Upcasting Spells in DnD 5E

Author: Soma

In 5th Edition, “upcasting” is an unofficial term that refers to the mechanic of casting a spell that is of lower level than the level of the spell slot being used to cast it. Primarily, this is done for the purpose of providing enhanced effects from the spell, as many spells in 5E have an “At Higher Levels” clause in their description that lists the benefits of using a higher level spell slot. Compared to D&D 3.5E or Pathfinder, where this sort of ability was reserved for Sorcerers and heighten metamagic, 5E allows any caster to upcast their spells, making it a far more universally applicable tactic.

In practice, upcasting is a relatively rare occurrence at most tables, but sometimes it can be just the right tactic for the situation. Some spells are particularly powerful when upcast, while others might seem worthwhile but are trap options. If you want to make the most out of your spellcasting abilities, you owe it to yourself and your party to make the best use out of upcasting that you can.

Higher Level Spells Are Not Always Superior

Our first point is not specifically about upcasting, but is a general idea that is good to learn, which is that higher level spells are not always superior to lower level spells. 

Less optimization-minded players tend to have a certain amount of built-in faith that the game system created by Wizards of the Coast is well balanced, and thus have consciously or subconsciously internalized the maxim that higher level spells are always better than lower level ones. If they weren’t, why would they be higher level?

Often, this is indeed the case: cone of cold is superior to pulse wave which is superior to burning hands; Otiluke’s freezing sphere deals more damage than fireball, which does more damage than shatter. But for spell types that aren’t just increasing stacks of damage dice (and are thus less directly comparable), this isn’t always going to be the case. It might seem tempting and even appropriate to cast haste on the Fighter that’s whacking the barlgura on the front-line, but would an upcast 2nd level bless that covers the entire party be better? 

We have actually cross-examined the viability of haste in its own article, which includes a comparison to bless. To reiterate what we said in this article:

And then there’s the consideration that if you drop your concentration, you’ve hung your fighter out to dry for an entire round—a crippling outcome that puts them in a very bad spot. Additionally, casting haste means you cannot cast another concentration spell without suffering this downside, a weakness that doesn’t plague other concentration spells. 

The point of this exercise is not to reiterate an argument that we have made about the usefulness of haste, but rather to point out that haste is not an inherently superior spell to bless despite being two levels higher—and that haste vs. bless is far from the only example where in lower-level spells are as good or better compared to higher level ones, and thus we want to emphasize that you should not always default to a certain spell just because it’s higher level! 

Only Certain Healing Spells Should Be Upcast

This tenet is really a reflection of the reality that in 5E, “blasting” (area of effect or single target damage spells that have a single-round duration) and direct healing (“[x]d[y] healing to one target) type spells are not particularly effective compared to the field. Even more casual players might be aware of the mantra that in combat, “healing is bad” unless used to bring back downed allies. Still, it bears repeating, and upcasting does not provide enough scaling to spells like cure wounds to make them worth upcasting. In dire situations, you simply need your allies to get back up, and upcasting healing word or cure wounds likely isn’t going to save them from going down in one or two hits. Enemy damage is high enough that upcasting by one or two levels isn’t enough to make a difference in survivability, and upcasting a cure wounds at 3rd or 4th level is a huge misuse of resources when you consider those could be a hypnotic pattern or a polymorph.

Heal is a potent spell, but an extra 10 hit points per slot level is not worth it when we’re talking about using slots that could be used on powerhouse spells like conjure celestial. By that point, you should have easy access to safe rests or powerful out of combat healing, such as goodberries provided by the four dryads your Druid summoned with an (upcast, 6th level!) conjure woodland beings. While 60 hit points works to save someone from going down almost immediately, unlike what cure wounds can do, the amount of healing provided per each upcast still simply does not keep up with enemy damage, and could be used on significantly more potent spells.

An exception to the above: upcasting aid is a very worthwhile use of a spell slot, especially being rest castable. Consider that a 5th level mass cure wounds heals 17.5 hit points on average for a total of 70 hit points to a party of four, while a 5th level aid affects 3 targets, healing 20 hit points and increases each target’s maximum hit points by 20. Mass cure wounds has no benefit to healing over a character’s maximum, while aid does, meaning upcasting aid can be valuable in situations where not everyone has taken damage.

