to the type of enemy you are fighting since monsters are unlikely to have metal, whereas humanoids almost undoubtedly do.
Agreed. Heat metal is amazing. Had Grappler Bard that focused on disabling opponents. Grapple the casters with a save they can't hope to make; bake the armored brutes with no save available. It is much less useful against non-humanoids as they rarely have metal objects on them, but you can always attempt to imbed a metal spike in the dragon's hide and target that instead. Affixing metal collars, cuffs, and chains work well too. I also had a chain net custom ordered from a black smith for higher break DC and combo potential.
It is potentially the most evil spell in the game. Had a druid cast it on a pirates shiny gold tooth once, another druid cast it on a guys Texas style belt buckle(big and complex to take off), the final druid once cast it on plate mail, then wild shaped into a mouse and ran into a mouse hole gaining total cover.
I mean.. The common solution is to embed metal into them right? Our bard usually just fired metal corals from a crossbow or threw knives with the special intention of them getting stuck in there.
I once used heat metal on our Paladins sword This was after I gave the player very high-grade Heavy leather gloves meant for smithing that was simply then used as a liner for a metal gauntlet are DM literally just considered it a flame tongue for the duration
Another big deal about Find Steed is that it is described as “loyal” and you can mentally communicate with it which means that you can have the steed act as an Independent Mount without missing out on any control. This allows you to have the horse use a help action or shove instead of just doing the basic moves
loyal doesnt mean trained, in most cases it may understand but doesnt mean the new command will be used. then again thats up tot he DM of the game. just pointing out, you can speak sit or menatlly say sit, but unless its been trained to know that command means sit down itll just look at you funny haha and understand language doesnt mean understand the command, simply that it knows the words you are saying...
@@CrashCraftLabs seems like a bit of a niche ruling, especially since the steed is always the same and it has very good intelligence so you could easily teach it beforehand. I could however see this point being brought up with a new steed however
@@crystallxix1493 if you have the time to train one yes, which i would assume the training time for it would be far less with this kinda of mount then one gotten from a shop. since it can literally understand language im so it shouldnt take long at all, but there are no set rules for training an animal just languages ibelieve so i would as a DM use those rules as abasis to judge how long exactly.
@@crystallxix1493 true, just remember, stat blocks are raw as well so if the DM has not pre approved it, then its best to stick to what the stat block says they can do
Suggestion should have been mentionned in my opinion. Really usefull spell in and out of combat, especially given how non-restrictive the limitations are (might vary from DM to DM).
@@sidecharacter7165 To elaborate further, enhance ability is not crazy strong, but is applicable to a lot of situations, making it a really good utility spell. Kobold once said (in his crit build video) that Hold Person is considered "sub optimal", and I don't get why. Sure it only affects humanoid and is single target, but in the right fight, you can kill a boss in one turn with all the crits your party will inflict. Furthermore, you can upcast it to affect more creatures, making it a really good 3rd or 4th level spell.
@@trebmal587 Hold Person does Paralysis(Auto-Melee Crit for Rogue & Paladin) on people and does non-lethal capture option too. Enchanter Wizards get the ability to dual-cast it without upcasting later too. It is and has always been a really nasty spell, especially against Barbarians or Fighters with that save type.
For aid: you cant be under the effect of the same spell twice, so if you cast it at the start of the day, remember that you wont be able to further heal the same allies using aid again Edit : ignore me! most recent casting takes priority
In duration, not necessarily effect. Definitely ask your DM before assuming casting on another target will give the hit points again. Synaptic Static has a similar instantaneous effect backed by a lasting, non-concentration effect. So I think you are right, but definitely be careful.
R.I.P. Enlarge/Reduce. That spell is great as a party buff in early parties with a monk or grapple build. But its real power comes from interacting with objects. Shrinking a locked door so it simply falls off its hinges is a start. Shrink a boulder for your barbarian/fighter to throw at a wall, then drop concentration on shrink and instead enlarge it to do easy siege damage. Enlarge animal cages and toss an enemy in to then drop concentration so the cages shrink and trap the target inside. My favorite is the classic 'spell book on a podium being read for a dark ritual' because good luck reading that text at half its size you cultist jackass.
If your DM is a physics nerd, then using that spell for enlarging thrown objects would not work cuz the momentum is the same. If you wanna get some real good mileage with launched objects, you should be dropping small rocks far above and then enlarging it cuz gravity is a constant force being applied to the rock. Another method is to enlarge an object that falls within the weight limits of an upcasted Catapult. Cast Catapult on the enlarged object and then drop concentration to make your large projectile fly like a bullet.
@@zsDUGGZ Enlarge/Reduce also alters the weight of its target by a factor of 8 so momentum is definitely affected. If not for that then you would totally be correct on ahrinking the object being the move.
Eldritch Knight level 8 with Tavern Brawler and taking Enlarge/reduce as their out-of-school spell. Now everything is an improvised weapon with tavern brawler..enlarge yourself and weapon bond with your favourite tavern table, summon it at will. Picnics for long rests and amazing cover in every battle, until it get burnt or whittled down. That sarcophagus/coffin/iron maiden is a thought away, grapple, summon, pop them in, shut the lid. That old manky giants head you decapitated 3 levels ago is aging poorly, but it's still a suitable club and boulder...
@@admcleo if I understand it correctly any interpretation is wrong/right. Since you create mass instantly all formulas/concepts/principles usually used are not applicable anymore so whether the momentum stays the same or not is completely up to the DM(physics cannot answer a question that is fundamentally impossible. It ends up being a case of "unstoppable force vs immovable object")
To add to the buff for the front liners: It works really well on a paladin because it efficiently gives them more squares their aura of protection (and aura spells) covers, and has good synergies with feats like crusher for pushing huge creatures or PAM with the d4 being added to the bonus action and reaction attack. It is also just very useful for spacial control, allowing for doorway dodging and path blocking with even larger doorways. I really love the spell since it is so good for both creative and team play.
Another good spell of second level: Misty Step It's not doing much of you proactively, but it's an incredible defensive tool to escape grapples, control effects, walls of force and the like while still leaving your action option to attack, dodge or dash. However, in modules where many enemies are melee and there's a strong lack of severe environmental obstacles, it loses a lot of value.
Misty Step comboing with Web is incredible. Has kept me alive in CoS even when the other two players randomly decide that I should now be a wizard tank. Thankfully they realize that is not optimal shortly after. Usually....
Ya. I'd rather have Spike Growth than Web, imo. Web has too many ways to get rid of its secondary condition. From passing a save, burning it, or passing an ability check. Restrained is great, but it's situational enough that it isn't as good as spike growth which gives damage every move and difficult terrain.
