Treantmonk evaluates 2nd level spells

Treantmonklvl20 · Oct 4, 2018

Completed my 2nd level spell evaluations, which are HERE.

Thanks

Gavin O. · Oct 7, 2018

Here are my picks for some more noteworthy spells:

Best:
Misty Step: Reposition without provoking opportunity attacks, and it doesn't require your action.

Heat Metal: Cripples any enemy wearing metal armor, and there's nothing they can do but hope to save against disadvantage every round, and still take 2d8. You can heat someone's weapon, which can also be very useful.

Overrated:
Scorching Ray: The default blaster spell for second level is pretty much outclassed outside of dedicated fire builds by a magic missile upcast to second level. Scorching Ray deals 6d6 = 21 damage total, while Magic Missile deals 4d4+4 =14, but Magic Missile never misses, which means scorching ray needs to be hitting 70% of the time in order to outdamage magic missile.

Magic Weapon: Takes your concentration to use, and only affects one ally. Let's assume you have a fighter with +3 Strength an a greatsword. His damage per hit is 10, he hits 55% of the time, so his DPR is 5.5. If you give him a magic weapon, his Damage per hit becomes 11, and he will hit 60% of the time, which makes his DPR 6.6, an increase of 1.1. In other words, he needs to make 12.7 attacks during the one hour duration in order for this to be more damage than level 2 magic missile. That's not very realistic.

Darkness: Yes, this combines extremely well with Devil's Sight, but unless your entire party can see through it, it's a significant hindrance to them.

Underrated:
Dragon's Breath: Give someone an infinite supply of Burning Hands. Decent AOE that hits hard at early levels, plus you can give it to a familiar and have them contribute to the fight.

Silence: Some of the most dangerous enemies you can run up against are spellcasters, and Silence shuts them down completely.