D&D: Five First-Level Spells Worth a Second Look in 5.5E
With hundreds of new spells, the new edition of D&D has some pretty powerful options. Here are some of our favorite First-Level Spells.
The new Player’s Handbook is packed with hundreds of spells. From the humblest cantrip to the reality-reshaping Wish, there are many magics in the new ruleset. And the new rules have a lot to offer with spells at every level.
So we’re going through the different spell levels and pointing out some of our favorites. Whether they’re newly improved or brand new all together, these spells may be worth a second look. Starting with some of our favorite first-level spells.
Witch Bolt
Witch Bolt got a massive glow up in 5.5E. It went from being one of the worst first-level spells to being one of the best. The new Witch Bolt 2d12 damage when you hit a target woth it. But then even if you miss, you can still spend a Bonus Action on your subsequent turns to automatically deal 1d12 damage to the target you cast the spell on, even if the first attack missed. And with a range of 60 feet now instead of 30 feet, it’s much harder to get away.
Talk about unlimited power.
Divine Favor
Divine Favor is sure to.be a reliable favorite of any Paladin, or indeed, any other character that gets their hands on it. This spell lasts a minute, takes only a bonus action to cast, and doesn’t take your concentration. For very little cost you add 1d4 damage to every attack, making it an extremely attractive spell for dual wielders or anyone else making lots of melee attacks.
Compelled Duel
Compelled Duel got a subtle but important buff in the new ruleset. It was already an amazing control spell, capable of effectively locking down an enemy with a 1st level spell. When your target fails their Wisdom save, they have disadvantage to attack any creature other than you, and now, under the new rules, can’t willingly move to a space that’s more than 30 feet away from you. They used to be able to make a save to run away, making it hard for you to stay within 30 feet of them.
Now, they don’t even get to try. It’s a very hard lock if they fail their save. And with the right teamwork, this can give your party breathing room enough to deal with basically anything.
Goodberry
Goodberry got a real good boost. This is going to catch folks by surprise, I think, because Goodberry was always one of those out-of-combat spells that you use at the end of the day to keep yourself topped up the next day or you would give someone downed a Goodberry as an absolute last resort.
Now, a Goodberry only takes a Bonus Action to eat instead of an entire Action. Much like a Healing Potion. Eating a single berry restores a hitpoint and feeds you for one day. But again, it’s just better all around thanks to some quality of life upgrades.
Healing Word
Finally, Healing Word. This spell was always a great healing spell. But now it’s been significantly buffed. First, it does double healing. That’s right, for a bonus action, your target regains 2d4 + your spellcasting modifier hit points. And that alone is a huge buff that makes it extremely worth having around. But, it also got a buff to scaling, a buff which it shares with Cure Wounds. Healing Word increases its healing by 2d4 for each spell slot level above 1 (while Cure Wounds increased healing by 2d8 per spell slot level above 1), meaning it’s easier than ever to have healing spells on your list.
And these are just some of our favorites. Most of the spells got some tweaks that make them work a little better or a little smoother!
