Best Wizard Cantrips

1. Mage Hand. A wonderfully useful spell for holding your torch, activating traps, opening/closing doors from a distance, pulling levers from afar, grabbing keys, and aiding in climbing (to name a few of my favorite uses), Mage Hand is a godsend for when you can totally see the thing you need to interact with, but can’t reach it or fear interacting with it yourself. Wins my vote for the best utility cantrip available to Wizards, as far as being applicable in the most scenarios.

2. Mind Sliver. As the only Intelligence saving throw cantrip in the game, Mind Sliver has the highest chance of hitting of any available cantrip. It deals 1d6 (3.5 average) psychic damage on hit, and reduces the target’s next saving throw by 1d4 — incredibly powerful for setting up big-impact save-or-suck spells, like Hold Person.

3. Toll the Dead. 1d8 (4.5 average) necrotic damage that scales to 1d12 (6.5 average) against an injured target, Toll the Dead is the best and most consistent source of cantrip damage for Wizards. Technically, Fire Bolt will deal more damage on an uninjured target (1d10 = 5.5 average) and can also be used to ignite things, but Toll the Dead will usually deal more damage (albeit at a 60-foot range instead of Fire Bolt’s 120).

4. Ray of Frost. 1d8 (4.5 average) frost damage on a 60-foot ranged spell attack, and slows the target’s movement speed by 10 feet for one round. This is insanely good in a ranged-heavy party that can use hit-and-run tactics — if a melee enemy can never catch up to you without dashing, you’re denying attacks and keeping your party alive. Note that I’d rate Ray of Frost lower, in exchange for one of the cantrips I rated 4/5 below instead, if your party is heavy on melee characters.

5. Prestidigitation. The king of utility cantrips, Prestidigitation has too many uses to name here. But if you’d like a spell that can serve as a distraction, instant cleaner, tricksy poison concealer, symbol-maker, and trinket-creator all in one, this is the spell for you.

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

• Chill Touch – 4

• Fire Bolt – 4

• Minor Illusion – 4

• Control Flames – 3

• Create Bonfire – 3

• Frostbite – 3

• Light – 3

• Message – 3

• Shape Water – 3

• Shocking Grasp – 3

• Sword Burst – 3

• Acid Splash – 2

• Dancing Lights – 2

• Friends – 2

• Lightning Lure – 2

• Mending – 2

• Mold Earth – 2

• Blade Ward – 1

• Booming Blade – 1 (4 on Bladesinger)

• Green-Flame Blade – 1 (3 on Bladesinger)

• Gust – 1

• Infestation – 1

• Poison Spray – 1

• Thunderclap – 1

• True Strike – 1

Best 1st-level Wizard Spells

1. Shield. The best defensive 1st-level spell in DnD 5e, Shield gives you +5 AC until the start of your next turn, used as a reaction to taking damage (the bonus applies to the triggering attack as well). It also prevents Magic Missile from hitting.

   Basically, this turns an enemy hit on you into a miss, and protects you against other attacks for a short while as well. And Shield stays good for an entire campaign as well; a +5 bonus is always significant in DnD 5e’s system of bounded accuracy. In fact, it gets even better, since the cost of a 1st-level spell slot becomes less and less valuable as you get more spell slots.

2. Find Familiar. Summon a permanent familiar over a 1-hour casting time. While familiars can’t attack, they can use the Help action to grant an ally attack advantage. The Owl familiar, in particular, is good for this, with both the ability to Fly and the Flyby trait, which causes it not to trigger opportunity attacks. The ability to cast touch-ranged spells through your familiar and use it to scout are other very common applications of Find Familiar.

   Just note that familiars are incredibly fragile, so you need to be careful with them if you want to take advantage of how efficient this spell can be.

3. Magic Missile. Send out three darts that deal 1d4 + 1 (3.5 average) force damage to between 1-3 targets. There’s no attack roll or saving throw with Magic Missile — they just automatically hit. While the damage seems kind of low (10.5 overall), it’s guaranteed to hit, so it deals higher average damage than a 13.5-average-damage spell like Catapult or Chromatic Orb, assuming those have a 65% chance to hit (.65 * 13.5 = 8.8, which is lower than 10.5). Not to mention that force damage is almost never resisted (although the Shield spell can stop Magic Missile).

