Author: Audere
Haste does a number of things. Some of them are even decent. The target’s speed is doubled. They gain a +2 bonus to AC and advantage on Dexterity saving throws. They gain an additional action that they can use to make a weapon attack, Dash, Disengage, Hide, or Use an Object.
All together, do these add up to a 3rd level spell worth casting and concentrating on?
Mobility
The mobility increase given by haste is significant. Not only does it double the target’s speed, but they can Dash using the additional action, giving them effectively four times the speed in total. It’s possible for a character to use this speed for the duration to stay away from a melee monster while dealing damage.
The problem is that other spells are more effective and efficient for this purpose. Fly, for example, grants the target a flying speed of 60 feet, which is much better for staying out of melee range against most monsters, and also has great utility and can be upcast to affect multiple targets.
However, the spell which most dramatically overshadows haste in the mobility department is phantom steed. With a mere ritual of the same spell level, you can create a mount with a speed of 100 feet, much faster than the 60 foot speed most likely granted by haste, and the steed can Dash or Disengage as well, like a target of haste can with their extra action, but to distances of 200 feet in a turn rather than 120. Since phantom steed is a ritual, this saves valuable 3rd level slots, and with repeated castings, you can even provide steeds to the whole party. Haste is probably the most expensive way to notice you forgot to cast phantom steed.
Defense
The +2 bonus to AC granted by haste may seem appealing, especially if granted to a character who is taking the brunt of enemy attacks. But it’s not impressive for a 3rd level spell. A mere first level spell, shield of faith, can create the same effect far more efficiently.
You also might plan on using the additional action to Hide. However, if you want to create a safe refuge for a character, a spell like rope trick will accomplish that for a second level slot without using your concentration.
Fundamentally, granting minor defensive bonuses to a single party member is unlikely to change the tide of battle, because monsters can usually attack someone else instead. Perhaps one could make an argument that the target of haste will present such a great offensive threat that they will draw attacks, but the offensive impact of haste leaves much to be desired.
Damage
The most typical use of the additional action granted by haste is an additional weapon attack. Is this bit of damage significant?
Not at all. It’s easy to see how small the impact is when we compare the damage with that of bless, a first level spell.
Let’s do the math. Suppose you have two martial characters with Extra Attack who each attack twice for 1d8 + 4 damage per hit. Furthermore, suppose you have a spellcaster in the party with an attack cantrip like fire bolt which deals 2d10 damage on a hit. This is a pretty typical mix of attackers for an unoptimized party in tier 2 (levels 5-10). We’ll also assume a base to-hit chance of 65%.
If we cast haste on one of the martials, the party gains an additional attack with a 65% chance of hitting which deals 1d8 + 4 damage on a hit. That’s an expected 0.65*(4.5 + 4) = 5.525 damage per round from haste.
If we instead cast bless on the two martials and the caster, then they each gain an additional 12.5% chance of hitting. In other words, when each of these characters makes an attack, there’s a 12.5% chance that our bless spell causes them to hit when they would have otherwise missed. So the expected damage per round we gain from bless is 0.125*(4.5 + 4)*4 + 0.125*(11) = 5.625. That’s the same damage as haste, using only a first level spell!
But what about a more optimized party? Does haste come out ahead when the martials take potent feats like Sharpshooter?
Let’s look at a party with two martial characters who each attack three times using Sharpshooter and Crossbow Expert for 1d6 + 13 damage on a hit, with each attack having a 50% chance to hit (due to the penalty from Sharpshooter and the bonus from the Archery fighting style.) We once again also have a caster throwing out fire bolts.
Haste cast on one of the martial characters would grant an average of 0.5*(3.5 + 13) = 8.25 damage per round. Better than in the unoptimized party, which makes sense because the attacks are more potent. But how does bless stack up?
Bless in this party would add an average of 0.125*(3.5 + 13)*6 + 0.125*(11) = 13.75 damage per round. That’s 166% of the damage contributed by haste, again using a first level spell!
So in short, bless is a significantly more potent offensive buff than haste. It’s no slouch in defense either, since it also grants the party a bonus to their saving throws. Bless is a good spell, but what this really shows is that haste is mediocre for its level. Five to seven damage per round? For a third level spell? Really?
