Scorching Ray 5e Spell Description
A quick glance at the Player’s Handbook will tell you the basic form that the spell takes…
You create three rays of fire and hurl them at targets within range. You can hurl them at one target or several. Make a ranged spell attack for each ray. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 fire damage.
When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you create one additional ray for each slot level above 2nd.
Scorching Ray 5e Stats
- Range: 120 feet
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Instantaneous
- Casting Time: 1 action
- Level: 2
- Damage Type: Fire
- School: Evocation
- Classes: Sorcerer, Wizard
- Subclasses: Lore, Fiend
Is Scorching Ray 5e spell good?
Scorching Ray is very effective both when fighting against an array of weak opponents or one strong and bulky opponent. Having an additional ray of fire every level after level two of the spell slot used is also very clever.
As mentioned earlier, it manages to be effective against several enemies. The number of targets you can hit with it gets more prominent, and simultaneously, the amount of damage you can deal at a single target gets larger.
The main drawback is that more creatures are resistant to fire damage than any other type of attack. So whilst it is good, you must pick your moments carefully.
It has a few exciting combinations available to some of the more specialized casters. The Fiend Warlock will find that the potential 6d6 focused damage at the 2nd-level spell slot makes it great for targetting multiple opponents, and it also has critical potential. The spell also combines incredibly well with Hex.
And while this is still an excellent spell for Wild Magic Sorcerers, it should be noted that you only gain advantage on the first attack when using Tides of Chaos with this spell.
Kendra has always been a hardcore fantasy nerd. Growing up in the worlds of Tolkien, Sanderson, Jordan, and Abercrombie, DnD & board games just came naturally. She and her husband, Bryan, started GameCows.com in 2018 as a fun passion project that just took over their lives. An avid board gamer since childhood and chronic DnD chronicler for more than two decades, she loves to play, write, travel, and learn dead languages.