D&D 5E (2024) How Many Offensive Spells Do You Ned to Know?

[CleverNickName]

My character only needs three.

• Eldritch Blast, to spam every single round
• Magic Missile, for hard-to-reach targets
• Fireball, for crowd control

My favorite way to get these three spells are to roll up a Human Warlock, grab the Magic Initiate feat (wizard) for the MM spell at 1st level, and then buy a wand of fireballs (or staff of fire, or whatever) as soon as I can afford it. But there are lots of ways to get them through classes, feats, subclasses, and magic items...I've even seen a dwarf Fighter that could cast these three spells.

 

[Kurotowa]

Not counting cantrips, I would approach as a tiered pyramid.

At the top, you've got to have a single target and an AoE spell. Those two are the bare minimum. Then the next tier down is having backup alternatives. A couple with a different damage type in case of Resistance or Immunity, maybe a single target spell or two that target different defensive stats. And then the third tier is specialized counter-tech. Things with additional effects besides damage, or that are stronger against certain types of monsters or in certain situations. You won't use them often, but they're really good when the right moment comes up.

So once you've got your tiers, then you decide how many resources (ie preparation slots) you're going to devote to this. A very control or support focused caster might do the bare minimum. A more blasting focused PC would fill more of the tiers. But you've got your options ranked by priority, so it's just a question of seeing how many slots you have free after you make your other choices.