Honorable Mention to Plant Growth In combat its a non concentration version of Spike Growth and actually stacks with it, its a good spell to have for Druids and Rangers Outside of combat it can be used to help areas where people are having poor crops or are just massively hungry, can even probably help burned forest repair itself Its not the BEST Spell to use outside of Combat, but a pretty nice flavor one Especially since the downside is you need plants for it to work, you CAN ask the DM if using Seeds that fit the enviroment as material can work
So one thing I notice about the “combat” version is that no where in the spell does it give a duration from the “become thick and overgrown” part. So it should stay thick and overgrown until the plants die off. Also it says ALL plants that includes trees. To me that means that if you target an area with plants that are useful as plants not for food crop variety then you’ve just profited. That 200 foot circle of flax? Well now it is 4 times as thick and would yield 4 times the amount of fiber which you can turn into sacks, rope, fishing nets and biggest of all you now have the possibility of 4 times the amount of linen. Now you’re not just talking about a niche market for rope and rope variant products you’re getting into cloth and clothing. There is a reason you see way more wool and cotton cloth than linen, that’s because it’s harder to process flax fibers than the other two. Now if you throw in someone else that can cast Fabricate…? Cheaply made goods at 4 times the yield. What about if you target a field of roses, tulips, or other flowers? It seems that you’d have 4 times the roses to harvest. If you talk about trees then it gets a little more murky. Does the tree itself grow more or is the leaves and branches the grow? I guess it’d be the leaves and branches. That might not be as useful as a having 4 times the yield on flax or cotton but you can increase the yield of firewood maybe? Then there is the use for feeding livestock. You’d have 4 times the amount of food for cattle, goats, horses, or any grass eating herbivores? Lastly I’ll leave you with the thought of targeting MJ. You can be living that song “Good Times (I get high)”.
I think aura of vitality is really amazing for in/out of combat simultaneously. It’s a 2d6 healing word, and the remaining rounds after combat can get several people back to full health. Saving time and hit dice avoiding a short rest.
Fly is a great spell except when you have a DM who makes you roll an acrobatics check every time you use it because you don't know how to fly . But certain DM's make many spells more difficult or less powerful than intended .
Number 1 being Wish makes sense, but I would argue Contingency belongs at the top. Three spell levels lower, debatably more versatile in its execution and range.
Control Water would be absolutely nasty in a nautical campaign. Just taking your turns to try and capsize an enemy ship, forcing saves from everyone on board? Diabolical.
I understand why you chose dimension door over misty step, but I think misty step is a bit easier to choose in more situations since it's a cheaper resource (especially if you grab fey touched or choose a race that gets a misty step type ability like the shadar-kai). 30 feet is enough for many instances where you would consider dimension door.
And Bonus Action usage makes Misty Step generally more ideal for combat scenarios, unless you need to bring other people - but there is also Vortex Warp for that.
Honestly, it seems kinda cheap for that to take number one. It's more useful than everything that uses a lower slot by default, it could be on top of any and all top 10 spells lists that it qualifies for (and usually is)
You can use polymorph to turn into most types of dragon wyrmling, assuming you've seen one before. You can get a breath weapon attack equivalent to a 3rd level spell (that requires nothing but your action), Not resistance, but flat out *IMMUNITY* to one damage type of your choice, 10 feet of blindsight, and 60 feet of flying speed with *_one_* 4th level spell slot. And this doesn't even need you to level up first like a Tyrannosaur, because a Red Dragon Wyrmling is a CR4 creature. depending on the dragon, you also get a choice among a 30-foot swimming speed, a 30-foot climbing speed, +4 to stealth, amphibiousness, a 15-foot BURROWING speed, and up to 75 hit points.
Weeeellll… You’re thinking about True Polymorph or Shapechange (both 9th level). The straight 4th level Polymorph SPECIFICALLY says you can change into beasts not anything else but beasts. But if you (or the DM you play with) want to allow for dragons then cool but if you play Polymorph RAW then no dragons.
