Sorcerers are casters whose power comes innately in DnD 5E. Knowing what spells are best for a Sorcerer will quite literally change your entire build, turning them from an area damage dealer to a combat controller and everything in between.
Sorcerers are spontaneous casters, spell users who have a set number of spells known that they can cast using any spell slot. Sorcerers get 15 total spells (a very limited number) so ensuring your magic is impactful is very important.
Here are some of the very best Sorcerer Spells in DnD 5E.
The best spells for Sorcerer in DnD 5E, by spell slot
When designing this list, it is important to note there are no subclass considerations here. A Divine Soul Sorcerer, for instance, changes the spell list math quite a bit. As do Aberrant Mind and Lunar sorcerers, with their heavily altered spell lists. Even simple subclasses like the Draconic Sorcerer would prefer magic damage that coincides with their Draconic Bloodline.
These are simply the best spells for a generic Sorcerer, and in standard campaign settings. We will, however, highlight spells that are from the Optional rule in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
Best Sorcerer cantrips
Mage Hand
Need a hand?
Manipulating objects from afar is not something to handle lightly. From pressing a trapped button from a safe distance to handing a guard’s keys to a nearby party member, Mage Hand offers the Sorcerer far too much utility to ignore.
Mind Sliver
Far from the damage of Fire Bolt, Mind Sliver offers a better plan: combat utility. Mind Sliver targets Intelligence—an often very low saving throw—and deals a small amount of damage while debuffing the target’s next saving throw by d4.
For a Sorcerer, this can be a great combo with another spellcaster, like an angry Bard, or a great way to set up spells with Quickened Spell, like Hold Monster or Disintegrate. It’s useful all of the time, and doesn’t even need to deal high damage to be effective.
Prestidigitation
Sorcerers only get six cantrips, so make one of them a Jack-of-all-Trades. Prestidigitation provides numerous minor effects, from lighting torches to applying dye to food. While exceptionally unimpressive, Presti is well-known for its multi-faceted utility. From making kids happy to lighting a nearby torch with a snap, it’s a must-have spell, even if it is for novices.
Best first-level Sorcerer spells
Magic Missile
Pew, pew, pew. Magic Missile is a spell that deals 1d4+1 Force Damage three times. No saving throw or attack roll. In terms of single-target damage, due to having no miss chance, you actually can’t get better than that.
In addition, guaranteeing something as small as three damage can keep a fight from being protracted. Every Wizard and Sorcerer has been in a situation where a big boss is at two HP and is dodging just about everything. Well, now you can just ping them and be done with it.
This is especially useful in BG3, where you know exactly how much health an enemy has.
Shield
Protecting yourself is very important in this system, and few reactions match Shield’s incredibly plus-five to AC as a reaction. You know if something is going to hit and can spend a first-level spell to say “No, it doesn’t.” Then, you keep it until your turn rolls around, making you 25 percent less likely to get domed during the rest of the enemies’ turns.
Silvery Barbs
Similar to shield, Silvery Barbs is a defensive spell that has offensive properties. Silvery Barbs react to a successful attack roll, ability check, or saving throw and forces a reroll. It then gives advantage to another target for their next attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.
A hugely opportunistic spell. It can negate pushing attempts, critical hits, and even an enemy saving against your magic. Since it forces a reroll, it can even redirect rolls made at advantage or disadvantage, furthering its strength. Seriously, there are few better late-game options for a first-level spell.
Best second-level Sorcerer spells
Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp
A weaker version of Hold Person that can hit everything, Maximilian’s Earthen Grasp targets an enemy and grabs them, dealing damage and applying the Restrained condition.
The strong parts of this spell come with how the creature saves against this effect. Rather than Wisdom, it targets Strength—a traditionally weak saving throw for many characters. It also forces a Strength check—not save—against your spell DC to escape it. That’s a hard bargain since few effects give bonuses to Strength checks.
Restrain is no paralysis, but the condition is still brutal, granting advantage on attacks against the target and granting disadvantage on DEX saves. Any effect that reduces speed to zero is good by us, too.
Misty Step
Ah, the iconic teleport.
Misty Step is a bonus action spell that teleports you 60 feet. 12 squares is nothing to scoff at. And, since it takes your bonus action, you can then set up cantrips like Mind Sliver or ping with Firebolt while guaranteeing your safety. Few things can deal with teleportation, including through grappling or swallowing.
