Rules edition: This guide covers the eight spellcasting classes in the 2014 Player’s Handbook: Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard. It uses their 2014 class and spell rules; Artificer options come from separate books.
There is no universal best spell list. A spell that solves a problem your party faces often can be more useful than a famous option that rarely fits the situation. Use the examples below as starting points, then check the spell’s level, casting time, range, components, and concentration requirement against your character and campaign.
Know how your class chooses spells
In the 2014 rules, Clerics and Druids prepare spells from their class lists after a long rest, within the number allowed by their class features. Paladins also prepare from their class list, but their number of prepared spells uses a different formula; oath spells are always prepared. Wizards prepare from the spells recorded in their spellbooks. Bards, Rangers, Sorcerers, and Warlocks learn a limited number of spells and can usually replace a spell when they gain a class level, following their class rules.
These differences affect how you plan. A prepared caster can switch to a situational spell when they expect to need it; a spell-known caster may prefer options that remain useful across many sessions. A Wizard’s spellbook can include more spells than the character can prepare at once, and ritual spells in the book can offer utility without being prepared when the ritual rules allow it.
Wizard: defense, information, and control
Shield can turn a near hit into a miss, using your reaction and a 1st-level slot. Find Familiar offers scouting and other utility, though the familiar is a creature with limits and can be put at risk. At 5th character level, a Wizard can learn 3rd-level spells such as Counterspell; it is a reaction with specific range and casting requirements, so it is not a universal answer to every hostile spell. At higher levels, Wall of Force can divide a battlefield, but its placement and the spell’s limits matter.
Cleric: support and area control
Bless improves attack rolls and saving throws for up to three creatures while you maintain concentration. Healing Word can restore a small amount of hit points at range as a bonus action, leaving your action available for another legal option under the 2014 bonus-action spell rule. At 5th character level, a Cleric can prepare the 3rd-level Spirit Guardians, which deals damage and affects movement around you while you concentrate. Decide whether its area and concentration fit the encounter before committing.
Druid: hinder movement and support the group
Entangle can restrain creatures in an area if they fail a saving throw, making it useful against groups that are vulnerable to that effect. It requires concentration, and creatures can use the spell’s stated escape method. Goodberry creates small pieces of reliable healing and nourishment that last for 24 hours. Pass without Trace can help a group move stealthily, but it also takes concentration and does not make every Stealth attempt automatically succeed.
Bard: create openings and control a crowd
Faerie Fire can make affected creatures easier for the party to hit if they fail the initial Dexterity save and you maintain concentration. Dissonant Whispers deals damage and can make a target use its reaction to move away on a failed Wisdom save; that movement may provoke opportunity attacks under the normal rules. At 5th character level, Hypnotic Pattern can incapacitate creatures that fail its Wisdom save, but the effect ends for a creature that takes damage or is shaken out of it. Each spell is situational, so consider the foes and allies likely to be in the area.
Sorcerer: protect yourself and shape a specialty
Shield is a useful reaction when an attack would hit you. Web offers area control at 2nd level but requires concentration and allows creatures to resist or escape its effects. A Sorcerer who wants direct area damage might consider Fireball at 3rd level, while another build may prefer a spell that supports its chosen Metamagic or party role. Sorcerers know a limited number of spells, so choose effects you expect to use and remember that the class rules govern when you can replace one.
Warlock: spend pact slots with concentration in mind
Eldritch Blast is a cantrip, not a spell-slot choice, and can be customized with Eldritch Invocations. Hex can add damage when you hit its target with an attack, but it requires concentration and a bonus action to cast or move to a new target. Warlocks regain their Pact Magic spell slots on a short or long rest under the 2014 class rules, but the number of slots is limited. Consider whether a spell’s effect is worth using one of those slots at the level at which you cast it.
Paladin: prepare for the day’s role
Bless can support several party members, including you, while you maintain concentration. Shield of Faith offers a different defensive benefit but also requires concentration, so you cannot maintain both at once. Find Steed can provide a mount and has specific summoning and communication rules; it is not simply an extra attack. Paladins can also use spell slots for Divine Smite after a qualifying melee weapon hit. Decide how you want to balance those class features with spells prepared for exploration or support.
Ranger: choose between marking a target and helping the party
Hunter’s Mark can add damage when you hit its target, but it requires concentration and a bonus action to cast or move. That means it competes with other concentration spells and bonus-action features. Goodberry offers portable healing and food, while Pass without Trace can support a stealth-focused group. Rangers know a limited number of spells from their class list and can replace one when they gain a Ranger level, so choose these options with the rest of your known spells in mind.
Check the full spell before choosing it
A spell’s name or reputation does not tell you its full cost. Concentration prevents you from maintaining another concentration spell at the same time, and damage can force a Constitution saving throw to keep concentration. Area spells can affect allies; saves can succeed; and some features compete for your action, bonus action, or reaction. Build a short list of spells you understand, then adjust it as you learn what your campaign actually asks of the party.
Official Rules Sources
- Basic Rules (2014): class spellcasting and class features
- Basic Rules (2014): spell descriptions and spell lists
- Basic Rules (2014): spellcasting and concentration rules
- Player’s Handbook (2014) errata
Keep a short, readable spell list for your character. It is easier to make a good choice at the table when you know what each spell asks of you and what your party needs.