I definitely find Vortex Warp to be more useful than Dimension Door. The ability to teleport allies and enemies alike, at range, without teleporting yourself at the same time is incredibly versatile and can solve all sorts of problems. Thunder Step is also a good alternative to Dimension Door because it teleports yourself and an ally while also dealing AoE damage. The main benefit of Dimension Door at this point is just the long range, which makes it king at escaping combat but not much else.
You _would_ champion the Conjure spells, you monster! I've done to prefer the the Summon spells for their reduced impact on action economy. And they have some pretty good options within each version.
outside of combat, you can use hit die to recover Hp, and healing word can keep you going in a battle. Being in touch range of someone who just went down And using your action so now you can't dodge or hide or dash to get away from danger makes it terrible in combat. Action economy makes Healing word a much better choice especially if you are not a Cleric with a high ac. 1d4+5 is just a 6-9 healing, but 1d8+5 is 6-13 so only like a 50/50 chance it'll do more healing, but no range and using your action, as a Bard I'd never take it over Healing word.
You say no one is going to care about a spider crawling around and reasonable DMs would agree, but I've had a DM that would target Familiars(It was a bird[raven I think]) and shapechanged Players(I think they became a cat) trying to scout out a location, when they didn't react to any of the other creatures in the city, just those related to the party
Cure wounds gets bodied by healing word in a ton of situations. With healing word you still get to use your action for damage, and most healing is only useful for getting downed players back into the fight anyway.
There are lots more! Vortex Warp Phantom Steed Immovable Object Rope Trick Light/Daylight Mage Hand Detect Magic Wall Of Force Just to name a few off the top of my head.
Honorable Mention to Plant Growth
In combat its a non concentration version of Spike Growth and actually stacks with it, its a good spell to have for Druids and Rangers
Outside of combat it can be used to help areas where people are having poor crops or are just massively hungry, can even probably help burned forest repair itself
Its not the BEST Spell to use outside of Combat, but a pretty nice flavor one
Especially since the downside is you need plants for it to work, you CAN ask the DM if using Seeds that fit the enviroment as material can work
So one thing I notice about the “combat” version is that no where in the spell does it give a duration from the “become thick and overgrown” part. So it should stay thick and overgrown until the plants die off. Also it says ALL plants that includes trees.
To me that means that if you target an area with plants that are useful as plants not for food crop variety then you’ve just profited.
That 200 foot circle of flax? Well now it is 4 times as thick and would yield 4 times the amount of fiber which you can turn into sacks, rope, fishing nets and biggest of all you now have the possibility of 4 times the amount of linen. Now you’re not just talking about a niche market for rope and rope variant products you’re getting into cloth and clothing. There is a reason you see way more wool and cotton cloth than linen, that’s because it’s harder to process flax fibers than the other two.
Now if you throw in someone else that can cast Fabricate…?
Cheaply made goods at 4 times the yield.
What about if you target a field of roses, tulips, or other flowers? It seems that you’d have 4 times the roses to harvest.
If you talk about trees then it gets a little more murky. Does the tree itself grow more or is the leaves and branches the grow? I guess it’d be the leaves and branches. That might not be as useful as a having 4 times the yield on flax or cotton but you can increase the yield of firewood maybe?
Then there is the use for feeding livestock. You’d have 4 times the amount of food for cattle, goats, horses, or any grass eating herbivores?
Lastly I’ll leave you with the thought of targeting MJ. You can be living that song “Good Times (I get high)”.
I think aura of vitality is really amazing for in/out of combat simultaneously. It’s a 2d6 healing word, and the remaining rounds after combat can get several people back to full health. Saving time and hit dice avoiding a short rest.
Fly is a great spell except when you have a DM who makes you roll an acrobatics check every time you use it because you don't know how to fly . But certain DM's make many spells more difficult or less powerful than intended .
Some good choices there
Any character that has access to revivify and counterspell should take them in almost all cases.
Number 1 being Wish makes sense, but I would argue Contingency belongs at the top. Three spell levels lower, debatably more versatile in its execution and range.