Web
The second level spell slot doesn’t have too many strong contenders for area-of-effect. Rather than dealing a small amount of damage with Shatter, Web forces your targets to make a Dexterity save or become Restrained. In a 20-foot cube, this can easily stop an enemy’s charge and force them to slowly, meticulously inch their way towards you.
However, despite affecting multiple enemies, it can be destroyed with flame and Dexterity tends to be a more popular save than Strength. The cost of hitting multiple people.
Best third-level Sorcerer spells
Counterspell
Counterspell automatically negates weaker magic or allows a check to negate stronger magic. This spell is key to surviving dangerous combats against spellcasters.
Most parties can’t survive a high-level Hold Person or Mass Suggestion if many party members fail. Negating it beforehand is important. While you could rely on the Fighter’s plus-zero to stay in the fight, you should instead not worry about anyone failing. A huge use of a third-level spell slot.
Fireball
The original.
Fireball deals 8d6 damage to all creatures in a 20-foot radius. Boom. 8d6 is highly efficient, with few spells matching its power. Even higher-level magic has trouble keeping up with Fireball, making spells like Cone of Cold feel weak in comparison.
Even for a Sorcerer with few damage options—a Supportcerer, if you will—you’re going to want to pick up this damaging option.
Haste
This spell depends a little on your party, but offers a party member plus-two AC, doubled speed, advantage on Dexterity Saves, and another action for attacks or non-magical interactions. Unlike the completely busted version in BG3, this is mostly for improving a martial’s damage very slightly, pushing Paladins to new heights or giving the Rogue another chance to Sneak Attack.
It is also one of the best options for the Twinned Spell metamagic, giving two party members a myriad of strong buffs.
Best fourth-level Sorcerer spells
Polymorph
Baa!
Polymorph provides the one thing a Sorcerer really likes: Negating a combatant. Turning a dangerous monster into a tiny little sheep or a bat is extremely powerful. Since it runs on Wisdom saves and provides no additional saves, this is a frankly perfect way to run a high-level Martial out of town instantly. And sometimes, turning a party member into a T-Rex can be useful.
Just be careful. Hitting the creature will quickly turn it back to normal.
Wall of Fire
If you want area denial with a flux of high damage, you can’t get better than this. Wall of Fire deals 5d8 fire damage to nearby creatures and burns bright on one side, making it difficult to pass through untouched.
By setting up a Wall of Fire, the Sorcerer can cut a fight in half. It’s hard to see through, preventing most spells from being cast through it, and deals high damage to those foolish enough to pass through.
Best fifth-level Sorcerer spells
Bigby’s Hand
By level nine, Sorcerers aren’t getting many spells per level anymore. That’s why the spells they get need to be game-breaking or extremely versatile. Bigby’s Hand falls into the latter category. This summon gives you a strong bonus action that can either deal 4d8 force damage, shove a nearby creature a minimum of 30 feet, can restrain targets, or block targets from moving.
Casting this spell gives you a ton of options for a fight, from protecting allies to just hitting relatively hard. Sure, it uses concentration, but most good spells do.
Creation
One of the weirder spells on the list, Creation allows a character to make an object in an area that is cube-sized. This cube starts as a five-foot cube and gets larger with more spell levels.
This spell is extremely open-ended, with a duration ranging from a minute to a day, depending on the durability of the matter used to make it. If you need a ladder, you can make one. Need a pile of Silver arrows to fight werewolves? You just need a minute.
This spell is only hampered by your—and your DM’s—imagination.
Best sixth-level Sorcerer spells
Eyebite
Continuing the trend of spells that last one minute, use concentration, and basically win the fight for you, Eyebite is an exceptionally powerful spell that finally gives the Sorcerer access to Sleep again. As an action during your turn, you can either force a creature to Sleep, Run for its life, or take a debuff to attack rolls and ability checks. This spell is notable for allowing access to the Sleep condition, something that is not easy to find.
Spending an action every turn to tell someone to make a saving throw or take a nap is very strong, especially in parties with high-damage attack rolls like Paladins or Rogues. The efficiency of this spell is not to be believed.
Globe of Invulnerability
Sometimes, you just need to tell a caster “no.”
Globe of Invulnerability generates a field through which no fifth-level spells are effective. It even blocks the effects of spells like Fireball or Darkness. It can even prevent Counterspell. Setting this up before you walk into an encounter with casters is not quite an instant win, but is very close to being one.