   Even better, Magic Missile is an excellent tool for breaking an enemy spellcaster’s concentration, since they have to make a Constitution saving throw for each missile that hits them (albeit at a low DC).

https://www.dndlounge.com/what-breaks-concentration-5e/

4. Catapult. Launch an object 90 feet in a straight line, forcing a creature to make a Dexterity saving throw if it would hit it, taking 3d8 (13.5 average) bludgeoning damage on a failure. If the creature succeeds, the object keeps flying, possibly hitting another creature directly in line with them.

   This is the same damage as Chromatic Orb, which has the advantage of allowing you to choose from a variety of damage types (allowing you to get around resistance or take advantage of vulnerability). But Catapult is just as likely to hit as Chromatic Orb’s ranged attack (creatures with high Dex tend to have AC), and it comes with a few advantages of its own. Like being able to get the chance to hit a second (or even third) creature if the initial target passes their save. And not requiring a 50 gp diamond, or any material or verbal components, to cast.

5. Mage Armor. Changes a target’s base AC to 13 + Dexterity modifier (up from 10 + Dexterity modifier) for 8 hours; no concentration required. This is a straight-up +3 AC bonus for the entire adventuring day, which brings your chance to be hit way down (by 15 percentage points, to be exact). Plus, if you save a 1st-level spell slot for the entire day, you can cast Mage Armor at the end of a long rest, right before you get your spell slots back. That way, Mage Armor is up for the day, and you still start with 100% of your spell slots.

   Note that some DMs might find this cheesy and not allow for “rest casting” (although it is allowed, rules as written). Even if they don’t allow for it, Mage Armor is still a damn good 1st-level spell for Wizards. Note that the value of Mage Armor goes way down if you gain armor proficiency somehow (ordinarily via multiclassing or being a Bladesinger).

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

• Absorb Elements – 4

• Burning Hands – 4

• Chromatic Orb – 4

• Detect Magic – 4

• Fog Cloud – 4

• Tasha’s Hideous Laughter – 4

• Thunderwave – 4

• Cause Fear – 3

• Charm Person – 3

• Color Spray – 3

• Disguise Self – 3

• False Life – 3

• Feather Fall – 3

• Ice Knife – 3

• Identity – 3 (as a Wizard, you should be the one to grab this if anyone does)

• Protection from Evil and Good – 3

• Silent Image – 3

• Tasha’s Caustic Brew – 3

• Alarm – 2

• Comprehend Languages – 2

• Expeditious Retreat – 2

• Grease – 2

• Sleep – 2 (4 at early levels, but Wizards can’t swap spells)

• Snare – 2

• Tenser’s Floating Disk – 2

• Unseen Servant – 2

• Earth Tremor – 1

• Illusory Script – 1

• Jump – 1

• Longstrider – 1

• Ray of Sickness – 1

• Witch Bolt – 1

Best 2nd-level Wizard Spells

1. Web. The premier 2nd-level control spell in DnD 5e, Web fills a 20-foot cube with webs that create difficult terrain and force a Dexterity saving throw for anyone who enters or starts its turn there. If a creature fails this save, they become restrained until they take an action to make a Strength check against your spell save DC.

   A restrained creature is attacked with advantage and makes attacks and Dexterity saving throws with disadvantage, as well as having 0 movement speed. This is a serious offensive and defensive boon for your party. If you hit a bunch of melee foes, you’re denying their attacks while you deal with the rest of their force. If you hit ranged foes, they still have disadvantage on their attacks unless they waste their whole turn attempting to get free.

   But what’s truly special about Web is that it lasts for up to an hour (concentration permitting), and during this time, you can use forced movement effects to keep pushing/pulling enemies back into the web. Stuff like Repelling Eldritch Blast, Thorn Whip, Thunderwave, and the Telekinetic feat come to mind as reliable and strong options for achieving this effect.

2. Shatter. 3d8 (13.5 average) thunder damage in a 10-foot radius for creatures who fail a Constitution saving throw, or half as much if they succeed. Creatures made of inorganic material have disadvantage on the save, and nonmagical objects also take the damage. This is a no-nonsense way to add to your Wizard’s offensive arsenal, and comes with some minor utility for busting down doors and creating structural damage, which could come in handy during a fight.

3. Misty Step. A bonus action teleport that allows you to get your Wizard out of a dangerous situation. For most Wizard builds, being up close and personal with the enemy is the last thing you want, so this is a godsend. And if you don’t have Spider Climb, it also works to get to unreachable places on the Z axis of your environment.

