The Cleric, when used correctly, is one of the strongest classes in DnD 5E. However, that strength comes from its ability to help allies through class features and its impressive spell list. Knowing what magic you can bring to the table in many different situations allows you to really swing a fight in your group’s favor.
However, knowing what to do at a glance can be difficult. This guide will go over the thought process when selecting spells to give you a good glimpse into what you should be thinking about when you prepare. It will also list some standout spells that should be on your list quite often, making you the most effective Cleric you can be.
Well, as long as you play a Cleric as a supportive caster with many defensive and healing options, as well as the capability to deal damage, when needed.
Best Cleric Cantrips
Guidance
As one of the shockingly few classes with access to it, Guidance is an impactful out-of-combat option for clerics. Adding an average of 2.5 to any skill check is huge, allowing for easier social checks, lockpicking, or trap disarming.
This is one of the best utility cantrips in D&D, let alone on the Cleric list. Do yourself a favor and scoop it up.
Toll the Dead
If you’re looking for damage, nothing can quite compete with the firepower that Toll the Dead offers. For most clerics, but especially for Death Domain ones, this is the only damaging cantrip you’ll really need. D12s for most enemies is enough to outdo most other options.
Best 1st-Level Cleric Spells
Bless
For offensive pushes, few spells can match the efficiency of Bless. Peace Clerics with this spell can end up adding so many dice to attack rolls and ability checks that no challenge is insurmountable. It takes your concentration but provides a very strong benefit that does not weaken as time progresses.
Healing Word
The healer tax. Unfortunately, it’s here for a reason. Healing Word is so efficient for a Cleric. It gets someone up from unconsciousness and gives them their turn back. All without spending your action, meaning you can swing a weapon or cast a cantrip to try and take out a threat.
So much better than having to waddle up to them, cast Cure Wounds, and pray for a high roll or watch them get knocked down again anyway.
Shield of Faith
The standard Cleric is here to do two things; block damage and heal damage. Shield of Faith is a gigantic step in the right direction for the former. It lasts 10 minutes—about 100 rounds—and gives a plus-two to AC for anyone they’d like with no other caveats. Not to mention, this is a bonus action. That means you can down a potion or cast Toll the Dead and then buff yourself or an ally, giving them a 10 percent better chance to dodge damage.
Best 2nd-Level Cleric Spells
Augury
A unique information spell, Augury is a great way to ask your DM for hints. If your party is worried about breaking into groups, then Augury can make planning just a touch easier. It’s not foolproof, for sure, but this is out-of-combat, days-before-action bliss.
The same thing applies to Commune, a later-level spell that is usually a bit more expensive for not too much additional utility.
Enhance Ability
If you’re sure your day is going to be taken up by a bunch of non-combat activities, this spell is great. Since you can easily move magic around, having this prepared before entering a social gathering can make your Bard so much more effective. It’s not useless in combat, either, with Bull’s Strength letting your Fighter grapple opponents much easier.
Spiritual Weapon
This spell is amazing. A bonus action to cast and use, consistent force damage, no concentration required, and it lasts for a full minute. If you ever worry about your damage being enough to take down a fight, Spiritual Weapon will almost instantly solve that problem. It’s not even that bad to use with higher-level spell slots, since that provides extra d8s to throw around every turn.
Best 3rd-Level Cleric Spells
Revivify
Well, you chose Cleric. Bring people back to life. Revivify is cost-efficient, has enough time behind it that you can win fights before resurrecting your ally, and brings them back without too many headaches. And if used on a Zealot Barbarian, it doesn’t even cost anything in the first place.
Spirit Guardians
For any frontline Cleric, Spirit Guardians provides a very strong aura of damage and slow speed that controls a gigantic radius of a fight. This isn’t quite a Fireball, but it does mean you’re covering a 35-foot diameter of space with 3d8 damage and halved speed.
Seriously, if you’re a frontliner, it is critical you have this online if you are even close to being worried about an encounter.
Best 4th-Level Cleric Spells
Banishment
Taking people out of the fight can be so useful. Banishment quite literally does this, putting them back to their home plane—which can just win the fight—or provide your party a round to prepare for their return. Charisma is a not-often used saving throw and nobody can really help the target while they’re banished, forcing them to target you instead. And you can just throw Sanctuary up right after you start this spell, if you really want.
It also can save a party member from death, if you choose to target a dying Wizard who is about to get executed. It’s so nice.