Control Water as well, you can use it in battle or to aid jn explorations. Tbh a lot of the Druid spells are good as both in and out of combat.
Control Water would be absolutely nasty in a nautical campaign. Just taking your turns to try and capsize an enemy ship, forcing saves from everyone on board? Diabolical.
Good list! I think replacing any would require a strong argument.
I understand why you chose dimension door over misty step, but I think misty step is a bit easier to choose in more situations since it's a cheaper resource (especially if you grab fey touched or choose a race that gets a misty step type ability like the shadar-kai). 30 feet is enough for many instances where you would consider dimension door.
And Bonus Action usage makes Misty Step generally more ideal for combat scenarios, unless you need to bring other people - but there is also Vortex Warp for that.
Who could have guessed the number one
I wish I wouldn't🥲
Honestly, it seems kinda cheap for that to take number one. It's more useful than everything that uses a lower slot by default, it could be on top of any and all top 10 spells lists that it qualifies for (and usually is)
You can use polymorph to turn into most types of dragon wyrmling, assuming you've seen one before.
You can get a breath weapon attack equivalent to a 3rd level spell (that requires nothing but your action), Not resistance, but flat out *IMMUNITY* to one damage type of your choice, 10 feet of blindsight, and 60 feet of flying speed with *_one_* 4th level spell slot. And this doesn't even need you to level up first like a Tyrannosaur, because a Red Dragon Wyrmling is a CR4 creature.
depending on the dragon, you also get a choice among a 30-foot swimming speed, a 30-foot climbing speed, +4 to stealth, amphibiousness, a 15-foot BURROWING speed, and up to 75 hit points.
Weeeellll…
You’re thinking about True Polymorph or Shapechange (both 9th level). The straight 4th level Polymorph SPECIFICALLY says you can change into beasts not anything else but beasts.
But if you (or the DM you play with) want to allow for dragons then cool but if you play Polymorph RAW then no dragons.
good video thanks
Wish taking number 1 in another dndlogs video? That's crazy
what about vortex warp regarding dimension door/misty step/teleport? :)
I definitely find Vortex Warp to be more useful than Dimension Door. The ability to teleport allies and enemies alike, at range, without teleporting yourself at the same time is incredibly versatile and can solve all sorts of problems. Thunder Step is also a good alternative to Dimension Door because it teleports yourself and an ally while also dealing AoE damage. The main benefit of Dimension Door at this point is just the long range, which makes it king at escaping combat but not much else.
Great video!
No find familiar though??
You _would_ champion the Conjure spells, you monster! I've done to prefer the the Summon spells for their reduced impact on action economy. And they have some pretty good options within each version.
outside of combat, you can use hit die to recover Hp, and healing word can keep you going in a battle. Being in touch range of someone who just went down And using your action so now you can't dodge or hide or dash to get away from danger makes it terrible in combat. Action economy makes Healing word a much better choice especially if you are not a Cleric with a high ac. 1d4+5 is just a 6-9 healing, but 1d8+5 is 6-13 so only like a 50/50 chance it'll do more healing, but no range and using your action, as a Bard I'd never take it over Healing word.
You say no one is going to care about a spider crawling around and reasonable DMs would agree, but I've had a DM that would target Familiars(It was a bird[raven I think]) and shapechanged Players(I think they became a cat) trying to scout out a location, when they didn't react to any of the other creatures in the city, just those related to the party
Cure wounds gets bodied by healing word in a ton of situations. With healing word you still get to use your action for damage, and most healing is only useful for getting downed players back into the fight anyway.
ok so question: do you think its useful to take flying as a level 5 shadow sorcerer assimar? (the aasimar version that lets you fly)
There are lots more!
Vortex Warp
Phantom Steed
Immovable Object
Rope Trick
Light/Daylight
Mage Hand
Detect Magic
Wall Of Force
Just to name a few off the top of my head.
How did plant growth, find familiar, contingency, and foresight not even get mentioned?
The Conjure Animals spell is broken currently. Way too many animals for a character to summon during combat