Another good spell at this level: spiritual weapon. An extra bit of damage every turn for the cost of a bonus action. Very good especially if you i get it on a class that doesn't use it's bonus action to much
Pairs very well on a 5 cleric/ 3 ranger. It works with the swarm keeper, and when paired with spirit guardians you can pull people into the AOE using it and thorn whip. DC is also higher because you’d be more focused on wisdom then a normal ranger would. Don’t know if it’s optimal but it’s still useful for battlefield control
Misty Step has to be at least an honorable mention spell, no? It's incredibly versatile and a must pick for almost every single class that has access to it. It's good for melee and ranged builds and for sturdy or squishy characters, and it's useful outside of combat too. Spiritual Weapon is another one that's kind of weird to be missing... Your list is interesting though, and I think it's cool that different players value different things!
I'd like to see more of these tbh. Especially for first level. I'll just ask to talk about ones besides the very obvious ones like shield, mage armor, and find familiar. Like fearie fire and distort value. Like, distort value on some expensive armor you want and now they'll probably give it to you far cheaper.
"You cast this spell on an object no more than 1 foot on a side" Not going to work on armour. And it has a verbal component while you are touching the object, so you are very likely to be observed casting a spell inside the shop. I think a stranger casting a spell in front of someone unannounced is about as aggressive a move as suddenly drawing your sword on them. The moment anyone tries that, it's probably time to roll initiative. However, subtle spell, or using a familiar to cast touch spells from a distance, or a million other options are still available.
To be fair, this is one of those examples of how English spelling and pronunciation is a garbage fire. I feel for anyone who has to actually *learn* it.
@@bonthebunnycat667 As someone learning Spanish, I am constantly impressed by how sensible the spelling is! It’s definitely made me more aware of English’s shortcomings. (But not having gendered nouns is a plus.)
I don't think English is his first language. He also says "respectably" instead of "respectively" in regards to indicating two separate things in an order already said ex "Nancy and Sid's grades were A and B respectively"
Surprised that Suggestion wasn’t mentioned at all. It can quite literally be used to end any fight and gain easy followers due to how liberal the limits are
I added a fossile hunting mechanic to my campaign in which you could use fossils to create magic items to get a discount on those magic items in the store, everything went fine until my druid got a paleontology book and started using locate object to sistematically find at least one new magic item in every area the party travelled.
Aaah, Phantasmal Force. By far one of my favorite spells that isn't already on the Warlock spell list (even though it totally should be by default...oh well.) I've only managed to play around with this spell once when one of my players DMed a quest for the party and I got to be one of the players. (I was a GOOlock). Because it was set in my campaign we agreed to stick with my rules. The way I interpret illusions (in particular Phantasmal force) is to simply go by the spell's description. The spell basically forces a creature to believe it is real. It even has external stimuli (Such as heat, perhaps metaphysicality so it even feels solid). I love that it's an intelligence saving throw since it basically forces a creature to abandon rational thought when the illusion appears, their brain is still utterly convinced that the illusion is real. I used the spell once during the quest to convince a Lizardfolk Druid to grant us basically everything we need by causing an illusory image of his god to appear in front of it, which subsequently would "burn" him when he attempted to touch the illusion. The illusory god/angel thing told him to give us what we wanted (Using my GOOlock's telepathy), and since he was completely convinced it was real, he did just that. Great spell, 10/10 one of my favorites.
Tasha's mind whip is extra good for the upcasting being excellent and basically doubling it's effectivnees for builds that have dipped other classes. I also think flaming sphere is pretty good. Sometimes you simply need to do damage above everything else and flaming sphere is great for that.
I am genuinely curious about Nystul's Magic Aura... What about it? I guess it's niche and could be used to pass as simple adventurers in a crowd and not be beacon of light under detect magic... Why is it a curse?
Some of my favorite level 2 spells: Spiritual weapon. Not amazing damage, but not resisted, doesn't require concentration, and probably wasn't anything better to do with your BA anyway. Dragon's breath. Amazing to cast on a familiar, but an animal companion or friendly NPC is good too. Increases target's DPR and is a repeatable AOE. Invisibility. Amazing for scouting monster infested areas, spying, etc. Kind of a waste in combat unless cast on someone concentrating on an important spell. Misty step. It is a BA dash, disengage, and ignores terrain/obstacles. The best panic button for a caster in melee and potentially useful in exploration.
Late to comment, but I really like this kinda video. Individual spell videos are great because they teach me new things about spells or can help me see them in a new light, but these kind of videos give me spells and tactics to look up and do my own research on and can make me think about stuff I only gave a glancing look at previously.
While the costly component is painful I'll always love Chromatic Orb for how much it can help subclasses like Dragon Sorcerer & Scribe Wizards at earlier levels.
only costly upfront, it deosnt say its consumed in the casting as most components are not, AND sinces its round it can also be an arcane focus, no rule i found that states what an "orb" can be made out of haha
I was getting worried when you got as far as honorable mentions without having mentioned Pass Without Trace. The spell is just bonkers. +10 stealth for a whole party for an hour lets you set up ambushes, scout, and even ignore entire encounters effortlessly.
The bad thing about Rope Trick is that you have to actually climb the rope. Many wizards are not strong in athleticism, and a 60 foot long rope simply means multiple rounds of climbing.
About Phantasmal Force, while I agree that they won't be able to doubt the illusion without outside help, they will just walk out of of an iron maiden while trying to push against it since it's not really there. Running to break in a door while a door is not there will absolutely put you over the exit point. They will rationalize walking out as the door opening for them. Thus, an optimal use for Phantasmal Force is summoning a monster. The enemy can attack the monster all they like and rationalize that the monster is dodging their attacks. Also, since they believe the creature is there, they would be hesitant to grant it opportunity attacks (even if it can't make them), so it impacts their mobility. Meanwhile the creature will damage the target by attacking, which is how the psychic damage is dealt.
Iron Maidens are essentially giant coffins lined with spikes. Someone who believes they are inside one is not going to try and push through it without a very good reason, and even then they'll take damage.
DMs never allow ropetrick during combat in general. I have never seen anyone allow people to use it as a bunker to shoot out of or similar. Once it happens once it is banned or nerfed or just prevented before it even happens. Out of combat it is crazy powerful and when a patrol is coming you could easily just hop in and dissapear for example. The mamount of applications is crazy and shortresting has never beeneasier. But I suggest to ban (ab)use during combat.
Locate object is amazing! We once used it to find our rogue who got kidnapped by looking for her unique magic daggers. Obviously not splitting the party would have been better but it helped us correct that mistake!
A few more that def deserve honorable mentions: Hold person (and the whole hold/dominate line) because giving paralysis which gives Crits is insane Mirror image, which is fantastic for spellcaster survivability Blink, see above. Spiritual Weapon: the spell that makes Clerics one of the only classes to start doing more than one attack before the mele classes (Monk exempted), and also the spell that keeps them more than viable in combat at higher levels
Phantasmal force is the best spell, you can create a big cube that is only visible to the target so the entire party can attack it while fully obscured. Tho I don't think restraining effects would work (there is Mental Prison for that), as the creature can go through the wall in some way and it will surely try to do so, for example minor touch to the iron maiden would appear to be open or I guess those flames arent actually hot for some reason, weird but the spell makes you rationalize even stuff like 2+2=5. Making non-closed walls are also good to waste enemy movement and give you free opportunity attacks.
