Top 10 Best Buff Spells DnD 5e
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- čas přidán 24. 07. 2024
- In this video we will be going over the best Buff spells in Dungeons and Dragons 5e. For those that don’t know, buff spells are spells that increase a skill of a target in some way, and are largely considered beneficial.
Video edited by S.
-The List-
Intro: (0:00)
10- Enhance Ability: (0:10)
9- Crusaders Aura: (1:32)
8- Resistance: (2:42)
7- Enlarge Reduce : (3:47)
6- Guidance: (5:44)
5- Intellect Fortress: (6:37)
4- Heroism: (7:58)
3- Shield of faith: (9:00)
2- Bless: (10:16)
1- Haste: (11:22)
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Gotta ask, where's pass without trace? It essentially makes it impossible to fail stealth checks. Such a great spell.
Pass without trace, fly, or glibness would all be above those first few for me
(Edit: forgot to add first few. Added to clearify)
BIG DISCLAIMER, YES, PASS WITHOUT TRACE IS AWESOME.
But it's also very specific in its use and a low dex, heavy armor friend still has a realistic chance of failing, not a super high chance but still plausible.
@@devin5201 okay so at worst it gives you the option to surprise instead of just not having it at all while also possibly making surprise guaranteed.
@@devin5201 At higher levels of play sure but a +10 at low levels is the same as a Rogue with +4 Dex having expertise.
@@sam7559 Yes! Which is why I put a disclaimer in all caps, I heckin love the spell and was just pointing out a small... I don't even want to say "flaw", just a consideration.
Casting bless on 5 people is just so much better than Crusader's Mantle, I wonder if WotC even compared their Paladin buff spells to eachother at all
I won't argue that bless is better, but crusaders mantle buffs your damage output directly. While bless improves your chance to hit. (It indirectly buffs your damage because you hit more often and therefore deal more consistent damage). So as a 3rd level spell Crusaders mantle would be excellent at level 5. Saddly enough only paladins get it.
Crusader's Mantle really depends on the team composition. If you have any summoners, or a lot of martials who already built to hit reliably themselves, then it's better than Bless. Due to magic weapons and maxed offensive stats, my party's Paladin, Barbarian, and Rogue already hit reliably. So my Bard took Crusader's Mantle at 10 to ramp up their already considerable damage. We also already have 2 other people who can cast Bless. It wouldn't really serve a purpose having a third Bless user.
@@AgentForest Everything depends on context, of course. However, in *general* , +1d4 to attack will increase damage almost as much as or even more than +1d4 damage, and bless also improves saving throws, which are very important and often relevant. Your party rogue will not get much out of Crusader's mantle compared to bless in any case.
Bless+crusader's mantle is good, but also crusader's mantle+conjure animals is AMAZING
The fun thing about Enlarge/Reduce is you can twin spell it so you can enlarge your party member AND shrink the enemy if you're a sorcerer. If you cast a spell that requires concentration with twinned spell, both effects are held by the one concentration. So twinned spell is VERY good for a lot of buffs.
My ranking would be:
1. Polymorph* (Versatile/impactful spell with decent duration, so can act as a budget Fly* spell. Cast it on your frontliner who is almost down and give him a big temporary hp boost.)
2. Gift of Alacrity (Strong with arcane casters, because going first can mean instantly shutting down an encounter with e.g. Hypnotic Pattern* or Wall of Force*.)
3. Pass without Trace* (Getting the drop on enemies first is strong and good in action economy. First turn is also usually the most impactful one. Does work best with scouting tools like Find Familiar.)
4. Bless* (Efficient, but does cost an action so not always optimal dps-wise. Especially good with Sharpshooter/GWM builds and Rogues as mentioned by others. Failing saving throws can really suck so this is good protection too.)
5. Mage Armor (Nearly essential with casters who can't wear armor. Stacks with the shield spell. AC is important to not only die, but also to keep concentration spells going.)
6. Shield of Faith* (Paladin's usually already have high AC and stacking it is even stronger. Bonus action is what makes this strong. This and the dodge action is one of the most cost-effective tactics in choke points.)
7. Aid (Worth upcasting outside combat to potentially buy a turn before someone gets down in combat. As a Cleric keep your highest spell slot for Spirit Guardians* though. Can also function as a party heal if multiple get down.)
8. Guidance* (Staple cantrip outside combat. Not very impactful, but this is spamable so the effect it has does count up. Pre-combat gives bonus initiative. So as a pre-combat buff it is also arguably better compared to Resistance*.)
9. Zephyr Strike* (Disables all opportunity attack as a bonus action. Positioning is imporant so even using it in a fair way is beneficial, e.g. not getting surrounded. Has the posibility to kite melee enemies infinitly like Fly*.)
