More Than You EVER Wanted to Know About Spells - BG3 Cantrips Tier List

[@crunkers_]

The reason thaumaturgy is seen as fine whereas friends is seen as hostile goes to the lore. People all know magic exists. Having a loud booming voice or doing magic is not illegal. The thing that makes magic illegal is using it on other people against their will. The effects of thaumaturgy aren't mind altering. Your perfectly allowed to cast minor illusion to make a sound or make a magic happen. But altering someone's mind is a big taboo. Think about it, you would be mad too if you found out someone had literally brainwashed you into liking them using magic. But if someone just did a performance with some magical effects or slams a window shut, that can't really be illegal. Or else you would have to make all magic illegal. (which to be fair, in the lore some towns don't allow you to cast magic within city limits)

[@spynix0718]

Viscous Mockery is the funniest killing blow cantrip. Think about it like this: You are fighting a bard and it's the end of a long fight. You feel weak, but so is the bard. The bard then walks up to you, and says "Your mum gay." Then as you start to feel insulted, your brain explodes. THAT is why I love viscous mockery.

[@cshairydude]

A player I played tabletop D&D with referred to it as "hurty feely damage".

[@darrinlambert1314]

Sacred Flame does damage? I don't believe you. It's just a trigger for the saving throw successful text.

[@travisretriever7473]

...Gods, I wish I could heart/love this comment, or even like it more than once. 10/10 post.

[@travisretriever7473]

And also, doubly so when done by SHart.

[@Marianojoey]

hahahhahahaha, OMG, just reading this and it killed me! hahahahahahahha

[@josher-ch6sf]

One thing about Dancing Lights and True Strike is that they are easy repeatable ways to get a cheap concentration up so you can use the Concentrated Blast Illithid Power. Even better if you succeeded the chair saves and can use your action for Dancing Lights/True Strike, then use Concentrated Blast as your bonus action on the same turn.

[@RagnellAvalon]

Oh, this is actually a really good point. I should keep this in mind on my pally...

[@ShermTank7272]

This is especially worth noting, since Concentrated Blast is a guaranteed hit - no save, no attack roll, can't be blocked by Shield like Magic Missile, and even ignores Counterspell since it's a psionic ability (though they can still Counterspell the cantrip cast).

[@Bearshere]

​@@ShermTank7272If the AI is set up to counter spell light cantrips that's fucking hilarious and tragic

[@TH3H3LLR41S3R]

Same could be said for guidance

[@TanoKaen]

you can also use guidance, which is better than true strike (because concentrated blast has 100% accuracy anyway) and more useful situationally than dancing lights

[@Yesmercy96]

I love light in this game. Not having to use a torch wherever you enter a dark room or in the opening hours of act 2 is just so good to me

[@Cephalopocalypse]

For sure! Light was one of the hardest to rate I think, because I like it a lot (and it's almost mandatory in tabletop), but it's also duplicated by a bunch of other cantrips/options. I can see arguments for placing it in basically any tier, but personally I err on the side of taking it always.

[@n1gtwhisper158]

IMO Thaumaturgy makes Zariel Tieflings one of the go-to picks for Paladin and Bard (bonus points for Bardadin). It can Balance out your checks if you take expertise in deception and persuasion.

[@jaegybomb]

​@@n1gtwhisper158 I'm surprised no one really talks about Zariel Teiflings and I overlook them too. Advantage on intimidation + dark vision + fire resist is really good.

[@kittydaddy2023]

I always take light at some point

[@n1gtwhisper158]

​@mattjaeger6206 yeah I'm pretty much a tiefling main, all 5 of my started playthroughs have been them.

[@JirkaKunst]

If you cast Light on a person, you actually target their currently equipped weapon. If you are worried about a stealth check while in light, you can just switch weapons (toggle melee/ranged). The light will also return when you switch back.

[@FuzzMD]

The important thing about Vicious Mockery is that it's an Illusion spell and therefore that Band of the Mystic Scoundrel ring will actually turn it into a Bonus Action, so you can attack twice with a Sword Bard and then Vicious Mockery that target (or another target) to do a little extra damage or just give the disadvantage on their next attack. That's SUPER great, but yeah only comes online at the start of Act 3.

[@WeirdGameplay]

You can also double the psychic damage with Resonance Stone in your inventory.

[@TheRedAzuki]

Also combo Band of the Mystic Scoundrel with Ring of Arcane Synergy(Gives Synergetic Cantrip: When you deal damage with a Cantrip, you gain Arcane Synergy for 2 turns.), and then if you go "attack - > Bonus action Vicious Mockery -> you now get +6 to all your weapon damage rolls (if you got 22 charisma), since you can dump Dex thanks to the dex gloves and strength thanks to elixirs, there's no reason not to max out CHA for Sword Bards.

[@forgiveness7959]

Couple of overlooked benefits of some cantrips are as follows; Dancing lights can be good for a sneaky party by remotely lighting up an area that has enemies while your party can stay in the dark, removing any disadvantage you would have from attacking enemies at a distance. It also doesn’t count as a hostile action so there’s no real downsides to it. Next, acid bubble gives a pool for dipping weapons for a ton of easy extra damage early game, it also gives -3 to AC for enemies standing in it, which in the early game can be as good or even better than advantage. While its damage on its own is weak, the utility for the party is very good if it’s properly utilized. Thorn whip allows you to move creatures a set distance of 10ft that are too heavy to throw or shove with athletics. Pair this with some clever positioning and it can be used to great affect against certain enemies in all acts. Produce flame does not take up a hand slot. You can cast it and have it just hanging out until long rest, I use it on my paladin all the time who uses a sword and shield, very useful for act 2. Alternatively you also have the ability to throw a fire bolt with a character who doesn’t normally have access to that spell whenever it’s necessary or strategically beneficial. Also one thing about mage hand that is often overlooked I feel when it comes to its utility in and outside of combat is that it can actually use objects in the environment. Like doors, levers, buttons, etc. Got a trap with the deactivation switch on the other side of the hallway? Mage hand it. Want to play to your strengths and have the enemies come to you? Close the doors between you and them so they don’t have line of sight. Useful for splitting fights on honor mode by combining magehand to safely close a door after half the enemies come through, then casting arcane lock on the door. Just some ideas.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Appreciate the detailed reply, and great tips! Just one small correction - Acid Splash doesn't create an acid surface; you're probably thinking of chromatic orb or melf's acid arrow.

