D&D (2024) The New Direct Damage Spells You Should Be Using.

[Zardnaar]

Generally I find direct damage spelks marginal in 5E and even worse in 5.5. There's a few exceptions like ones with riders eg guiding bolt and older classics such as spirit guardians. Eldritch Blast is still good but not as good as 5.0 due to power creep but still decent on a Warlock (take it).

Generally I don't find them worth upcasting. An extra dice of damage compares poorly to spells like hold person, blindness, comnand, etc.

5E has changed things up. More hit points in effect making direct damage worse but more ways to manipulate dice rolls at lower opportunity cost via origin feats and options buried in Tashas. For example we have a joke about guiding bolt and action surge always missing. It probably because PCs are only using it with 50-70% hit chances and they remember the frustration of missing more than the times they hit.

Inflict wounds got nerfed. Guiding bolt, inflict wounds, Chromatic Orb and ice knife had some use at low level damage scale poorly however in 5.0.

5.5 added conjure Minor Elemental. To me it's mostly theoretical as it doesn't really become a problem until you upcast it and few classes get access to it. Right now it's "abused" on bad theory craft bard builds on YouTube videos. Wizards and Druids have a harder time abusing it.

So spells I'm seeing my players use or ones I want to use myself (I'll be playing soon class no idea).

1. True strike. On the surface it's fairly basic. More damage. Useful on various builds and any spellcaster. Easy to aquire via feat if your class lacks it. Also go to for Eldritch Knights and Valor Bards if 5.0 material isn't used. Also has interesting interactions with the war caster feat, magical weapons found and paralysis. Hold person or monster lands PC spellcasters are a lot more keen to "get into it" up close. BG3 effect.

2. Sorcererous Burst. Only sorcerers can get it along with tome locks. Can be acquired by feat. It's versatile like chromatic orb and dragons breath and exploding dice mechanic. As cantrips scale exploding dice happen more. Also fun with critical hits. Since it's a sorcerer spell innate sorcery, metamagic and often dragon Sorcery apply. I've seen some very high damage rolls at tier 2 with a cantrip. Think crits, empower spell, innate sorcery and charisma to damage. That's just the secret sauce it's perfectly good by itself. Its also a lot of fun due to it's gambling mechanic appeal. It's an Eldritch blast for sorcerers by that I mean take it. Not as good on warlocks but useful. Also plays nice with hex more on that below.

3. Chromatic Orb. They buffed it and made dice a lot easier to manipulate than 5.0. Tashas options moved to phb and sorcerer revamp. My players are upcasting this and not upcasting fireball. A lot better on sorcerers but also plays nice with bless and faerie fire. Any class can aquire it via feat. I suspect this will also unlock the theory craft acid and frost dragon sorcerer. I have compared this to fireball and lightning bolt. At higher levels chain lightning comparisons may be required. I recommend rolling a handful of d8s as a thought experiment. Might be A tier spell for sorcerers, S tier for dragon ones a B tier for any other spellcaster class that lacks good boom spells eg some bards and druids.

4. Hex. An old favorite for warlocks and Eldritch blast. Hunters mark kinda for spellcasters. Tashas opened it up via feat to other classes but rarely used. Also fiendpact warlocks using scorching ray. Useful in Baldurs Gate 3. 9d6 damage level 3 is still 9d6 damage level 3 then switch to Eldritch blast. In 5.5 it plays nice with the traditional spells but also the new sorcerous burst, and Chromatic Orb spells. Tashas technically unlocked it with guiding bolt as well but kind of obscure (Star Druid in phb now just saying). Casting hex via feat also allows you to follow it up with attack spell of your choice. Even if concentration is broken low opportunity cost to recast with level 1 slot.

5. Scorching Ray. Most damage dealing spells are not worth upcasting. Scorching ray in effect gets an extra 2 dice of damage vs 1. With hex it's also 3 die of damage. New PHB also added transmuted spell from tashas. Semi obscure before. Very cheap cost to turn scorching ray into not fire damage. Roleplay as Emperor Palpatine using force lightning.

Well that's mostly it. Old favorites are still good. Changes to the game or adding splatbook options have buffed these spells. Spells with attack rolls are a lot better. Does your DM allow elven accuracy feat? Asking for a friend. Invoker kind of a B tier subclass now if you wanr to play a blaster I would probably be looking at sorcerers and warlocks now. You could probably replace old favorites such as fireball and lightning bolt but they're still probably worth taking for situations you would want them for.

Chromatic Gambler build incoming.

 

[mellored]

I agree Truestrike and Chromatic Orb are top damage spells at lower levels, and they upscale pretty well too.

But Sorcerer's Burst is slightly lower damage than Firebolt or Eldritch Blast. Basically a d9 vs a d10 (5.0625 vs 5.5)
Empowered or crits don't change that.
It's versatile, but nothing stops Eldritch Blast's force damage.
And you can add +Cha to Firebolt just as easily.

Also Hex doesn't do much with Sorcerer's Burst or Chromatic Orb. Just +1d6.
Still works great with Scorching Ray and Eldritch Blast as before. But if your dipping for it, ranger gets a few free hunters marks instead.

