Brief cantrip review for everyone!
Cantrips sorted in alphabetical order, classes getting them marked after the name. I considered putting in a star system of some kind. I did not, but I thought about it.
But instead, by popular demand, some colors! And they are judged against all other cantrips, without any consideration for if your class even has access to superior alternatives.
Red: Don’t take this, there is always something better. Either bad or outclassed
Purple: Might be useful sometimes, but there are almost always better options
Black: Good enough
Blue: Good choice and might be the best depending on different factors.
Sky Blue: Almost always one of the best choices
Disclaimer: For heaven's sake, don't take this seriously. They're cantrips, they're your replacement for plinking with a crossbow, on the turns where you just cannot be bothered to cast Wish or Gate or whatever. With that said, on with the show!
Acid Splash (sor wiz) - Hits two adjacent targets, and is save-based so can be used in melee as well. Could be a useful finisher against minions, because dropping two half-dead goblins at once is so liberating. I've cautiously marked this up a little, provided your party has some other form of AoE to soften up groups of minions.
Blade Ward (bar sor war wiz) - The resistance to physical damage might be useful for surviving as a lv7 Eldritch Knight (who get to cast cantrip + make a regular attack), which is always endearing, like a blind puppy. Or instead of learning this, you could just use your action to Dodge. Either way, you're just delaying the inevitable, I suggest rather killing the enemy now.
Chill Touch (sor war wiz) - You can use this to disadvantage an undead hitting you, but only you. You'd think this would be under the divine classes, with its specialized focus, but I guess arcanists need to beat back their undead experiments gone awry, too. That effect still comes up more often than its other benefit of preventing the target from regaining HP for a turn (though when that comes up, oh boy, that troll is gonna be sorry).
Dancing Lights (bar sor wiz) - You can send these separate light ahead, or you could just throw a torch/object with Light over there, without blowing your Concentration slot on it. I bet this exists just because they thought giving Light to Drow as racial cantrip would feel weird. That said, people say it's useful for not revealing your position, so if you're a solo Rogue that happened to pick one of the only races in the whole DnD world without Darkvision, and you're not someone who might want to run any other kind of Concentration buffs ever, this might be useful to you.
Druidcraft (dru) - You're the weatherman, saving you from making one specific kind of a nature/survival check. Such power you wield. And let's not forget about not needing a tinderbox around, oooh.
Eldritch Blast (war) - Multihitting cantrip, which would be great in itself, but then 2 levels of Warlock buffs every hit with Chamod and no-save 10ft knockback. Just utterly wonderful. This is how the devils and fey spirits get you, they promise you can trigger your sources of extra damage how many times, and from range.
Fire Bolt (sor wiz) - You do only damage, and cannot even set fire to carried items, yawn. However, it's been pointed out to me that since fire is the only viable path for Sorcerers currently, and I do like Sorcerers a whole lot, this is getting to move up from red a little, because they can actually add a static mod to the damage. And okay, evocation specialist WIzards can do that too, but who cares about Wizards.
Friends (bar sor war wiz) - Every arcane caster gets this, because who doesn't like burning bridges everywhere they go? Moral considerations of mindrape aside, this is a huge utility buff for when you absolutely need to convince someone, can do it in under a minute and don't care if they're hostile after. Which is actually quite limiting, so I like it - takes some thought when to apply it.
Guidance (cle dru) - Right, then we get to the complete opposite of the above. This takes no thought, it's just a constant +1d4 bonus to anything one person might ever do, provided you keep touching them (or yourself) every minute. That's right, we didn't even get out of cantrips before this edition discarded its notion of no pointless minimodifiers or required features. This is the most broken thing on here, grab it and abuse it (until your GM bans it or just raises all DCs by 5).
Light (bar cle sor wiz) - When you want the high-tech version of a torch. Because it's hands-free, you see. There's literally nothing to say here, especially when 99% of races and monsters have darkvision anyways. I remember when this was a 1st-level spell and you could use it to blind people...
Mage Hand (bar sor war wiz) - Telekinesis at will! Because who takes off their pants by hand? Not this lot, that's for sure!
Mending (bar cle dru sor wiz) - This is your crafting skill now. Who needs a smith, they take longer than a minute to fix a broken axle, anyway. No immeadiate adventurer usage, just jumpstarting the logistics of the world ahead by quite a bit - ongoing wars never need equipment to be replenished, just have even one minister/minstrel/sage around, and they can fix, oh, 1 minute per item, 500-1000 pieces of **** every day.
Message (bar sor wiz) - You have a walkie-talkie, with the limit that the other half must be on a person that you must basically see. So you could just say it to them in the regular fashion, like people do. Because you can adjust the volume of your speech, I hope.