10. Fortune's Favor (Lucky feat 2.0. Cost is pretty steep though, but good mid-late game when having more resources.)
Overrated:
- Armor of Agatys (Only good against melee enemies, which are usually easy to deal with anyway. Need at least level 4+ slot to be worth it, but at that point a Warlocks have more impactful options which can be ranged and/or AoE.)
- Haste* (Arcane casters have much more impactful lvl 3 spells. Not optimal dps-wise nor defensive. High investement, low ceiling/potential. Just cast Polymorph* on your frontliner if you need him to be more effective.)
- Fly* (Like I said melee enemies are usually easy to deal with. Any battlefield control spell will work e.g Web*, Levitate*, Conjure Animals*. Cheese strats usually involves upcasting it for the whole party, but at that point you might already be fighting flying enemies.)
- Hunter's Mark* (Outperformed by dual wielding hand crossbows and Crossbow Expert. Ranger has some great utility and control spells so this is kinda a waste of concentration. At the same cost Zehyr Strike* has stronger effects for example)
I only included relativly low level spells, because higher level spells won't see nearly as much play. So while a spell like Foresight is really good I value spells that will be able to be cast effectivly on a regular basis higher. Spells with * require concentration.
Haste is best on a rogue because they can haste action attack, ready action attack as soon as their target tries to move. Rogues can only sneak attack once per turn but it doesn't have to be their turn. So reaction attacks can be used for sneak attack. Used right it doubles a rogues DPR. Otherwise haste is a contender for 5th place. Fly is much better
Haste doesn't say you can take the ready action, so this doesn't work RAW. I think RAI too.
@@ikjman1 you use your hasted action to attack and use your normal action to ready action attack. No conflict with RAW or RAI
@@danieltrumble2974 ahhhh you're right! That's pretty cool.
Yep, though if the one doing the buff is a sorcerer you can twin spell and haste two party members. So one for the rogue AND the main melee.
Crusaders Mantle plus Animate Object is crazy good.
I do find it a bit strange that there aren't more and stronger buff spells. Bless is usually the most reliable and it scales well while providing both defense and offense benefits. Haste is fine but single target and has large risks. There are scaling blasting, crowd control and healing spells but there are only a smattering of buff spells and most of the best are low level that never see a stronger iteration.
Spells are already crazy strong in a simple system like 5e, so more power would be superfluous
@@CooperAATE Well it's more like there is an imbalance. There are already stronger spells in other categories, as I said. But buff spells have very few options.
there are crazy powerful buffs on the high end of spell levels. These are kinda "top 10 low level buffs" lvl 6 above, they are insane
@@joatandimas3098 I suppose. I don't tend to pay that much attention to super high level spells since even full casters won't get those until tier 3 play. It would be more like mid level that has the hole I guess. Bless is sort of the general workhorse as the low level. Haste I guess covers it, but Haste is a bit of a weird spell, being single target and having a big downside. There's no like general use 3rd level party atk or defense buff, like a bigger bless or a party wide shield of faith or something. I suppose crusader's mantle, but it's paladin locked and thus comes late and is very limited in availability. Defensively there is Aid, but it's a pretty mild defensive buff compared to like other party temp hp abilities. A lot of the buffs are also single target. Offense that can be fine if you have one super carry dps I suppose. Defensively buffing one ally is kind of terrible unless they are like blocking a door, since enemies can kind of just ignore the buffed one and hit someone else.
One of the reasons is, they really want to protect bounded accuracy. The idea is, you should never be buffed so much that you are virtually unhitable or virtually hit every time. So if they made a spell that was basically super bless, giving +1d6 on attack rolls, you could now stack these two spells for +1d4 and +1d6, averaging +6, which approaches hitting with almost every attack.
Same with shield of faith, if they made mass shield of faith, you could now stack shield of faith + mass shield of faith for +4 AC, on a high AC target that could make them virtually unhitable.
Basically to avoid such scenarios, wizards is very reluctant to print buff spells that do mostly the same thing, because once you start stacking them, things can go out of whack. You could maybe argue that the concentration mechanic is enough to prevent this sort of thing already, but it looks like the game designers doesn't think that alone is enough.
That being said, shield of faith could probably have had the option to upcast for more targets, similar to many other buff spells.
I totally disagree with Resistance being on this list. How many times does a character know that they will need to make a saving throw out of combat within 60 seconds or less? Almost never. In combat there are way better spells to use your concentration. The opportunities to use Resistance effectively are so rare that it is not worth a "cantrips known" slot.
Aid is a far superior spell. Not only does it affect up to 3 targets, it also lasts 8 hours without using your concentration. You can also cast it in combat as a mass cure raising current hp PLUS max hp. Eight hours should be plenty of time to get permanent healing before the Aid buff wears off. Aid, also, up casts well. It is most definitely on my list of top buff spells.
I cast it all the time with my wizard multiclass. Having a 1d4 available for a save during combat on the first round comes in handy occasionally when I lose initiative and am forced to resist some sort of effect.