[@kittydaddy2023]

I will never not love eldritch blast. It's just so satisfying, but thanks for talking about Blade Ward for 5 minutes.

[@Blod1998]

A few notes: I would bump Acid splash to Marginal for it's 2 use cases you didn't mention. It's great against invisible enemies (looking at you, duergars) and after level 6, it's the most reliable damage cantrip for an evocation wizard since it becomes save for half. I wouldn't touch blade ward's placement, however I would note it's pretty great synergy with Eldritch Knight's War Magic feature. If you can't otherwise get a bonus action attack, you're essentially trading one attack (until level 11 of course) for resistance to damage, which is oftentimes a great trade. I would actually bump up Ray of Frost to S tier considering it's usefulness in Wet compositions and the many items which have great synergy with it. I would put Produce flame at the bottom of B tier, lower than both light and firebolt, because it has half the range of firebolt, making it pretty bad as a ranged option. I would bump up shillelagh at least a tier or two, because it is pretty much mandatory on Spores Druid. I find that in general you tend to underestimate non-wildshape options for druids (moonbeam, call Lighting, shillelagh) because you assume that you're always in wild shape, which in my experience is far from the truth. Shillelagh is also quite good on Nature Clerics because they want to be in melee with Heavy Armour and spirit guardians. In tabletop thorn whip us better for nature clerics, but with the way Spirit guardians works in BG3, I think shillelagh is a solid competitor. Speaking of Thorn whip, I would also rate it higher because I think I rate forced movement mixed with damaging AoEs very high, because I think it's a very fun playstyle, where every encounter I feel like a puppet master pulling on my enemies strings. Overall, I like your video, keep it up :)

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Appreciate the thoughtful replies! I don't disagree with most of these, and I think they primarily come down to stylistic differences. One thing to consider for Produce Flame though is that it's not usually up against firebolt or the other good 60ft range cantrips, since it's on clerics/druids. The question is usually is it a better attack cantrip than Sacred Flame or Thorn Whip, and I think the extra utility means it often is. Personally I don't use it in this game because the casting interface is too annoying though :P

[@Tombonzo]

@@Cephalopocalypse- Oh man, Yes! Casting Produce Flame is a pain and sometimes doesn’t work when you think it should. On Xbox, it sometimes disappears from your option to throw it?! Gotta be a bug! I did a respec on my Cleric and got rid of it…. I wanted to like it. First play through FYI.

[@spynix0718]

I agree with most of this except Produce Flame. I think it's fine where it is, but put Firebolt above Produce Flame. I think that Produce Flame is better than light because you can throw it.

[@albertnonymous9759]

Another advantage of Acid Splash is that it's Save, not ranged spell attack, meaning it can be used in melee at no disadvantage. I don't consider it anywhere near the best, especially when it comes to the lack of environmental utility with acid, but it's still a solid versatile pick

[@AriesBozz]

I think blade ward is also missing a few points. Sometimes you're just not in range to cast an attack. Being able to prepare for inevitable damage isn't a bad thing. Also, it might take an extra turn to do the same damage to one person, but you assume that you will only get hit by that one person. Taking half damage from multiple sources for 2 turns while you can only deal with potentially one foe at a time is very valuable.

[@WildFunkyFresh]

Just as a heads up, mage hand is not invisible. There is an alternate version of mage hand that is invisible, but only Githyanki and Arcane Tricksters have access to it.

[@pouncingfoxes]

Shillelagh is better than you think! Spore Druids won't ever wildshape, and Land Druids won't burn an action to wildshape for a single attack (I certainly hope!) on the next round. Also, druids are full casters. They will pretty much always be carrying a staff, which works with the cantrip. You seemed to also short shift druid AC (especially late game). They wear medium armor and shields. Druids aren't hurting for AC while casting (much like clerics). Taking an opportunistic *bop* every now and then is very handy. Druids aren't very popular, so I understand. But I did just truck Honor Mode with mine so I thought I'd add my thoughts and a humble brag. :-p Love your content! Keep it up!

[@TheIrishRev]

I'll add on that you can use it on a torch and get bonus fire damage as well

[@heartlessface]

I always have Druid whenever I can because their Spike growth, Spores, heroes feast, element summons, moonbeam, call lightning, strong staff with shillelagh. So much benefit in one Druid, not mention their cure spells & remove cursed

[@keilius]

Also, clerics of Mielikki have access to Shillelagh.

[@ironsideeve2955]

Wont ever wildshape? You crazy.

[@pouncingfoxes]

Spore druids lose access to their subclass features when they wildshape (1) and (2) activating their subclass features and extra hp costs a wildshape. So yes, spore druids should never wildshape for combat purposes (outside of just goofing around with mega owlbears and such)@@ironsideeve2955

[@DemonOfMyMind]

Ray of frost is the second best attacking cantrip behind Eldritch blast. It also has extremely high utility. 1. It damage is doubled against wet targets and it deals increased damage with specific conditions you can apply through items. 40-50 damage isn't uncommon by the end of act 2. 2. It puts out fires even on the ground. 3. It can freeze water creating difficult terrain and potentially causing the enemy to fall prone, skipping their turn. 4. It slows movement innately. All of this combine makes it an S tier cantrip. If you're not using it on your Wizard or sorcerer you are actually just building your character at a disadvantage. Comparatively, Firebolt is slightly worse than Ray of Frost although still good.

[@BS-bd4xo]

Very often I get the option between Fire bolt and Ray of frost. I then always choose fire bolt, because it deals up to 10 dmg instead of 8. Anyways, how the f did you get 40-50 dmg with ray of frost?!