Best seventh-level Sorcerer spells
Draconic Transformation
As a bonus action, you transform into a dragon, gaining blindsight, a Fireball-sized breath weapon, and flight. A huge bucket of strong abilities that should be your best bonus action available.
Especially since this is the point where getting new spells is very painful, having something as flexible as this being your sole seventh-level spell is quite good.
Reverse Gravity
Turn the world upside down. Reverse Gravity reverses gravity in a large area. This isn’t a simple spell that can be saved against, though. Creatures need to save to grab onto something and potentially make it out of the area, not negate it. So, you can set this up in a field and not tell enemies “make the save”—instead, it’s “fly, have a great Athletics check, or flatten on the ceiling.” Much like how Globe of Invulnerability says no to casters, this spell says no to everyone else.
Best eighth-level Sorcerer spell
Dominate Monster
Many Sorcerer spells ask for a Wisdom save or do something simple, like paralysis or fascination. This one gives you a new minion, someone who is entirely under your control for an hour. As long as they are not immune to Charmed, this spell turns gigantic, powerful enemies into your pets.
The only issue is that damaging them gives them a saving throw. So, you’re in a weird spot where you can use them to fight on your behalf but don’t want them fighting too close to the frontline. Use Silvery Barbs, Heightened Spell, and other means to reduce saving throws to guarantee that you grab someone who’s hard to hit, like an enemy spellcaster.
Best ninth-level Sorcerer spell
Wish
At long last, some godlike powers. Because we needed more.
Wish is a spell with many multifaceted options. You can duplicate any spell that isn’t ninth-level, effectively giving you access to every spell list. You can also make extremely game-warping effects, from altering reality to granting resistance to damage permanently. These come at a cost, making spellcasting more difficult for the rest of the day, lowering Strength, and giving a small chance to prevent the casting of Wish every again.
However, using this to cast any spell—from any spell list, including the impressive Cleric or Druid options—is plenty strong. And just having the ability to tell your DM what they want and potentially getting it is strong. Far too strong for a Sorcerer to consider any other option, realistically. Cast this every day.
Honorable Mentions
There are a lot of spells on the Sorcerer spell list, and many of them just barely didn’t make the cut. Including the following.
- Fire Bolt is a completely reasonable damaging cantrip.
- Sleep is a fantastic spell if you have decent knowledge of hitpoints or are great at predicting. It’s also far too powerful early on.
- Hold Person, depending on the campaign, is a consistent option that can win combats for you.
- Scorching Ray is acceptable single-target damage that scales well into higher spell slots.
- See Invisibility is a strong spell that can negate some of the most annoying encounters in the game. However, maybe just use a scroll.
- Dispel Magic is one of the game’s strongest problem solving spells. And it can negate terrible debuffs like Flesh to Stone.
- Hypnotic Pattern can potentially out an entire group of enemies, especially if they have fragile Wisdom saving throws.
- Major Image, with a creative DM and player, can swing in-combat and out-of-combat situations alike.
- Melf’s Minute Meteors is a good way to use your bonus action if you don’t like buffing party members.
- Sickening Radiance can really debuff an enemy to death through levels of exhaustion, which can quickly stack and make multiple enemies useless.
- Vitriolic Sphere is a surprisingly high-damage area-of-effect, dealing 37 average damage to those who fail their save.
- Hold Monster forces enemies to make a saving throw or lose their turn in a way that leaves them wide open for allied Paladins and Rogues.
- Synaptic Static is a huge area of effect that debuffs enemies that it hits, replacing damage with a minus d6 to rolls.
- Telekinesis is just like Bigby’s Hand with less combat versatility and better out-of-combat options.
- Disintegrate is a very high damage single target spell, averaging out at 75 damage. Huge boost in damage for a class that tends to clear multiple enemies most of the time.
- Fizban’s Platinum Shield is one of the strongest defensive spells out there, providing gigantic bonuses that make dragons cry.
- True Seeing is a great way to cancel out illusions, but could be represented fine on a scroll.
- Crown of Stars is an excellent buff to Melf’s Minute Meteors, since it doesn’t require concentration and does much better damage.
- Plane Shift is a good get-out-of-jail card as well as an aggressive option.
- Teleport will definitely get your party out of a dangerous area.
- Power Word Stun can stop Legendary creatures from acting in a turn, turning Lich fights into beatdowns.