@@binolombardi , I can see that when you know you are about to enter combat and can cast it ahead of time, but that is still very situational in our games. To me, there are other cantrip choices that would see a lot more use. Glad it works for your game.
The top 10 should be:
1. Bless
2. Fly
3. Pass without trace
4. Guidance
5. Aid
6. Foresight
7. Hero’s feast
8. Polymorph
9. Telepathic bond
10. Animal Shapes
Reasons: higher level spell slots need to justify being used on a buff and not an insta-win scenario like forcecage, so bless is the king of resource efficiency. Fly is a categorical change: the enemy melee could hit you, now they cant. Better than any ac boost. Avoiding combat or getting surprise with PwoT is better than doing marginally better damage. Heros feast and telepathic bond are concentration free and long duration so they can stack with other buffs or shutdowns. Animal shapes is a campaign ender if you have friendly villagers or a pack of dogs you befriended: now you can conquer a kingdom so it’s my sleeper op pick.
You forgot enlarge reduce. Multi use but a huge wild shaping druid that can tackle dragons is ki do crazy also rune fighter and others
@@johnsmith-fy8jo I agree it is good, but it is a spell you will only want to use if you have a dedicated grappler. In any other context I find it disappointing. I would use my ten spells in any campaign, irrespective of my teammates.
Enlarge reduce also has lots of utility. Shrinking doors, flying gnomes, stealth, etc.
@@johnsmith-fy8jo but then it’s being used more like a dispel magic or knock problem solving spell than a bless or foresight buff spell.
Fly is overrated because the dm can just send in ranged attackers
Intellect Fortress, for when you want your Bear Totem Barbarian to take half damage from absolutely everything.
One reason heroism is really good on barbarians, is that temp hp on them can be effectively doubled.
How did enlarge/reduce hit this list and polymorph not? I get it's a 4th level spell but it's the quintessential do it all buff spell. You can heal with it (sort of? Extra health pool is technically more health than you had before), you can RP with it (turn into a rat to get through small spaces, or giant eagle to ferry the party around obstacles), you can gap fill with it (Pally tank went down, rogue is now an ape/t-rex), you can even debuff with it (wis saving throw to turn the BBEG into a harmless fog. WAY better than a con save to reduce his size by only one category).
Also debuffs are just buffs you don't want so totally valid to weigh the reduce part of enlarge/reduce as a buff. Doesn't change my opinion of its misplaced position on this list though.
When was the last time your campaign reached 7th level?
@@hinamiravenroot7162 If your campaigns never reach level 7 you must have some horrible games. Most standard campaigns that don't disband reach at least 9th to 10th level
Probably because polymorph is more of a utility spell than a straight up buff spell. Whereas Enlarge is just a buff straight up.
Polymorph! Not only dose it provide an extra health bar, which is solid offensive & defensively, but also provides ways of bypassing any skill check that you might have needed other spells to boost. The spell is an on demand Fly, instant “heal” by providing new HP to an ally, can by pass many situations just by changing into the correct creature and let’s not sleep on how far putting a low stealth or athletic character into a spider upon another party members bag can be.
Why does it look so smooth? Incredible man.
so many deserving buff spells that arent here, here's my top 10 (level 1-3 spells as i think you set that limit for yourself too) that should be here:
1. armor of agathys
2. longstrider
3. aid
4. mage armor
5. invisibility
6. pass without trace
7. sanctuary
8. false life (via fiendish vigor)
9. gift of alacrity
10. warding bond
Pwt, invisibility, sanctuary and goa are all amazing buffs.
Hero's Feast is the best by far as it makes many encounters go from deadly to easy
It could be argued that you lost the encounter the minute it you lost that 1000g though. The fight would have to have one hell of a payoff to still be considered a win with that big price tag.
@@Giant2005 I guess it depends on how many GPs your party collects. We all pitch in 200 GPs to buy a bowl and use it only for big boss battles we know are coming. However, that doesn't change the fact that having the spell effects it gives is the best buff a party can have for one spell and 200 GPs. We are talking about 11th level and above characters and if you are worried about 200 GPs well you have a stingy economic world but if that works for you, keep having fun with that.
Why are Holy Weapon and Foresight not in this top 5? Are spells above 3rd level excluded? Some of these are quite weak...
Great topic and list xD I'd love a top 10 best mounts video (granted technically large enough creature could be used as a mount, so it might get a bit tricki).
Armor of Agathys is a really good buff spell shame only Warlocks get most out of it. It works well with there Pact Magic ability to cast things at their highest level and has the distinction of not needing concentration. I can see why it isn't on this list because of how narrow it is. I was planning on doing a Warlock/Barbarian that would use that set up. For max benefits Bear Totem is the best, particularly if you use a Gith(any type) or Amethyst Gem Dragonborn to gain resistance to all damage(special shout-out to lvl 5 Shadar-kai that gets all damage resistance on their racial Misty Step).