[@wallaby3083]

@@BS-bd4xo 2 D8 on wet w/ crit roll is 8-64 damage

[@darrylrsd]

its crazy that a cantrip could ultimately be better than a spell. I eventually got rid of ice knife and the orb because the cantrip does its work for them and yes i could upcast but why would I if i then could use any other spell that’s already higher level

[@JruJewJitsu]

I wonder how it would do built around. There's some gear that does cold bonuses like the encrusted in ice gloves etc. I've not seen any builds for frost caster, I've seen fire and lightning but not ice.

[@OfficialDjTalksick]

@@JruJewJitsuthey have a cryo build there’s a hat that benefits from gold damage and some gloves and robes as well

[@OakandIV]

Great to see this. Cantrips are underrated. A big chunk of the early game power of my favorite build (Tempest Cleric / Storm Sorcerer / Wizard) comes from access to most of the good cantrips.

[@kittydaddy2023]

I ran Storm Sorcerer with Shocking Grasp all the way til the end of the game

[@razrv3lc]

Honestly if you stack the frost effect items like that staff you assemble in the underdark, the coldbrim hat from Balthazar’s room in moonrise, and the necklace of elemental augmentation with Frost Ray, you can easily do a ton of damage with that cantrip. Like that spell is on par with a level 3 or 4 evocation spell at that point. I find myself going for it more than I do Cone of Cold or Ice Storm 💀

[@thelonleyghast8975]

I think one thing that puts Shocking grasp and Poisin spray a bit up is that they don't have disadvantage if an enemy is too close like all the other damage spells do, meaning they're more like fallbacks rather than the main source of damage

[@wesmantooth32]

Acid Splash has more uses than I think people give it credit for. Getting an easy pool for dipping weapons in is very nice, and you can set up minor zones of control pre-fight. Surrounding a ranged character with acid is going to make melee enemies reticent of engaging that character, or putting it down in a chokehold being held by a character with Sentinel to lower anyone's AC trying to get past.

[@crunkers_]

HEY GUYS. I was wrong about acid splash doing a puddle of acid. I didnt read it from misinformation online, I literally just remembered it wrong from playing years ago. It never did a puddle of acid, but at some point I convinced myself it did. I still think it's very good because if you pick firebolt or ray of frost, this fulfills an entirely different purpose from those, making you more flexible with this as a second cantrip pick. But sorry if I mislead anyone. I get confused about the rules sometimes even though I've been a fan for a long time. Also, acid puddles dont do damage, and acid spash doesnt reduce AC. Its literally just an AOE cantrip which is more similar to 5e

[@im7254]

​@@crunkers_it did do surface in early access but was nerfed. It's still the best for opening many boxes with 1 click

[@isaz2425]

I carry a candle on each of my character. It's an easy way to get a dippable surface for no action at all.

[@toomuchglitters7254]

I could've SWORN it gave enemies the acid condition... Am I crazy?

[@im7254]

@@toomuchglitters7254 it did in prerelease early on, but people wanted to make it more useless, so it was nerfed

[@SamCastaneda87]

Agree 100% on Mage Hand, it's technically really strong just annoying to set-up so I very rarely use it.. That said it's also Excellent to set-up your lightning damage by throwing water bottles at enemies and making them wet without speding any actions or bonus actions (specially early, later on you can just summon an elemental to help with that which is much less annoying to use)

[@toomuchglitters7254]

Isn't mage hand bugged though? I thought I heard someone mention that it's supposed to be able to pick locks and do other interactions, but it doesn't.

[@mekmekoo1269]

When an enemy is standing on spike growth and you pull him with thorn whip you also get the damage from that enemy moving 10 feet on the spike growth. Then you can move around the spike growth to the oposite side (druids also have longstrider wich can be cast for free). When used this way, thorn whip becomes one of the highest damage cantrips in the game. Also the conjure woodland being summon can cast spike groth for free and can reposition it every turn, making this a very very strong combo for druids. You can also sinergise with a warlock and pull enemies with thorn whip and pushing them back with repelling blast adding the spike growth damage every time.

[@Shiv-ym1rr]

Old setup in 5e i had with repelling blast and thornwhip

[@RobertTheSmall]

So somehow it's odd because I think you've both understated some things about mage hand, but also missed some redonkulous things about it/confused a few ways it works on tabletop compared to bg. You did properly state how miserable it is, which I think is the most important part, so A+ job on that, but a few facts about mage hand and how it's definitely an S tier cantrip: - It lasts 10 turns by default, and is only once per short rest. Isn't major, but is worth considering when we get into more detail with it. - It can punch targets to deal a whopping 1 damage. It can also attempt to shove objects as well. - It can move and throw objects, activate switches and can fly if needed. It can also attempt to pick locks/disable traps. - It counts as a summonable object which means it is basically a creature. Those are the basics, let's get into the next set of details -The Gith racial version and the Arcane Trickster class feature version is invisible until it takes an action. The Arcane Tricksters also doesn't have a summon time limit, so it's effectively an invisible scout that can fully view the map for you - It provides an extra threatening person for melee sneak attacks. - It can consume objects on the ground (I found this out the hard way, when my mage hand ate the noblestalk after throwing Baelen his bag 😩). That means it can drink potions, which means the default 10 str it has can go up to 27 if you feed it a potion of Cloud Giants strength, which greatly increases the range/weight of throw objects and how well it can shove... I haven't experimented with it much, due to the fact that it's already a pain to inventory manage on console, but I genuinely think it's super underrated. I used it earlier to grab and throw the Silver Sword of the Astral Plane to me safely up the cliff after I disarmed Voss in act 1 and I only grazed the surface of it. It's cracked and I hate it because you have to be an absolute psychopath to be able to properly use it

[@Gnolls...]

42:20 Remember that when playing as a Barbarian you get a lot of class specific intimidation checks, making Tiefling an interesting choice for a super conversationally bully Barbarian.

[@SoI_Badguy]

One thing to remember about acid splash is that if you're an evocation wizard, you get a feature that allows acid splash to be 3d6+ save for half rather than making it deal no damage on a save. Which makes it (obviously) much much better.

[@dr.calibrations7984]

"There arent that many intimidation checks" My Barbarian; "ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT!?"