4. Darkness. Magical Darkness in a 15-foot area that essentially blinds all within and blocks vision from those without. If your party is getting sniped by arrows or spells, Darkness can ruin these tactics and get you back on even footing. Especially if you’re able to take out some melee foes or pick off lone rangers one by one while the affected enemies reposition themselves.

   Even better, you can cast it on a sheath-able object, like a weapon. With this trick, you can have your melee allies run in, attack, then take out the Darkness-producing object to run away without suffering opportunity attacks (you can only take those against creatures you can see!) Heck, you can even throw or shoot the Darkness-infested item around the room to reposition it during the fight.

   You can also dispel light-producing spells like Faerie Fire with it, allow your Rogue to hide more easily, and pair it with people in your party who have Blindsense or Devil’s Sight for even more shenanigans.

5. Hold Person. A great save-or-suck spell that’ll paralyze an unfortunate target who fails a Wisdom saving throw. That’s good for limiting your opponent’s actions, but it’s also great for increasing the damage potential of your party’s melee martial characters, who get to enjoy attack advantage AND an automatic critical hit on your target. And the creature only repeats the saving throw at the end of its turns, not when it takes damage.

   Note that the value of this spell goes way down if you don’t have many humanoid enemies in your campaign. And as you level up, threatening humanoids tend to become rarer, but at least you can upcast it to hit multiple enemies for the fights when you get swarmed by bandits or the like.

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

• Spider Climb – 5 (basically as good as Fly if you’re fighting indoors)

• Detect Thoughts – 4

• Enhance Ability – 4

• Invisibility – 4

• Mirror Image – 4

• Phantasmal Force – 4

• Suggestion – 4

• Alter Self – 3

• Arcane Lock – 3

• Blindness/Deafness – 3

• Blur – 3

• Continual Flame – 3

• Dragon’s Breath – 3

• Enlarge/Reduce – 3

• Flaming Sphere – 3

• Knock – 3

• Levitate – 3

• Maximillian’s Earthen Grasp – 3

• Rope Trick – 3

• Scorching Ray – 3

• Snilloc’s Snowball Storm – 3

• Tasha’s Mind Whip – 3

• Warding Wind – 3

• Aganazzar’s Scorcher – 2

• Augury – 2

• Cloud of Daggers – 2

• Darkvision – 2

• Dust Devil – 2

• Earthbind – 2

• Magic Weapon – 2

• Melf’s Acid Arrow – 2

• Mind Spike – 2

• See Invisibility – 2

• Crown of Madness – 1

• Gentle Repose – 1

• Gust of Wind – 1

• Locate Object – 1

• Magic Mouth – 1

• Nystul’s Magic Aura – 1

• Pyrotechnics – 1

• Ray of Enfeeblement – 1

• Shadow Blade – 1 (5 on Bladesinger)

• Skywrite – 1

Best 3rd-level Wizard Spells

1. Hypnotic Pattern. The premier control spell at this tier of play, Hypnotic Pattern forces creatures in a 30-foot cube to make a Wisdom saving throw, charming and incapacitating them if they fail — no follow-up saving throws. That leaves your party free to deal with the stragglers, and then clean up the hypnotized enemies when you’re done with that.

   Enemies can also wake each other up, but that requires a full action on their part, so it’s an action economy win for your party no matter what. Just look out for charm immunity, as it’s fairly common among 5e’s monsters (about 1 in 5).

2. Fireball. 8d6 (28 average) fire damage to creatures in a 20-foot radius who fail a Dexterity saving throw, or half as much they pass. This is the best area-of-effect spell by damage and reliability among all 3rd-level spells in DnD 5e, so if you want to be a blaster, Fireball is the spell for you.

3. Fly. A creature you touch gains a flying speed of 60 feet for 10 minutes. This makes you (or an ally) untargetable by melee enemies, and when you can upcast or Twinned Spell it to cover multiple allies, it becomes even stronger.

   Not to mention that the out-of-combat utility of flight is also incredibly strong.

4. Summon Undead. One of the premier single-creature summon spells at this tier, Summon Undead provides three solid combat-ready options. The Ghost can fly, go through objects/creatures, and frighten enemies, which is actually a more impactful form of crowd control than you might realize at first — more in my video on the Frightened condition if you’re interested.

   And the putrid undead has an aura that has a chance to poison creatures who start their turn next to it AND an attack that has a chance to paralyze a target if they’re already poisoned. It involves two failed saves compared to the Ghost’s one failed save to work, but it’s more impactful if it does.