Armor is a really strong spell but rather awkward on warlock. Warlock isn't usually the best at being in melee unless you go hexblade (and even then they are still rather squishy by default), and that's really where armor sees a lot of value. Dipping into warlock for a martial will leave their pact slots at a low level, limiting the power of the spell. Full casters that could have their own slots aren't usually melee focused either (maybe bladesinger or some bard/druid variants can melee but only bard is charisma based), and half caster also have both low slot count and level.
@@TheEmperorGulcasa I do agree with your assessment. It does take careful planning to make great use of it but when it works it can do a lot of work. I personally don't find Warlocks that squishy but there is the reason why I want to try Barbarian with it other than any other class. Honestly I was going with Fathomless over Hexblade because it has a reaction that can reduce damage by 1b8 or 2d8 at later levels. With damage resistance from Barbarian Rage and the damage reduction you could be hit for no damage and still reflect that cold damage back, it does say whenever you are hit not when you take damage. It is very niche.
@@jettblade I mean their hp isn't d6 at least, but they have terrible base armor proficiency and they don't get the defensive spells like shield, absorb elements and mage armor that other casters can use to defend themselves (nor would the warlock have the spare slots to burn on such defenses turn over turn).
The fathomless defense is fine, it just takes a long time to come online and is lesser to a lot of other defensive options other classes get like artillerist temp hp cannon.
If you go very deep into warlock to have high spell slot and get the fathomless features, your hp pool will be low and how are you attacking? You need at least 5th level barbarian for extra attack. You can't cast so all normal damage sources from Warlock are shut down too, especially the usual eldrich blast spam. You can't even do like other gish characters and roid out one attack by making it a cantrip like booming blade since you're locked out of casting.
@@TheEmperorGulcasa There is an invocation to get Mage Armor without using a spell slot and extra attack with the Pact Blade at level 5. You would only need to get 1 level in Barbarian to get the Rage and resistance to the base damage types. Armor of Agathys doesn't require concentration so you don't have to worry about that with Raging. You could just max out Charisma and Strength to get the most out of both physical and magical attacks but you would be extra squishy not having a good Unarmored Defense. You could be Tortle giving you a 17 AC with is acceptable for most game and gets around worrying about Dex, you will lose out on full resistance. How I will be doing it is to have the Rage as a backup in case I run out of spell and go melee instead of being just a melee user. You'd get some melee options which most full casters lack and good ranged options which martial classes can lack.
@@jettblade I did forget about the invocation, but that is an invocation slot lost for other uses. The main thing is that you can do all these things, but you can't do them all at once. You can't have high strength, dex, con and charisma at once, especially not while multiclassing. Hexblade can at least condense your damage stat to charisma, but limits you from using big boy weapons at the start. You can use armor of agathys to bulk yourself up but if you want it all combats you basically have no spell slots for anything else, which means you are either a cantrip spammer or a melee fighter. You need to both invest invocations into your cantrip and your melee.
So like at level 6 (1 level barbarian 5 warlock) your invocations are like agonizing blast to have cantrip actually do decent damage, then thirsting blade at least for extra attack. Armor of shadows I suppose for decent armor. Now you don't have the spare slots for Hex, nor the bonus invocations for eldrich blast that make cantrip spam really good. You also lose out on the melee focused invocations like improved pact weapon and eldrich smite. You need improved pact weapon if you want to cast while holding a 2 handed weapon or a sword and shield also, although you can juggle stowing and drawing your weapons or holding it in 1 hand with object interaction. Even with hexblade, the barbarian multiclass requirements means you're still somewhat MAD. You don't likely have both the dex, con and charisma/strength to make your unarmored defense or mage armor that good and your overall health pool decent while also having decent hit rate and damage. If you're reserving your slots for agathys, you don't really have the slots for hex, so your cantrip damage is not that good an you can't make any big combos like spike growth + repelling blast. In melee you at least have rage damage bonus, but you need to go deeper into barbarian to get reckless attack (and that's risky with your low hp pool) and primal path features. Since you're MAD it will also be hard to fit in feats that could make melee very powerful such as great weapon master or polearm master. Especially not if you're trying to bump your AC with tortle. You also don't have that many rages so your wombo combo won't even be available all the time.
In general this will likely end up behind the curve at most everything. Mediocre ranged damage, mediocre durability, mediocre melee damage, and not much utility.
Fun fact about Enlarge/Reduce as it pertains to the Duergar: If you choose the Rune Knight subclass as a Duergar, you can spend your first turn in combat turning yourself Huge. The Giant's Might feature is a Bonus Action and allows you to grow to Large. The Duergar Magic racial ability allows you to cast Enlarge/Reduce on yourself, which takes an action.
Order is important here. To get huge (or gargantuan at 18th level), you must use Giant's Might before Enlarge.
does anyone else here find it perplexing that a large amount of comments talk about haste vs bless when those spells are generally cast from 2 different casters?
