Dungeons & Dragons gives parties a large degree of freedom over the way they want to play their campaign. However, it’s difficult to make it through an entire campaign without using magic. This is especially true as the party’s level increases, making spells both more valuable and powerful. Yet power isn’t all a party needs when it comes to magic. It might not be flashy, but utility and support spells are crucial tools, particularly in high-level campaigns.

With a bit of creativity, even lower-level spells can be turned into forces of nature. Of course, many spells that are only available after reaching higher levels are incredibly powerful. But not having a balance between damage and utility spells can hold back a party, and grabbing spells early allows enough time to understand them and use them to their fullest effect.

10

Dispel Magic Works For Defense & Offense

Dispel magic is a third-level Abjuration spell that can be learned by artificers, bards, clerics, druids, paladins, sorcerers, warlocks, and wizards. Because of its effects, it’s worth it for each character to learn it if they’re able to, as it can be used to protect the party, or to create an opening in the enemy’s defenses. Its power scales based on the level slot used to cast it, and that means that dispel magic could be considered among the most powerful spells in the game.

When cast, dispel magic ends the effects of any spell on the target that is of an equal or lower spell level. This is generally used to break an enemy’s Concentration, forcing them to end the spell they’re currently casting. Since there are plenty of annoying Concentration spells that can make battle difficult, being able to use dispel magic and not deal with it for the full duration, or hope that an attack will be enough to break Concentration, can be a huge benefit while fighting.

9

Enhance Ability Is An Underestimated Buff

Enhance ability might not be on a standard overpowered DnD character builds list, but it’s a second-level Transmutation spell that artificers, bards, clerics, druids, and sorcerers can pick up early in the campaign. This is a Concentration spell that can last for up to an hour as long as the Concentration isn’t broken. Additionally, enhance ability is versatile, because it gives the target the choice of one of six potential effects.

In essence, each enhance ability effect choice gives the target advantage on a specific type of check (Dexterity, Charisma, Strength, etc.), but a few of them come with additional benefits. The Constitution version also gives the target 2d6 temporary hit points that last until they’re used or the spell ends. Then, the Strength version increases the target’s carrying capacity by doubling it, and the Dexterity version prevents the target from taking fall damage from drops of less than 20 feet.

8

Detect Magic Keeps Parties Prepared

Detect magic does exactly what its name implies. When cast, it lasts for up to 10 minutes, or less if Concentration is broken. For the duration, the caster can sense magic within 30 feet, and they can use their action to take a closer look at any person or object with a magical aura to learn what school of magic it’s from.

Of course, there are limits to what detect magic can find. Barriers that can stop the spell include one foot of stone, one inch of common metal, a thin sheet of lead, or three feet of wood or dirt. However, even with these limitations, detect magic is a great tool that can help a party prepare for possible encounters, and even try to spot traps before they come across them. In a game like DnD, preparation and awareness can be the difference between living and dying.

7

Invisibility Is An Amazing Tool For Stealth

Invisibility, like many entries on this list, is a lower-level spell. It’s a second-level Illusion spell, and when cast using a second-level slot, it turns one creature invisible for up to an hour. This includes all the items that a creature has, as long as it’s on their person. However, this spell isn’t ranged, so the caster can’t use it at a distance. Instead, they need to touch the target creature to turn them invisible.

While the description of invisibility doesn’t seem that special, it’s when the spell is cast at higher levels that it becomes truly powerful. For each additional level above second that invisibility is cast at, the caster can make another creature invisible. This means that a high enough level slot can be used to turn an entire party invisible for up to an hour, which is an incredible tool for infiltrating a location as quietly as possible.

6

Aid Can Be A Hidden Savior

Aid is a second-level Abjuration spell that can last for up to eight hours. Because it’s not a Concentration spell, the effect lasts until the duration ends, or the hit points that it grants have been used. Aid can be used on up to three creatures, and at its base level, the caster gives each of those three creatures an extra five hit points for their current and maximum health.