Getting increasingly devalued by the Elves teleportation! :( I agree Misty Step is good, but after playing the new Elves it is so difficult to give up casting a leveled spell with your action while still teleporting as a bonus action.
I like hearing your thoughts on features and spells in general. Both in a vacuum and when considering the classes that get access and different levels of play. For instance, rangers get access to spike growth and is one of the few battlefield control spells they can cast, which means it has a lot of value on a ranger, likewise confusion can be good at high level play or when you know you are facing stuff immune to charm / fear. Ty for the videos.
Invisibility should definitely be on this list. Literally saying “F YOU” to anything that can’t perceive invisible creatures. Another great one is Dragon’s Breath. Give that to Find Familiar and it can make a breath weapon attack without actually attacking.
My personal favorite is heat metal, disadvantage without a save and if it’s armor it’s till the end of combat/concentration, on a weapon and they drop it then they no longer have a weapon to hit with. Sadly it requires metal on them.
The amount of use Locate Object saw in the low-level portion of Dragon Heist, where you're searching for a specific lost object on an enemy moving through a sewer? If I remember correctly they even had good Stealth but the fact that they were holding the thing I was looking for screwed up their ability to hide from the party. It's really good. "Locate an Object" is a WHOLE CATEGORY OF QUEST. Being able to cast a single 2-level spell to solve a whole kind of quest (if the object is in the gigantic range, granted) is outstanding.
I was so confused for a while as I tried to find out what you meant by 'leed' containers, then I realised that you meant lead containers. Ahhh the joys of English
Mind whip is underrated here. I'll agree with the placement only because it's only super strong when upcast. It can do what web does, but much more permanent when failed.
Awesome video! I'd love to see more of your opinions on different spells and rate them for different categories like roleplay, effectiveness in combat, versatility, fun, etc.
I like this format of videos. Expanding your content variety is optimal. Now we need 3rd and 9th level spell lists too. Just for the comments argument when everyone disagrees with how you rank Fireball and Wish.
Missed Immovable object. It works on worn and held items as well, and can be used on even simple rocks and such to stop giant monsters by putting the rock in their throat
Finding a Lead container would actually be really useful, since otherwise trying to locate the nearest magic item would just point you to your own inventory. But if you place your current magic items in a lead container, then the spell ignores them and finds the next nearest item instead.
Great spells over all. I was surprised by some like Rope trick and Rim´s Binding Ice and I am glad because now I will use them more. Personally I really like a weird spell called Wither and Bloom. It might not be that crazy powerful but its very unique, because it both deals damage and heals people, so it´s the perfect compromise between wanting to deal damage and party members needing some extra healing.
I love Wither and Bloom, especially if you can get some kind of healing or damage boost on it. Speaking of Strixhaven spells, Vortex Warp is also a ton of fun, and can instantly change the course of a combat.
Rope Trick is not nearly as good as Kobold makes it out to be. He reads way too much into the spell and practically no DM is going to let you use it the way he assumes you can. Rope Trick is more or less a 2nd level slot for a safe short rest, with maybe some minor espionage and trickery utility built in. That is to say, a pretty mediocre spell.
I almost entirely agree with your list, the only exception would be switching the place of web and pass without trace, just because pass without trace doesn't make you invisible so you still won't get surprise if the barbarian has anything to say about it (a little tongue in cheek but the point stands) Also in my experience my DM uses a lot of homebrew and will make up the passive perception of a monster on the fly, often giving enemies a way higher pp than I think they would normally have. I don't mean this as a complaint against my DM or against homebrew, I have a great DM, but pwt is less powerful in his games because most creatures we fight will have proficiency in perception. Still one of the best spells, but it's not as much of a guarantee
Note sure you and I were looking at the same 2nd level list: #1 Web… #2 spiritual weapon/flaming sphere… #3 pass without trace… #4 Aid… #5 vortex warp… #6 Invisibility… #7 misty step… #8 mirror image… #9 Tasha’s Mind Whip… #10 shadow blade…
something you left out on #9: taking counterspell out of the equation. they either use counterspell to counter your cast, thus using up their reaction, or they lose it if they fail an int save (a wizard is likely to succeed, but a sorcerer or warlock might not)
My thinking on phantasmal force is that the creatures think its real until they have enough reason to doubt themselves and make an investigation check. or more simply a DM would describe it like, "Ok you come to a bridge over a 30ft reviene. There are stairs at the bottem but only on your side of the reviene." and the players would walk across it "oh no a gust of wind blows really hard and you all fall. 3d6 damage" maybe ask for a save. they try again "A board breaks, 3d6" eventually the players get suspicious and investigate or will just check the bridge for hazards religiously and probably one of their investigation checks will be high enough. My phylosophy is, it should take NPCs at least that long.
This might be a dumb question... but is Gator another person or are you just doing voices? Also I was today years old when I noticed the bagpipe music in the background. Now I understand the clothing.
Please make another one with first level spells! (But please put shield, silvery barbs, and absorb elements in the honorable mentions as we all know how good they are)
I'm a little shocked spiritual weapon didn't make even honorable mentions, but I see why every single item made it onto their given spots on the list itself
You or tabletop builds should double check the math on healing spirit with the nerf. I did some napkin math, and it seems to still be one of the strongest healing spells in the game if you cast it using higher spell slots. Specifically, healing spirit cast using a 5th level slot heals 70 hp, split between party members, assuming a +4 modifier. It seems stronger than mass healing word at 3rd level, stronger than heal at 6th when out of combat, and for druids and rangers works as a poor-man's prayer of healing. That seems pretty strong to me.
I used Locate Object to negate Invisibility. My ranger saw the weapon the monster was using, then when the monster turned invisible I cast Locate Object to locate the weapon. Really useful.
one of my favorites that dind make it to the list is flock of familiars, its great when exploring and searching in big areas like a forest or a bunch of caves
Ay Aid saved my characters from stopping to Zero to in my Last dnd Session. Had 56 hp and used my highest lvl spellslot (lvl 4 only had 1) to Cast Aid to gain 15 max hp. 1st Combat a Thing comes Out from underme Hits me dealing 54 damage, and Aura dealed another 13 leaving me with 3 HP I was able to do 2 attacks against it because of that and that was enough to kill it before dealing significant more damage.
I feel like Enlarge Reduce should just + or -10 weapon damage rolls. That’d be faster and simpler than d4 and same number as PwoT However, with DPR calcs that may shove it into a Tier2 spell right?