Haste should be several lower, it's way worse mathematically compared to Bless, only time it can be useful really is for on a Rogue to get reaction sneak attacks. See Pack Tactic's video on that.
Another wonderful video
Very well made!
How Bless is a 1st level spell is a mystery but I do enjoy having it so early.
I'm surprised that Shield didn't make the list. It's a +5 to AC that can be cast as a reaction, which will often make the difference between whether an attack hits or not. And once cast, it lasts until the start of your next turn which can further stop more attacks than the one it was cast against.
He didn't define buff, but judging from the spells he chose, I think that one of his requirements for something to be a buff, is that you can apply it to others.
@@Giant2005 That might be why. Because Shield, by all accounts, qualifies as a "buff" spell even though it is only a self-cast.
Foresight?
I think Crusader’s Mantle is deceptively easy to maintain due to a paladin’s Aura of courage giving on average a +2 or 3. In addition, paladins usually have good con, so they are going to have +5/6 usually. Late game it’s going to probably be 8-10 if not more due to proficiency
I think Circle of Power should be in this list having advantage in all saving throws against spells and magical effects is op and it even negates the damage of the effect if you succeed the save. I get that it is only available to paladins but you can pick it with magical secrets, overall a great spell!
I liked your ranking. At the same time o have to point out that in therms of math a lv3 bless is Bette then a haste. But i get your point and personally i always use haste when possible !
I think Fizban’s Platinum Shield is a forgotten gem for a buff spell. Bonus action to cast, half cover, 5 damage resistances to common damage types, and evasion. You can even change who the shield is with as a bonus action, making it more versatile and adaptable. It only lasts for 1 minute and requires concentration, and is a 6th level spell, so it does have its downsides too, however, I think it deserves to be on the list.
Protection from Evil and Good is great too. Not perfect as it can’t be upcast but is solid throughout an entire play through with its duration and effects.
Resistance over Foresight? Aid? Protection from Evil and Good? Considering that for your concentration you're only getting 1d4 to a single saving throw, that seems like a really steep cost for not that great of a benefit (especially if the extra d4 doesn't dramatically increase your odds of passing the save)...
Yes but resistance is a cantrip allowing you to cast it over and over and over. Although I agree it should not be so high on the list or maybe even there at all
@@codybohyer1107 True, though using it over and over is still using your concentration, so it's coming at the cost of also having up other things (you can't cast it and then go invisible, you can't have Pass without Trace active, etc., so a number of the examples of, say, using it to avoid traps doesn't work as well as the OP says it does). But that's a good point
foresight comes in too late for most games. but yeah, aid and protection from evil and good rank are better. to avoid traps, i would rather just cast guidance. improved stealth and trap detection from guidance 1d4 seems more helpful..you can even try to disarm. though now we mostly have the conjurer or creation bard deal with traps
@@pul0y Yeah basically - I play clerics a lot, and I find myself always choosing Guidance over Resistance (not to mention how funny it is that a spell called Resistance doesn't grant...resistance to anything). And lol yes, it's a sad day when bards are actually better at dungeon crawling than rogues... :P
@@Centaur255 same. when i play cleric, i always get guidance over resistance. and if i had to choose another non-damaging cantrip, it'd be thaumaturgy.
Everyone sleeping on longstrider. A free extra 10 feet of movement for a whole hour and isn’t concentration? Sign me the fuck up.
See rules for oversized weapons for enlarge reduce. Not only does it give you an extra D4, but it also doubles the number of weapon dice. Reduce also works on doors, make doors smaller so they just don't stop you anymore.
Crusader's Mantle is also available to war clerics as a domain spell at 5th level.
Fun fact. Bless can do more damage then a 9th level spell every round. Altough, the party needs 3 martial characters with at least GWM or Sharp shooter (the +2.5 helps negate -5 to hit). I am not saying this is optimal, but it is a funny mechanic.
Bless > Haste. The risk of losing concentration on Haste drops it down IMO. Also, really thought Aid would be on here too.
I actually *LOVE* Enhance Ability and think it should have been placed much higher on this list. Why? Because Eagle's Splendor is basically a cross between Charm Person and Charm Monster, but you can use it on everyone and everything you meet (and can communicate with) for an hour, its effects can potentially last much longer than its duration, and you don't get that awkward "automatically hostile" reaction after the spell ends. 😈
But then, I do love social intrigue and playing the party face (or one of them), so I'm probably biased ... 😉
correct me if im wrong but doesnt heroism just set your temp Hp to X?(lets say its 5) and not add 5 up every turn? since i thought temp HP replace themselves by the higher temp HP amount you gain. so you would be stuck on 5 hp the whole time but every round you lose them you get them again
I would rule Haste has a WIS save against your spell save DC (vis a vis Slow) if cast on an unwilling target. A third level spell slot isn't a no-save stun.
Bless works on Death Saving Throws.
