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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Volund" data-source="post: 7206254" data-attributes="member: 6872597">I am going to play the contrarian and say that fireball is an overrated spell. Cast as a 3rd level spell it does 28 hp avg dmg. It's strength is the ability to hit multiple enemies but that is also it's weakness. Unless you are an evoker, you can't use it around allies or people you are supposed to rescue. And even if you are an evoker you can't use it around flammable objects you are trying to recover (maps, histories, clues). If you are fighting larger creatures you may not even hit more than two or three enemies in a 20' radius. Saves and resistance can reduce dmg further. Haste your party's fighter or barbarian, esp if they have Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter, and they will do a lot more damage over ten rounds than a fireball spell. If you are a sorcerer and can twin a haste spell then fireball is not even close in power. Hypnotic pattern is arguably better than fireball, too. A fireballed creature will most likely not die and can hit back the next round. Hypnotic pattern has a one-time save and then the monster is out of the battle. If another monster uses an action to wake it, well that is one more action that wasn't used to attack you. Spirit Guardians will potentially do more damage over time than fireball, too, and also slows enemies down. I'm not saying fireball is crap, just that when you get to 5th level, doing 28 hp dmg twice per day with your 2 precious 3rd level slots isn't earthshaking compared to what fighter-types with Extra Attack or rogues using Sneak Attack are doing round after round at the same level, so you are probably better off doing something that helps your fighters fight better.I also want to put in a plug for Sanctuary being a very useful spell, mainly because it is cast as a bonus action and doesn't require concentration! This makes it the perfect spell to protect any caster who is concentrating on a party buff, including yourself. Round 1, someone casts a buff like Bless, Greater Invis, Polymorph. Round 2, you cast Sanctuary on them and then they dodge for the duration. Compared to Shield of Faith, I think Sanctuary (as well as Prot from Evil/Good) is better.</blockquote>

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