No Spiritual Weapon? Invisibility? Misty Step? hmm to each their own I guess. But do disagree with Phantasmal Force. The rest I can see the argument for (locate object a bit of a stretch as well, maybe depending on DM and campaign)
I'm really surprised Invisibility and Suggestion both didn't make this list. Both are very good spells for out of combat as well as in-combat survivability, and both are great for roleplay-shenanigans.
Using Locate Object to search for magic items probably won't work, at best works once. Any magic item in your party is going to supersede any unknown magic item in a dungeon, on account of being closer. Unless the party doesn't have any magic items, or the DM is ok with "Magic items that are not the Fighter's Axe, the Wizard's Wand, the Rouge's Cloak, etc." this spell wouldn't work this way. Its still a great spell if the dungeon calls for it. Delving for a ancient necklace is easier if you have a heading, or protecting an NPC at a party and searching for potential assassins via their equipment.
Feels like everyone always focuses only on the early odd leveled spells rather than the even. I know a lot about 1st, 3rd and 5th level spells and up, but I haven't seen much on 2nd and 4th level spells.
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The best Level 2 spell in the game is Magic Mouth. Why? Because you can have the pulpit shout *"FUCK GOD!!!"* whenever the high priest walks up, to give his sermon. That's what you get for kicking me out, for being a dirty Tiefling, Father McGreiber. >:3
Edit: Sorry I did not notice aid in the video 😅, and I overridden the content (thanks youtube) of this comment by mistake with a "B", anyway restcasting aid it's op, don't forget to do it it scales wonderfully with levels
@@Stone_Orchids Aid is number 4 in the video.
@@Stone_Orchids It was #4, good buddy.
Tasha's Mind whip with a LV10 Enchantment wizards 'split enchantment' is insane let alone when you can do it LV18 signature spell to cast it infinitely.
Mind whip as a 2 target cantrip at lv18 is very powerful!
For those who don't know: Magic Mouth can be set to trigger off other MMs which basically lets you do computer programming.
I love this
Turing complete in D&D, i love it
A magic mouth can be set to either say “yes” or “no” based on input. This makes it a single binary “bit”. Put 8 of them together and you have an 8-Bit processor.
Ergo with enough castings of Magic Mouth, Dnd 5e can run DOOM
@@patricks2645 Magic: the Gathering is also Turing complete, maybe it's part of the WotC game design philosophy
@@jessie-buns839 In theory you could make this faster and more efficient by having them communicate with longer numbers in Hexadecimal, or by replacing one and zero with faster words like I and a.
Honorable mention to Dragon's breath. Nothing beats a flying familiar that strafes the battlefield breathing fire - unless it's your warhorse that spews poison or lightning to destroy your foes....
I once strafed around a ghost with a silver knuckleduster while the sorcerer's dog kept spitting acid onto it. That was great, especially when the dog died and turned into an old man.
Putting it on an invisible imp familiar... Yowza
@@firerulezz116 i hate it when my pets die and turn into old men, they're not as well toilet trained .
i use this all the time
*locate object* can also function as *Locate Creature*. Target Jim's hat, the Orthon's crossbow, etc.
Thats a hilariously great way of using locate object as a way to track creatures
Although the DM can also make you accidently track a similar object but it will be funny if you accidently found a plot by using Locate Object specificly to track a item belonging to the creature
@@Tupadre97 "The spell can locate a specific object known to you, as long as you have seen it up close-within 30 feet-at least once."
So long as there is something distinctive about Jim's hat, and you have seen it up close, then it works. Of course, as Reno said, maybe Jim lost his hat gambling in a bar with a bandit captain last night...
Scratch tally marks into your arrowheads, pop one into someone, and use them as a tracking dart with that spell. How many people mark their arrows like that? Probably nobody within 1000 feet of you. They can be less lethal, too; reverse pickpocket your signet ring into the pocket of someone you need to tail, or make a mark on their coat with prestidigitation, and then track "a coat with [your prestidigitation mark] on it".
A spell I haven't really seen anyone talking about yet is a new one called Vortex Warp. Being able to teleport another creature at low level like that is obsurdly strong.
And the range is amazing for combat scenarios and kidnappings, anywhere within 90 feet of you to anywhere else within 90 feet of you. You can't drop people off cliffs, at least not with Vortex Warp alone, but you can put them in traps, hazards, and prisons, get them out of those places, send your barbarian for a chat with the wizard in the back line, bring the wizard in the back line for a chat with your whole party (from beyond counterspell range, no less), etc. The versatility is amazing.
Had a party member snag the red wizard and put her right smack in the middle of the party… she lasted less than 1 round from the time she was “invited”
@@sethb3090 In a pirate campaign I'm playing rn I've been using it to just take the helmsman on an enemy ship and warp them into the sea. Very effective.
It's better than 6th level scatter too because you can just teleport people to the air
@@sethb3090 My favorite trick was during the frequent chase scenes in our campaign, our Artificer/Rogue would BA dash and movement to get 80ft, then teleport our Rogue or Fighter 90ft past him. We also frequently setup "blenders" using AoE spells and teleporting people into them.
I was surprised invisibility wasn't on here, but I guess Pass without Trace helps your whole party be sneaky instead of just one guy.
Yup, group stealth is just much more important than individual stealth most of the time.
@@naturalkind5591 plus, advantage on stealth checks is a bad trade for thin-air-hiding-shenanigans in comparison to a flat +10.
@@alezvolta And as a reminder
Being invinsible still make you trackable with smell and noise
While Pass Without Trace disable ANY tracking method except Magical Method and im guessing True Sight aswell
Invisibility + Spell: Shield... Is absolutely disgusting.
My pet theory is that PWT is OP because bad stealth can stymie an adventure from progressing. If the good guys can’t get past the first guard tower you’re going to be in for a very long night…
I'm quite fond of Mirror Image, because it doesn't JUST give a chance of enemies attacking one of your mirror images, it actively discourages them from even trying to attack you if they don't feel like playing the "guessing game" when there are other targets available......although I suppose that's kind of DM dependent.
You know ending up the unfortunate wizard tank in a game... Cause the rogue hides and the bard always runs cause he doesn't have any AC... Mirror image, sanctuary (via artificer dip) and the dodge action combo has been so useful in not unaliving us... If the DM doesn't target you with attack rolls though it can be a waste of a slot. So it's far better at lower levels when saving throw abilities aren't the main offense enemies have
Cast blur beforehand
Up until very recently my Hexblade was kind of THE frontliner in our party and I got sooooo much mileage out of this spell. It's too bad it doesn't get any upcasting benefits from Pact Magic's auto upcasting but I still found it to be an incredibly useful spell that tanked a LOT of hits over about 10 months of playing that character.
@@fullmetalpoitato5190 Yeah, I think if it was up to me, I would say that for each level it was upcast, your Mirror Images gained 1 AC
This is a certified “Pass without Trace” moment.
