Kings of primal magics, druidic spells focus on nature and the four elements in DnD 5e. You’ll find many spells that use plant life to hinder your foes, like Entangle and Spike Growth, as well as powerful healing effects and potent damaging spells.

And the great part is, Druids have spells that excel in every situation. From utility spells that make combat, travel, and exploration easier to party-wide buffs to strong area-of-effect debuffs, there’s truly a Druid spell for every situation. Plus, they’re prepared spellcasters who can pick from all their level-appropriate spells at the end of each long rest, providing yet more versatility to the class.

In this article, I’ll give my opinion on the top five spells for cantrips through 5th-level spells. I’ll also rate all the other Druid spells in 5e on a scale of 1/5, with 5 being the best and 1 being the worst.

Take all of this with a grain of salt; part of my rating considers how often a spell will be useful. Some spells, while situationally fantastic, can still get a poor rating (usually a 2) if they don’t see much play. A spell that gets a 1, however, is basically never worth casting or is too situational to the point of being not worth preparing.

Here are my picks for the best Druid spells by level.

Best Druid Cantrips

1. Guidance. Consistently getting to provide a 1d4 bonus to your allies’ ability checks is seriously useful. A little too useful, really, as Guidance’s biggest downside is how often you have to interrupt play to use it.

   That being said, it does come with downsides, like requiring concentration and being limited in range to only allies you can touch. But a +2.5 average bonus to d20 checks is a big deal in DnD 5e’s system of bounded accuracy.

2. Produce Flame. A 10-minute, no concentration mini torch AND a solid 30-foot ranged, 1d8 fire damage dealing spell attack. The bread-and-butter cantrip attack of many spellcasting-focused druid players.

3. Thorn Whip. A 30-foot ranged MELEE spell attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage and pulls the target 10 feet closer to you. While the damage value is lower than most cantrips, forced movement is incredibly powerful in DnD 5e. When used in conjunction with terrain and/or persistent spell effects like Web or Create Bonfire, Thorn Whip’s damage potential goes way up.

4. Shape Water. The most powerful of the elemental cantrips, Shape Water offers a ton of utility and opportunities for fun problem-solving skills.

5. Frostbite. While Constitution saves are the worst ones to force, Frostbite’s rider effect of giving the target disadavantage on their next weapon attack is undoubtedly strong. Use it on big bruisers in the enemy ranks to reduce incoming damage and increase your party’s effective hit points.

Here are the other druid cantrips and my X/5 rating for each:

• Create Bonfire – 4

• Magic Stone – 3 (good early game)

• Mold Earth – 3

• Poison Spray – 3

• Thunderclap – 3

• Control Flames – 2

• Druidcraft – 2

• Infestation – 2

• Mending – 2

• Primal Savagery – 2

• Shillelagh – 2 (good early game and for some multiclassers)

• Gust – 1

• Resistance – 1

Best 1st-level Druid Spells

1. Entangle. My vote for the best 1st-level control spell in 5e, Entangle restrains creatures in a 20-foot square for up to one minute, requiring an action and a successful Strength check to break free from. Used against melee enemies, this provides a huge swing in the fight’s momentum. Even against ranged attackers, the attack disadvantage they have and the attack advantage your party has attacking them is still fantastic.

2. Faerie Fire. Another 20-foot area of effect spell, Faerie Fire causes an affected target to be attacked with advantage for a full minute if they fail one Dexterity save — no follow-up saves or checks. This is very strong, as it allows you and your allies to clean up enemies much more quickly, which in turn reduces the damage your party takes.

3. Healing Word. 60-foot ranged heal that only costs a bonus action to cast and only has a verbal component — the premier spell to bring back your ally from making death saves. Cure Wounds is the better out-of-combat heal, but that’s what goodberries are for anyway.

4. Absorb Elements. A reaction spell that grants resistance to the elemental damage that triggered it for a full round, this is a must-have spell for staying alive during dragon fights and bouts with powerful spell-slinging enemies. The bonus on-hit damage for your next attack is fine, but it’s nothing compared to cutting incoming damage in half.

5. Goodberry. Creates 10 berries that heal 1 hit point each when eaten. With rest-casting and some thoughtful berry storage, you can get a lot of out-of-combat healing very efficiently (few spell slots) out of Goodberry. And that means your party can keep going longer without needing short rests and expended hit dice.

Here are the other 1st-level druid spells and my X/5 rating for each:

• Detect Magic – 4

• Fog Cloud – 4

• Protection from Evil and Good – 4

• Charm Person – 3

• Cure Wounds – 3

• Earth Tremor – 3

• Ice Knife – 3

• Thunderwave – 3

• Animal Friendship – 2

• Create or Destroy Water – 2

• Longstrider – 2

• Snare – 2

• Speak with Animals – 2

• Beast Bond – 1

• Detect Poison and Disease – 1

• Jump – 1

• Purify Food and Drink – 1

Best 2nd-level Druid Spells

1. Pass Without Trace. A flat +10 Stealth bonus for your whole party is absolutely one of the most impactful 2nd-level spells in the game. While it’s not always possible to hide, and the spell comes with some other limitations, Pass Without Trace can certainly feel overpowered when you go on a Stealth mission with your party’s plate-burdened Paladin. In 5e’s system of bounded accuracy, a +10 modifier is stupid strong.