Would Enhance Ability affect concentration checks? Are concentraron checks technically saving throws??
When have you ever made a constitution check? Just asking xD it’s a REALLY rare skill check. So basically it’s a 2nd level spell for 7 temp hp. Cast aid instead.
Can someone explain why a 9th level Paladin can't cast Crusaders Mantle AND then divine smite? I understand all the other smites as they require concentration, but divine smite is an ability so you should be able to use both right?
He’s talking about the loss of a spell slot. Opportunity cost and all that.
Since Enlarge also increases the target's weapon size, they deal one more damage die on top of the 1d4 extra damage.
For example a 1d12 Greatsword made for medium size would deal 2d12 + 1d4 when enlarged to large size.
Someone here also watches Pack Tactics ^.^ ❤
@@LithiumFusion1 well yes but actually I didn't watch his vid on enlarge/reduce when typing that. I got that from Zee Bashew's video on large player races
You really dropped the ball on Enhance Ability, Bear's Endurance is probably the least useful application of the spell, since there are no skills based off of Constitution.
Literally every other ability is a better choice:
-Strength gives advantage on grapple checks.
-Dexterity gives advantage on stealth, slight of hand and initiative.
-Wisdom gives advantage to perception checks and translates to a flat +5 to your passive perception.
-Charisma gives advantage to all social rolls, equivalent to having everyone under the charmed condition but without the drawbacks of a saving throw or the target knowing they were charmed.
-Intelligence gives advantage to your investigation checks and a flat +5 if using your passive.
How do I get 50 temporary hitpoints from heroism when temp hp don't stack. Is this just a calculation over time and taking in account that they get reduced to zero every round.
Yep. It's 50 effective hp over 10 rounds, so long as all of it is removed each round for the full duration of the spell.
the hasted player will always feel amazing, but bless on three targets is mathematically better than haste on one. not to mention on the same level you can buff 5 creatures.
at least in terms of DPR. a +(1-4) on hit can out scale ONE extra weapon attack pretty quick especially if you start to take multi attack action surge and blastlocks into account.
although the +2 in AC can be very annoying for the DM. my paladin usually using 2H sword could change to 2 different 1H weapons if needed with a +1 shield (one of which was the dwarven hammer on my aasimar...) and a +1 heavy armor in the later game which should be an AC of 25(?), is very VERY tanky. on top of that i used the dodge action quite frequently, so not a lot of hit actually came through.
Hasting your Rogue gets an easy second sneak attack per round though. A second sneak attack is going to be better than 1d4 to hit on a few characters.
@@Giant2005 you get only one sneak attack per turn though. A thief at level 14 sure could get the mileage in the first round of combat since he goes twice in that round.
There are niche cases haste pulls ahead easily, like my 24 AC dodging paladin. :p
@@HypAzTubE The Rogue can use the extra attack action from Haste to attack, getting a sneak attack on his turn. He can then use his real action to use the Ready action to attack at the beginning of the next turn, which gets him a second Sneak Attack for that round.
I swear with intellect Fortress it seems like Wizards just wanted to buff bear totem Barbarian
Aid is probably best, if not top 3. If you play a cleric and you don't have Aid prepared EVERY time you are getting ready for an adventuring day, you're doing it wrong
Initiative is a dex check
Enlarge/reduce is Even better than that thanks to the oversized weapon rules
Haste being better than bless just doesn’t make sense imo. A 5 to 20% hit chance increase on 3 characters adds way more dpr than Haste's 1 extra atrack adds. The defense from 1d4 to saves is arguably as good or better than the AC/Dex save bonus haste provides on 1 target. Bless has no downsides if you drop concentration, is a lower level slot, and upcasts extremely well. Rogues using their action for a readied attack and their hasted action for a sneak attack is about the only scenario where haste is better mathematically
Most classes that learn haste don't learn bless and if we're talking about multiple targets, you can double haste as a sorc.
Everyone forgets the Aid Spell.
Aid is better I think.
Correct me if I am wrong but it has no concentration and gives tons of temp HP as a level 2 spell.
But between Bless and Haste I feel Bless is better since it has no chance of crippling.
Just cast intellect fortress on the bear totem barb/moon Druid from XP to level 3 and now you have the ultimate tank
Aid should definitely be in there
*cough* the spell card for "Intellect Fortress" shows a duration of "instant" instead of "1 hour"
This video NEEDS a heavy update pls.
Aid and Armor of Agathys should be on this list
Intellect fortress being cast on a totem barbarian
think about it, take all the time you need
Foresight. Polymorph .True Polymorph
Intellect Fortress is from Tasha's not the PHB.
Pass without Trace, Mind Blank, Foresight, Polymorph, Greater Invisibilty... yea, lots of them that knock the low tier out of contention
Haste imo is actually the best debuff spell to use against enemies. Just cast it on an enemy and drop your concentration on it
"willing creature"
Haste is great, and so is slow as a debuff. Why are enlarge/reduce combined and haste/slow separate?
