Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="FormerlyHemlock" data-source="post: 6681147" data-attributes="member: 6787650">Well, not so much. Fireball is good at some kinds of things, but it's not exactly the game-changing powerhouse that some other spells are. For example, as Shadowdweller says, Conjure Animals kind of blow it out of the water in terms of sheer effectiveness (in many but not all situations). Animate Dead has a way better concentration economy than Fireball, even if you're not a necromancer; Polymorph is a tanking spell par excellence; Planar Binding is fantastic at turning gold into combat power; Pass Without Trace is the sneak supreme; etc., etc.Even just considering the pairings you listed above, it's not at all clear that Fireball pushes the Fiendlock over the top, since Evard's Black Tentacles on the Cthulock is arguably better (save for the concentration requirement), especially for a warlock with Repelling Blast. The Fiendlock's temp HP may or may not be better than the Cthulock's telepathy--it varies by table, and at least at my table, ability to communicate telepathically is way more coveted by the players than temp HP since diplomacy with alien creatures comes up pretty frequently. In any case, it isn't Fireball which is creating the tiers, if any. I hate clerics so can't speak for them from play experience, but the Light cleric doesn't really stand out as clearly the best.In my experience, any situation which is dominated by Fireball is dominated by other spells as well. My Lore Bardlock found Fireball tempting, sure, but ultimately he went with Spike Growth instead, because there just aren't many situations where 8d6 in a 20' radius once is better than 20-40 points of damage to anyone crossing it (at half speed, no less) plus +10 damage per Eldritch Blast (4d4 for 10' knockback) for ten minutes. Fireball is great at killing swarms of drow, orcs or hobgoblins, but Spike Growth is equally good at either warding them off or killing them if they try to close, and they don't even get a saving throw. Other spells like Hypnotic Pattern, Confusion, and Call Lightning can also do the same job as Fireball in any situation I can think of. It's not a must-have, it's just nice to have.</blockquote>

Verification