[@ShermTank7272]

I think Shocking Grasp should be bumped up to at least B-tier. It's the only cantrip that is a melee attack roll (Poison Spray is melee range but it's a save). If your casters ever end up in melee range, having Shocking Grasp to be able to attack without disadvantage is a useful niche, in addition to allowing them to retreat safely to your backline (yes I know there's gear that lets you do ranged spells in melee, but you may not want that on your build).

[@Cephalopocalypse]

The way I see it, if your casters are in melee unintentionally that's already a bad enough situation to warrant using a levelled spell or scroll - It's not a *bad* use of an action exactly, but when that happens I'd rather spend resources to make sure they stay alive than do a little damage.

[@RagnellAvalon]

@@Cephalopocalypse I'd agree but the game loves throwing teleporting mobs at you (e.g. Phase Spiders) and the very janky zone-of-control for opportunity attacks in BG3 means that trying to set up a frontline and keep your casters out of melee is not always something you control

[@ErosTheNerd]

Also note in that situation Shocking Grasp prevents reactions so you can then walk away after hitting them without Attack of Opportunity

[@RagnellAvalon]

@@ErosTheNerd With the updates to movement this is probably either better or worse depending on how controlling your front line is

[@ethanowens473]

Shocking grasp prevents enemy casters from using counterspell against your other spells, making it useful on a melee character like an EK to support a full caster.

[@seda_11]

This video was extremely helpful for me as someone who just got into BG3 with no prior experience. I only had a vague idea of which cantrips were good or what their useful applications were before watching. It was pretty overwhelming having so much to choose from in the early levels.

[@fuzzydude64]

You can also respec anyone with Withers at any time though, so if you want to choose different stuff if your initial choices don't work out, you can!

[@ProfessorCLion]

I think there's a good argument for taking multiple damaging cantrips. With all the flammable area control spells like entangle and web, a fall back from the staple firebolt can be useful. I find shocking grasp can be helpful on casters for maintaining offensive momentum in meelee range. Also, multiclassing is very easy so it isn't difficult to get plenty of utility cantrips too.

[@OakandIV]

Note: If you have conditions or gear buffing a Cantrip, it can become a much better option. The cantrip version of create water followed by Ray of Frost or Shocking Grasp; any cantrip if your spell casting or proficiency bonus is added to the damage; any cantrip with damage riders from gear. Basically, as a player, you can often find a way to make a cantrip a solid attack action with zero or low resource cost.

[@ProbeAway]

Great list! Probably the only changes I would make are: - move ray of frost to S tier, for the reasons other people have mentioned - swap blade ward (down to b tier) with friends (up to a tier). Friends is so good for passing crucial dialogue checks. It would be s tier if it wasn’t for the aggro in higher difficulties. That’s not enough to drop it more than one tier though, IMO. While blade ward is fantastic on a retaliation damage build as you’ve said, that’s pretty niche. For most builds there’s no real reason to waste a known cantrip slot on it. If you reeeeally need an ally to survive one round then throw a potion next to them (or cast sanctuary if you have it)

[@tminusboom2140]

Friends doesn't aggro if you leave the area after the check. Just go to camp and back every time you use it and it has no consequences.

[@RE-jb2ke]

Thaumaturgy is really good for an Honour Mode run. A few Act 1 instances where it’s good to have: -To get free music proficiency from Alfira -Save Arabella from Kagha -To get Scratch -To bypass Blighted Village goblin fight (you get more XP than fighting them) -To get into the Myconid Colony -To get Ring of Mind Shielding for free -To get into Goblin Camp -To free Volo for free -To get Loviathar’s Blessing -To gain entry into the Chapel for Reflectory fight (with surprised advantages) -Helps with Mirkon against Harpies -Must have when trying to keep Iron Flask (and not be hostile with Zhentarim) when speaking with Rugan and later Zarys -To get Ethel’s Boon Again, just a few Act 1 cases but there are a ton more instances throughout the game, some really important rolls.

[@Angus_Fox]

Also for Eldritch Blast: your chance to crit is much higher as well because your making so many attacks. Over the course of the game you'll likely crit at least twice as much, part of why GOO warlock's level 1 feature is so dope.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

It's true!

[@LordZeebee]

One thing to consider about true strike in bg3 specifically is Concentrated Blast. If you managed to get your hands on the permanent buff that lets you use Illithid powers as a bonus action you suddenly have a way to throw out 3d6 Psychic damage with a 3d6 heal if the target is concentrating every single round at absolutely no cost.

[@Princess_Salami]

Funnily enough, grabbing Eldritch Blast via Spell Sniper on a non-charisma caster will use their default spell casting ability, so if you want a 60ft damaging attack roll cantrip on your Druid or Cleric, Spell Sniper means they can use their Wisdom for the attack. Also, kinda fun to have Gale Eldritch Blasting. Pre-Casting Mage Hand on a Lightning Build and leaving bottles of water near it is also an amazingly good use for it, since that way you don't need to use you cleric to spend a spell slot on Create Water. To note, the "base" version of Mage hand isn't invisible and only lasts 10 turns. The Mage Hand you were talking about in the video was the Arcane Trickster version of Mage hand. Sorcerer's Distant Spell on Shocking Grasp does let you use it 30ft away, so slightly less risky, but at a somewhat higher cost than a normal cantrip. Amazing video tho, I'm so happy about Bone Chill being put in A-tier, with my view on it getting proven right to my friends! 😊

[@ShermTank7272]

It's worth noting that Evocation Wizard's level 10 passive (adding int modifier to Evocation spell damage) also applies to cantrips, and Eldritch Blast is an Evocation cantrip. If you give Evocation Gale spell sniper, you can get an additional 5 damage with each beam if you ASI him to 20. This also stacks with Agonizing Blast if you give him 2 levels in Warlock, allowing you to get a _minimum_ of 8 additional damage _per beam_ (if you respec him to be Intelligence/Charisma and give the appropriate ASIs); potentially even more if you find certain permanent stat bonuses and/or the Potent Robe.

[@lynth]

I never played DnD before until BG3. When I started playing, I fell in love with Shadowheart and always took her with me wherever I went. Not because she's hot or badass or mysterious... but because she had Guidance and Guidance is - as you said - incredible. Shadowheart is the good luck charm of my team!