Minor Illusion (bar mon sor war wiz) - Just magnificent. Set up alarms on a timer, conjure up owlbears around corners for lulz, create a barrel to give you concealment... And thanks to the wording, the opponent has to hit it with something (so, impossible to do to a loud noise next to their ear?) or they have to spend an action on just getting a save to disbelieve... after which you can just recast it? Also, because it's not an attack and has no verbal components, it does not break stealth. The only thing with more dickishness potential than this, is Arcane Lock.
Poison Spray (dru sor war wiz) - Highest single-target damage cantrip! With a 10ft range! Wait, that last part is not positive. Oh well, it's a save, so practically a reach weapon. It still only does damage, which I don't find too exciting without static mods to add to it.
Prestidigitation (bar sor war wiz) - This is why high elves are always so clean. Also, why their drinks are always the right temperature. And why humans who annoy them keep walking around in soiled trousers (no save, but at least it requires them to point and shout from 10ft away). If you had to be in this kind of a society for 100 years, you'd want to take a break amidst the lesser races, too. It exists so you can imagine your imaginary character feeling better.
Produce Flame (dru) - The bastard child of Light and Firebolt! Its usefulness depends entirely on whether or not it occupies your hand that it rests in, and the rules remain ambiguous on the matter, so let's act like your fist just gets surrounded by fire and you can flick it from behind your shield. And it can presumably start fires, unlike its parental units! Most of the time that feature is pointless enough, and the damage low enough, that you should seriously consider Wildshaping into a monkey and flinging poop instead.
Ray of Frost (sor wiz) - Fun damage+control against a single target, because it slows them down, enabling the group to just kite them with ranged attacks. Because there's nothing more heroic than running circles around an annoyed melee boss.
Resistance (cle dru) - Buff a saving throw in the next minute. Sounds great, but just a minute? Having to know it's coming makes this very situational, but since you can choose to use it after the save roll, it deserves consideration. Like, everyone casts it on themselves before kicking the enchantress boss's doors in, you may walk out slightly less perturbed.
Sacred Flame (cle) - Orbital lazers from the gods that ignore cover, for when you absolutely must deal that 1d8 of tickling to a nonbeliever who thinks his bush is sooooo fine. Okay, you can also use it to shoot behind walls, which is kind of impressive.
Shillelagh (dru) - As a bonus action, buff your club/quarterstaff to use your spellcasting stat for attacks and do d8 damage. Here just so Druids can dump their physical stats even harder, and for Tome Warlocks to copy it and try to make a meleelock work, when they could just Eldritch Blast instead. It gets a high rating because I like shouting shillelagh, pronouncing it wrong in a different way each time.
Shocking Grasp (sor wiz) - If someone comes into melee range, zap them to remove their reaction (with an advantage if their armor is metal, forcing the GM to consider every thug's personal life and wardrobe choices). While the GM-annoying part is the main attraction here, I guess this could also be interesting if you're a wussy caster wanting to run away, or a lv7+ Eldritch Knight wanting to run past an opponent so they can stab a caster behind them.
Spare the Dying (cle) - Rendering the Medicine skill even more pointless, stabilize at a touch. Frankly, I rather expected this would kill the target and send them to the Raven Queen. But it is slightly more useful this way, because who ever heard of a Cleric making that Wis-based DC10 check in the regular fashion.
Thaumaturgy (cle) - Poltergeist effects on command! Of course, you have to shout to cast this, so it's kind of obvious who's really causing it. It's here, if you need to make an impression on a congregation and they're really, really gullible. Or if you just really like having all-white eyes. We don't judge, we even let elves in.
Thorn Whip (dru) - A positional tool, that brings the target 10ft closer to you. Now, this may sound useful, but with just a 30ft range, it ends up requiring kind of specific situations... I guess, if you could lure one of their guys into a shouting match at the opposite edge of the pit between you two, you could yank them down there. Melee spell attack, though, so you can use it even in melee, to pull people into your lap hard?
True Strike (bar sor war wiz) - A great tool if you're stealthy, as you can ensure advantage on your first... wait a second, if you're in stealth, you already have advantage on your first attack! guess that means this one is useful if you're an Eldritch Knight 7+ with some Rogue levels, so you can cast and stab... oh come on, it says you only get the advantage on your first attack on the next turn? So you'd be giving up an attack this turn in order to maybe do something if your concentration doesn't break... oh, just hit them, please.