Slow is a debuff, this lisy is buffs. Also Elarge/reduce is the same spell where as haste and slow are different spells.
@jeffx40 Apart from this video and just looking at the spells themselves, why are enlarge/reduce the same spell and slow/haste separate? They are both opposites of each other.
@@rcschmidt668 I would say for game mechanics reasons. Enlarge/Reduce combines into an ok spell where as slow and haste are both strong spells on their own and may be considered too strong if you had both options. And again slow is a debuff different from hastes buff. Where as enlarge reduce are technically both buffs of similer nature. Ultimately though, I'm just sort of guessing at it here, you'd have to ask the people who wrote it for the best answer.
@@jeffx40 As far as being too strong, concentration limits both haste and speed or enlarge and reduce at the same time. But truly only Crawford and team can really provide an answer.
@@rcschmidt668 Actually it doesn't. A sorc using twinned spell can have two instances of any single target concentration spell going. So a sorcerer can grow an ally and shrink an enemy with enlarge/reduce being twinned. They'd be able to do the same with haste/slow if it existed. Instead they can either only haste two targets or slow two targets.
Bless reigns supreme!
You put Crusader's Mantle on, but skipped Aid? Hm. I've used Aid for ages, and have only found two situations that Crusader's Mantle was worthwhile. Still. Good list.
Crusader's mantle+Conjure animals. Why care about 4d8 loss damage when you get 8d4 per round from the animals alone?
You completely forgot with Enlarge you count as large, that means 10ft reach and double weapon die, it is even stronger!
Large means 10ft? Huh?
@@lock_checker4342 3.5/PF1e rules means per size larger than Medium you gain an additional weapon die and 5ft reach. 5e enemies follow the same rules
@@GonthorianDX but in 5e as well?
@@lock_checker4342 Look up any large sized creature holding a mundane weapon, see for yourself
@GonthorianDX I found that your body increases to 10x10 only. Maybe more clarity is needed lol but yeah that makes sense either way
Disagree that haste is better than bless.
Besides the fact that bless is far easier to access(1 feat, 1 level multiclass, or available to 1 class at 1st level, and another at 2nd), it only requires a 1st level slot vs a 3rd level slot.
On top of that, only sorcerers can consistently target two creatures with haste (metamagic adept exists but is very limited in number of uses compared to having access to sorcery points), while bless can target 3 creatures at 1st level, and upcasting increases the number of targets every level, while upcasting haste has zero benefit.
Additionally, haste is guaranteed to have a loss in the targets turn, while bless has no negative effect when you lose concentration. Bless even supports your concentration by adding 1d4 to your saving throw (assuming you target yourself).
Haste also tends to be more beneficial to martial characters, while bless can benefit anyone who makes an attack roll.
No polymorph?
I don't see how Resistance and Guidance can be useful when the Help Action exists and having advantage on something is equivalent to +5 in it.
I take bless over haste... Unless it is for a rogue.
My man forgot conjure minor elementals smh
why wasn't foresight the #1 by far on this list?
I think Haste is too risky, because it's barely better than Bless but if you break concentration it sucks for your teammate really bad
^Haste is fine, but TRASH compared to bless which is far and away best buff for cost. See Pact Tactics vid for full comparison.
Resistance shouldn't be on a Top10 list ... the spell is so niche that it's probably C-tier, at best ... that buff is so weak that it needs a buff ...
Whether to remove the concentration requirement (simplest), increase the duration or to increase the number of allies affected through subsequent castings.
Enlarge/Reduce, there's a rule in the Dungeon Master's Guide, page 277, regarding monsters with oversized weapons dealing an extra weapon dice ... Enlarge is nerfed.
Crusaders Mantle is best used by a Lore Bard. Stay out of combat find some cover and take the dodge action. Aid is a great buff spell, haste on the other hand is a trap. It’s really not that good
I dont think haste is that good bc sorcerers and wizards have way better spells with the 3 spellslot like fireball and exept in some cases like running away dont see how haste is better
Its a nice as a 2spellslot and on other classes but as it is its only meh at best
You're kidding right? On sorcs on particular its really good because they can haste two party members which makes the front line way more dangerous.
Man you started this list with what is probably the greatest waste of your concentration in the game.
Haste is not that strong, the strongest buff for the level its played at, is polymorph, and bless mathematicaly is way better than anything else, but boi is haste a fun spell to use which i cannot deny i love using it even if its not the most optimal
I wouldn't put vanilla DnD Haste anywhere near a top 10, it's incredibly mediocre compared to other buffs, it's nothing like a Final Fantasy Haste spell.
Any haste haters out there? I an wrapping my head around things and there are lots of haste haters on the internet
Pass without trace and Tasha's otherworldly guise are real spells, you know? Sure Tasha's is expensive and you can argue not worth, but PWT is a second level spell that basically GUARANTEES a stealth check. Come on...
cant agree with haste
Aid ?
