5e Spells By Level List DnD (2023) Guide

Plenty of lists out there help you optimize your character and choose the best spells at each level based on your build. Some spells are obviously more powerful or overall better than others, and it’s useful to know that, but sometimes you just want to know about some fun spells.

Here’s a list of some of our favorite spells for each level.

Cantrip

Druidcraft

Is this an almost totally useless cantrip for Druids who don’t need anything besides Guidance and Shillelagh? Yes. Is it a fun spell to play with? Also yes.

Level 1

Magic Missile

It’s not exciting, but Magic Missile is a long-time staple of D&D for a reason. The math. No, we won’t give you a lesson right now, but a spell attack that is guaranteed to hit, even with d4s for damage dice, is still, mathematically, a fantastic choice. Trust us.

Level 2

Detect Thoughts

Detect Thoughts is one of those rare spells that doesn’t start with a saving throw. Your target has to make one if you want to delve deeper into their thoughts, but you can read their surface thoughts without needing a save, and they have no idea you’re doing it.

Not only can you automatically peer into peoples’ minds, but you can also use this spell to see if anyone is hiding nearby.

Spiritual Weapon

Spiritual Weapon radically benefits the Cleric’s action economy by giving them something meaningful to do with their bonus action and dealing a fair amount of damage without requiring concentration.

However, that’s not why it’s on this list. The weapon is whatever object you want, which means that your DM will have to deal with you bonking enemies with something undoubtedly silly.

Level 3

Gaseous Form

Most people pass this up and go with Fly at level 3, and while we can’t blame them for that decision, we feel like they’re missing out.

This spell lets you slip through tiny cracks, zoom around, and generally explore for an hour. You have advantage on three different saving throws and resistance to all damage. It’s a gas!

Speak with Dead

Hands down, the funniest spell in D&D.

You just killed a guy? It doesn’t excuse him from being interrogated.
Big Bad of the campaign finally dead? You can still insult his corpse for the rest of your life.
Found some dead people? See what went wrong.

The possibilities for annoying the deceased are endless.

Level 4

Arcane Eye

We simply don’t understand why more people don’t talk about Arcane Eye. It has to be Dungeon Master propaganda. There’s no other explanation. Why would you ever do anything but send an invisible eyeball (with darkvision!) forward to scout everything? You’ll never be surprised again!

Polymorph

They say everybody wants to be a cat, and they’re not wrong. You can turn that horrific enemy into a beautiful pet kitty, give them some snuggles, and maybe they’ll see that they shouldn’t be so angry.

Or, you can turn into a cat when your character is having a bad day and needs to bask in some sunshine. Spread the love with Polymorph!

Level 5

Legend Lore

Legend Lore is a lot of fun for players who care about their DM’s worldbuilding and want to know everything about this lost artifact. Something about regaining lost knowledge about a person who has been dead for centuries is cool, right?

Mislead

Can you imagine the zany shenanigans you could get up to with Mislead?

Sure, you could use it in combat to fake out your opponent, but wouldn’t it be way funnier to use your double to sneak into a party and wreak havoc upon the host, your worst frenemy, without the worry of retaliation?

Passwall

It is astounding how many players take one look at this spell and pass on it (get it?). Carving out your own passageways through stone is invaluable.

How else will you escape your impending doom after getting trapped in a dungeon deep underground? Even if you don’t frequent scary tombs, you could use this spell to tunnel under a bank for a hilarious robbery.

Level 6

Chain Lightning

Sometimes, you want to hit a bunch of people standing near each other without accidentally torching your melee allies. You could politely ask them to move for your area-of-effect spell, but with chain lightning, you can zap your enemies without touching anyone else.

Contingency

Do you ever feel like you forgot something? Contingency neatly solves that problem by letting you designate a spell and its trigger. Run out of spell slots? No problem. The contingency will always activate after you select it. Sure, it only affects you, but that sounds like an issue for the rest of your party, not you.

Heroes’ Feast

We will never not recommend a spell whose sole purpose is to provide amazingly delicious food.

The food is so good that everyone who eats it is cured of all diseases, is immune to poison, can’t be frightened, has advantage on Wisdom saving throws, and has their hit point maximum increase by 2d10 for 24 hours.

That’s some good food.

Level 7

Forcecage

Like Detect Thoughts, Forcecage also doesn’t immediately require a save. Your opponent is just in a cage now. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion

This spell is a must-have once a party hits level 13. It’s a great place to rest, recuperate, and prepare for the long day of adventuring ahead. It helps everyone stay safe and out of danger. No more night watches!

WARNING: Some enemies may have Dispel Magic, which can be used to dispel your magnificent mansion.

Mirage Arcane

We’ll go ahead and say it: this is your author’s favorite spell in the entire game. It’s not the most powerful, useful, or even a combat spell. Still, there is something very appealing about completely reshaping your environment to fit your needs.

Level 8

Demiplane

If you liked Mirage Arcane, here’s a spell that takes it to the next level. At first glance, you’ll see that a demiplane isn’t exactly large, but you can fit a lot of stuff in there.

It’s your personal floating storage closet. Or a house. Whatever you want.

Level 9

Meteor Swarm

Meteor Swarm is a fun time. If you want to go completely destructo-mode, you can’t do better than this spell. Multiple giant meteors crashing within a mile? What a cinematic way to utterly obliterate an entire city.

The damage is unreal, too.

Weird

This is kind of a funky spell that’s just plain… well, weird. It affects all creatures in a 30-foot-radius and relies on a Wisdom saving throw which isn’t too bad at such a high level.

Essentially, you’re scaring everything in the area, but what they see is unique to the creature. They’re so scared that they take psychic damage!

Here is a list of 5e Spells by Level. Check out some of our other guides including Musical Instruments in DnD, Attack Bonuses 5e, and Bag of Tricks 5e.

Cantrips

1st Level

2nd Level

3rd Level

4th Level

5th Level

6th Level

7th Level

8th Level

9th Level

Alexa Tanen

Alexa spends the majority of her days explaining the ins and outs of DnD to her two cats, much to their dismay.