Finally, there is one healing spell that is incredibly potent when upcast, but only with characters with a certain multiclass dip: Life Domain Cleric 1. Confirmed by the Sage Advice Compendium, the Life Domain Cleric’s Disciple of Life feature works on goodberry. Upcasting goodberry typically has no effect, but Disciple of Life accounts for the healing spell’s level when cast. This means a 5th level goodberry heals for 8 hit points per berry, for 80 hit points per spell slot. Given that the berries last for 24 hours, there’s absolutely no reason to not spend every slot you have on goodberry the day before your adventure if you can cast it and you have a level in Life Domain Cleric. If your table doesn’t house rule this to not work, go nuts.

Don’t Upcast Area of Effect Blasts

The inefficiency of “blasting” as a playstyle in 5E probably warrants its own article (our definition of blasting refers to spells that are instantaneous duration spells with damage rolls). Suffice to say, it generally isn’t a strategy or build concept we can wholeheartedly endorse at Tabletop Builds. If you take a look at the spell selection for the full casters in our Basic Builds series, our spell selections featured very few area of effect blast spells, and several were immediately replaced one or two levels later:

Why is this the case? The primary reason is that enemy health scales significantly faster than the increase in damage from additional spell levels (higher level spells or upcasting, the damage gets outscaled either way). An additional d6 of damage simply isn’t enough compared to the stronger and stronger enemies you will face. 

For this reason, we generally recommend that you don’t upcast AoE blasts, unless the additional 3 to 5 average damage per affected target per additional spell slot level is absolutely critical to the survival of your party. These spells can typically be cast at their base level, as your higher level slots should be saved for your higher-impact control spells (polymorph, wall of force, so on). 

Of course, sometimes on-demand burst damage is what you need: damage does solve problems, after all. For this reason it’s generally good for the casters that can afford it (Sorcerers and Wizards) to have at least one of these options in your arsenal at all times. Sleep into shatter into fireball* into synaptic static** is our recommended progression here, unlearning the previous spell to free up room for new ones when possible. We don’t recommend having more than 1 or 2 learned or prepared slots for different AoE spells. Yes, fire is an oft-resisted damage type, but you are better off saving your spell preparations for higher impact and more universally applicable battlefield control spells or utility spells that you will get consistent use out of.

<sub>* Fireball is a spell that is often memed about, but some memes have a seed of truth in them, and this is one of those situations. The spell creation guidelines in the Dungeon Master’s Guide say 3rd level spells should do 6d6 damage, fireball does 8d6. This is intentional, as fireball was made to be a deliberately attractive option: “The designers saw fireball (and to a lesser extent lightning bolt) as integral to the experience of playing a wizard in D&D, and chose to improve its destructive power to encourage players to learn that spell over other less iconic ones.” Check out our Top 5 Spells That Deal Damage article for more elaboration on fireball.

**  You’ve probably noticed that synaptic static doesn’t even have any benefits when upcast. Despite that, we value this spell highly because it targets a weak save and has great rider effects, which are significantly more important and impactful than any increase in damage dice per slot level could provide.</sub>

Avoid Single-Target Blasts Too

Similarly to area of effect blasting, single-target blasting typically shouldn’t be the go-to for any caster that doesn’t have eldritch blast (our definition of single-target blasting being an instantaneous duration spell that deals damage to one target. There are certainly spells that can be upcast and do great damage, but they are a different kind of spell that we will go into detail later). 

However, in comparison to AoE spells, where it’s good to have at least 1 in your back pocket, single-target damage spells generally aren’t worth preparing at all. This is because AoE damage is something only casters can provide, while single-target damage is, for the most part, the only notable contribution martials provide. 

Again referring to our Basic Builds series, you’ll note that very few of the builds even took any sort of single-target damage spell, and those that did quickly replaced them. Considering the number of spells known or prepared, picking up a single-target damage spell is such a premium for most classes that it’s probably a mistake, given the opportunity cost. Now that cantrips scale with character level, saving the preparation slot and using cantrips to deal damage is more than acceptable (even if that cantrip isn’t eldritch blast). 