Vicious Mockery (bar) - Finally, a cantrip that doesn't require dancing around with a feather boa in your hand! it only takes a verbal command, to cause damage and give the target disadv on their next attack. This is great, for when you want to tank against a non-caster enemy, or feel like helping your party out (but not enough to spend actual spell slots on it).
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
True strike is best for setting up a big attack spell, like disintigrate. Otherwise, multi-attack.
And blade ward is usually better then dodge (depending on hit %). It also stacks with other sources of disavantage.
Jay_Ibero_911 wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
mellored wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Ashrym wrote:
You could rate it with colors (charop palette) or something. I know it depends on the class, but presume that it is used by the right class.
minor illusion only creates sounds and objects, no creatures. Sadly no owlbear.
They had to give silent image a reason to exist.
Still, many DMs forget, so you can get away with a lot :-)
Litania84it wrote:
Litania84it wrote:
Thanks for this. It was a fun read, and I agree with just about everything you say. I second the motion for you to add some color rankings.
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Leugren wrote:
How they made guidance somewhat surprises me; I too hoped that they wouldn't make any game element that was pretty much auto-pick, or make some things way better than others. I surely thought that this would not be the case in this edition (albeit, I had only hope to rely on), but now that a lot of character ops threads are spawning, when I look at the game elements its starting to look much like the last edition in this regard (that said, there are a lot more variables now that can affect ratings). I suppose that was too much to ask for though? Of course, the dm can fix whatever. But I don't like going "down that road" (I find it a slippery-slope that usually ends in/spells disaster). And the argument from fun doesn't fly with me either, given I find balance to be the most fun.
Produce Flame *can* be used to set fires. It can also be used to attack. So, it is an upgrade to Light. Please read the cantrips fully before making this kind of list.
Chill Touch's ability to stop hit point gain is devastating with some our level 5+ challenges. Especially since a sorcerer can easily put out 3 chill touchs for a couple of sorcery points (quickened and twin spell). TPKed the party with Bugbears and an evil sorcerer. Party then picked it up and walked all over a bunch of trolls.
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Undrhil wrote:
pukunui wrote:
On Guidance: Initiative is a Dexterity check.
*Rant on
I hate prestidigitation.
It should be banned for anyone who has not played D&D for at least a year. While I fully support thinking outside the box and creativity, I see so many new players taking this spell and trying to use it for EVERYTHING. Especially in combat. "I use prestidigitation to make a skull appear to scare away the goblin... I use prestidigitation to make the sound of a vampire to force the elf to surrender... I use prestidigitation to turn the cultist's scimitar into a baguette..." Even experienced players try to do this as well, but typically they don't do it while in combat.
I swear nobody reads the spell. No, you can't do just about anything that people try to do with the spell. In my reading you can't even use it to clean yourself unless you happen to be only one foot tall. You can't use it to replace your intimidate/deception/persuasion check. It only has a 10' range.
I get it. Not everyone wants to play a typical combat character. But I have been in so many games where there you are, fighting against a gang of bandits, and Sasha the Sorceress, instead of blasting enemies, decides to make her hair pretty so that she can charm the bandit leader. I suppose the best way to deal with this would be to treat it as a "help" attempt, so that your distraction gives the next attack on the target advantage.
*Rant off.
First post now comes in colors, so we can argue in a new way!
I could have compared the cantrips against other options within that class, but Dancing Lights would still suck, so I just compared them to all others.
pukunui wrote:
Jamwes wrote:
That and it works on initiative. Seriously, can't stress that enough. Very few things boost init and this is one of them.
Personally I'd prefer a list that was a bit more objective. I feel that the OP was to busy focusing on being clever and snarky to give some of these spells a fair shot. Though it did make for an entertaining read I really don't find the list very useful.
I do agree that True Strike is bad though not for any reason outlined by the OP. Requiring concentration on a spell that lasts a single turn?
Yunru wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Ashrym wrote:
Demosthenes2054 wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Poison Spray isn't a ranged attack, it's a Constitution save.
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Acid Splash is awesome. Any smart player will try to pick off all the weaker enemies first, especially in an edition like this one where even "weaker" enemies can still do decent damage and screw you up hardcore in large numbers.
I also think that Friends is highly underrated. I've used it to excellent effect in many situations.
Squad wrote:
Thank_Dog wrote:
Fralex wrote:
Ashrym wrote:
Litania84it wrote:
I wanted to do my own version of this list and post it here however this idiotic, moronic, retarded excuse for a forum does such stupid crap to text that I'm finding it impossible to get the formatting on it. How on earth, short of going into plain text and using HTML, do you get it to format properly?
God I hate this forum.
