D&D 5E Ranking 1st level spells

[abirdcall]

Here's a quick tier list I put together of 1st level spells.

A player asks me my thoughts on a spell:

'Yeah that's a great spell' - S Tier
'Yeah that spell is pretty good' - A Tier
'That spell is a decent choice you should be satisfied with it' - B Tier
'That spell could be good but I advise caution when taking it' - C Tier
'That spell is either pretty terrible or is unlikely to come up/make a difference in the game often enough to be worth taking' - D Tier

Asterisks:

Warlock Spells - Hellish Rebuke and Hex are in play worse than they are on this list because they are Warlock spells and don't scale well.
D Tier Spells - If you don't have a cost to have these available they are fine. They are highly situational and will not be useful most of the time.
Color Spray/Sleep - These are D Tier after level 2 but quite good in levels 1 and 2.

Controversial Picks:

Dissonant Whispers - This spell is never talked about. 3d6 save for half is good damage for a first level spell, the same as the standard of Chromatic Orb with 3d8. Using a reaction to move away though provokes OAs and also saves ranged characters from having disadvantage. That is a lot of extra damage and control.
Feather Fall - Having this available is a game changer. It is great for both safety and exploration.
Bless - This would be S Tier if it wasn't Concentration, affected a full party of 4, or was a Bonus Action. It's still a solid buff but not as good as people think.
Burning Hands/Thunderwave - 3d6/2d8 save for half AoE is just better than the average single target damage spells of 1st level. Burning Hands has better aiming control while Thunderwave can save ranged characters.
Hex and Hunter's Mark - The Concentration stops these spells from being S Tier. In the case of Hex it also has the problem of not scaling well on a Warlock. Some extra damage is just not comparable to the huge effect that level 3+ spells have.
Mage Armor - This is A Tier after level 5. B Tier before that.

1st level spells:

S Tier:

Dissonant Whispers
Find Familiar
Healing Word
Shield

A Tier:

Absorb Elements
Bless
Burning Hands
Detect Magic
Entangle
Faerie Fire
Feather Fall
Hellish Rebuke
Hunter’s Mark
Guiding Bolt
Mage Armor
Magic Missile
Silent Image
Tasha’s Hideous Laughter
Thunderwave
Wrathful Smite

B Tier:

Alarm
Catapult
Cause Fear
Chaos Bolt
Chromatic Orb
Command
Disguise Self
Ensnaring Strike
Fog Cloud
Goodberry
Hex
Ice Knife
Inflict Wounds
Protection From Evil and Good
Shield of Faith
Speak with Animals
Thunderous Smite
Zephyr Strike

C Tier:

Animal Friendship
Armor of Agathys
Arms of Hadar
Bane
Charm Person
Compelled Duel
Comprehend Languages
Cure Wounds
Detect Evil and Good
Grease
Hail of Thorns
Ray of Sickness
Sanctuary
Snare
Unseen Servant

D Tier:

Beast Bond
Ceremony
Color Spray
Create or Destroy Water
Detect Poison and Disease
Divine Favor
Earth Tremor
Expeditious Retreat
False Life
Heroism
Sleep
Identify
Illusory Script
Jump
Longstrider
Purify Food and Drink
Searing Smite
Tenser’s Floating Disk
Witch Bolt

 

[Stoutstien]

• divine favor need to be at least C if not B. BA casting for 1d4 radiant damage on all attacks is better than blowing the same spell slot on a DS after level five. very nice for clearing hordes of weaker targets where the 2d8 would be overkill but the 1d4 pushes your damage into the one hit/kill range.
• overall you seem to have low rating for utility spells. while it very much YMMV, spells like unseen servant or detect poison/diseaase could avoid alot of hardship.
• grease is always underrated. the number of high CR NPCs that don't have immunity to prone is surprisingly high.
• wrathful smite is IMO the best level one spell paladins get. it takes an action to make WIS check to break it not a WIS saving throw. fear immunity is fairly rare even for undead.

 

[abirdcall]

• divine favor need to be at least C if not B. BA casting for 1d4 radiant damage on all attacks is better than blowing the same spell slot on a DS after level five. very nice for clearing hordes of weaker targets where the 2d8 would be overkill but the 1d4 pushes your damage into the one hit/kill range.

If it wasn't Concentration it would be fine. As is it has the potential to do very little and even if it does work for the average 3 round combat that's still just around 10 damage as some attacks will miss.

• overall you seem to have low rating for utility spells. while it very much YMMV, spells like unseen servant or detect poison/diseaase could avoid alot of hardship.
  

• 
  
  I did say that if there is no cost to taking them as a spell then they're fine. If there is an opportunity cost to selecting them though then they're trash in most campaigns.
  