There is one exception to this, which is magic missile. Jeremy Crawford has tweeted that you roll a concentration check for each missile, despite the spell text saying “simultaneously.” If your table plays this way, magic missile is a great concentration-breaker, immediately forcing 3 saves on the targeted caster. If you have ways of stacking damage on the single damage roll of this spell (Hexblade’s Curse, Empowered Evocation, or the like), this could outpace any other straight damage dealing options you have. This is rather build dependent however, and not a universal recommendation.

Persistent damage spells can be valuable to upcast

Upcasting on blasts or single target damage usually adds one die worth of damage, which as noted above, tends to scale poorly in comparison to increasing enemy hit points. But blasts provide the additional die only once, while additional damage dice provided via upcasting to persistent damage can actually trigger multiple times per target (think spells like cloudkill, where a save is required every turn on the damage). Does that tip the odds in their favor? 

The answer is that it’s probably too complicated to be a simple yes or no answer. For example, a party with highly synergized forced movement would likely benefit quite a bit from the additional d8 damage of an upcast wall of fire. A Cleric that can use the bonus action shove from the Telekinetic feat combined with a Warlock friend with Repelling Blast can likely get the “double dip” on spirit guardians for several enemies per round, making it a very worthwhile use of a 4th level slot. The 4th level spell list for Cleric is also notably sparse, making an upcast spirit guardians a common choice. Spirit guardians is a somewhat unique case for upcasting.  

Given the rough additional hit points per CR estimates, dealing 15 or so additional damage from the upcasted damage dice per creature likely means you are keeping pace with enemy scaling, compared to the subpar additional damage on single-instance damage. Again, this is just a heuristic and not a formula, so don’t take it as gospel; rather you should use all the information you have on hand and make an educated guess, taking things on a spell-by-spell or situation-by-situation basis.

Upcasting for additional targets is very worthwhile

We saw this play out in the first hypothetical scenario with bless, but getting to affect more targets with our spells is powerful. A third-level bless covers five times as many party members as a third-level haste does. An upcast command targeting three or four enemies can wreak havoc on an encounter, denying what might well be half of the enemies on the field their action for a round, while also repositioning them, and potentially triggering multiple opportunity attacks as well. Tasha’s mind whip upcasts impressively as well, providing a pseudo-incapacitation effect for multiple creatures. Fortune’s favor isn’t easy to access, but can provide close to the equivalent of 1 luck point to two targets for a third level slot for a duration of 1 hour, which could have its uses. Upcasting these low level, but powerful spells using those 2nd or 3rd level spell slots is an excellent way to get more bang for your buck. 

Casting banishment one slot higher at 5th level doubles its effectiveness, and could reduce the lethality of an encounter to trivial as you potentially halve the number of active enemies and then dispatch them two at a time.

This can apply for damage spells as well. As noted above consider that based on the number of available targets (i.e., less than 8 targets), upcasting chain lightning could be a superior option to meteor swarm! 

Even in out of combat scenarios, spells like fly and invisibility, when combined with spells like pass without trace, can be used to take your whole party with you when scouting or performing recon. Your party could slip through dangerous areas undetected (or start encounters with surprise, a notable buff on its own), or access previously inaccessible areas with flight. Fly will likely double everyone’s speed, letting people who want to stay away from enemies keep their distance while melee combatants can chase down enemies with ease. 

Some spells are so good, you should cast them with whatever slots you have, even if it provides no additional benefit

It was touched upon earlier that some players believe that higher level spells are always better than lower level spells. This, when combined with certain spells that provide no upcasting benefit, can make it seem like casting a wall of force with a 6th level slot is a huge waste of resources. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, wall of force as a 6th level spell would still be one of the best 6th level spells in the game!

