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. 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. 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. Still, it bears repeating, and upcasting does not provide enough scaling to spells like cure wounds to make them worth upcasting. Even more casual players might be aware of the mantra that in combat, “healing is bad” unless used to bring back downed allies. 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 (“d healing to one target) type spells are not particularly effective compared to the field. When Upcasting isn’t Worthwhile Only Certain Healing Spells Should Be Upcast 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! 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. Additionally, casting haste means you cannot cast another concentration spell without suffering this downside, a weakness that doesn’t plague other concentration spells. Five to seven damage per round? For a third level spell? Really?Īnd 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. Bless is a good spell, but what this really shows is that haste is mediocre for its level. It’s no slouch in defense either, since it also grants the party a bonus to their saving throws. So in short, bless is a significantly more potent offensive buff than haste. To reiterate what we said in this article: We have actually cross-examined the viability of haste in its own article, which includes a comparison to bless. 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? 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. 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. If they weren’t, why would they be higher level? 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. 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. Higher Level Spells Are Not Always Superior 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. Some spells are particularly powerful when upcast, while others might seem worthwhile but are trap options. In practice, upcasting is a relatively rare occurrence at most tables, but sometimes it can be just the right tactic for the situation. 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.
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. 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.
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