FireBolt should be dark blue, it is a GREAT, it is the 2nd best single target damaging cantrip (outshine by Eldritch blast, but Eldritch blast is harder to get since it require 2 warlock level to be better then firebolt). 120ft range (a lot safer then 10ft poison spray or melee range shocking grasp) ranged attack spell so receive bonus from Hex and AC is usually easier to hit then a save at low level, evocation spell so receive IntMod from wizard and potent cantrip. fire spell so receice ChaMod from Fire dragon sorcerer (the only good dragon type at this moment by RAW)
compare to Ray of frost, yes the slow eefect is very nice, but deal 1d8 instead of d10, synergize with cold dragon type which are weaker then fire dragon type, and the slow effect even if pretty cool, is very situational in order to be useful.
Acid splash is very interesting because it does 1d6/tier on 2 target, so IF you have 2 targets it will deal more damage then firebolt so it,s a very good second option (but not good enought to make Acid dragon viable without house rule or an errata)
Minor illusion shoul dbe sky blue since you can create a obstacle (wall with murder holes, fog, bush etc...) where you can go behind and be UNSEEN (not hidden so doesn't require a save doesn't require an action, simply be behind) your spell passing through it is a MAGICAL interaction (not physical) and since the wall got murder hole, the bush got space between the leaves, fog is... fog, then it's not suspicious to have an ray passing throught it. It give you ADVANTAGE on ALL your attacks while being UNSEEN (so yes scorching ray you get advantage on all 3 to 10 rays) until a creature come behind the illusion, investigate the illusion and beat your DC, physically interact with the illusion or force you to move away from this illusion (casting spell like stinking cloud, fog cloud, flame sphere etc...)
Shooting an arrow at you would reveal the obstacle as an illusion as would walking into the fog giving you at best one unseen attack. Personally as a DM I wouldn't let you shoot a ray through it without breaking the illusion either as I don't read physical interactions to mean not magical. A fireball is definately physical, a phantasmal killer is not. "because things can pass through it" being the key portion of the sentence in my reading.
I also don't think making illusionary monsters is all that great, animitronic or not. Nowhere does the spell state you can move the images or that they move at all. In fact when referring to sounds it says that the sound is continuous. A lion roaring for a minue straight in a world where magic is common isn't any more convincing than a midi loop. Nor is an owlbear that appears out of nowhere and does nothing any more frightening than a stuffed owlbear encountered in someone's study. You might startle someone with one of these effects, possibly giving an ally advantage or the enemy disadvantage on an attack roll, but I wouldn't count on more than that unless you have a very generous DM.
I'm not saying there aren't creative uses for the spell. Summoning a wall of spikes in a narrow hallway to prevent persuit or escape would probably be very effective. But in general I think this thread is seriously underestimating a DMs ability to adjudicate what is common sense in a world filled with magic.
Yunru wrote:
Squad wrote:One advantage of Thorn Whip is that it has a range of 30ft, but you make a melee spell attack, rather than a ranged attack. This way you can attack at range without having disadvantage on your roll if an enemy is within 5ft.
Good point. Will that then pull the opponent into your lap?
Yes, and as such it's also not subject to disadvantage from nearby enemies. Also, I'm not sure why it's rated so low given it's high damage. It's not like damage cantrips need to have a long range to be useful.
Because pure damage is uninteresting. You could do more of that with a crossbow. IMO and all that, but I want there to be some other effect than a bigger die that may still come up as 1, and that is the totality of your contribution for the turn, then.
[/quote]Pure damage cantrips are one of the best things about 5th edition. If I'm a wizard I don't want to carry a crossbow... EVER! I want to carry my arcane focus and go "pew! pew!" Wizards in video games and movies and whatnot use freaking spells, not crossbows. Yes, versatility is great. But you get more than one cantrip and a ton of slotted spells and rituals and class features. One signature damage cantrip that can justify not carrying a crossbow and stowing my staff every minute is good!
And Thorn Whip... consider this common scenario: you are in melee range of enemy X but want to help focus down enemy Y who is 20 feet away. Using a ranged attack next to enemy X would give you disadvantage, but Thorn whip will not. My point being, you can make the uber strategic pull into a trap from 30 feet away without getting disadvantage from the OTHER three guys 5 feet away. Also you can use it to pull an ally out of a deadly situation, in a pinch, possibly preventing her from provoking 3 or more opportunity attacks or wasting an action to disengage, for just 1d6 damage, which might be worth it. More versatile than it seems.
Thorn whip is most fun when combined with spike growth or traps or other similar effects.
I one used thorn whip to pull somebody within reach of someone with Polearm Master, it could trigger Polearm Master, no?
