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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Neonchameleon" data-source="post: 9408836" data-attributes="member: 87792">Meanwhile the wizard gets rituals. And <a href="https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Find%20Familiar#content" target="_blank">Find Familiar</a> doesn't take a slot (and is wizard exclusive (until a warlock poaches it)) and is IME substantially better still. A flying scout whose eyes you can see through, <a href="https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Owl#content" target="_blank">and that has darkvision and advantage on perception checks</a> is really useful.The other one being Darkvision. But at first level Strength of the Grave is really only an unreliable casting of Shield that only partially protects you even when it works. So I'm saying that this is at best equal to the wizard's extra spell. At later levels you can layer the two - but when you've only got two first level spells spending one on shield is expensive.I mean sure, if you are going to tank your entire class going forward by picking Divine Soul (the class that doesn't know enough spells getting the "benefit" of having more spells they can't buy added to the shop is not a good benefit).I'm also going to be blunt about the first level Divine Soul played the way you suggest. When you are unarmoured, have 6+Con mod hit points, have either a bad weapon off your secondary stat or a cantrip attack, and you are spending your two first level spell slots on Healing Word you are a terrible wannabe caster. Any cleric or druid worth their salt can, if they choose, match your guidance and healing word while hitting harder and being armoured and with a better primary stat for everything other than casting. Meanwhile a wizard or sorcerer who brings something like sleep can win an entire fight at level 1.I think any decent wizard should be better than a first level Shadow Sorcerer - while the first level Divine Soul isn't competing with the wizard but failing miserably to be a cleric or druid (or even a bard).The exception I will make is for the Aberrant Mind. Who even gets another cantrip - but the big thing they gain is Dissonant Whispers, the strongest first level single target damage spell in the game. (It's not the 3d6 psychic damage but the opportunity attack from the raging barbarian on top of that that makes it lethal).I'm going to disagree here. At 3rd and 4th level the sorcerer has three and four metamagic points per day. Unless they are an Aberrant Mind twinning Dissonant Whispers or are in one of the rare situations that Subtle Spell is useful then the wizard's extra second level or two extra first level spell slots from Arcane Recovery is more useful.Your only "low level slots" you can burn this way are second level. Your first level slots are wanted for things like Shield, Absorb Elements, Mage Armour, and Silvery Barbs, and if you can cast fireball out of it it's not low level. There aren't honestly that many spells higher level than Haste and Polymorph that are worth twinning.I'd put the top of the wizard  list as Wish, True Polymorph, Shapechange, Time Stop, and Foresight. Of that list True Polymorph is a great wizard spell because you don't have to cast it on the day of adventuring, and it, Shapechange, and Foresight aren't on the wizard list - and the wizard loses a whole lot less if they take the stress that prevents them ever casting Wish again.I'd say at this point the sorcerer is completely out of gas. Meanwhile the Warlock has a 3d10+15 Eldritch Blast (possibly backed with a "cheat code hex" that they actually cast before a short rest, and 3d10+3d6+15 is getting into third level spell territory (fourth level if we count Blight)) and a number of at will invocations. Also the sorcerer has a much smaller collection of fifth level appropriate spells than the warlock. The sorcerer knows only one more spell than the warlock but they need to spread them across five levels of spell. Meanwhile the warlock can retrain anything that's not appropriate.Warlock: If it's first or even second level spells you want I can do this all day. It's called Invocations. (Or for that matter Eldritch Blast is going to be at least second level equivalent). And I can do it all day as well as throwing around my fifth and sixth level spells.12 fireballs is rare as a use case. Especially as turning in your fourth level slots gets you less than upcasting into them would, and your fifth only get you one fireball each.The fundamental issue the sorcerer has playing these games is metamagic conversion is lossy unless you are an Aberrant Mind. You can buy one first level spell out of second level metamagic. You can buy one fifth level spell out of a fourth and a third level slot. And you can buy one third level slot out of a fifth level slot.In general the only slots that are worth trading in (as ever other than for an Aberrant Mind) are the second ones; as mentioned you use the first level slots for defence. Third level is a huge leap for Fireball or Twinned Haste.The (pre-Tasha's) sorcerer knows one more spell than the warlock. And the warlock gets to fling around a variety of spells at will if they've avoided the trap invocations. The sorcerer needs to spend far more spells covering its bases than the warlock does. The diversity isn't on the sorcerer's side, and this is a flaw in the 2014 sorcerer.They burn that slot before breakfast. They then take a short rest at breakfast and have it back because it lasts 24 hours. This is Warlock 101. When Haste starts lasting 8 hours (at third level) or 24 (at fifth) you cast it before a rest. And you have it running until you lose concentration.Of course they need to hit two targets there because Twin Spell. So that's three of their sorcery points (or the equivalent of a second level spell) for 6d10 (33) to one target and 3d10 (16.5) to another. As a rule of thumb you discount damage to secondary targets by half as the only hit point that matters is the last, so that's 33 + (16.5/2) = 41.25. That's exceptionally good single target damage for a second level spell - and very comparable to Eldritch Blast plus hex.</blockquote>

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