 

[ezo]

Our houserule for 5E 2014 is any upcast damage or healing spell (or anything with variable hp effect, such as sleep) automatically gets maximum on the extra dice when upcast. Keeps everything viable IME.

 

[Zardnaar]

I agree Truestrike and Chromatic Orb are top damage spells at lower levels, and they upscale pretty well too.

But Sorcerer's Burst is slightly lower damage than Firebolt or Eldritch Blast. Basically a d9 vs a d10 (5.0625 vs 5.5)
Empowered or crits don't change that.
It's versatile, but nothing stops Eldritch Blast's force damage.
And you can add +Cha to Firebolt just as easily.

Also Hex doesn't do much with Sorcerer's Burst or Chromatic Orb. Just +1d6.
Still works great with Scorching Ray and Eldritch Blast as before. But if your dipping for it, ranger gets a few free hunters marks instead.

Read sorcerous burst a bit closer.

Once you hit level 5 you have a 25% exploding dice chance. Also you don't have to use fire damage. Also if you crit with sorcerous burst any of those extra d8s also potentially explode.

That's how I'm seeing damage into the 30s with it. You can also empower it rerolling damage dice.

At higher levels I've seen twinned hold monsters used followed up by quickened sorcerous burst and true strikes. Automatic 6d8 damage plus exploding dice.
. Am extra +1 off firebolt rarely matters and is fire. Exploding thunder damage matters more and I've seen crits just drop enemies.
. It's not a massive drastic this is amazing type thing but it's better than firebolt most of the time imho. Not fire damage alone makes it good. Charisma to damage as well. Firebolt only gets that as a fire sorcerer. On paper sure at the table I'm picking Sorcererous Burst and not fire

 

[mellored]

Once you hit level 5 you have a 25% exploding dice chance.

25% chance for +5 damage = +1.25
which is less than +2 damage from 2d8 -> 2d10.

Also you don't have to use fire damage.

That's the trade-off.
Slightly less damage, but a choice of damage type.

Also, Eldritch Blast does the most damage as force. So still the winner.

Also if you crit with sorcerous burst any of those extra d8s also potentially explode.
You can also empower it rerolling damage dice.

Doesn't matter. The damage per die is
SB: 5.0625 per exploding d8
vs
FB: 5.5 per d10.

Same ratio if you roll/reroll them
10d9 will be less than 10d10.
*Unless you hit the explosion cap, but I'm not counting that.

That's how I'm seeing damage into the 30s with it.

A level 5 firebolt can crit for 30 damage as well. I expect you remember the spikes more than all the 6 damage rolls.


But most importantly, your having more fun with SB. So that what makes it the best.

 

[Zardnaar]

25% chance for +5 damage = +1.25
which is less than +2 damage from 2d8 -> 2d10.

That's the trade-off.
Slightly less damage, but a choice of damage type.

Also, Eldritch Blast does the most damage as force. So still the winner.

Doesn't matter. The damage per die is
SB: 5.0625 per exploding d8
vs
FB: 5.5 per d10.

Same ratio if you roll/reroll them
10d9 will be less than 10d10.
*Unless you hit the explosion cap, but I'm not counting that.

A level 5 firebolt can crit for 30 damage as well. I expect you remember the spikes more than all the 6 damage rolls.


But most importantly, your having more fun with SB. So that what makes it the best.

The spikes from SB are happening often enough to be noticeable.
In a white room sure. A 30 damage hit from a 2d10 fitebolt is stupidly rare.

An exploding Sorcererous Burst is 1/4. On a crit it's 50%.

In a real game it's when you drop something from 30 hp or have off a large chunk of hp with a cantrip (innate sorcery firing with advantage alot as well).

Not only is it fun it's happening a lit more often. Every combat or every other combat sort of often.

And you can manipulate both the dice roll easier and damage roll if you're a sorcerer.
It's not amazing damage as such but a lot better than firebolt and it's not fire damage. Fire damage really only beats poison damage.

Warlock probably won't use either one but Sorcererous Burst is situationally useful for them vs firebolt.

 

[mellored]

An exploding Sorcererous Burst is 1/4. On a crit it's 50%.

5 damage *.50 = +2.5
4d8 -> 4d10 is +4.

Here's the distributions if you want to look at it.

AnyDice

AnyDice is an advanced dice probability calculator, available online. It is created with roleplaying games in mind.

anydice.com

In a real game it's when you drop something from 30 hp or have off a large chunk of hp with a cantrip (innate sorcery firing with advantage alot as well).

Or deal 30 damage to something with 3 health.

it's not fire damage

Agreed.

 

[jgsugden]

25% chance for +5 damage = +1.25
which is less than +2 damage from 2d8 -> 2d10.

That's the trade-off.
Slightly less damage, but a choice of damage type...

Mostly true, but there is another aspect to be considered beyond average damage - maximum damage.