But what about all these things together?
“But Tabletop Builds,” we hear you cry, “of course haste will stack up poorly if you cut it apart and compare each component to a more specialized spell! The true power of haste is that it delivers all of these effects in a single, potent package!”
This is a reasonable point. To show that haste is mediocre, it is not sufficient to merely compare each part to another spell. On the other hand, for haste to be good, it must be the case that the mobility, defense, and damage granted by haste are frequently useful at the same time, and that the sum of these match up to the potency of other third level spells.
Unfortunately, it’s rarely the case that the mobility, defense, and damage are all relevant. If you’re casting haste to out-range melee attackers, the damage isn’t relevant and may not even occur if you’re using the additional action to Dash or Disengage, and the defense isn’t relevant because you’re out of range of the enemies. If you’re casting haste to “tank” and deal damage in melee, the mobility aspect is largely irrelevant; you’re using a 3rd level spell and concentration for a weak buff to AC and damage on a single target.
The very best possible use case is casting haste on a melee martial to get them into melee range, but if you’re starting combat far from the enemy, something like web or sleet storm would be much more effective. Furthermore, this use case is far from reliable. At best, haste is a circumstantial spell which can get a martial into the fray faster at the cost of concentration and a risk of forcing them to take a time-out for a round later, which isn’t worth a valuable 3rd level spell pick.
The effects aren’t worth a third level slot
Haste is just not that impactful in the context of party combat. I’ve been comparing it to low level spells, but let’s look at the competition at third level. Fireball cast on a couple targets knocks haste out of the park in terms of damage. Control spells like hypnotic pattern or sleet storm will prevent many, many, more attacks from landing than a couple points of AC and some movement speed.
A third level spell should have a significant impact on the tide of battle. At the level you get it, a third level concentration spell should have an impact comparable to that of an entire character. If you’re a caster, and your contribution to an encounter is haste, you’re effectively contributing a fraction of a martial to the fight: a little bit of damage, a little bit of hit points. Haste is not a “subtle but reliable” contribution; it’s barely a contribution at all. If a reliable but less flashy casting is what fits the situation, you should cast a lower level spell, like web.
Third level spells should severely hamstring enemies, deal great amounts of damage, or even straight-up shut down encounters. Haste does not do any of these.
The downsides are terrible
There are two main downsides to casting haste, besides the cost of the slot: concentration, and the consequences of losing concentration.
Concentration is huge. It means that you aren’t concentrating on a spell with a greater impact. But not only does haste ask for your concentration, it kicks you in the groin if your concentration breaks, if you decide to concentrate on a different spell later, or if an enemy casts dispel magic.
Hm, did a couple attacks miss or fail to reach the target of haste due to its effects? Did the target manage to deal an extra few points of damage? Well, scratch out all of that if you lose concentration, because the target is a sitting duck for a round. If you’ve twinned haste, it’s even worse: you’ve got two party members taking a time out, which is disastrous.
This is one of the reasons why casting haste on yourself is a particularly terrible idea. If you’re trying to get in melee and deal more damage, you’re likely to end up dealing less and taking more instead. If you’re trying to get out of a bad situation, there’s no reason to cast haste over a better spell like fly or thunder step which doesn’t run the risk of screwing you over.
Furthermore, in particularly challenging encounters, a big part of your effectiveness is being able to adapt to a changing battlefield. Say you cast haste in a big fight, and a round or two passes. Are those enemies grouped up real nice for a hypnotic pattern? Are enemy reinforcements arriving through a choke point that’s just right for a web? Well, I hope you’re happy with seven damage per round, 2 AC, and some zoomies, because switching to something else will cause a “crippling wave of lethargy.”
Haste just doesn’t do enough to justify a 3rd level slot, your concentration, and the risk of screwing over the target if your concentration is broken or you want to switch to another concentration spell.
Pack Tactics has also covered many similar points and more in a video. Go check out his stuff, we think it’s some of the best optimization-focused content on YouTube. Thanks for the Tabletop Builds shout out, Bagpipes!
