D&D 5E Who is the best DPS at low levels? The Divine Soul Sorcerer's DPS and Control.

[Hohige]

Variant Human Divine Soul Sorcerer.

Feat: Metamagic Adept

Metamagic: Empower, Seeking Spell, Distant and Quicken.
5 Sorcery Points

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Distant Empowered Maximilian's Earthen Grasp (Action):

2d6 (Empowered average d6 is 4.25) damage + Restrainment

• A restrained creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed.
• Attack Rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s Attack Rolls have disadvantage.
• The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity Saving Throws

It's 60ft range (Distant Spell)... It's by far better than 30ft.

This spell is the best control spell at low levels and with distant spell, it becomes even more efficient.
With Restrainment, you and your party have an advantage in your attacks against this creature.
This is incredibly powerful for you and your party.

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Distant Spiritual Weapon (120ft)
1d8 +3 each turn as bonus action.

Spell without concentration that gives reliable damage in the range of 120fts, as a bonus action for 1 minute.

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DPR:

Damage each turn: 2d6 (7 damage) + Restraintment + 1d8+3 (9,5)
Average per turn: 16,5 damage per turn at 60ft + Restraintment

NOVA damage:

Restricted enemy: Attack roll 3d20 +5 + 2d4 (Advantage + Seeking Spell + Favored by the Gods) Empowered Quicken Inflict Wounds= 27 average damage.

Sleeping Creature (Sleep spell), Empowered 8d10 damage (automatic critical) with Inflict Wounds: 50 average damage.

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[Mistwell]

Distant Empowered Maximilian's Earthen Grasp (Action):

2d6 (Empowered average d6 is 4.25) damage + Restrainment

• A restrained creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed.
• Attack Rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s Attack Rolls have disadvantage.
• The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity Saving Throws

It's 60ft range (Distant Spell)... It's by far better than 30ft.

This spell is the best control spell at low levels and with distant spell, it becomes even more efficient.
With Restrainment, you and your party have an advantage in your attacks against this creature.
This is incredibly powerful for you and your party.

Except it's a strength save, and single target (though moveable after that target dies). Which is great against an enemy spellcaster, but not good against strong creatures. Which, for better or worse, is a WHOLE FRIGGEN LOT of of the foes you're likely to encounter in your average D&D campaign. So, it's a situational spell and not a spell to focus on as a primary spell for a generic D&D game.

I'd rather use Web in most situations for control because it's multiple targets, Dex save rather than Str for at least the first round, and creates difficult terrain even if the target succeeds on their save. Sure it doesn't do damage in itself (unless you set it on fire for the added 2d4 damage), and they can escape in a later round using strength (though they still need to wade through difficult terrain) but for control purposes it's better due to the multiple targets and effect even on a save.

 

[Hohige]

Except it's a strength save, and single target (though moveable after that target dies). Which is great against an enemy spellcaster, but not good against strong creatures. Which, for better or worse, is a WHOLE FRIGGEN LOT of of the foes you're likely to encounter in your average D&D campaign. So, it's a situational spell and not a spell to focus on as a primary spell for a generic D&D game.

I'd rather use Web in most situations for control because it's multiple targets, Dex save rather than Str for at least the first round, and creates difficult terrain even if the target succeeds on their save. Sure it doesn't do damage in itself (unless you set it on fire for the added 2d4 damage), and they can escape in a later round using strength (though they still need to wade through difficult terrain) but for control purposes it's better due to the multiple targets and effect even on a save.

Good positioning about it,
But the web is immobile and does not "hurt".

With Distant Earthen Grasp, he can attack any creature at 60ft for 1 minute (Enough for an entire fight).

The Sorcerer can use his action every turn for the duration of the fight, even if the creature wins the first save.
Another problem, the Web can affect your own allies. What makes it situational.

Damage, mobility (Can affect any creature in 60ft), party friendly is infinitely superior to the Web.

Earthen Grasp is superior, Hands down.

 

[Stormonu]

DPS for D&D is a terribly overrated thing as there is so much more the game than combat, and even in combat the situation can make DPS moot in the face of versatility. I know some people like to white room these discussions, but I find it personally poor reductionist theory for the game.

However, I have friend who swears on using the Divine Soul Sorcerer with Grease. Especially when he lights the Grease on fire (a carry-over from his 3.5E days).

 

[Mistwell]

Good positioning about it,
But the web is immobile and does not "hurt".

With Distant Earthen Grasp, he can attack any creature at 60ft for 1 minute (Enough for an entire fight).

The Sorcerer can use his action every turn for the duration of the fight, even if the creature wins the first save.
Another problem, the Web can affect your own allies. What makes it situational.

Damage, mobility (Can affect any creature in 60ft), party friendly is infinitely superior to the Web.

Earthen Grasp is superior, Hands down.

The web doesn't need to be mobile, with a 20' square you're hitting more creatures with that single casting that you can hit in any average battle one at a time with earthen grasp (which my guess is will end up being 2 creatures in a combat).
They can use their action every turn for the duration of the fight regardless of which spell we're talking about so that's not a point.
Web can impact allies, but obviously you don't cast it to do that. It's not like fireball, as the radius is the most manageable of 10'.
Web has a 60ft range as well, so that's not a point.
And you wouldn't want to run up and melee attack a creature in Earthen Grasp, because the creature isn't stunned and they can both attack back and use their reaction.

By the way I think you misread earthen grasp: As an action, you can cause the hand to reach for a different creature or to move to a different unoccupied space. Which means you cannot use it to both move it to another target AND reach for that other target in the same round. You have to choose to either move it, or reach for a different target (which would be nearly impossible without first moving it). So you'd have to waste an entire round of actions just to move it, and by the time you make it reach the new target has probably moved on. So realistically I think you're likely to only get your first target with it in a single combat.

Bottom line: Web is likely to hit three or four creatures in a combat with a single casting, while earthen grasp is likely to hit one or two creatures (or more likely one) in a combat with a single casting. For purposes of CONTROL, web is superior. For purposes of DAMAGE earth grasp is superior. But, you raised a topic about control. So, web beats it for that purpose.