   The skeleton is the boring ol’ ranged attacker in the group, but if you don’t want to risk your summon getting killed, it’s likely your best option.

   Summon Undead also gets much better when you can upcast it as a 4th-level spell, as all the potential summons get two attacks per turn.

5. Haste. You get +2 AC, double movement speed, advantage on Dex saves, and +1 additional action each turn. That means more attacks, more critical hits, and more survivability, either for you or someone else in your party (your Rogue or Paladin friend can make especially good use of Haste). Just look out for getting your concentration popped early; otherwise, the target loses a full turn in combat.

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

• Counterspell – 5

• Dispel Magic – 4

• Fear – 4

• Leomund’s Tiny Hut – 4

• Lightning Bolt – 4

• Melf’s Minute Meteors – 4

• Sleet Storm – 4

• Slow – 4

• Summon Fey – 4

• Tiny Servant – 4

• Tongues – 4

• Animate Dead – 3

• Bestow Curse – 3

• Clairvoyance – 3

• Enemies Abound – 3

• Gaseous Form – 3

• Intellect Fortress – 3

• Major Image – 3

• Sending – 3

• Speak with Dead – 3

• Stinking Cloud – 3

• Summon Lesser Demons – 3

• Summon Shadowspawn – 3

• Thunder Step – 3

• Vampiric Touch – 3

• Water Breathing – 3

• Blink – 2

• Catnap – 2

• Erupting Earth – 2

• Glyph of Warding – 2

• Magic Circle – 2

• Nondetection – 2

• Phantom Steed – 2

• Protection from Energy – 2

• Remove Curse – 2

• Spirit Shroud – 2

• Tidal Wave – 2

• Wall of Water – 2

• Feign Death – 1

• Flame Arrows – 1

• Wall of Sand – 1

• Life Transference – 1

Best 4th-level Wizard Spells

1. Polymorph. Transform a creature you touch into a beast whose challenge rating is equal or less than the target’s level. An unwilling creature must make a Wisdom saving throw to avoid this effect. From a combat perspective, this is insanely good — once you reach 0 hit points as a beast, you revert back to your normal form with whatever hit points you left it with — essentially doubling (or more) the hit point pool of a target.

   Or, you can turn a BBEG into a rat and throw them off a cliff, bring them back to the city to face justice, or just keep them useless during a fight while you deal with their minions.

   Outside of combat, the possibilities are endless. Become a giant eagle and fly your buddies around; become a fly and scout ahead or spy on the enemy. There are too many possibilities to account for them all here.

   Suffice it to say that 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. Create a 60-foot long, 20-foot high wall of fire or a 20-foot diameter ring of fire for up to a minute. Creatures in the area who fail a Dexterity saving throw take 5d8 (22.5 average) fire damage, or half as much on a success. Creatures that end their turn within 10 feet of one side of the wall (your choice) also take this damage if they fail a Dex save. Creatures also can’t see through the wall of fire.

   This spell offers massive battlefield control, damage over time, and the ability to stop incoming ranged attacks/spell attacks entirely, while melting the melee forces who try to approach you. Overall my favorite elemental Wall spell in DnD 5e, and one I recommend to all Wizards.

3. Greater Invisibility. Turn a creature you touch invisible for up to 1 minute. This effect does not break upon attacking or casting a spell, as the lower-leveled Invisibility spell does (although it lasts 1/60 as long).

   Greater Invisibility is the best friend of your party’s martial members (especially Rogues and Paladins who live for critical hits). Invisible creatures are attacked with disadvantage and make attacks with advantage, and this spell lasts for a full minute through multiple attacks, unlike the lower-tier Invisibility spell that breaks after one attack.

4. Evard’s Black Tentacles. Fill a 20-foot square with tentacles that create difficult terrain, and any creature who enters the area or starts its turn there must pass a Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 (10.5 average) damage and be restrained (attacks against it have advantage; its attacks have disadvantage; its speed is 0). A creature can use its action to make a Strength or Dexterity check against our spell save DC to break out.

   This is a great battlefield control and damage over time spell, dealing repeated damage to the foes who get restrained, or forcing them to waste an action to just attempt getting out. All the while, your party can annihilate them with advantaged attack rolls, and they’re moving at half speed even if they get free. Overall a neat little spell that’s somewhere in between Hypnotic Pattern, Web, and Cloudkill — good company to be among.