[@drunemeton]

The Harper’s Amulet early in Act 1 gives the wearer Guidance. My early lock picker always has this for that sweet 1-4 bonus!

[@InnocentLock-er6et]

For mage hand, doesn’t it normally only last 10 terms, and is only invisible githyake and arcane tricksters? I know the arcane tricksters is permanent, but I could have sworn every other one was only 10.

[@MidlifeCrisisJoe]

You are correct about Arcane Trickster, but even the Githyanki psionics hand is only 10 turns.

[@LordLemmysLabs]

Yeah, definitely got some info mixed up between different class and racial abilities. Another thing base mage hand can't do that he mentioned is using it to disarm traps. That's strictly an arcane trickster ability.

[@vd_sv]

Something that I’ve never seen people remembering about the true strike is that it lets you land sneak attacks within the battle. Your other option would be sticking with your tank but that might draw unnecessary attention to your cleric if you’re surrounded. Otherwise, you could try and bonus action sneak, but enemies cones of vision should allow that, plus you have to be able to step away from any enemy’s reach which either gives you a reaction slap, strips you of yet another bonus action to leave with no reaction, or you need a special trait to get in and out more easily As a thief, I enjoyed landing a sneako, and then either finishing off with two off-hand bonus swings, or rush to the next smaller enemy to land them, really makes your character a slice machine

[@evonthon]

Wait, mage hand is only invisible if you're arcane trickster rogue right? I've had plenty enemies smack it.

[@lued123]

The Githyanki Psionics version is also invisible, but yeah, the normal one doesn't get that.

[@Yugi3844]

It also doesn’t last all day

[@Chucboris]

Dancing lights disables vents in the hag house, under dark, etc so if you want an easy way to go through just pop it down

[@Cephalopocalypse]

I hadn't tried this! I hate the vents in the hag dungeon so much, that's very good to know.

[@IliumGaming]

you can also toss any old trash on top of the vent and it will block the poison just the same

[@RagnellAvalon]

@@IliumGaming and it is supposed to block the poison* my latest trip through I tried this after reading about it and the vent exploded

[@Cephalopocalypse]

@@IliumGaming Yeah, but they placed the triggers for the perception checks wrong and the damn things don't show up on the screen until you check them - unlike every single other gas trap in the game. If you fail, or just don't want to walk close enough to roll because some of them don't trigger until you're already in the gas cloud, you have to guess where they are for blocking them. And some aren't even close to the center of the cloud they make. Pretty much my least favorite section in the game.

[@artiviser1237]

easy way down is feather fall and enhanced leap@@Cephalopocalypse

[@MistyKathrine]

I think only one I really disagree with is shocking grasp. It's lightning damage so doubles with wet and it's one of the less resisted damage times and there are certain builds that really want this cantrip, because it's lightning damage it's a must pick on Storm Sorcerer for example.

[@LiqwdE]

Yep. Maybe low B generally... but definitely an A on the right build

[@isaiah2696]

I discovered you the other day and have been binging all your videos! You're pretty cool! That's all ^_^

[@sniperwolfe0361]

Amazing list. The only argument I would probably add is that I would personally consider Ray of Frost to be an S tier cantrip, no questions. All the utilities you mentioned of course but also it’s the only cantrip you can very easily apply double damage with very consistently with a wet condition that lasts for 3+ rounds. all the utility, plus damage that equals that of spell slots is huge in my opinion. Minus shocking grasp of course which I completely agree with your rank on it.

[@aratakeneikawa6589]

Pretty great tierlist, great video as always! I actually like ray of frost more than bonechill, mainly because we can easily make enemies wet. So in early level, RoF is very powerful. And even in act 3 it is useful.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks! I agree, and it's my goto damage cantrip these days, in part also because of the ice surface utility. Ice surfaces are lethal to some lategame bosses (my first playthrough, Orin just fell over and never got to take a turn - it was not an exciting fight!). Bone chill is very, very good though so I wanted to mention it as the other strong option.

[@SocratesWasRight]

I was thinking frost dragon disciple, that amulet of elemental augmentation that gives cha to cantrip damage, potent robe and wet targets, twin spell (cheap on sorc points). Should be (cantrip damage + 3x cha mod (sorc, amulet, robe)) x 2 (vulnerable) x2 twin spell. And then add other metamagic/haste etc as needed. Dunno if it works, just an idea.

[@slamindorf5478]

Shilleleigh is pretty good for a spore druid starting out when use symbiotic entity instead of wild shapes, also pretty nice to pick it up from feat/multi class on cleric and bonk things with a caster staff. Besides quickening truestrike which is usually a waste of sorcery points, one use case is when you only have ONE shot that you NEED to hit. Like you have one dragon-slaying arrow left, or down to your last spell slot and need your scorching rays to have advantage. BG3 just gives you a whole lot of resources relative to an average DnD campaign, so that adds to the rarity.

[@Unknowngnostic]

Do the gloves that give 1d4 fire damage work with shilleleigh on torches? Doubling the damage of the club and fire, making a dual wield torch build do 4-16 damage per hit. With a modifier of 5, that's 9-21 per torch lol That's not bad for torches and not including anything else that may work. It's kinda funny, I might try that

[@NeoN-PeoN]

I love blade ward. When used well, even if it's not extending something like Armor of Agathys, it can ensure a large chunk of your opponent's units are doing half damage. Your economy of action example is for a strictly 1v1 situation ONLY.

[@cannyvalley8522]

Spell tier list, let's go!! Oh that's gonna be huge

[@cannyvalley8522]

Maybe split by level or something

[@korkoo1]

Awesome vid, hope many looks through this list. Not something you ever would need to think about when you are new at the game but kinda interesting when you gotten a bit deeper into the subtilitets and depth of the game.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks very much!

[@jaxsonfanta5420]

Mage hand can go into Little Rock crevices that your character can’t normally fit into (the very op disguise self spell lets you turn into a half long or gnome, which then allows you to fit into there) and since the mage hand can fly, it’s actually really good at getting to difficult to reach areas with loot on them. The gyth get a special mage hand that is invisible and while I haven’t seen anything crazy with it yet, that added utility is sure to make certain fights easier.