Polearm Master
". . . other creatures provoke an opportunity attack from you when they enter your reach."
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
I don't know what there's not to love about Firebolt. It does the 2nd most damage of any Cantrip, and out to just about the best range. It may be "yawn" but it is effective. Can ray of frost be useful as a control? Possibly depending on the situation, but it does less damage and has half the range. There's nothing wrong with you having both cantrips, but your bread and butter will be Firebolt, especially if you are a fire Sorc (just about the best dragon bloodline option IMO), so that firebolt is going to be getting some nice damage bonuses added to it. Every so often you're going to be in a spot where you realize hindering a target's movement by 10 feet will be helpful, but it's not all the time.
As far as shocking grasp...I suppose there are classes where this is useful, but at least for the Wiz or Sorc you really don't want an enemy that close. Poison Spray at least allows you to stand off outside of the enemy's reach, even if only by a bit. Of course it also has the best damage. As mentioned, it is a con save, but is that save for half or for none?
The value in True Strike is in attacking when you have surprise. Your party spent a round setting up, and then bam. It may not be what it was in 3.5, but it still seems fairly useful to me.
Good points about Fire Bolt being fire (the only Sorc path currently) and evocation. That does make a notable difference.
Shocking Grasp is not about being your first option of running face-first into enemies, but it's for when they do get up in your face. Which will happen, because the warriors have absolutely no way to control the battlefield in this edition. And then, being able to damage an opponent while being able to avoid an OA from them when you run off after, seems very much worth it.
Thorn Whip should trigger all movement-related things as written, so it does combo with stuff like a simple Spike Growth or Polearm Master, but these are dependent on party build, and they have to be between you and the opponent at the right time, and this is very likely to get errataed/declared cheese by the DM, so I'm keeping it in the iffy territory.
I am not upping my thoughts on Dancing Lights, because it's a cantrip that breaks your Concentration, preventing a million other buffs, while not doing anything that a tossed rock (ooh, distraction) or regular torch/light spell//darkvision wouldn't do.
Huntsman57 wrote:
Interesting list, thank you for the good work. 
However I believe that rating cantrips/spells without taking into account builds and class limitations can lead to false conclusions.
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
Also remember that darkvision only turns complete darkness into dim light. In other words, you still have disadvantage on all your perception rolls. Even characters with darkvision are still going to want light sources.
RCanine wrote:
Strill wrote:
RCanine wrote:
Squad wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
FluffyBunbunKittens wrote:
By RAW, firebolt is the only attack cantrip that can target objects, if your DM is strict. For that reason only it's pretty great.
Demosthenes2054 wrote:
IxidorRS wrote:
So what about the new cantrips from Elemental Evil Player's Companion. (http://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/EE_PlayersCompanion.pdf)
How do they stack up?
- Control flames (transmutation)
- Create bonfire (conjuration)
- Frostbite (evocation)
- Gust (transmutation)
- Magic stone (transmutation)
- Mold earth (transmutation)
- Shape water (transmutation)
- Thunderclap (evocation)
I quite like Create Bonfire, VS, concentration upto 1 minute, 60'
You create a bonfire on ground that you can see within range. Until the spells ends, the bonfire fills a 5-foot cube. Any creature in the bonfire’s space when you cast the spell must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 fire damage. A creature must also make the saving throw when it enters the bonfire’s space for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there.
The spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8).
Mold Earth, is quite versatile, with a couple of rounds you can dig a 10' pit that lasts.
You choose a portion of dirt or stone that you can see within range and that fits within a 5-foot cube. You manipulate it in one of the following ways:
- If you target an area of loose earth, you can instantaneously excavate it, move it along the ground, and deposit it up to 5 feet away. This movement doesn’t have enough force to cause damage.
- You cause shapes, colors, or both to appear on the dirt or stone, spelling out words, creating images, or shaping patterns. The changes last for 1 hour.
- If the dirt or stone you target is on the ground, you cause it to become difficult terrain. Alternatively, you can cause the ground to become normal terrain if it is already difficult terrain. This change lasts for 1 hour.
If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have no more than two of its non-instantaneous effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such an effect as an action.
"Sacred Flame (cle) - Orbital lazers from the gods that ignore cover, for when you absolutely must deal that 1d8 of tickling to a nonbeliever who thinks his bush is sooooo fine. Okay, you can also use it to shoot behind walls, which is kind of impressive."
For my money Sacred Flame deserves to be black. It isn't the best ranged attack cantrip for sure. But if you're a strength Cleric (or a pure Wis cleric) its a decent ranged attack that ignores armor and concealment. The damage isn't great, but it his of a good type.