5. Banishment. One failed Charisma save, and you banish an enemy for a full minute (concentration permitting) with no follow-up saves on later rounds. Totally eliminating the biggest threat of a fight until you’ve dealt with their minions is incredibly strong in 5e’s combat system, where numbers count for a lot.

   And when they come back, your whole squad can be prepared with readied attacks to basically blow them up right away. Checkmate. Plus, if the creature you target isn’t from the plane you’re currently on, it won’t come back at all. So be careful if you need a quest item they have on their person!

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

• Arcane Eye – 4

• Dimension Door – 4

• Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere – 4

• Phantasmal Killer – 4

• Stoneskin – 4

• Summon Aberration – 4

• Charm Monster – 3

• Confusion – 3

• Divination – 3

• Hallucinatory Terrain – 3

• Ice Storm – 3

• Sickening Radiance – 3

• Stone Shape – 3

• Storm Sphere – 3

• Summon Construct – 3

• Summon Elemental – 3

• Vitriolic Sphere – 3

• Watery Sphere – 3

• Control Water – 2

• Elemental Bane – 2

• Fire Shield – 2

• Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound – 2

• Summon Greater Demon – 2

• Blight – 1

• Conjure Minor Elementals – 1

• Fabricate – 1

• Leomund’s Secret Chest – 1

• Locate Creature – 1

• Mordenkainen’s Private Sanctum – 1

Best 5th-level Wizard Spells

1. Wall of Force. Create an invisible wall that’s either horizontal, vertical, at an angle, free-floating, hemispherical, spherical, etc., using ten 10′ by 10′ panels (so 100 feet long altogether). Nothing can pass through the 1/4 inch wall, and it’s immune to all damage and dispel magic.

   This is so good for a number of reasons — splitting up a group of enemies to fight two smaller groups one at a time, creating cover in an open field, trapping enemies in an area-of-effect damage-over-time spell like Incendiary Cloud, creating 100-foot bridges, and more. Most of the time, Wall of Force can turn a hard encounter into two easy encounters, and there’s really no counterplay for the enemy, short of the Disintegrate spell.

2. Animate Objects. Bring up to ten nonmagical objects to life, all with their own HP, AC, and attack rolls. This offers stupid damage over its minute-long duration, and it’s not as much of a pain to use as the Druid’s Conjure Animals spell, since you can command all your object minions at once. It’s incredibly hard for enemies to deal with this threat if they don’t have AoE attack options.

3. Hold Monster. Hold Person, but useable on all creatures. If the target fails their Wisdom save, they’re paralyzed for up to a full minute (but can make repeated saves at the ends of their turns).

   Paralyzed is an insanely strong condition that not only gives melee allies attack advantage, but automatic critical strikes. Your Paladin and Rogue are going to absolutely love it when you add this to your arsenal.

4. Seeming. Change the appearance of any number of creatures for 8 hours, with no concentration requirement. Enemies can see through the illusion if they pass an Investigation check and the illusion fails to hold up to physical inspection.

   This is such a good spell for infiltration, spying, sowing chaos — the list goes on. There’s just so much you can do with a mass Disguise Self effect that you can’t accomplish with any other spell in DnD 5e, making Seeming a special spell for Wizards who enjoy the illusion-focused playstyle.

5. Synaptic Static. A 20-foot area-of-effect that deals 8d6 (28 average) damage on a failed Intelligence save, or half that on a success. Intelligence is the lowest average ability score of creatures in 5e’s main monster sourcebooks, meaning this has the best chance of landing among any AoE spells in 5e.

   Plus, creatures who fail their save have -1d6 on all attack rolls, ability checks, and concentration checks for up to 1 minute (they can repeat the save on later rounds). This is a strong rider effect on an already strong spell — perfect for this tier of play.