"Nystul's Magic Aura. This is a curse spell. Let's not talk about this spell."
I've done some absolutely insane things with that spell, and it delighted me to no end. One of my all-time favorites.
Notable examples? It always struck me as more of a DM spell, but it does let players beat magic security.
I am surprised heat metal wasn't on the list.
Either disarm a foe or trap them in continuous damage that also gives continuous disadvantage on attacks/abilities.
Since the save is irrelevant for armor it seems like a great addition.
I suppose the downside is its situational to the type of enemy you are fighting since monsters are unlikely to have metal, whereas humanoids almost undoubtedly do.
Agreed. Heat metal is amazing. Had Grappler Bard that focused on disabling opponents. Grapple the casters with a save they can't hope to make; bake the armored brutes with no save available. It is much less useful against non-humanoids as they rarely have metal objects on them, but you can always attempt to imbed a metal spike in the dragon's hide and target that instead. Affixing metal collars, cuffs, and chains work well too. I also had a chain net custom ordered from a black smith for higher break DC and combo potential.
It is potentially the most evil spell in the game. Had a druid cast it on a pirates shiny gold tooth once, another druid cast it on a guys Texas style belt buckle(big and complex to take off), the final druid once cast it on plate mail, then wild shaped into a mouse and ran into a mouse hole gaining total cover.
I mean.. The common solution is to embed metal into them right? Our bard usually just fired metal corals from a crossbow or threw knives with the special intention of them getting stuck in there.
@@swimmingmide i think this is why druids dont wear metal armor, not that they cant, they just know about this spell and fear it haha
I once used heat metal on our Paladins sword This was after I gave the player very high-grade Heavy leather gloves meant for smithing that was simply then used as a liner for a metal gauntlet are DM literally just considered it a flame tongue for the duration
Another big deal about Find Steed is that it is described as “loyal” and you can mentally communicate with it which means that you can have the steed act as an Independent Mount without missing out on any control. This allows you to have the horse use a help action or shove instead of just doing the basic moves
loyal doesnt mean trained, in most cases it may understand but doesnt mean the new command will be used. then again thats up tot he DM of the game. just pointing out, you can speak sit or menatlly say sit, but unless its been trained to know that command means sit down itll just look at you funny haha and understand language doesnt mean understand the command, simply that it knows the words you are saying...
@@CrashCraftLabs seems like a bit of a niche ruling, especially since the steed is always the same and it has very good intelligence so you could easily teach it beforehand. I could however see this point being brought up with a new steed however
@@crystallxix1493 if you have the time to train one yes, which i would assume the training time for it would be far less with this kinda of mount then one gotten from a shop. since it can literally understand language im so it shouldnt take long at all, but there are no set rules for training an animal just languages ibelieve so i would as a DM use those rules as abasis to judge how long exactly.
@@CrashCraftLabs as with most things DnD DM has final say of course. But regardless it would work RAW so it’s definitely worth proposing
@@crystallxix1493 true, just remember, stat blocks are raw as well so if the DM has not pre approved it, then its best to stick to what the stat block says they can do
Suggestion should have been mentionned in my opinion. Really usefull spell in and out of combat, especially given how non-restrictive the limitations are (might vary from DM to DM).
Enhance Ability and Hold Person are absolutely savage too.
@@sidecharacter7165 Indeed, my bard has all three of those spells.
@@sidecharacter7165 To elaborate further, enhance ability is not crazy strong, but is applicable to a lot of situations, making it a really good utility spell.
Kobold once said (in his crit build video) that Hold Person is considered "sub optimal", and I don't get why. Sure it only affects humanoid and is single target, but in the right fight, you can kill a boss in one turn with all the crits your party will inflict. Furthermore, you can upcast it to affect more creatures, making it a really good 3rd or 4th level spell.
@@trebmal587 Hold Person does Paralysis(Auto-Melee Crit for Rogue & Paladin) on people and does non-lethal capture option too. Enchanter Wizards get the ability to dual-cast it without upcasting later too. It is and has always been a really nasty spell, especially against Barbarians or Fighters with that save type.
Telling a knight to give their most treasured possession to the first beggar they meet is considered "reasonable".
For aid: you cant be under the effect of the same spell twice, so if you cast it at the start of the day, remember that you wont be able to further heal the same allies using aid again
Edit : ignore me! most recent casting takes priority
In duration, not necessarily effect. Definitely ask your DM before assuming casting on another target will give the hit points again.
Synaptic Static has a similar instantaneous effect backed by a lasting, non-concentration effect. So I think you are right, but definitely be careful.
R.I.P. Enlarge/Reduce. That spell is great as a party buff in early parties with a monk or grapple build. But its real power comes from interacting with objects. Shrinking a locked door so it simply falls off its hinges is a start. Shrink a boulder for your barbarian/fighter to throw at a wall, then drop concentration on shrink and instead enlarge it to do easy siege damage. Enlarge animal cages and toss an enemy in to then drop concentration so the cages shrink and trap the target inside. My favorite is the classic 'spell book on a podium being read for a dark ritual' because good luck reading that text at half its size you cultist jackass.
If your DM is a physics nerd, then using that spell for enlarging thrown objects would not work cuz the momentum is the same.
If you wanna get some real good mileage with launched objects, you should be dropping small rocks far above and then enlarging it cuz gravity is a constant force being applied to the rock.
Another method is to enlarge an object that falls within the weight limits of an upcasted Catapult. Cast Catapult on the enlarged object and then drop concentration to make your large projectile fly like a bullet.
@@zsDUGGZ Enlarge/Reduce also alters the weight of its target by a factor of 8 so momentum is definitely affected. If not for that then you would totally be correct on ahrinking the object being the move.
Eldritch Knight level 8 with Tavern Brawler and taking Enlarge/reduce as their out-of-school spell. Now everything is an improvised weapon with tavern brawler..enlarge yourself and weapon bond with your favourite tavern table, summon it at will. Picnics for long rests and amazing cover in every battle, until it get burnt or whittled down. That sarcophagus/coffin/iron maiden is a thought away, grapple, summon, pop them in, shut the lid. That old manky giants head you decapitated 3 levels ago is aging poorly, but it's still a suitable club and boulder...
@@admcleo if I understand it correctly any interpretation is wrong/right. Since you create mass instantly all formulas/concepts/principles usually used are not applicable anymore so whether the momentum stays the same or not is completely up to the DM(physics cannot answer a question that is fundamentally impossible. It ends up being a case of "unstoppable force vs immovable object")
To add to the buff for the front liners: It works really well on a paladin because it efficiently gives them more squares their aura of protection (and aura spells) covers, and has good synergies with feats like crusher for pushing huge creatures or PAM with the d4 being added to the bonus action and reaction attack. It is also just very useful for spacial control, allowing for doorway dodging and path blocking with even larger doorways.
