1st Level Spells: Overrated/Underrated/Best/Worst

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Thanks to:
@makemyanthem for the intro music.
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[bdsean]

TIMESTAMPS:

Worst:
1:11 No.3 - Arms of Hadar
2:12 No.2
- Witch Bolt
3:15 No.1
- Illusory Script

Underrated:
4:23 No.3
- Compelled Duel
5:32 No.2
- Tasha's Hideous Laughter
14:28 No.1
- Goodberry

Overrated:
6:49 No.3
- Chromatic Orb
7:28 No.2
- Beast Bond
8:25 No.1
- Healing Word

Best:
9:50 No.3
- Absorb Elements
10:50 No.2
- Shield
11:46 No.1 - Find Familiar

Shoutout to mdsyabill

[mdsyabil]

TIMESTAMPS:

Worst:
1:11 No.3
2:12 No.2
3:20 No.1

Underrated:
4:25 No.3
5:35 No.2
14:30 No.1

Overrated:
6:55 No.3
7:28 No.2
8:30 No.1

Best:
9:55 No.3
10:50 No.2
11:55 No.1

[calebmitch]

What I appreciate about your work Treantmonk is that it always makes me consider things from another perspective, and to take another examination of what I might have before overlooked (such as recently with Enchanter Wizards & Nature Clerics) with new appreciation. It scratches a real itch that always leaves me excited - both to build and to roleplay future characters.
I can but only encourage you to keep it up.

[Rapatto]

Excited you are making videos! Your guides are really helpful. Good luck!

[TheJulianFilms]

Your wizard guide is awesome! I've been using it for a long time! Thanks for creating it!

[Adurnis]

Find familiar really is a fantastic spell, and it has wonderful chemistry with dragon’s breath. Just last night, I realized that using my bonus action and my familiar’s reaction, I could give it dragon’s breath as long as it was within 100 feet (range of touch). This turned what would have been an impossibly deadly encounter with six water weirds (level 4 party) into one minute of me holding a door shut while my owl flew about inside the encounter room and zapped those poor weirds into puddles.
Very excited to see you creating more 5e content! Have learned a lot about the game and strategy from you. Good luck getting into the world of video editing; I know it’s a colossal pain, but you’re off to a good start!

[Debatra.]

Chromatic Orb was among my favorite spells in older editions. I find it hard to describe the feeling of excitement at seeing it return in the 5e PHB followed by disappointment when I actually read what it does now.

[Bandit]

You have been the inspiration for my total rethink of how I view roleplaying games, and I've always enjoyed your guides and their ability to look at the large and minute picture! Thank you very much for your dedication and passion for the hobby, your help and guidance have granted me many nat20's and memorable moments!

[rick]

I remember reading your guides back when 4e was around. Glad to see you making videos

[georger]

I’m so chuffed you’ve made a YouTube channel! Your guides have helped me go from an incompetent and unhappy dungeon crawler to a very happy and competent god wizard! I can’t wait to see your channel grow. One thing I would like is if you turned down the background music, or changed it to something more mellow. I feel that it detracts attention from what you’re saying. I wonder if you need it at all, since what you are talking about is more than interesting enough on its own.
Like I said, I’m a big fan and I can’t wait for you to make more videos!

[BobAlawishus]

Been using your guides since I made my first 4e Wizard, and I recommend your guides to all my players. Instant subscribe.

[TwistedTentacleInn]

I enjoyed this video tremendously. A good mix of humor and great information. The music was good, too.

I'm probably one of the few rare individuals who found you on YouTube before reading your character guides. Thank you for all you do. Your videos and guides are an asset to any player's atsenal!

- Innkeeper Vase Odin

[Chaosmancer]

Some good points, though I think a big reason Chromatic orb gets taken so much is the variable damage. 3d8 is low, but the ability to fire damage a plant creature who is vulnerable and thunder damage an earth elemental who is vulnerable with the same spell is pretty good. Plus, it's often the back up spell when your normal damage is a bad type.

A big thing I agree with is Tasha's though. We've got a guy who uses it a lot right now (with horrid puns) and it has wrecked fights. I can tell you why to you'd attack a target though, cause your DM is having a bad dice night. Had it cast on a Draegolith who failed 8 times with that advantage. Single enemy fight and we just surrounded and beat it up cause it kept failing that save. Fun times for 90% of the table ;)

[karshthegoblin]

Well thought out and well presented. I wouldn't expect anything less from you even from your first video. This looks like it will grow to be a great series.

[HumbledHeron]

Thank you for the insights. Utilizing a familiar to distribute Goodberries is a great tip. Additionally, it presents an opportunity for a wizard and druid/ranger to roleplay and strategize together. Though I will miss the hilarity of a hawk's desperate attempts to stabilize someone with a healer's kit.

[trevorlaw]

Find familier, with illusionist casting of minor image - CCTV/drone feed to prep for the fight/infiltration of the castle etc.

[davidc]

I found a combat use for illusionary script ! My dwarf mage was throwing tankards about as a missile weapon. So put illusionary script on it. So when I threw one and couldn't find it again, did detect magic and it would glow!

[VinticoreGaming]

Love your written guides, awesome surprise to see you on youtube!

[casmx]

I'd say the whole 'allowing your familiar to administer Goodberries' should not just be accepted and would need to be a discussion with your DM. Going over the list of familiars, there's really not a single one that can readily 'feed' an incapacitated player under normal circumstances, let alone in the heat of battle. An argument can be made for it, sure but a DM can just as easily dismiss the idea out of hand and would be completed justified in doing so.


You may be better off with Unseen Servant to administer Goodberries to incapacitated players, allowing you to use your bonus action to accomplish what would normally take a regular action, similar to Healing Word. Again, that would need to be a discussion with your DM, but I think there's more of an argument to be made there. It could even carry all 10 of the berries simultaneously, something no familiar would be capable of doing (effectively).


Bottom line, this is a judgement call for your DM to make and springing this on your DM at the table can easily backfire if they rule against you. Best to just talk with your DM first.


At the end of the day though, Healing Word is always a reliable way to recover a fallen ally that will always be accepted at the table. Everything else though? Well, that's up to your Dungeon Master.

[davidclifton]

Love ur trickster guide and i so thought familiar and goodberry/ or touch healing is good for cleric class. Glad im on a good path of thought as a newbie.