Not all spell lists by level are created equal. As is somewhat obvious by the difference in spells granted per level, spell list quality can differ greatly depending on spell level and class. Some spells are such standouts for their level that they are often more powerful than almost any spell one level higher, especially when considering that even-numbered spell levels (especially 4th, 6th, and 8th) tend to be lacking in powerful options compared to their odd-numbered counterparts one level down. Spells like hypnotic pattern, wall of force, and forcecage are prime examples of this phenomenon. If you’re out of 5th level slots and a wall of force might trivialize a boss monster, use a 6th level slot on it! (Obviously, at 7th level you will likely get access to the superior forcecage, but then the same reasoning applies to upcasting forcecage with an 8th level slot.) Holding on to your 6th level slots for mass suggestion might be your usual gameplan, but really, holding on to your 6th level slots for wall of force should be. Some spells are so situationally (or generally!) powerful that even when upcasting provides no benefit, they should be used.

Upcasting conjure spells might be even stronger than you realize

Spells like conjure animals are somewhat notorious for being so powerful that they are sometimes subject to house rules and nerfs, and the benefit of doubling the number of creatures summoned for damage purposes should be obvious. These spells are strong at their base level, but upcasting to double the number of summons can provide additional gains outside of combat as well. 

Conjure animals, non-magical damage resistance aside, is generally the superior damage option compared to conjure woodland beings. But outside of combat, consider that a conjure woodland beings upcast at 6th level to summon four dryads could provide 120 goodberries. Even if your DM doesn’t allow conjure spells to be used to their maximum potential in combat, perhaps limiting the number of creatures that can be summoned, they might be willing to allow this sort of use, where the summoned creatures are providing more utility instead of bogging down combat. 

Also of note are animate dead, animate objects, and tiny servant for less nature-inclined classes. Unlike conjure spells that provide upcasting benefits every other level, animate spells provide an additional two animated targets per level, which is a very nice boost. This makes animate objects an option that scales better than any other available option if a sustained damage concentration spell is necessary. Upcasting animate dead or tiny servant can provide a small legion of magic stone-chucking or crossbow-shooting skeletons if necessary, if that is applicable.

There are several spells that have unique or atypical upcasting benefits that defy simple categorization, so we will discuss several of the notable ones here, lightning round style.

• Counterspell and dispel magic can be cast using higher slots if you want to be certain that you will succeed and do not want to risk it on an ability check. Some may consider this metagame-y, though spell identification is a somewhat nebulously played topic in most games.
• Fog cloud has a unique upcasting ability that increases its radius. This can come in especially handy versus enemies that rely significantly on sight, such as (who would have guessed?) beholders, whose abilities require wholly on sight, except for an anti-magic cone which also disables its own eyebeams. 
• Shadow blade is often praised as potent damage option for sword-and-sorcery style characters. Assuming your table allows shadow blade to be used in conjunction with the blade cantrips (booming blade and green-flame blade), which is not in line with Rules as Written but commonly house ruled to function, it’s still not very good. You are sacrificing all of the flexibility and control and power of being a caster to do what a Gloom Stalker does for free. It’s not worth it.
• Bigby’s hand has good scaling as far as damage dice go (2d8 and 2d6 for the clenched fist and grasping hand options respectively), and has varied uses for movement and the like, though we don’t rate the spell particularly highly, especially when options like wall of force exist. 
• We’re gonna say it again to hammer the point home: spirit guardians is a popular (and smart) pick for upcasting, as its additional damage die can synergize very well with the rising-in-popularity combo of the Telekinetic feat on Clerics. If Wizards of the Coast want us to cast a bigger variety of Cleric spells, they will have to print more of them, because right now spirit guardians completely crowds out multiple spell levels of Cleric damage options.
• Spells whose duration changes drastically when upcast, such as hex, hunter’s mark, planar binding, major image, and bestow curse are often prime targets for upcasting. While we don’t endorse using a higher level spell slot to extend hex or hunter’s mark, as there is superior competition for our concentration, the added duration of planar binding opens the door for a lot of other shenanigans. Your major image, previously limited chiefly by imagination, DM fiat, and a 10 minute duration, is now nigh permanent, something which can be especially strong with a School of Illusion Wizard. 
• Upcasting glyph of warding allows us to store spells of a higher level into the spell glyph. Glyph of warding probably deserves an article all on its own, but suffice to say that this also opens the door for shenanigans. 

Twitter

Facebook

Reddit

Pinterest

Tumblr

Email