I really love the spell since it is so good for both creative and team play.
Please show which classes can cast the spells next time : )
Another good spell of second level: Misty Step
It's not doing much of you proactively, but it's an incredible defensive tool to escape grapples, control effects, walls of force and the like while still leaving your action option to attack, dodge or dash. However, in modules where many enemies are melee and there's a strong lack of severe environmental obstacles, it loses a lot of value.
Misty Step is a top contender for the level 2 at-will spell you get at Wizard 18.
I would use Vortex Warp for that
2nd level spell is a huge cost early. Higher levels sure, early levels just nuke or cc the close ones
Misty Step comboing with Web is incredible. Has kept me alive in CoS even when the other two players randomly decide that I should now be a wizard tank. Thankfully they realize that is not optimal shortly after. Usually....
You can't use misty step to escape walls of force
It occurs to me that dealing damage is also situational, it's just violence comes up a lot.
The situation is common
2nd and 3rd level spells are the best spells!
You should also do a top 10 for 3rd level spells.
It was really a suprise to see spike grow under the honorable mentions as i aspected it to be at least under the top four.
Ya. I'd rather have Spike Growth than Web, imo. Web has too many ways to get rid of its secondary condition. From passing a save, burning it, or passing an ability check. Restrained is great, but it's situational enough that it isn't as good as spike growth which gives damage every move and difficult terrain.
Another good spell at this level: spiritual weapon.
An extra bit of damage every turn for the cost of a bonus action. Very good especially if you i get it on a class that doesn't use it's bonus action to much
Pairs very well on a 5 cleric/ 3 ranger. It works with the swarm keeper, and when paired with spirit guardians you can pull people into the AOE using it and thorn whip. DC is also higher because you’d be more focused on wisdom then a normal ranger would. Don’t know if it’s optimal but it’s still useful for battlefield control
Ya Spiritual Weapon and Spirit Guardians are part of what make Clerics great, surprised it wasn't at least 10 or 9th spot.
Spiritual weapon fails miserably in more mobile fights and isn’t a good use of resources at all.
Tasha mind whip as Abberant sorcerer is insane. You can cast it as lvl3 for 3sorc point and it get ''subtle/twinned'' for basically free.
The feature (unlike Way of the Four Elements Monk ) doesn't mention upcasting, so not every DM allows this.
Misty Step has to be at least an honorable mention spell, no? It's incredibly versatile and a must pick for almost every single class that has access to it. It's good for melee and ranged builds and for sturdy or squishy characters, and it's useful outside of combat too.
Spiritual Weapon is another one that's kind of weird to be missing...
Your list is interesting though, and I think it's cool that different players value different things!
I'd like to see more of these tbh. Especially for first level. I'll just ask to talk about ones besides the very obvious ones like shield, mage armor, and find familiar. Like fearie fire and distort value. Like, distort value on some expensive armor you want and now they'll probably give it to you far cheaper.
"You cast this spell on an object no more than 1 foot on a side"
Not going to work on armour. And it has a verbal component while you are touching the object, so you are very likely to be observed casting a spell inside the shop. I think a stranger casting a spell in front of someone unannounced is about as aggressive a move as suddenly drawing your sword on them. The moment anyone tries that, it's probably time to roll initiative. However, subtle spell, or using a familiar to cast touch spells from a distance, or a million other options are still available.
Lead is pronounced "Leh-d" not "lee-d". To lead a group of adventurers would be to "lee-d" them. Just trying to be helpful.
Pronounced like led, rhyming with dead and bed
To be fair, this is one of those examples of how English spelling and pronunciation is a garbage fire. I feel for anyone who has to actually *learn* it.
@@mcphadenmike I hate English phonetics as a native Spanish speaker :(
@@bonthebunnycat667 As someone learning Spanish, I am constantly impressed by how sensible the spelling is! It’s definitely made me more aware of English’s shortcomings. (But not having gendered nouns is a plus.)
I don't think English is his first language. He also says "respectably" instead of "respectively" in regards to indicating two separate things in an order already said ex "Nancy and Sid's grades were A and B respectively"
The best part of this video is listening to Pack Tactics pronounce "Lead"
This was great Kobold! I would love to see a video like this for each of the spell levels.
Surprised that Suggestion wasn’t mentioned at all. It can quite literally be used to end any fight and gain easy followers due to how liberal the limits are
I added a fossile hunting mechanic to my campaign in which you could use fossils to create magic items to get a discount on those magic items in the store, everything went fine until my druid got a paleontology book and started using locate object to sistematically find at least one new magic item in every area the party travelled.
Aaah, Phantasmal Force. By far one of my favorite spells that isn't already on the Warlock spell list (even though it totally should be by default...oh well.) I've only managed to play around with this spell once when one of my players DMed a quest for the party and I got to be one of the players. (I was a GOOlock). Because it was set in my campaign we agreed to stick with my rules. The way I interpret illusions (in particular Phantasmal force) is to simply go by the spell's description.
The spell basically forces a creature to believe it is real. It even has external stimuli (Such as heat, perhaps metaphysicality so it even feels solid). I love that it's an intelligence saving throw since it basically forces a creature to abandon rational thought when the illusion appears, their brain is still utterly convinced that the illusion is real.
I used the spell once during the quest to convince a Lizardfolk Druid to grant us basically everything we need by causing an illusory image of his god to appear in front of it, which subsequently would "burn" him when he attempted to touch the illusion. The illusory god/angel thing told him to give us what we wanted (Using my GOOlock's telepathy), and since he was completely convinced it was real, he did just that. Great spell, 10/10 one of my favorites.
Wow, was really expecting to see suggestion on this list, but really liked seeing stuff like the Locate Object appreciation
Tasha's mind whip is extra good for the upcasting being excellent and basically doubling it's effectivnees for builds that have dipped other classes.
I also think flaming sphere is pretty good. Sometimes you simply need to do damage above everything else and flaming sphere is great for that.
I am genuinely curious about Nystul's Magic Aura... What about it? I guess it's niche and could be used to pass as simple adventurers in a crowd and not be beacon of light under detect magic... Why is it a curse?
Some of my favorite level 2 spells:
Spiritual weapon. Not amazing damage, but not resisted, doesn't require concentration, and probably wasn't anything better to do with your BA anyway.
Dragon's breath. Amazing to cast on a familiar, but an animal companion or friendly NPC is good too. Increases target's DPR and is a repeatable AOE.
Invisibility. Amazing for scouting monster infested areas, spying, etc. Kind of a waste in combat unless cast on someone concentrating on an important spell.
Misty step. It is a BA dash, disengage, and ignores terrain/obstacles. The best panic button for a caster in melee and potentially useful in exploration.