[@malceum]

Friends is S tier. As long as you leave the area within 10 turns, you won't get in trouble. I go to camp just to be safe.

[@fishenjoyer7974]

It requires a little bit of foresight, but I typically cast blade ward when I anticipate that an enemy is going to attack me. It makes for a decent tool for disengaging or risking an opportunity attack.

[@HiddenLink_clips]

Seein shocking grasp at C Tier is very under appreciating. It's easily A tier and can be build around to be S Tier with Thunder Cleric reactions, War Caster Feat. And the Reverberation Gear and everything that triggers Conditions

[@peterbrand8547]

This series is extremely useful and I'm going to build my spell loadout for all my characters around your advice for my next playthorough

[@Yesmercy96]

Yes! I've been waiting for you to talk about cantrips and ( probably ) spells!

[@fallingupwards7974]

with eldritch blast, you can get robes from Alfira after rescuing the tiflings that adds your charisma modifier to your cantrips, which stacks with agonizing blast. pair that with the Birthright hat in act 3, you can get your charisma modifier to six, so that's 12 extra damage on each of three eldritch blasts

[@kevlap017]

Note: Blade ward is also useful for an eldritch knight with war caster, they can cast it and still make a weapon attack with their bonus action, very useful. You can even take a magic initiate feat to get armor of agathys

[@amphionification]

I played co op and we were all bards using Vicious mockery on enemies at the same time. IDK how useful it was, but it was fun as hell.

[@Heretical_Theology]

Dude, this is a fantastic breakdown but I have never had so many ads on a video like this before and I’ve listened two a lot of teir breakdowns. Like, easily 3x as many ads than any other

[@azulcrescent715]

Hey Ceph, mainly a brotato viewer, but i just check this video cuz i do play BG3 casually and i wanted to say your reasoning and analysis of the different cantrips are very fun and informative to listen to, to the point where im most likely going to do another run ahaha. So thanks for the video, the analysis!

[@cshairydude]

21:56 Mage hand is only invisible if you get it from being an arcane trickster or githyanki.

[@Kylesico912x]

Blade Ward is one I’ve recently changed my mind on in certain builds. A abjuration wizard and warlock multiclass can be practically immortal if used properly.

[@ajh8566]

As for thaurmaturgy vs friends. I think the NPC dectects the spell casted on them vs a spell being casted on the player character. And normally an argument/debate or performance that doesn't get violent or disturb order and peace will be left alone.

[@gregoberski5897]

The one flavor thing Acid Splash is good for is instantly destroying a large amount of objects/crates. If you're ever in a cluttered basement type area, Acid Splash instantly melts everything it hits, it's very satisfying.

[@minhocho5487]

Ray of frost is also arguably one of the most damaging cantrips of someone else has create water spell

[@RonnieMyers777]

Even moreso if you make that ice staff at the adamantium forge

[@razrv3lc]

@@RonnieMyers777 and have the coldbrim hat from Balthazar’s room in moonrise or the necklace of elemental augmentation. my Gale nukes with that cantrip. Like 35 damage a turn with a free spell lmao

[@RonnieMyers777]

@@razrv3lc yeahhhhh 🥶🥶🥶

[@RyanMcDonnough]

You should absolutely create videos for ranking spells.

[@NobleMonster]

I second this.

[@caseylongo8086]

12:53 one thing you did not credit dancing lights with is that you can cast dancing lights on top of a vent to temporarily disable it while the cantrip is active

[@skagful3204]

your build and guide videos are the best, very nice!

[@mausebas]

Bro is that my goat Sightstone in your pfp? Respect.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

low resolution and badly cropped corners from 2011 and all!

[@valthorix7347]

Note on thorn whip, if you don't mind using a glaive, the druids grove gives you a unique one with thorn whip as a bonus action if you achieve their 'best case' ending, with halsin alive and all the shadow druids dead. You get it from the guy with the wolf companion, I don't remember his name.

[@ilgiallo0]

You know guys , for the first time i found a use for the spear you find in the crypt , it's a incredibile good Monk weapon , if you fail your first attack you are sure to get the 2 hit after .

[@jameslowell9656]

Doesn't sacred flame not require actual line of sight?

[@mightymanofvalour8691]

I believe so. This would make the spell a B+ for me personally (more favourable than firebolt imo). Actually, not long tested this and it’s hit and miss. Sometimes enemies don’t have to be in view, other times they do.

[@spencerb891]

Vicious mockery is really nice when you get the ring where bards can use it as a bonus action

[@primrosett]

Where can you find that?

[@IcyeFaethyvve]

It's called the Band of the Mystic Scoundrel which you situationally get near the beginning of Act III in the carnival - look it up on the wiki if you want specifics @@primrosett

[@brazen_helm]

​@@primrosettyou have to win the jackpot from the genie in the circus in Rivington. He'll get angry at you and teleport you to Chult (a massive jungle island far to the south). The ring is in a backpack in Chult. It's called the band of the mystic scoundrel if you want to look up more.

[@Blakobness]