I think Haste is not a general purpose spell and shouldn’t treated as one. Arcane casters get a serious powerspike at level 5 in the form of Fireball and Hypnotic Pattern. These spells are encounter-ending but they perform better in a dungeon/urban setting.
Haste is different. It’s a great outdoors spell. Cast it on an already mobile target and he becomes the ultimate skirmisher. Consider for example a hasted arcane trickster with the mobile feat and Booming Blade. He can zoom around the battlefield like the flash, BB someone and get behind cover. In fact, said AT will have (30 base + 10 mobile)*2 (haste) = 80 base speed, with 2 dashes available for a total of 240 feet of movement. It’s a great way to fight against a mix of melee and ranged enemies in a huge battle area. It’s not everyday that you get to fight under these conditions, but it’s an effective spell in this instance.
Another important use is against a single very mobile enemy. In these cases, Haste won’t just add a single extra attack, it will probably add 3 because without it the melee striker may not be able to reach the target. Fireball and Hypnotic Pattern aren’t good spells in this case. Of course it comes with the downside of losing concentration and it will be bad if that happens.
All in all, I think that this article is important to dispel the notion that Haste is an amazing all around spell, but I think it’s usage has a lot of merit in certain situations and the less optimized a party is, the greater the effect of Haste. If everyone has a solid ranged attack, kiting/hiding ability and 20 AC, then Bless is probably the only concentration spell that this party will ever need.
About the mobile enemy example. Wouldn’t simply casting a control spell that prevents the enemy from moving (like web or evard even) be more beneficial in this case? There are PLENTY of ways to hamper or negate enemy movement.
The arcane trickster example is…interesting to say the least – but it would probably do mediocre damage lol. one boomer blade per turn + one normal weapon attack – even with sneak attack – is kind of sad.
Oh and that arcane trickster doesn’t even get haste till level 13, by which time the wizard has a simulacrum, the warlock is dropping forcecages, the sorc is reversing gravity etc…so i’m sure it’s totally relevant.
The problem with haste is that yes, it does many things but it does all of them terribly. It isn’t even an OK spell. I wouldn’t even cast it if it was a first level spell.
Finally about bless being the only concentration spell the party would ever need. I guess control spells and summons do not exist.
One thing I notice that this guide doesn’t go into is the two possible readings of the limitation-Those being the one reading that says “This action can be used to make an Attack action consisting of a weapon attack and nothing else” and the other reading that says “This action can be used to make an Attack action that can have no more than one weapon attack as part of it”
Finally, someone else said it! I’ve been saying this for years. I took Haste on my Sorcerer because all these guides said that Twinned Haste was awesome, but I found it vastly overrated. Traded it out for Hypnotic Pattern and was much happier for it.
I have to agree. I’ve been playing a Divine Soul Sorcerer for over a year now and took haste at 10th level when I got Twined Spell Meta Magic. (My first two choices were Subtle Spell and Empowered Spell because I could actually use them more then once per day.) and even twinning Haste on my party’s Oath of Conquest Paladin (with the Great Weapon Master Feat) and Swarm Keeper Ranger (with the Sharpshooter Feat) (which is also why I waited so long to take Haste because the party had to bump up their STR and DEX)
I still found that Fireball was way more helpful when combat started, and was cheaper as well. (saving 2 Sorcery Points because I normally use Empowered Spell.) and even then I still kept Bless from my first level and found that while not as obviously impactful as our heavy hitters getting an extra attack, I had a lot more control over the power level of the spell and (without spending the extra Sorcery Points) for the same spell level, got to add that bonus to myself, the party’s War Cleric, and Moon Druid/Totem Barbarian Multiclass.
I think Empowered Spell is severely underrated. It’s cheap, you can use it with other metamagic, but most importantly, it’s psychologically satisfying. You dropped that perfect Fireball on four enemies but flubbed the damage rolls? Feels Bad Man. With Empowered Spell, though, you can fix that problem, and you can even do it after you see the numbers! I think too many people poo-poo blasting in general and overlook just how good Empowered is.