Late to comment, but I really like this kinda video. Individual spell videos are great because they teach me new things about spells or can help me see them in a new light, but these kind of videos give me spells and tactics to look up and do my own research on and can make me think about stuff I only gave a glancing look at previously.
While the costly component is painful I'll always love Chromatic Orb for how much it can help subclasses like Dragon Sorcerer & Scribe Wizards at earlier levels.
only costly upfront, it deosnt say its consumed in the casting as most components are not, AND sinces its round it can also be an arcane focus, no rule i found that states what an "orb" can be made out of haha
Oh my god a top 10 video? You're a real youtuber now :P
I was getting worried when you got as far as honorable mentions without having mentioned Pass Without Trace. The spell is just bonkers. +10 stealth for a whole party for an hour lets you set up ambushes, scout, and even ignore entire encounters effortlessly.
The bad thing about Rope Trick is that you have to actually climb the rope. Many wizards are not strong in athleticism, and a 60 foot long rope simply means multiple rounds of climbing.
About Phantasmal Force, while I agree that they won't be able to doubt the illusion without outside help, they will just walk out of of an iron maiden while trying to push against it since it's not really there. Running to break in a door while a door is not there will absolutely put you over the exit point. They will rationalize walking out as the door opening for them.
Thus, an optimal use for Phantasmal Force is summoning a monster. The enemy can attack the monster all they like and rationalize that the monster is dodging their attacks. Also, since they believe the creature is there, they would be hesitant to grant it opportunity attacks (even if it can't make them), so it impacts their mobility. Meanwhile the creature will damage the target by attacking, which is how the psychic damage is dealt.
Iron Maidens are essentially giant coffins lined with spikes. Someone who believes they are inside one is not going to try and push through it without a very good reason, and even then they'll take damage.
2nd level spells are the best spells
👍🐊
But fireball is lvl 3.
@@nextPr0fess0rCha0s one diamond in a sack of stone is not better than a pile of gold
Nah, third level spells are where it’s at
wow lately i was searching for a second level spells video. really nice
DMs never allow ropetrick during combat in general. I have never seen anyone allow people to use it as a bunker to shoot out of or similar. Once it happens once it is banned or nerfed or just prevented before it even happens. Out of combat it is crazy powerful and when a patrol is coming you could easily just hop in and dissapear for example. The mamount of applications is crazy and shortresting has never beeneasier. But I suggest to ban (ab)use during combat.
Locate object is amazing! We once used it to find our rogue who got kidnapped by looking for her unique magic daggers. Obviously not splitting the party would have been better but it helped us correct that mistake!
Okay, nobody tell him that he forgot the word “spells” in the title. Maybe he won’t notice.
Lol
Dang, it’s fixed. xD
A few more that def deserve honorable mentions:
Hold person (and the whole hold/dominate line) because giving paralysis which gives Crits is insane
Mirror image, which is fantastic for spellcaster survivability
Blink, see above.
Spiritual Weapon: the spell that makes Clerics one of the only classes to start doing more than one attack before the mele classes (Monk exempted), and also the spell that keeps them more than viable in combat at higher levels
Do you think that wizards of the coast see Table top builds? 🐢 it would help them a lot for making One DnD
Nope.
No mention of Suggestion or Misty Step? Thought those would have at least gotten an honorable mention
Phantasmal force is the best spell, you can create a big cube that is only visible to the target so the entire party can attack it while fully obscured.
Tho I don't think restraining effects would work (there is Mental Prison for that), as the creature can go through the wall in some way and it will surely try to do so, for example minor touch to the iron maiden would appear to be open or I guess those flames arent actually hot for some reason, weird but the spell makes you rationalize even stuff like 2+2=5. Making non-closed walls are also good to waste enemy movement and give you free opportunity attacks.
I was surprised to not see Misty Step and Spiritual Weapon on the list. I’d say Misty Step is definitely in the top 5 second lvl spells.
Getting increasingly devalued by the Elves teleportation!
:( I agree Misty Step is good, but after playing the new Elves it is so difficult to give up casting a leveled spell with your action while still teleporting as a bonus action.
I like hearing your thoughts on features and spells in general. Both in a vacuum and when considering the classes that get access and different levels of play. For instance, rangers get access to spike growth and is one of the few battlefield control spells they can cast, which means it has a lot of value on a ranger, likewise confusion can be good at high level play or when you know you are facing stuff immune to charm / fear. Ty for the videos.
1:00 AKA: levitate works under the same rules as in Morrowind
If you cast levitate 1 for 1 second on a cliff racer, they instantly die from fall damage. This is optimal because it costs like 1 magika.
Invisibility should definitely be on this list. Literally saying “F YOU” to anything that can’t perceive invisible creatures. Another great one is Dragon’s Breath. Give that to Find Familiar and it can make a breath weapon attack without actually attacking.
I always appreciate how brotherly and accepting Kobold is to Gator. Good relationship.
My personal favorite is heat metal, disadvantage without a save and if it’s armor it’s till the end of combat/concentration, on a weapon and they drop it then they no longer have a weapon to hit with. Sadly it requires metal on them.
The amount of use Locate Object saw in the low-level portion of Dragon Heist, where you're searching for a specific lost object on an enemy moving through a sewer? If I remember correctly they even had good Stealth but the fact that they were holding the thing I was looking for screwed up their ability to hide from the party.
It's really good. "Locate an Object" is a WHOLE CATEGORY OF QUEST. Being able to cast a single 2-level spell to solve a whole kind of quest (if the object is in the gigantic range, granted) is outstanding.
I was so confused for a while as I tried to find out what you meant by 'leed' containers, then I realised that you meant lead containers. Ahhh the joys of English
I am the dead leader of the leaded leechers of leased beaks, heading towards wealth and pears and stuff.
I have to thank you for the truth of Rope Trick! I was swallowed by a Giant Worm and only survived because of your advice to keep a 1ft rope!
Mind whip is underrated here. I'll agree with the placement only because it's only super strong when upcast. It can do what web does, but much more permanent when failed.
Web + Tasha’s Mind Whip! 👍🏻
Mind Whip is a great mini-slow, and int save is strong against a lot of critters. It's also clutch to get a teammate out of a bad situation.
Awesome video!
I'd love to see more of your opinions on different spells and rate them for different categories like roleplay, effectiveness in combat, versatility, fun, etc.
To quote my DM as I used Locate Objects to find door handle:
"Locate Object is basically the Please Railroad Us DM spell."
I don't usually comment on videos, but this video was good and I'd like more of them, for every level of spell, even.
If spike growth isn't on this list imma freak out
I like this format of videos. Expanding your content variety is optimal.
Now we need 3rd and 9th level spell lists too. Just for the comments argument when everyone disagrees with how you rank Fireball and Wish.
Missed Immovable object. It works on worn and held items as well, and can be used on even simple rocks and such to stop giant monsters by putting the rock in their throat
Imagine having so many powerful spells of this level that Spirit Weapon hasn't even made an honorable mention
Finding a Lead container would actually be really useful, since otherwise trying to locate the nearest magic item would just point you to your own inventory.