Nurturing goddess of death?
Name: Wanarla
Titles: Mother Death, The Loving Death
She was a mortal necromancer who managed to ascend to godhood.
When a mortal dies an unjust death, they meet her and she gives them three choices:
(she finds the concept of mortality inherently unjust, so natural causes like ageing also count)
- Be part of the natural cycle of souls like they never met
- Let her painlessly consume their soul (end of existence)
- Become her priest/priestess
In the third case the mortal can keep their memories and create a new semi immortal form for themselves to their liking.
When the priest/priestess loses contact with Wanarla they temporarly become undead, otherwise they count as outsiders.
Symbols: moth, rusted iron/steel rod, jewelry made of copper
Theme: Aether Realm - Death
Someone asked from reddit
a few questions:
1. -what governed death when she was a necromancer?
2. -why exactly does she find mortality unjust?
3. -what happens to a soul in the natural cycle?
4. -what does "semi-immortal" mean? is it like a no-aging thing or do they also get invulnerability?
5. -what are the limits of "to their liking"? Could a priestex make a tarasque body for themself?
6. -why would a priestex lose contact with Wanarla?
7. -why can't priestexes count as both undead and outsiders at once?
8. -if the priestex only temporarily becomes undead, then how do they get back to being an outsider?
9. -do priestexes have free will? What happens if one of them acts against Wanarla or starts worshipping another god?
Answers:
1. Only the cycle, which is a force of nature, but most mortals were not included. Mortals had souls, but without the use of necromancy they got destroyed shortly after the death of the body, or even eaten by something.
2. Something along the lines of "Nobody chooses their existence, yet even the strongest
mortal souls are condemned to lose their memories if not their existence altogether. No matter how hard they try, no matter what atrocities they manage to survive. At the end does it mean anything? If this horrid world denies them their choice then I will be the one who mends this injustice!"
3. Memories get burried deeply and then reincarnation. Older souls have easier time bringing those memories to the surface. Before Wanarla it only included exeptionally strong souls.
4. No ageing and upon death they leave behind an anchor to the mortal realm. Mostly things like jewelry. They can communicate through the anchor and if some unsuspecting enemy wears it they can gain control over that body. After a long rest they can rebuild themselves if they have the resources.
5. Small to medium (or maybe even large?) humanoid. Smaller bodies need less biomass for reconstruction. Bodies can be reconstructed in different ways after each death. Wings are an option.
6. Possible causes: magic that interferes with divine bonds, breaking the bond with her volunteraly, getting too far out from reality, the destruction of Wanarla
7. Their body degenerates a bit when they lose contact and in that state they're also not leaving behind their anchor upon death.
8. It can be temporary in some cases but not in all cases. If they can regain their bond to Wanarla they regain their former glory.
9. They have free will. Acting against Wanarla can resoult in becoming a mortal undead, although I need to add that She's not one who holds grudges and depending on the kind of other worshipped god it might not even be a problem for her, but even if She's not mad there is only one bond to a divine being that a soul can bear (maybe two in some really extraordinary cases).
Haste is actually one of the WORST buff spells in the game...😅😅😅
Crusaders mantle is trash.
A total of around 17 melee attacks need to be made by the party for the bonus damage of crusaders mantle to reach the damage potential lost by a paladin who just uses the attack action with extra attack and spending a 3rd level slot to smite.
And this is just comparing it to the damage potential of an in optimized paladin using a 1 handed martial weapon with a 1d8 damage die.
With Enlarge, one thing everyone forgets about are large weapon rules, weapons one size class above medium deal an additional die of damage, meaning a Longsword would normally deal 1d10 for a medium creature, but 2d10 for a Large crature.
So it's even stronger.
That's for monsters, not PCs. C'mon, Kobold.
@@CooperAATE it's for every weapon. That's why large player races are reduced to medium in official books
What about top ten worst player character abilities? Cough cough counter charm.
Although it is a very niche spell and can only be used by very few characters, if at all in campaigns, I think Tenser's Transformation has potential.
However maybe not on your classic squishy back line Wizard.
Blades bard with two levels of paladin to be a smiting machine. :D
@Henrik Freitag If only it wasn't "range: self" :(
Haste is too risky to be in top 3.
Manager is correct
As per Pack tactic's video. Haste is SUBOPTIMAL. has no place at number one.
D&D Heroism isn't as good as WoW Heroism
This is an awful list. Crusader's Mantle is a joke. You LITERALLY put Resistance as one of the worst cantrips in the game in a previous video, and other CZcamsrs have long decried it as useless.
The more I hear about 5e the more I wonder why they moved away from 3.5 rules.
As a player from 3.5 in 5E yeah some changes need explanation of why spells were changed.
While 5e has issues, a lot of 3.5 can be confusing and has too many books where you can just be a massive ball of shenanigans