The problem I have with Blade Ward is that it gets overshadowed in practicality and usability by a piece of equipment at the very start of the game by Hellrider's Pride that you can steal right off of Zevlor when you get to Emerald Grove, and the upgrade of The Reviving Hands in act 3. It also lasts 2 turns as Blade Ward does, and it gets applied from any healing; from potions, to standard cure wounds, to healing word. So even though this does tie it to expending resources (for potions, it's really practically free if you're running a Rogue), but not necessarily spell slots, it means you can be applying blade ward on multiple characters, often as a bonus action; as well as healing too. I think as a cantrip it's probably C or low B, as I do find myself taking it sometimes with a character I've dipped a level or two in Cleric, but it has to compete with Resistance and for me that means Blade Ward usually loses out. I don't consider Eldritch Blast to be the standard for damage per turn for casters, Eldritch blast is just definably busted, and most builds won't have access to it without dipping or dedicating a feat for it specifically. It's an anomaly because Warlock is essentially built around this one spell, so it has to carry an entire class. Mage Hand has been changed in a patch, I think before this video was uploaded (but not recorded?) Mage Hand no longer lasts all day, it lasts only 10 turns, and despite being a cantrip can only be cast once per short rest. Unfortunate change. That being said, I think the actual abusability of this spell is over-hyped. You can get the usability of Mage Hand throwing bombs or potions by having characters drop potions by opening their inventory and drag-dropping them in combat. This doesn't cost a bonus action, doesn't require you take a cantrip. And then with another character, use an attack that has AoE in the proximity of the potion or bomb stack, and they go off and effect those near them. It's a little more finicky to use, but once you've practiced it, it's easy to do. It's something I do all the time with bombs and fire arrows in combat. True Strike is an unfortunate casualty of 5e's habit of tying everything into Advantage. If you brought 3.5 True Strike into 5e or Baldur's Gate, it would have been much better. A +20 bonus to hit, and disregarding concealment for one attack is huge. You could even put it on a 3 turn duration, or allow it to use concentration. A good thing to cast for a class taking a dip into Wizard or something, to make sure you hit even if Advantage isn't enough of a guarantee. That being said, even in 3.5e it had very niche use, the team just neglected to really do anything with it positive to the change over to 5e, so it's even harder to justify.

[@Ragatokk]

There are even times in combat where truestrike is better to use than an attack or cantrip, you can set up for a spell to hit.

[@SoI_Badguy]

"If youre in melee as a druid youll just wildshape" Kid named spore druid:

[@snafu964]

I was really expecting D-Tier to be "and in D-tier we have True Strike"

[@LordScrambles]

One thing that’s worth noting about the (otherwise useless) concentration cantrips; many items in the game have special effects that only trigger when concentrating on a spell, so even something like True Strike or Dancing Lights can be useful in that corner case.

[@Xenobears]

One instance where true strike might be superior to just making two attacks is when you’re using a consumable resource to attack (like a grenade or special arrow). If you want to ensure the resource doesn’t go to waste, a true strike may be better. But that’s such an outlier as to not be a serious consideration.

[@dangalvan2484]

About thorn wip, if you have water (either by creating water or throwing water, or because an ice spell melted) and then electrocute it (either call lighting, lighting arrow, whatnot), you can use thorn wip to pull an enemy to the electrocuted water and deal more damage and get them the condition electrocuted for 1 or 2 turns, which is great. You can also do it with any surface that's either poison, fire, acid, ice, etc. It def has more uses, and altho it may need a combo, it also helps your Rogue to gain advantage if you need your enemy closer and you have no more movement and your just shy of it. It's def marginal, but has cool uses.

[@Denamic]

I'd bump up sacred flame up one tier purely because it's an amazing spell for applying radiant orb if you're going for that in your build. You can get 8 stacks from one cast.

[@Than211]

In a niche case usage, if you have the Band of the Mystic Scoundrel ring, you can use it in combination with Vicious Mockery for some bonus effect if you're not going to be spending your bonus action on anything anyway.

[@excelsword1376]

I understand your reasoning for Acid Splashes placement here but as someone who loves evo Wizard I just cannot agree. At level 6 It becomes one of the best methods of confirming damage against low health/weak enemies, since it will always apply damage even on a save. If you can hit at least 2 enemies (which is not that difficult)the average damage it puts out can match or even outpace other cantrips, and interactions with damage riders start to get nutty. Now I will concede, if you aren't putting 6 levels into Evo Wizard, its not a good spell, in that case I am fine admitting that. And it could be argued that Wizard has better actions it can be spending their turns rather than cantrips. But I love acid splash too much haha.

[@alexsamurai1230]

To play devils advocate... True strike may be worthwhile if you were a rogue and there was no other way to get advantage. One attack with advantage can be worth more than two attacks flat because rogue's sneak attack damage add is more than their regular attack. ... Actually, if you used it on a twin daggers build, could it be used to force advantage and therefor sneak dice on the offhand bonus attack?

[@5446or5446]

At that point something has gone wrong if you need to use true strike on a rogue

[@alexsamurai1230]

Sure, ideally you'd want to have advantage; still if there's no other way then it has some utility. Also bear in mind rogue will usually move first, so other party members may not yet have had a turn to create advantage. Again, not saying it's good, more trying to find some kind of circumstance where its situationally useful. @@5446or5446

[@Marianojoey]

Vicious Mockery is hillarious! The insults you yell at your target are glorious. :D Also, starting as a Bard, VM is really usefull to keep the Illithid in the Nautiloid alive for a couple of rounds while you take care of the cambions with it's help. :) I guess that if you make an updated version of this video, you'll update the Mage Hand's description, since they now last only 10 turns and can push and attack (for only 1 HP) enemies. In the Nautiloid fight it helped me kill one of the cambions that ressisted everything and was only 1HP left. I sent Lae'zel's Mage Hand (in the last turn it had before unsummoning) and hit it (really lucky, since it has only 45% chance of hitting) and got to kill them all thanks to that. :D

[@KirDmA]

About mage hand - it is invisible ONLY if you get it as gith, or arcane trickster. And only arcane trickster get it as permanent summon, all others can have it only for 10 turns one time per short rest. So it is not even cantrip in bg3(because cantrips DON'T have cooldown). If mage hand is implemented in bg3 as in dnd5, sure it is strong tier, but with all these nerfs? Useful maximum, or maybe even weak, if you are not player that love micromanaging in battle. I advise anyone just forget about mage hand and pick more useful cantrip. About minor illusion - do you really think that it is a must take pick for anyone that have access for it? First of all it is concentration cantrip, so you mostly cannot precast really powerful concentration spells if you use it. Second - using familiar cat is much better alternative (permanent, ritual, can become invisible with potions) for what it's does that if you take 1 level ranger dip only for that, it is still worth it (but don't forget that you also get all armour and weapons proficiency).

[@ericlandon950]

Great video! Would love to see all spells done in this format!