It seems Haste these days is getting much flak as an “overrated spell.” Perhaps this is due to a renaissance of support for the Bless spell, which on paper does provide more DPS. The use cases for Haste being better, those where all of it’s benefits can be utilized, are mentioned in this article. However, a point that doesn’t seem to be mentioned is that while Haste may deal similar or less damage than Bless, Haste increases the damage ceiling of a character while Bless does not. If a character already hits consistently, such as Blindfighters, Devil’s Sight users, Reckless Attackers, or crit fishers who consistently utilize elven accuracy (Who in particular get a strong benefit from Haste thanks to to extra opportunity to score a crit), they would rather have the opportunity to deal even more damage, rather than increase a near certain chance to hit to a certain one. A previous post mentioned kiting in the context of a rogue, but this kiting could be even better on a Crossbow Expert character, who can use the increased speed to maintain a large distance from the enemy. Additionally, I think there are scenarios not addressed in the damage analysis. While the spellcaster could utilize the bless offensively, there are many cases where they may instead need to cast a control spell, or even just use the dodge action. In these cases, especially in parties that have a single martial striker, you would much rather pile the damage increases on a single character rather than spread it out. Frankly, I’ve only ever heard of Haste discussed as a mediocre spell, which I would agree with. It’s certainly no fireball in regards of praise IMO.
Haste is amazing for rogues. Despite the fact they could move 4 times at double speed if needed (triple dash) and improves their survivability which can be troublesome for melee rogues, it gives a 2nd sneak attack damage per round:
Extra action: attack
Regular action: prepare an action to attack on the next creature’s turn
despite?
Ohh finally, I have been arguing that for years. A single Haste attack with some minor buffs is just crappy if you can instead cast for the same spellslot and concentration a HP or slow that deactivates a whole enemy party.
I think there is one potential use case for the spell when stacked with other speed increasing effects (which all, but particularly speed doubling effects, gain more value as you add more on) for the purpose of a cheese grater style build or strategy (even without dumping too many resources into it – just a Tabaxi Rune Knight with caster friends would be fine, although if you really wanted too you could go much higher with speed – if you wanted to, you could do a Psi Knight variant involving flying an enemy into the air, going prone on top of them, and using the Athletics feat to do it again) where the party Druid (potentially with a 1-level Hexblade dip) casts Spike Growth and the Rune Knight moves a grappled target back and forth over it for big nova damage. In this context, casting Haste on the Fighter would more than double (even potentially quadruple, if they haven’t dipped Rogue for Cunning Action and don’t want to use their actions on future turns to Dash), their (already significant) damage output – a bonus which stacks with other bonuses from things like Boots of Speed or the Mobile feat. Is this an optimal strategy or party build? Probably not, but if you’re going to do it the Haste spell is certainly worthwhile, and while you can dump a huge amount of build resources into it, you can absolutely still do it in a party not explicitly built for it.
Hmm. Given the lethargy drawback, Haste might also be a great offensive control spell on the right target. There’s no save or roll to affect the target, just that they’re ‘willing.’ So if said target is unintelligent or simply careless, then it’s entirely plausible that they’d accept the Haste without considering where/who it’s coming from. Then the caster immediately stops concentrating on the spell, stun locking them for a turn.
It seems like it’s pointing out the obvious, but the biggest reason a caster would pick bless over haste or vice versa is because they’re (with a few exceptions) not on the same spell list. It’s maybe a more relevant argument for Divine Soul sorcerer or a bard who wants to spend their mystic secret spells, but in general, your average arcane caster won’t have access to bless and your average divine caster won’t have access to haste.
Another consideration, that can be both a positive and negative is what getting the extra attack means. Trying to break concentration? 3 attacks is better than 2. Have a weapon or ability that triggers on hit, those extra attacks really make a difference. The extra attacks are also another chance to crit, and depending on the build/situation, if you’re rolling with advantage that further bumps the odds in your favor.
But it can also hurt you if you’re fighting something like a salamander that deals damage whenever they are hit in melee. I don’t think it’s *that* common, but it is worth considering.
I think in a lot of cases, how good a spell is really is situational. In cramped fighting quarters where you’re sandwiched right up against your enemies? Fireball isn’t going to be helpful, you’ll probably hit your allies. But spiritual guardians lets you hit them all and keeps your allies damage safe. It doesn’t mean fireball is overrated and spiritual guardians is better. Flexibility is even more important when it comes to concentration spells since you can only have one active at a time. Going back to bless, it’s a great benefit. Against a group of spellcasters or creatures that have a poison ability that requires constant saving throws, that extra d4 is going to be pretty relevant for the saves. But if you’re fighting a pair of orc barbarians recklessly attacking, you don’t really need the extra accuracy so you opt for hold person instead.