  

  [*]grease is always underrated. the number of high CR NPCs that don't have immunity to prone is surprisingly high.

  
  Prone isn't that powerful of a debuff though. Compare to Entangle.
  
  

  [*]wrathful smite is IMO the best level one spell paladins get. it takes an action to make WIS check to break it not a WIS saving throw. fear immunity is fairly rare even for undead.

That's a good argument. Problems with it are the ever constant Concentration. Before level 5 it could be lost without doing anything. A fear effect in melee is not as strong as a ranged one because the creature is already next to the character. Disadvantage on attack rolls is still a strong effect.

I agree that C is too low.

 

[Gladius Legis]

If it wasn't Concentration it would be fine. As is it has the potential to do very little and even if it does work for the average 3 round combat that's still just around 10 damage as some attacks will miss.

I wouldn't put Divine Favor at B-tier, but C is fine. It's useful in enough common-types of battles to not be "a bad time." And unlike Hex/Hunter's Mark, Divine Favor also doesn't require you to use a bonus action to switch targets after they die.

Disadvantage on attack rolls is still a strong effect.

And disadvantage on ability checks, which includes the WIS check needed to end Wrathful Smite. That's why it's really strong.

 

[jasper]

SPELLS PLEASE SHOWER AND USE DEGREE. AND BRUSH YOUR TEETH.

 

[Stoutstien]

divine favor also works for ranged weapon attacks. niche but damage is damage and ranged is the pally's biggest weak spot.

a lot of big name NPCs have crap DEX saves but very good STR so while entangle is better, grease has a good chance to work and it doesn't cost concentration. how useful prone is will vary but its a 1st level slot that can buy the party some breathing room plus knocking a BBEG prone with grease is always worth it just for the laughs.

wrathful smite is a great spell to land then GTFO or focus on defense using dodge and so on. frightened is a nasty status. they can't follow you and the disatavntatge on ablilty checks means they have very little chance of breaking it other than breaking your concentration. not a bad tanking spell all n all.

 

[abirdcall]

I wouldn't put Divine Favor at B-tier, but C is fine. It's useful in enough common-types of battles to not be "a bad time." And unlike Hex/Hunter's Mark, Divine Favor also doesn't require you to use a bonus action to switch targets after they die.

This might be an argument for why Hex and Hunter's Mark aren't very good

Granted I'm looking at this from a Paladin's POV. I just think the chance to both lose Concentration and miss on attacks makes it very inferior to a regular smite.

And disadvantage on ability checks, which includes the WIS check needed to end Wrathful Smite. That's why it's really strong.

Well yes, I wouldn't expect wasting an action to end it anyway.

So yes, in the right circumstances it could be an encounter ending spell which is quite good for a 1st level spell. Keep in mind that it doesn't prevent escape so if it does end up working out the enemy could often get away.

I still think the potential of losing it without even forcing the save makes the Smite spells in general suspect. The Paladin does not have proficiency in Con saves. They effectively get it at 6th level but even then it's not terribly hard to fail. Their saving grace here is a high AC.

divine favor also works for ranged weapon attacks. niche but damage is damage and ranged is the pally's biggest weak spot.

Yeah it's the weakest spot, but what are they doing here? A Dex Paladin without a shield could make use of it I guess if forced to fight at range. That's a lot of conditional circumstances for a mediocre effect.

a lot of big name NPCs have crap DEX saves but very good STR so while entangle is better, grease has a good chance to work and it doesn't cost concentration. how useful prone is will vary but its a 1st level slot that can buy the party some breathing room plus knocking a BBEG prone with grease is always worth it just for the laughs.

Compare to Faerie Fire then.

If they fail the save to Grease then allies have advantage to fight them in melee, but then the Grease needs to be positioned just right. However ranged characters now have disadvantage to hit them. Then on the enemy creature's next turn they end the status for the low cost of half of their movement.

Faerie Fire just gives advantage to attacks across the board.

The only thing Grease has here is lack of Concentration.

 

[abirdcall]

I moved Divine Favor from D to C.

I mostly try to judge these as 'would the player have fun or be disappointed' and I fear that about Divine Favor but if people here like it then I guess I'm wrong.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

See, I'd put Cure Wounds at much higher than C-tier. It's spell that for levels to come will save your character from dying. No check is needed, and you're immediately back in the fight.

 

[Stoutstien]

See, I'd put Cure Wounds at much higher than C-tier. It's spell that for levels to come will save your character from dying. No check is needed, and you're immediately back in the fight.

healing word is better 99% of the time if you have it available. ranged, bonus action, and gets someone back up. the difference is total value is mostly a wash because its most likely only one hit either way from going back down.