At its base level, aid is great during lower-level portions of a campaign, because even five hit points is a lot for early levels. However, when cast at high levels, Aid becomes even more powerful. For each additional level, the hit points given to the targets increase by another five, and that can add up to become a good shield in combat, especially for classes that tend to have less health, like wizards.

5

Purify Food & Drink Can Keep The Party Safe From Underhanded Tactics

Purify food and drink seems to get overlooked with all the other amazing spells that can be picked up in DnD, especially spells that can pump out damage. However, it can be a crucial spell, and even more so if the dungeon master for a campaign is particularly devious. When used, all non-magical food and drink items in a sphere with a radius of five feet are cleansed of any disease or poison.

A truly devious dungeon master might not skip any opportunity to weaken or hinder the party in any way that’s available. That would also include mundane ways such as poisoned food and drink. Additionally, as the party grows in strength, it would be feasible that their enemies would take chances to incapacitate the party, but it’s easy for the party to forget about those dangers. That’s where purify food and drink becomes a great safety net and precaution.

4

Hold Person Provides Crowd Control In Battles

Hold person is a second-level Enchantment spell that can keep a humanoid from moving or using any actions for up to one minute, or until Concentration is broken. One minute doesn’t seem like a long time, but while in turn-based combat, time moves fairly slowly. Because of that, a minute is enough to keep an enemy out of combat for a decent portion of the fighting.

However, hold person can be even stronger than that if it’s cast at a higher level. For each additional level, another person can be paralyzed by hold person. The targets all need to be within 30 feet of each other, and a successful Wisdom Saving Throw can save a target from being held. Even if the initial Saving Throw fails, the target gets another chance at the end of every turn, so it’s best to target creatures with low Wisdom when possible.

3

Bless Can Be Enough To Pass A Series Of Checks

Bless is a first-level Enchantment spell. It’s generally used in early levels, but it can still be effective later in the game when the party has more spells and resources to work with. Even with just a first-level spell slot, the caster can target up to three creatures and give them an extra d4 to add to Attack Rolls and Saving Throws for up to one minute.

Using higher-level spell slots lets the caster target one additional creature for each extra level, but it’s usually not necessary to use higher level spell slots, which makes bless a great utility spell. Although it only adds a single d4, it’s used for Attack Rolls and Saving Throws. In a lot of cases, a d4 is all it takes to pull a roll from being a failure into being a success, which makes the party deal more damage, while taking less damage.

2

Spare The Dying Is A Lifesaver

Spare the dying is a must-have Necromancy cantrip. Because it’s a cantrip, the caster doesn’t need to worry about using spell slots when they use this ability. Additionally, it can give a fallen party member extra time, letting them survive long enough to be properly revived and brought back into battle. The biggest downside is that it costs an action to use, which keeps the caster from using other abilities to cast more buffs or deal damage during that round.

How this cantrip works is that the caster touches a character that’s been reduced to zero hit points. The spell stabilizes the character, meaning they won’t need to make Death Saving Throws. Instead, they just need to wait until somebody can restore their health and bring them back into battle, which is much less stressful than making a Saving Throw to stay alive. It’s worth using an action for this purpose, especially when the materials to revive a dead party member can be expensive, or the party might not be capable of revival, depending on their levels and abilities.

1

Faerie Fire Is A Staple Ability

Faerie fire is perhaps one of the most iconic DnD abilities, and this isn’t a surprise because of how incredibly useful it is from the beginning of the campaign to its end. It’s a first-level Evocation spell that, when cast, outlines creatures in a 20-foot cube who fail a Dexterity Saving Throw with a colored light. While affected, these outlined creatures emit a dim light in a 10-foot radius.

The real strength comes from the effects of this light around those creatures. All Attack Rolls have advantage against affected creatures, as long as the attacker can see their target. Additionally, affected creatures can’t go invisible during this time period. So, faerie fire not only helps the party deal extra damage, it removes an escape tactic from affected enemies. That’s incredible for a first-level spell.

The number of spells in Dungeons & Dragons is honestly overwhelming, especially for a new party. As the group’s level increases, the number of options and the variety of spells only goes up, too. Luckily, there are spells that can be learned early, but still count as must-have options for characters of all levels in Dungeons & Dragons.