I do agree that haste is a highly recommended spell, but I really think it goes back to which classes get it. In general, arcane casters don’t have a lot of non-self buff options at those levels. Things like shield, mirror image and blur are self only. The other spells that are mentioned are (usually) not on their spell list, so haste is the first opportunity to provide a buff. And, it works in conjunction with all those other things. It’s also something that can be done right before you rush into a big fight, so you can still drop a big fireball turn 1 and have a buffed up fighter rush in to attack the boss.
Even some of the downsides might not be *that* bad. Sure, it sucks if your fighter gets dispelled and misses a turn, but that’s also a turn the caster is spending on dispel magic. It might give your party a round to get into a better formation to avoid a more devastating spell, which I’d argue is worth having your fighter miss a round. Of course, in a fight where there’s a lot of minions, that missed round might be really bad because they all swarm the helpless fighter.
TLDR: Spells are situational
Other than sorcerer, I think the best use of Haste spell is Bard, who can pick Find Greater Steed in lvl10. So Haste can benefit both the caster and the steed, especially some greater steed (e.g. Peryton) can turn extra seed into extra dmg via Dive Attack.
My biggest issue with articles like this is that they always seem to contrast the efficiency of the spell I may be interested in, haste in this case, with spells that are either not available to my character or already being covered by another party member.
“Don’t cast Haste, [these spells] your class doesn’t get are better!”
It’s not that it’s bad advice, but it’s not very helpful if the suggested options are a no-go.
Which class and build are you playing, and which spells are being cast by your party that are not useful to double up on?
I’m sure we can find an alternative for you and extend the article
I play a sharpshooter battlesmith. The other party members include a paladin, druid, cleric, and sorcerer/bard. The full casters cover aid, bless, faerie fire, and more with their plentiful spell slots. My biggest spell is Web, which often gets my 3rd level slot, but the druid has Entangle and uses a spider form with webs. I really haven’t found a 3rd level spell worth casting. Revivify and Dispel Magic just sit there as contingency and and have never been cast (i.e. held just in case, but ultimately wasted resources so far). We are 10th level.
Thanks for any advice.
What about Fly and Tiny Servant? Those are some nice staples.
I’ll have to look closer at Tiny Servant. It has some neat utility, but maybe not as much as a homunculus? Different opportunity cost, so I can see how it might fit. No flying speed or ranged action or spell delivery though. How do you keep it from getting murdered in combat?
Fly just seems like less reliable winged… er, rocket boots that can drop you on your head with lost concentration. Maybe a niche case?
It mostly sounds like your party is cruising in a game that is too easy when bard and druid faerie fire and entangle can be cast, rather than the game requiring their 3rd level+ slots (of which they have like 8 at level 10). In the challenging fights, they won’t have to, and you’ll be able to cast your Web.
It’s possible that you feel a need to use your 3rd level slots because fights are tough specifically because the sorc/bard and druid are underspending, at which point a strategy talk with them would be in order.
Outside of that, Rope Trick, Web, Tiny Servant, and 5+ targets Conjure Barrage should be your priorities.
Haste just won’t be doing a lot for you, you’re at range so the speed and AC will do very little, and the spell does quite literally nothing until round 3, and then what it does is a single attack each round (trivially compare this to Conjure Barrage, which in itself is not a stellar spell).
And always keep in mind that it’s entirely acceptable to keep your slots unspent if they’re not actually required, saving them for an unexpected extra set of encounters later on in the day.
All that being said, it’s absolutely possible that you’re in a game that’s just too easy and it doesn’t matter at all what you do with your spell slots cause there’s 3 full casters in the party at level 10
The only real use I have found for Haste in combat is to allow ranged AT’s a double sneak attack, but that costs a round setup at normal damage if one doesn’t invest into MetaMagic Adept.
This is some real “why attack when they can block” type stuff