The Best 5E Wizard Spells

The Wizard is a powerful class that uses magical abilities to make up for a lack of physical prowess. Here are the top Wizard spells, and how to use them.p>

Best Wizard first level spells

#1 Magic Missile

School: Evocation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 1
Range: 120 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 257

Description: Magic Missile is a really basic but super effective and fun spell for level one Wizards. You generate three magical glowing darts that are guaranteed to hit whoever you target with them. These missiles do not deal a tremendous amount of damage, but since they always hit, they are a great way to potentially take out a heavily injured enemy from a distance.

#2 Shield

School: Abjuration
Casting Time: Special
Level: 1
Range: Self
Duration: 1 round
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 275

Description: Shield is one of the most important low level Wizard spells. As a Wizard, you will have a dangerously low max hit point total and an equally low armor class. Therefore, a spell like Shield that lets you increase your armor class by plus five is incredibly valuable. This spell can be used as a reaction when you are hit by an attack, so you do not need to cast it ahead of time.

#3 Sleep

School: Enchantment
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 1
Range: 90 feet
Duration: 1 minute
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 276

Description: Sleep is a spell suited for those adventurers who are happier leaving those they encounter alive once they are done with them. This spell causes creatures to fall into a deep and magical sleep. It can be used on a number of creatures whose hit points are less than or equal to the results of you rolling 5d8. Attacking the creature will wake it from its magical slumber.

Best Wizard second level spells

#1 Misty Step

School: Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action
Level: 2
Range: Self
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 260

Description: Misty Step is a surprisingly simple and straight forward for such a useful spell. You are surrounded by silver mist, then teleport as far as thirty feet away to a space you can see. This spell costs a bonus action, which is great because you can attack someone then teleport away using Misty Step.

#2 Suggestion

School: Enchantment
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 2
Range: 30 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 8 hours
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 279

Description: Suggestion is a great spell to choose if you like using manipulation to your advantage when completing quests. You speak a suggestion to a creature within thirty feet of you, then the target makes a Wisdom saving throw. If they fail, they must follow your suggestion to the best of their ability. They will not do anything to harm itself, or anything they consider unreasonable.

#3 Blindness/Deafness

School: Necromancy
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 2
Range: 30 feet
Duration: 1 minute
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 219

Description: Blindness/Deafness offers you two options, either cause your target to become blind or deaf for the duration of the spell, if they fail a Constitution saving throw. The target must roll each turn when being blinded or deafened, with a successful throw resulting in the spell ending.

Best Wizard third level spells

#1 Haste

School: Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 3
Range: 30 feet
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 250

Description: Haste is an awesome spell that grants the targeted creature a number of useful benefits. This spell doubles the target’s movement speed, increases their AC bonus by two, grants them advantage on Dexterity saving throws, and gives them an additional action each turn. This is a pretty crazy assortment of useful benefits from a relatively low-level spell.

#2 Fly

School: Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 3
Range: Touch
Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 243

Description: Fly is such a powerful and useful spell that it is almost hard to believe its spell description. This spell grants the targeted creature sixty feet of flying speed. At higher levels you can give this ability to more than one willing creature. There are a ton of useful things you can do with Fly, such as scale castle walls, escape danger, and explore ruins.

#3 Lightning Bolt

School: Evocation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 3
Range: Self (100-foot line)
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 255

Description: Lightning Bolt causes a massive bolt of lightning to blast from your position out to a distance of one hundred feet straight forward. Creatures within this line of lightning must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw to dodge out of the way or suffer a great deal of damage, or half as much on a successful save. This bolt of lightning also ignites any flammable objects it comes in contact with, which can be quite useful.

Best Wizard fourth level, fifth level and sixth level spells

#1 Circle of Death

School: Necromancy
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 6
Range: 150 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 221

Description: Circle of Death is a spell that can be utilized to deal massive amounts of damage very quickly. A ball of necrotic energy spread out to an area of sixty feet. Each creature within the area must make a Constitution saving throw. A failed save results in a loss of up to 48 hit points, or up to 24 on a successful saving throw.

#2 Create Undead

School: Necromancy
Casting Time: 1 Minute
Level: 6
Range: 10 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 229

Description: Create Undead is a unique spell because it can only be used at night. The caster targets up to three dead creatures of small or medium size. These corpses turn into ghouls that are commanded by the caster. You can give these ghouls commands during your turn using a bonus action. You may give each ghoul a unique command or tell them all to do the same thing. As you cast this spell at a higher level you may raise more corpses from the dead, up to six ghouls, three ghasts or wights, or two mummies.

#3 Disintegrate

School: Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 6
Range: 60 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 233

Description: Disintegrate is an awesome spell that can be used to deal massive amounts of damage, and potentially melt your enemies into a pile of dust. Targeted creatures must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 10d6 + 40 force damage that, if it reduces the target to zero hit points, will cause them to disintegrate entirely. Only a wish or true resurrection spell will bring this creature back to life.

Best Wizard seventh level, eigth level and ninth level spells

#1 Wish

School: Conjuration
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 9
Range: Self
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 288

Description: Wish is referred to as “the mightiest spell a mortal creature can cast.” It is an incredibly powerful and has countless uses. You may use this spell to wish for virtually anything that you can imagine. This is a spell that is dependent upon your Dungeon Master’s discretion. You could wish for a treasure horde of gems and gold, to own an entire kingdom, to gain immortality, or anything else you can think of that you think your Dungeon Master will allow.

#2 Time Stop

School: Transmutation
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 9
Range: Self
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 283

Description: Time Stop is one of the more interesting high-level spells in D&D 5e. With this spell you freeze time for everyone but yourself and can take a number of actions in a row without anyone else moving or taking an action. You cannot attack or interact with a frozen creature or the spell will end prematurely.

#3 Finger of Death

School: Necromancy
Casting Time: 1 Action
Level: 7
Range: 60 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Spell Source: Players Handbook, page 241

Description: Finger of Death is a spell that causes necrotic energy to shoot towards a target, causing them intense pain. The target takes as much as eighty-six points of hit point damage from this spell if they fail the required Constitution saving throw, and still half as much if they succeed on the saving throw. What is truly awesome about Finger of Death is that you will regain as zombie follower any humanoid creatures you kill with this spell. These zombies follow your commands and are permanently under your control.