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

• Bigby’s Hand – 4

• Rary’s Telepathic Bond – 4

• Telekinesis – 4

• Wall of Stone – 4

• Cloudkill -3

• Cone of Cold – 3

• Conjure Elemental – 3

• Contact Other Plane – 3

• Creation – 3

• Dawn – 3

• Dominate Person – 3

• Far Step – 3

• Scrying – 3

• Steel Wind Strike – 3

• Control Winds – 2

• Danse Macabre – 2

• Geas – 2

• Immolation – 2

• Passwall – 2

• Skill Empowerment – 2

• Teleportation Circle – 2

• Transmute Rock – 2

• Wall of Light – 2

• Dream – 1

• Enervation – 1

• Infernal Calling – 1

• Legend Lore – 1

• Mislead – 1

• Modify Memory – 1

• Negative Energy Flood – 1

• Planar Binding – 1

6th- to 9th-level Wizard Spells

6th-level Wizard Spells

• Contingency – 5

• Disintegrate – 5

• Eyebite – 5

• Otiluke’s Freezing Sphere – 5

• Chain Lightning – 4

• Create Homunculus – 4

• Investiture of Ice – 4

• Investiture of Stone – 4

• Mass Suggestion – 4

• Mental Prison – 4

• Arcane Gate – 3

• Circle of Death – 3

• Otto’s Irresistible Dance – 3

• Scatter – 3

• Soul Cage – 3

• Summon Fiend – 3

• Sunbeam – 3

• Create Undead – 2

• Drawmij’s Instant Summons – 2

• Globe of Invulnerability – 2

• Guards and Wards – 2

• Investiture of Flame – 2

• Programmed Illusion – 2

• Tenser’s Transformation – 2 (not great on Bladesinger either)

• Wall of Ice – 2 (would be good, but your Wall of Fire is better and lower-leveled)

• Flesh to Stone – 1

• Investiture of Wind – 1

• Magic Jar – 1

• Move Earth – 1

• Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise – 1

• True Seeing – 1

7th-level Wizard Spells

• Forcecage – 5

• Simulacrum – 5

• Crown of Stars – 4

• Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion – 4

• Teleport – 4

• Delayed Blast Fireball – 3

• Plane Shift – 3

• Prismatic Spray – 3

• Reverse Gravity – 3

• Etherealness – 2

• Finger of Death – 2

• Mirage Arcane – 2

• Project Image – 2

• Symbol – 2

• Dream of the Blue Veil – 1

• Mordenkainen’s Sword – 1

• Power Word: Pain – 1

• Sequester – 1

• Whirlwind – 1

8th-level Wizard Spells

• Antimagic Field – 5

• Clone – 5

• Dominate Monster – 5

• Feeblemind – 5

• Illusory Dragon – 4

• Maddening Darkness – 4

• Sunburst – 4

• Incendiary Cloud – 3

• Maze – 3

• Antipathy/Sympathy – 2

• Demiplane – 2

• Mind Blank – 2

• Power Word: Stun – 2

• Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting – 1

• Control Weather – 1

• Mighty Fortress – 1

• Telepathy – 1 (just use Rary’s Telepathic Bond (5th-level spelL) instead)

9th-level Wizard Spells

• Foresight – 5

• Meteor Swarm – 5

• Power Word: Kill – 5

• Prismatic Wall – 5

• Psychic Scream – 5

• Shapechange – 5

• True Polymorph – 5

• Wish – 5

• Mass Polymorph – 4

• Gate – 3

• Invulnerability – 3

• Astral Projection – 2

• Blade of Disaster – 2

• Imprisonment – 1

• Time Stop – 1

• Weird – 1

Wizard Spells FAQ

1. How many spells does a wizard know? A wizard knows between 9 and 290 spells, depending on their level and access to spellbooks. If you’re wondering how many spells does a level 1 wizard know, the answer is 6 1st-level spells and 3 cantrips. A wizard learns two additional wizard spells for each wizard level they gain. Wizards can also copy wizard spells from spell scrolls or spellbooks, but even without this, a 20th-level wizard will know 44 leveled spells and 5 cantrips.

2. How many cantrips does a wizard get? A wizard gets between 3 and 5 cantrips. Wizards start with 3 cantrips at level one, increasing to 4 at 4th level and 5 at 10th level.

3. How many spells can a wizard prepare? A wizard can prepare a number of wizard spells equal to their Intelligence modifier + their wizard level, according to the Player’s Handbook (pg. 114). For example, if you’re a 1st-level wizard with +3 Intelligence, you can prepare 4 wizard spells. If you’re a 10th-level Wizard with +5 Intelligence, you can prepare 15 wizard spells.

4. How many spells can a wizard cast per day? A wizard can cast between 2 and 22 spells per day, depending on how many spell slots the wizard has. Wizards start with 2 1st-level spell slots, scaling up to 22 total spell slots ranging from 1st- to 9th-level by the time they’re level 20.

How to Use Wizard Spells in DnD 5e