2. Spike Growth. A 20-foot area of difficult terrain that also deals piercing damage as a creature moves through it — even forced movement. Paired with spells like Thorn Whip and Thunderwave or regular effects like grappling and dragging, this spell has the potential to deal massive damage and provide substantial tactical benefits to your party over its minute-long duration.

3. Hold Person. Getting up to 1 minute of the paralyzed condition on a humanoid is incredibly powerful. When this spell lands on the biggest threat in a fight, it’s a massive swing in momentum — not to mention the big damage you can get if you smack them before they become unparalyzed (attack advantage and automatic critical hits for the win). Note that this spell’s power falls off hard in the late game, when humanoid enemies aren’t usually a threat anymore.

4. Flaming Sphere. Decent AoE fire damage and battlefield control, Flaming Sphere has the potential to do a bunch of hurt over the course of a fight if your party works together. It’s more awkward to use than Fireball and likely easier to avoid than Spike Growth, but it’s still a solid spell.

5. Summon Beast. Adding another creature to your party is incredibly strong, and this 2nd-level stand-out is the first of many powerful summons for Druids. Note that the value of this ally drops off significantly as you level up, but at 3rd level, it’s quite good.

Here are the other 2nd-level druid spells and my X/5 rating for each:

• Continual Flame – 4

• Dust Devil – 4

• Enhance Ability – 4

• Enlarge/Reduce – 4

• Lesser Restoration – 4

• Moonbeam – 4

• Augury – 3

• Darkvision – 3

• Earthbind – 3

• Heat Metal – 3

• Protection from Poison – 3

• Warding Wind – 3

• Animal Messenger – 2

• Barkskin – 2

• Healing Spirit – 2

• Locate Object – 2

• Skywrite – 2

• Beast Sense – 1

• Find Traps – 1

• Flame Blade – 1

• Gust of Wind – 1

• Locate Animals or Plants – 1

Best 3rd-level Druid Spells

1. Conjure Animals. Summonining between 1-8 beasts is game-changing, and the spell lasts for up to 1 hour. Numbers are key in 5e’s combat system, so doubling or tripling your party size in a single spellcast is incredibly potent. The only bad part of this spell is that it can be a pain in the ass to actually use in game, but there’s no denying its overwhelming power.

2. Aura of Vitality. This is not great as an in-combat heal, but dividing up 70 hit points of healing to your party out of combat over just 1 minute is absolutely excellent. The go-to spell when you can’t risk a short rest but need to restore multiple players’ hit point pools.

3. Dispel Magic. A must-have spell for ending powerful magical effects that threaten you and your allies. Also good for getting rid of magical buffs that are boosting your enemies.

4. Revivify. The lowest-level resurrcetion spell in the game, Revivify is the kind of spell you want prepared at all times as an insurance policy.

5. Sleet Storm. An absolutely massive area of effect battlefield control spell that can negatively affect enemy melee, ranged, and spellcasters if you’re able to position it well. The big downside to it is that the big area might also impede your allies.

Here are the other 3rd-level druid spells and my X/5 rating for each:

• Erupting Earth – 4

• Summon Fey – 4 (this spell is great, but the 2nd-level Summon Beast is pretty much just as good)

• Call Lightning – 3

• Elemental Weapon – 3

• Protection from Energy – 3

• Tidal Wave – 3

• Daylight – 2

• Plant Growth – 2

• Water Breathing – 2

• Water Walk – 1

• Wind Wall – 2

• Feign Death – 1

• Flame Arrows – 1

• Meld into Stone – 1

• Speak with Plants – 1

• Wall of Water- 1

Best 4th-level Druid Spells

1. Polymorph. The ability to turn yourself or an ally into any beast in the game offers so much in the way of raw combat power and out-of-combat utility. It might not always be the right tool for the occasion, but it’s often in the mix of the most optimal spells to prepare and use regularly.

2. Wall of Fire. Huge area, sizeable damage, and consistent battlefield control that also blocks vision, this spell is a real treat to use.

3. Divination. Paying 25 gp to get a quick answer to an important plot point in the near future is very powerful. And by the time you have access to 4th-level spells, being able to walk into situations slightly less blind can mean the difference between life and death.

4. Stone Shape. Making passageways through stone walls is the main power you gain with this spell, and it’s useful as heck for dungeon dives. It can also come in handy for shutting passageways or making stone trinkets, but breaking and entering is the real star here.