What are the chances of getting 21 damage on a non-crit 2d10 firebolt? 0%. What are the chances on a Sorcerous Burst? Low, but possible . Why does that matter? If your foe has 21 hps, it matters. If you're trying to break concentration, it can matter.

When you have empowered spell to allow you to reroll selectively once you see the damage dice it can matter as well - but the math there is a bit convoluted to go into and you likely want to spend that sorcery point empowering a true spell.

D&D is a threshold game. With a small exception for bloodying a creature, the main threshold in terms of health that matters is dead (0 hps). When it comes to taking an enemy down before they take you down, sometimes very unlikely is better than impossible.

Additionally, crossing 22, 24, 26, 28, etc... raises the DC on concentration checks. If all that matters is stopping that spell, I'd rather give up a few points of damage to get that increased chance to break the spell. This really starts to matter at level 11+.

Additionally, the ability to choose damage type to avoid resistance (or capitalize upon vulnerability - awakened plants, mephits, mummies, twig blights, treants, flumphs, earth elementals, fire snakes, etc... ) matters a lot.

Also note that this cantrip damages objects. So does firebolt, but many other cantrips do not.

Finally - I believe we'll see the Hex treatment for Sorcerous Burst in this edition and see feats, subclass abilities, and magic items that interact with this cantrip to give it a boost. Honestly, when I read about it, I immediately assumed they'd be in the core books. Imagine if they add a way for you to add your Charisma to each die you roll for Sorcerous Burst - similar to the bonus we get on each die of Eldritch Blast as a Warlock - but with the potential for more due to the exploding dice? That would make Sorcerous Burst the bomb. When I heard that there was a UA with Spellfire in it, I thought this might be where that subclass would go. We may get the ability to apply certain metamagics to cantrips at 0 cost ... and an empowered Sorcerous Burst is a different story. Regardless, when and if we get these enhancements, this cantrip might be massively more powerful.

Right now, this is best as a "second damage" cantrip on a class that gets a lot of cantrips - but it could become the best cantrip in the game if we get the right magic item, feat or subclass.

 

[mellored]

What are the chances of getting 21 damage on a non-crit 2d10 firebolt? 0%. What are the chances on a Sorcerous Burst?

0.0739%

When you have empowered spell to allow you to reroll selectively once you see the damage dice it can matter as well - but the math there is a bit convoluted

Not really.
It's the exact same chance as the first time you rolled it.
And the d10 has the same chance as the first roll as well.

D&D is a threshold game. With a small exception for bloodying a creature, the main threshold in terms of health that matters is dead (0 hps). When it comes to taking an enemy down before they take you down, sometimes very unlikely is better than impossible.

So if you include crits what is more likely to deal 21+ damage?
And what about 5+?

I did the other math, you can so this one. (Or I'll probably circle back once I get some time. Maybe ask AI?).

Posion spray is also feeling left out.

Additionally, the ability to choose damage type to avoid resistance (or capitalize upon vulnerability - awakened plants, mephits, mummies, twig blights, treants, flumphs, earth elementals, fire snakes, etc... ) matters a lot.

Last I saw there where not very many vulnerabilities in the MM. But yes. SB will deal less damage most of the time, and on rare occasion it will deal more.

Though, awakened plants are vulnerable to fire so firebolt, which will multiply it's lead.

I believe we'll see the Hex treatment for Sorcerous Burst in this edition and see feats, subclass abilities, and magic items that interact with this cantrip to give it a boost.

Possibly, but that hasn't happened.
also very likely to be only one specific subclass if at all.


But just to repeat. The difference is small, and you should play what's most fun. I took Sorcerous Burst on my wild sorcerer and randomly roll the damage type.

this is best as a "second damage" cantrip

Probably.

But really, the optimal choice (after Eldritch Blast) is to Trust Strike. It does the most damage, Radiant is reliable, you can use piercing if needed, melee or ranged, can use the fighers old magic weapon, can get the most add-one (archery style, sneak attack).
Only downside is if you get disarmed.

 

[Zardnaar]

0.0739%

Not really.
It's the exact same chance as the first time you rolled it.
And the d10 has the same chance as the first roll as well.

So if you include crits what is more likely to deal 21+ damage?
And what about 5+?

I did the other math, you can so this one. (Or I'll probably circle back once I get some time. Maybe ask AI?).

Posion spray is also feeling left out.

Last I saw there where not very many vulnerabilities in the MM. But yes. SB will deal less damage most of the time, and on rare occasion it will deal more.

Though, awakened plants are vulnerable to fire so firebolt, which will multiply it's lead.

Possibly, but that hasn't happened.
also very likely to be only one specific subclass if at all.


But just to repeat. The difference is small, and you should play what's most fun. I took Sorcerous Burst on my wild sorcerer and randomly roll the damage type.

Probably.

But really, the optimal choice (after Eldritch Blast) is to Trust Strike. It does the most damage, Radiant is reliable, you can use piercing if needed, melee or ranged, can use the fighers old magic weapon, can get the most add-one (archery style, sneak attack).
Only downside is if you get disarmed.

True strikes probably better.