Death Ward
Throw this buff on before a dungeon and you’ll be saving a life, probably. Death Ward is a pre-casted version of Healing Word. It keeps someone on their feet and requires the opposition to spend resources, actions, and get a bit lucky to put them down again.
And, if your ally gets another turn, then Death Ward has done more than its fair share. Very action efficient and a great way to spend a fourth level spell slot without burning concentration.
Best 5th-Level Cleric Spells
Greater Restoration
As the party Cleric, you are often responsible for when things go horribly wrong. If someone gets petrified or paralyzed permanently or blinded, then Greater Restoration is here to make sure it doesn’t end up being a character loss. Since it’s easy for you to cycle out spells prepared, you are definitely the best candidate to prepare this spell. And it might not be a bad idea to just have it ready. Just in case the worst happens.
Scrying
Information is key in many games of DnD 5E, and Scrying is one of the best ways to gather information in the game. As long as you know what you’re looking for, you can find information about enemy defensive formations, future plans, and current locations. That lets you prepare the rest of your spells accordingly.
This is not a foolproof option. As time goes on, more and more characters will be capable of snatching the sensor out of the sky. But even a second of additional information is a good thing, so consider preparing and casting this at the end of the day to make sure your next day goes as well.
Best 6th-Level Cleric Spells
Heal
Clerics have a lot of trouble healing in combat, since healing tends to heal for significantly less than a same level spell does damage. The Heal spell throws that onto its head through healing a solid 70 hitpoints, more than what most spells can damage through.
It’s also a good in-combat status clearer, though Greater Restoration isn’t out of a job quite yet. You’re only shaking off more common maladies, not everything you could ever want.
Best 7th-Level Cleric Spells
Plane Shift
The multifaceted nature of this magic is both hilarious and jarring. To start, it is usually a great option to get your party out of a bad situation or to a new location. Just make sure you know where you’re going, and have several forks ready to go.
But, it’s also a combat-ready spell. Touch someone and they have to make a Charisma save (which is usually a weak one) or get sent somewhere completely different. If they don’t have a level seven spell with Plane Shift prepared, then they’re taking the bus back to the fight. By then, you should be on the next campaign arc.
Best 8th-Level Cleric Spells
Holy Aura
Unlike the other extremely powerful but situational spells at level eight, Holy Aura offers your entire party exceptional defensive power. Advantage on saving rolls, enemies fight back with disadvantage, and fiends and undead can get completely washed with poor saving throws. This is a great option in most every situation.
Best 9th-Level Cleric Spells
Mass Heal
Your party is on the brink. You brought up the Barbarian with a Healing Word, but they get knocked back down. The bad guy is laughing at you. And then you spend one action, heal everyone to full, remove the blind from the Paladin, and the fight basically starts over again. All because you casted a single spell. Yeah, have this around if you ever want to just reset your entire party mid-fight.
Honorable Mentions
These spells serve great purpose on your spell list, but might not quite breach the “must-know” level that other spells have.
- Sacred Flame is a perfectly reasonable cantrip that deals fine damage. While Toll the Dead hits a bit harder, this will very rarely be resisted and will often target a vulnerability.
- During the early levels, Guiding Bolt deals way too much damage. 4d6 is fantastic, and it scales well enough into higher tiers that it is worth considering.
- Sanctuary, when used with a very coordinated party, is like a better Shield of Faith. Just make sure the target knows they shouldn’t attack and should instead support.
- Aid provides a small health shield to all allies. An okay idea to cast if you have the spare slot.
- Hold Person can win a fight by itself, but only against a small slice of the monster manual.
- Silence ends fights against casters. You just have to make sure you lock them down through grappling, spells like Entangling Shot, or feats like Sentinel.
- Dispel Magic is an important part of every party. Make sure someone has it, though it’s far from a Cleric staple.
- Protection from Energy is the perfect counter for a lot of different monsters in the game, from dragons to elementals, though it only applies to one ally.
- Tongues is another great out-of-combat spell that you should prepare if and only if you know that conversations are coming.
- Stone Shape, when used in stone-based dungeons, can problem-solve unlike anything else.
- Summon Celestial is a perfect way to bring an extra party member into the fray, good for messy combats or single-target situations.
- True Seeing is an excellent counter spell for any enemies that are too reliant on invisibility or illusions.
- Antimagic Field can out casters instantly, though also outs your own magic. You better be silencing more enemies than allies to make this work.