5. Freedom of Movement. A 1-hour, no-concentration spell that makes an ally immune to the paralyzed and restrained conditions, as well as slow effects, the effects of difficult terrain, and no movement or attack penalties while swimming. This is very, very good on allies who require movement to fight effectively (e.g., Rogues, Monks) in fights where they’ll be hindered somehow.

Here are the other 4th-level druid spells and my X/5 rating for each:

• Confusion – 4

• Dominate Beast – 4

• Fire Shield – 4

• Giant Insect – 4 (competes with Conjure Animals as a better mass summon effect)

• Conjure Minor Elementals – 3 (while a good spell, Conjure Animals is usually just as good for a 3rd-level spell slot)

• Conjure Woodland Beings – 3 (same reasoning)

• Control Water – 3

• Hallucinatory Terrain – 3

• Stoneskin – 3

• Watery Sphere – 3

• Blight – 2

• Charm Monster – 2

• Grasping Vine – 2

• Locate Creature – 2

• Summon Elemental – 2

• Elemental Bane – 1

• Guardian of Nature – 1

• Ice Storm – 1

Best 5th-level Druid Spells

1. Cone of Cold. Huge damage, huge range/area-of-effect, and hugely cool in turning your foes into frozen statues. A quintessential DnD spell that always feels good to use. Especially since Druids don’t get Fireball, Cone of Cold is the first big, instant AoE damage spell they have access to.

2. Wall of Stone. Creating instant cover in combat, segmenting off enemies to pick them off one by one, and creating bridges over gaps are just a few of the fantastic uses of this multifaceted spell. And you can even build and add to permanent defensive structures with it if you concentrate for the full duration.

3. Greater Restoration. Undoing potent negative effects on your allies can mean the difference between life and death, success and failure. This spell covers all that and also makes potentially cursed items and exhaustion a bit less scary.

4. Maelstrom. Great battlefield control, decent damage, and the ability to really pair well with other persistent damaging effects to make life absolute hell for hordes of enemies.

5. Reincarnate. Finally, a spell other than Revivify to put a stopper into death. And one that allows a 10-day grace period instead of needing to be near-instantaneous. The only sad part is re-rolling a new race.

Here are the other 5th-level druid spells and my X/5 rating for each:

• Insect Plague – 4

• Scrying – 4

• Transmute Rock – 4

• Antilife Shell – 3

• Mass Cure Wounds – 3

• Summon Draconic Spirit – 3

• Commune with Nature – 2

• Contagion – 2

• Control Winds – 2

• Geas – 2

• Planar Binding – 2

• Wrath of Nature – 2 (great if you frequently fight in forests or jungles)

• Awaken – 1

• Conjure Elemental – 1

• Tree Stride – 1

6th- to 9th-level Druid Spells

Past 5th-level spells, it becomes difficult to judge the “best” spells available to Druids, as context matters too much to give a meaningful opinion. So I won’t rank a top 5 for higher level Druid spells, but I will give an X/5 rating. This rating is mostly based on how often a spell will be useful.

6th-level Druid Spells

Heal – 5

Heroes’ Feast – 5

Investiture of Flame – 5

Investiture of Stone – 5

Investiture of Wind – 5

Transport via Plants – 5

Wind Walk – 5

Investiture of Ice – 4

Sunbeam – 4

Wall of Thorns – 4

Find the Path – 3

Primordial Ward – 3

Bones of the Earth – 2

Conjure Fey – 2

Druid Grove – 2

Flesh to Stone – 1

Move Earth – 1

7th-level Druid Spells

Draconic Transformation – 5

Plane Shift – 4

Reverse Gravity – 4

Whirlwind – 4

Fire Storm – 3

Symbol – 3

Mirage Arcane – 2

Regenerate – 2

8th-level Druid Spells

Animal Shapes – 5

Feeblemind – 5

Sunburst – 4

Tsunami – 4

Incendiary Cloud – 3

Antipathy/Sympathy – 2

Earthquake – 2

Control Weather – 1

9th-level Druid Spells

Foresight – 5

Shapechange – 5

True Resurrection – 4

Storm of Vengeance – 1

Druid Spells FAQ

• What spells do Druids start with in 5e?

  A Druid starts with two cantrips and all of their 1st-level spells. However, they can only prepare a number of spells equal to their Druid level + their Wisdom modifier. So a level 1 Druid with a +3 Wisdom modifier can prepare four 1st-level spells of their choice. These spells can be changed at the end of a long rest.

• How many spells can a Druid have in 5e?

  A Druid has access to all Druid spells for its level. For example, a 5th-level Druid has access to all 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-level Druid spells. From those, they can only prepare a limited number of spells each day, however.

  The number of spells a Druid can prepare is equal to their Druid level + their Wisdom modifier. So a 5th-level Druid with a +4 Wisdom modifier can prepare 9 total spells, choosing as they like between 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-level Druid spells.