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Thanks! That's the plan, so long as people stay interested :D

[@rj009ok]

my highlight use of mage hand was in the Ironthrone, locking the fishmen behind the doors because apparently npcs don't interact with levers so they just did no damage to the door while we escaped.

[@wainrider]

Light is useful for the ring that adds damage to illuminated targets as well as not needing a torch. Shocking grasp build is pretty strong. You can get it to 3d8+1d6(spell might gloves)+4(markohenshkir(bolt of doom))+7(blue dragon sorc)+7(potent robe)+7(necklace of elemental augmentation)x2 with wet. You can use the aforementioned ring for another +2. The +7 is from getting cha to 24. Though the mirror is tough in honor mode. So you might just want to play it safe with +6 with 20cha+the hat. You can do tempest cleric to full damage it but I think it's bugged right now and when I look at the log it's not doing full damage with shocking grasp. So I just do 9 sorc/3 warrior for surge and crit. WIth the bow, elixer, fighter, and spell sniper feat you crit on a 16. And you get an action, hasted action, quickened spell, surge.

[@malachisullivan4089]

Dancing lights has an interesting utility in that it can cover and negate traps such as gas trap vents

[@ABadassDragon]

I've been using the ice staff from act 1 for the whole game. Pair it with create water and a hat and gloves that give encrusted with frost effect and ray of frost is the most damaging cantrip for my sorcerer and its so good

[@GoDUsopp-bb2sx]

One thing I want to add is when you describe blade ward you mention it's usefulness in one on ome combat only but if multiple enemies are going to attack you halving multiple instances of damage per turn can definitely help out in a long fight especially with just one tank

[@ИванМихайлов-й9к9щ]

I have a question about shocking grasp . It says you make a melee attack YET it does not give you sneak attack bonus damage if you make it as a rogue. Why?

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Rogue sneak attacks only trigger off of weapon attacks from bows or melee weapons with the finesse property, so it won't work on spell attacks, unarmed attacks, or strength-based weapons like a greatsword. This used to be different in older D&D editions, but 5e added those restrictions - personally I wish it worked on everything still!

[@nickboon1235]

Love how I’m not even looking at the rankings, I’m just here to learn about the different minor effects and uses of the cantrips. If I’m playing someone who’s very into poisons like maybe a spore druid, you bet yo ass I’m picking poison cloud😂

[@daytonbenson1203]

My underoptimized shadowheart carries resistance and guidance, and the one tine resistance came up was in the dialogue/drinking game with thisobald. Saved me from the fight, ironically

[@DavidTorpid]

Another benefit of dancing light is you can use it as an object to set off traps or cover trap vents.

[@benhickson6149]

A lvl 5 sorc with spell sniper eldritch blast can cast haste, 4 beams with 10% crit chance or pre hasted can cast 6 beams at 10% crit without any additional gear considered

[@rowantheminotaur6120]

40:15 My favorite use case for Shocking Grasp is on EK at level 7+, using Shocking Grasp with War Magic to remove reactions and dealing a lot of damage melee characters can't get with Lightning damage, then using my extra attack from War Magic to do an attack with a two-handed weapon with Great Weapon Master for 3d8+5 + 2d6+15, then action surging to do that again.

[@Cephalopocalypse]

War magic is sadly pretty weak, and the numbers there are why! It costs you your action and bonus action to use a cantrip and attack - that could have just been 2 attacks (3 at level 11), which would do more damage and leave you your bonus action for something else. The best use is probably with Blade Ward, since it lets you cast it while still putting out some damage.

[@vezeryk6706]

I really like the acid splash tbh. I hate picking all of the garbage locks for these steel bar doors. I just use the acid splash as the steel bars have vulnerability to it, so its easy to break it in a few strikes and it also looks dope. You should at least put it one tier above true strike, because its not that useless.

[@TidusDowthelas]

One situational use for Acid splash that saves a spell slot and thrown bomb item is for enemies with sanctuary. It negates it with a successful dc dex fail on the enemy.

[@grant5758]

Vicious mockery can be done as a bonus action with the band of the mystic scoundrel, making it a decent choice for hand crossbow swords bard machine guns to reliably impose disadvantage for a fairly minimal reduction in damage (at least compared to any other style that can use it)

[@xxANBUxx]

By the time you get that item you have way way better things to be doing than Mockery.

[@5446or5446]

Yeah you could be casting hold person or hypnotic pattern nearly guaranteed success because arcane acuity is busted

[@travisauruss]

Do NPCs get aggro after Friends in balanced mode? I think it’s only on higher difficulties?

[@Cephalopocalypse]

Only Tactician and Honour

[@dorithegreat6155]

My main use for thorn whip on the one playthrough I had it in was pulling my allies who died on stairs because for some reason the scroll of revivify doesn't work if the target is on an uneven terrain such as stairs (unless it's bin fixed since)

[@heartlessface]

True strike, dancing light very useful when combine with bonus Illithid-Concentrated Blast. Shillelagh is very nice when combine with Ironvine shield for making damage, more armor, reflect dam at the same time. Thorn Whip amazed me because so far, it's only thing can damage directly to Sanctuary target that I've known so it's super useful because there're alot of Sanctuary targets in act 3

[@dutyfreeadventures5924]

Shillelagh has a few other considerations that boost it up to useful. First would be that if your offhand has a shield, you are still attacking with a d8, something that usually requires a two handed weapon. So Shillelagh isn't JUST a cantrip that raises damage with a melee weapon, but it's also a cantrip that raises AC by 2. any +1 modifier to your weapon is added at the same time as your charisma and the weapon retains any ither special magical properties it already had. Clubs are also considered light weapons and can be duel wielded. When the spell is cast it will prioritize your main hand but if your offhand is the only blunt weapon it will target that instead so now you've got a d8+Wis for your off hand. IF YOU WANTED TO DO SOME SHENANIGANS you can jump into turn based mode before combat and get Shillelagh torches IN BOTH HANDS. So that's (1d8+Wis+1d4)*2 which is an average of 14 damage without even factoring in your wisdom. Don't forget that unlike wildshape it doesn't prevent you from casting spells. The real beauty of this cantrip is that you can use it on SALAMI.