The 5 Best AoE DnD Spells and Cantrips – Fireball, Color Spray & More

Last Updated on January 22, 2023

Area of Effect spells are what make spellcasters unique among the other types of classes.

There are many players and DMs who think that Area of Effect spells are really the only reason to play spellcasters.

This is absolutely not true — but it also isn’t wrong. There are many reasons to play spellcasters, but AoEs definitely top the list.

This post is here to give you the best AoE spells for each tier of play for your spellcaster. The large majority of these spells will be Wizard or Sorcerer spells, but we will try to skip around.

Each spell will be considered the best for multiple reasons. We will try to have the best damage-dealing spell for each tier, but we will also go for an AoE spell that maybe does something a little different because, yes, wizards can be hammers who only see nails, but there are many, many ways to control your nails. You don’t always have to pound the mess out of them.

What Is an AoE Spell in DnD 5e?

Area of Effect (AoE) spells are those spells that affect every creature in the area in which they are centered.  They do not require an attack roll, usually, but instead demand saving throws.

Understanding AoE spells

Area of Effect spells often have a shape to them and a distance at which they can be cast.

For example, if a spell affects a “20-foot sphere centered on a point within a range of 60 feet,” that means you pick the center of the spell’s effect. That center can be within 60 feet of you, and the spell area goes out in all directions for 20 feet.

The various shapes an AoE spell can take are:

• Line. Lines have a width and a length, such as 5 by 30 feet. This makes a rectangle on the board, and every creature in that rectangle is affected by the spell.
• Cone. Cones begin with the caster and spread out to a specific distance, usually 15 feet. This shape is a triangle on the board. Draw the point of your triangle at the front of your caster with the lines going out 10 feet. Your caster will be opposite of the hypotenuse. The hypotenuse will be 15 feet long. Every creature in that triangle is affected by the spell.
• Sphere. A sphere makes a circle on the board, and every creature within the diameter of the circle is affected by the spell. Be careful to ready the spell effects as some spells will give you the radius of the sphere while others will give you the diameter.

The Best AoE Spells for each Tier

At Tier 1, you are just starting out.

You won’t have many AoEs to choose from, but the ones you do have will require a bit of wit and cleverness to use well.

My two favorites are Entangle and Color Spray.

Entangle

Entangle is a druid spell that restrains everyone in the area. Strength is not a common Saving throw proficiency, so you can use this spell to pin down any enemy rogues types or spell casters in the area.

While so restrained, your friends can make attacks with advantage, so the rogue in your party will love you forever!

Color Spray

This spell is a favorite among Arcane Tricksters! With this spell, you can blind your opponents, leaving them open to all sorts of mischief, including sneak attack!

The tough part of this spell is that it affects your opponents in order of their lowest HP, so either save it for when you only have one big creature next to you or when you are surrounded by lots of little mobs.

At Tier II, you will have more damage capability available. While technically you can do this damage at Tier I with a few AoE spells like Fireball and Thunderwave, those spells increase in power with every level spell slot you gain.

In Tier II, those 3^rd-level (Tier I) AoE spells just get better. For this reason, at Tier II, I prefer to use Fireball and Black Tentacles.

Fireball

Fireball is the most iconic, classic, standard magical spell that goes back as far as tales of magic and sorcery go. Michael Bay is not doing anything new.

There are only two things to be concerned about:

1. Don’t blow up your friends.
2. The DM might try to counter your spell by saying the “bright streak” that flashed from your finger gets blocked by something, and the spell blows up in your face.

This happened once to me, and I did it once to a villain. When it happened to me, I threw a fireball into what I thought was a room of bugbears. The image was an illusion, and I actually threw a fireball into the wall that the illusion was covering and burned myself to a crisp.

The other time, the villain was popping off with a wand of fireballs. I held my action to throw a shuriken at the “bright beam” the next time he cast Fireball. When he did, I blocked the beam with my shuriken and blew the jerk up.

Talk to your DM to see what they think about these events because while they were controversial in our gaming group, we worked it out for everyone’s enjoyment.

But this was back in the lawless days of DnD 3e where anything could and did happen.

Black Tentacles

Black Tentacles are awesome for all the same reasons that Entangle is awesome, except that now the restraining element also deals bludgeoning damage!

I realize that some folks can get squeamish about tentacles (I myself am one), so feel free to replace the tentacle flavor (yum!) with thick whip-like vines or giant earthen arms.

At Tier III, you are now living out your own legend. Everything you do in Tier III will cement your reputation as heroes of old long after your timely demise.

Area of Effect spells here only get better – both your old spells and the new ones you gain.

In general, the best newly offered spell for Tier II characters is Delayed Blast Fireball.

Delayed Blast Fireball

This spell goes way beyond the standard “Imma-blow-you-up-now” school of Southern hospitality!

With this spell, you can hold the fireball, letting it charge and get more and more unstable until the explosion is simply stunning. What makes this spell truly great though, is what you can do while holding it.

You can use it to make intimidation checks, knowing that people will be looking at your little pocket bomb and wondering if you will really let it go off. You can also put it out there and let someone with a high dexterity save rebound it to a place you normally couldn’t reach due to line of sight or sheer distance.

If you can manage to pull off that technique, you will have won Dungeons and Dragons. The rest of us will have to take our books and go home.

In Tier IV, all of the Area of Effect spells just get better because of the heightened spell slots available to you.

At this point, your Area of Effect spell will become part of the legend that follows you around. Literally any one you choose will be a showstopper!