But if you place your current magic items in a lead container, then the spell ignores them and finds the next nearest item instead.
Great spells over all. I was surprised by some like Rope trick and Rim´s Binding Ice and I am glad because now I will use them more. Personally I really like a weird spell called Wither and Bloom. It might not be that crazy powerful but its very unique, because it both deals damage and heals people, so it´s the perfect compromise between wanting to deal damage and party members needing some extra healing.
I love Wither and Bloom, especially if you can get some kind of healing or damage boost on it.
Speaking of Strixhaven spells, Vortex Warp is also a ton of fun, and can instantly change the course of a combat.
Rope Trick is not nearly as good as Kobold makes it out to be. He reads way too much into the spell and practically no DM is going to let you use it the way he assumes you can. Rope Trick is more or less a 2nd level slot for a safe short rest, with maybe some minor espionage and trickery utility built in. That is to say, a pretty mediocre spell.
I almost entirely agree with your list, the only exception would be switching the place of web and pass without trace, just because pass without trace doesn't make you invisible so you still won't get surprise if the barbarian has anything to say about it (a little tongue in cheek but the point stands)
Also in my experience my DM uses a lot of homebrew and will make up the passive perception of a monster on the fly, often giving enemies a way higher pp than I think they would normally have. I don't mean this as a complaint against my DM or against homebrew, I have a great DM, but pwt is less powerful in his games because most creatures we fight will have proficiency in perception. Still one of the best spells, but it's not as much of a guarantee
Where's Misty step?
Petition for that Magic Mouth Spell video.
Note sure you and I were looking at the same 2nd level list: #1 Web… #2 spiritual weapon/flaming sphere… #3 pass without trace… #4 Aid… #5 vortex warp… #6 Invisibility… #7 misty step… #8 mirror image… #9 Tasha’s Mind Whip… #10 shadow blade…
I saw the title and was like, “Aid better be on this list!”
something you left out on #9: taking counterspell out of the equation. they either use counterspell to counter your cast, thus using up their reaction, or they lose it if they fail an int save (a wizard is likely to succeed, but a sorcerer or warlock might not)
misty step?
Imagine walking in a building and telling your DM “I cast locate object, and I choose a safe 🙂”
My thinking on phantasmal force is that the creatures think its real until they have enough reason to doubt themselves and make an investigation check.
or more simply a DM would describe it like, "Ok you come to a bridge over a 30ft reviene. There are stairs at the bottem but only on your side of the reviene." and the players would walk across it "oh no a gust of wind blows really hard and you all fall. 3d6 damage" maybe ask for a save. they try again "A board breaks, 3d6" eventually the players get suspicious and investigate or will just check the bridge for hazards religiously and probably one of their investigation checks will be high enough.
My phylosophy is, it should take NPCs at least that long.
This might be a dumb question... but is Gator another person or are you just doing voices? Also I was today years old when I noticed the bagpipe music in the background. Now I understand the clothing.
I also want to know this
Please make another one with first level spells!
(But please put shield, silvery barbs, and absorb elements in the honorable mentions as we all know how good they are)
I’m a stout defender of misty step, every build can benefit from misty step, it’s so good!
Misty step, suggestion, invisibility and mirror image maybe should have been on the list
I'm a little shocked spiritual weapon didn't make even honorable mentions, but I see why every single item made it onto their given spots on the list itself
Ik it's not the most optimal but Dragon's Breath with a frog is amazing. I have a frog familiar named Godzilla and i cast the lightning one on him
You or tabletop builds should double check the math on healing spirit with the nerf.
I did some napkin math, and it seems to still be one of the strongest healing spells in the game if you cast it using higher spell slots.
Specifically, healing spirit cast using a 5th level slot heals 70 hp, split between party members, assuming a +4 modifier.
It seems stronger than mass healing word at 3rd level, stronger than heal at 6th when out of combat, and for druids and rangers works as a poor-man's prayer of healing. That seems pretty strong to me.
I used Locate Object to negate Invisibility. My ranger saw the weapon the monster was using, then when the monster turned invisible I cast Locate Object to locate the weapon. Really useful.
My polearm master Eldritch Knight with Levitate never lost to a pack of wolves 😂
one of my favorites that dind make it to the list is flock of familiars, its great when exploring and searching in big areas like a forest or a bunch of caves
Used Tasha's Mind Whip on a dragon recently, it is very good to turn the tables. I even had silvery barbs to bypass it's int save advantage.
You know what I think? I think the multicolored stars at the beginning are incredible and make me very happy. 😊
Ay Aid saved my characters from stopping to Zero to in my Last dnd Session.
Had 56 hp and used my highest lvl spellslot (lvl 4 only had 1) to Cast Aid to gain 15 max hp.
1st Combat a Thing comes Out from underme Hits me dealing 54 damage, and Aura dealed another 13 leaving me with 3 HP
I was able to do 2 attacks against it because of that and that was enough to kill it before dealing significant more damage.
I feel like Enlarge Reduce should just + or -10 weapon damage rolls. That’d be faster and simpler than d4 and same number as PwoT
However, with DPR calcs that may shove it into a Tier2 spell right?
No Spiritual Weapon? Invisibility? Misty Step? hmm to each their own I guess. But do disagree with Phantasmal Force. The rest I can see the argument for (locate object a bit of a stretch as well, maybe depending on DM and campaign)
9:10 fun fact, magic mouth is turning complete, so you can build an entire computer or of it
I like shadow blade making builds around it and finding thematics for each character of why they are doing what they are doing
I'm really surprised Invisibility and Suggestion both didn't make this list. Both are very good spells for out of combat as well as in-combat survivability, and both are great for roleplay-shenanigans.
"... most advanced spell in the game."
That has a very different meaning for anyone who has played AD&D. Or seen the first episode of Invader Zim.
Using Locate Object to search for magic items probably won't work, at best works once. Any magic item in your party is going to supersede any unknown magic item in a dungeon, on account of being closer. Unless the party doesn't have any magic items, or the DM is ok with "Magic items that are not the Fighter's Axe, the Wizard's Wand, the Rouge's Cloak, etc." this spell wouldn't work this way.
Its still a great spell if the dungeon calls for it. Delving for a ancient necklace is easier if you have a heading, or protecting an NPC at a party and searching for potential assassins via their equipment.
Owlbear in mind, levitate has a weight limit of 500lbs...
Feels like everyone always focuses only on the early odd leveled spells rather than the even. I know a lot about 1st, 3rd and 5th level spells and up, but I haven't seen much on 2nd and 4th level spells.
Could a Druid Wild Shaped into a Giant Spider Web Walk over a Web spell without having to make a Dexterity Save to avoid being Restrained?