“Whether calling on the elemental forces of nature or emulating the creatures of the animal world, druids are an embodiment of nature’s resilience, cunning, and fury.”
- Player’s Handbook
Druids are a versatile class that excel in almost any role. They can be support players, healers, tanks, or whatever role the party needs to fill.
You can see this versatility reflected in their spell list as well. It has some unique class-exclusive options that let you do things like control plants, summon creatures, speak with animals, harness the elements, or transform into beasts.
Overall, there’s a lot of room for creativity in how you decide to play your druid. It’s one of the best things about this class!
But with such a huge variety, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. This article will help you sift through the druid spell list to pick the best, most versatile options for your character.
Best Level 1 Druid Spell: Healing Word
Heal from a distance with the help of Healing Word.
1st level Evocation. You restore hit points equal to 1d4 + your Wisdom modifier to any creature within 60 feet of you. This is one of only a couple healing spells available to lower-level characters.
Why Healing Word Is Great
- Healing spells are always useful, but this is especially true for the early levels of the game. While you might not be your party’s designated healer, you’ll be grateful to have this spell handy when things are going downhill.
- I would argue in favor of Healing Word over the other level one healing spell available to druids, Cure Wounds. While it restores fewer hit points, Healing Word has a range of 60 feet where Cure Wounds can only be cast on a creature you are currently touching. This is useful when a party member is hurt but not close by or is hard to reach because of a factor like difficult terrain.
- Healing Word is one of the few bonus action spells, while Cure Wounds takes up your entire action on your turn. This makes Healing Word a better use of your action economy.
Second Best Level 1 Druid Spell: Entangle
1st level Conjuration. You gain control over plant life and make thick vines sprout from the ground in a 20-foot square. Any creature in that space must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be restrained by the plants until the spell ends.
Why Entangle Is Great
- This is a nice early-level area control spell that can potentially disable multiple enemies.
- It turns a 20-foot area of the battlefield into difficult terrain, which means even creatures that resist being restrained have their possible movement cut in half.
- It’s a great move to use in collaboration with other party members, trapping a creature so an ally can target it with attacks. Some of my favorite moments of the game are when multiple characters work together by combining different effects and achieving a powerful result, and Entangle lends itself to that kind of teamwork.
- It’s one of the druid exclusive spells, which means you’ll only get a chance to use it when you're playing as a druid character.
Best Level 2 Druid Spell: Moonbeam
And now in the name of the moon, I'll punish you!
2nd level Evocation. A beam of magical light shines down onto the battlefield. Creatures who start their turn in the beam or who move into it must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 2d10 radiant damage. They take half as much damage on a successful one.
Why Moonbeam Is Great
- This is a nice combat option for lower-level druids. It’s one of the spells that consistently chips away at an enemy’s hit points over several turns, which really starts to add up over the course of multiple rounds.
- No matter what, this spell ALWAYS does damage when you use it. Even on a successful Constitution saving throw, the target will always take half damage.
- The other second level spell that operates in a similar way is Flame Sphere, but I prefer Moonbeam. It does more outright damage, and the damage type is more useful. Fire is commonly resisted, while only a few creatures in the Monster Manual have resistance to radiant damage.
- It’s even more useful against shapeshifters, who roll their saving throws with disadvantage and revert to their original forms on a failure.
- Moonbeam is another iconic druid exclusive spell that you should take advantage of while playing as this class.
Second Best Level 2 Druid Spell: Enhance Ability
2nd level Transmutation. You touch a creature and give it a magical enhancement from a range of different effects. You can bestow advantage on Constitution, Strength, Dexterity, Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom Checks, as well as some other minor but useful bonuses (like taking no fall damage or gaining some temporary hit points).
Why Enhance Ability Is Great
- This is one of the best buff spells. With a corresponding buff to every ability, it has a wide range of possible uses in a variety of challenging scenarios. Whether fighting, negotiating, sneaking, or schmoozing, Enhance Ability can give your party the boost it needs.
- Because this spell has a few different effects to choose from, it almost feels like multiple spells in one. It adds more variety to the different actions you can take at any given time and can be useful in pretty much any scenario.
Best Level 3 Druid Spell: Conjure Animals
Don't fight your own battles... get your pets to do it for you.
3rd level Conjuration. You summon fey spirits that take the form of animals. There are a few different options for the number of creatures and their CR level. The more challenging the creature, the fewer you can conjure at one time. These creatures are friendly to you and your companions and obey any commands you give them.
Why Conjure Animals Is Great
- Third level spells represent a whole new level of power for spellcasters and Conjure Animals is no exception. While it requires concentration to use, it’s powerful enough to make it worth it.
- The best way to use this spell is to conjure as many creatures as possible, which essentially gives you multiple actions and attacks on a single turn. Summoning eight wolves is one of the best ways to do this since their Pack Tactics trait gives them advantage on attacks made while they are near each other.
Second Best Level 3 Druid Spell: Erupting Earth
3rd level Transmutation. You cause a 20-foot area of the battlefield to erupt in earth and stone. Each creature in the area has to make a Dexterity saving throw. They take 3d12 bludgeoning damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful one. The ground also becomes difficult terrain until cleared, each 5-foot-square taking one minute to clear by hand.
Why Erupting Earth Is Great
- This is great because of its dual functionality: it deals a big blast of initial damage AND creates difficult terrain, so you have a damage spell that also works as area control.
- It’s a non-concentration spell that gives you greater control to shape the battlefield in interesting ways, and it has no time limit beyond someone spending a minute per square to clear the effect. Given that one minute of combat is equivalent to ten rounds of combat, none of your enemies are going to be able to take the time to clear the area.
- Erupting Earth never stops being useful throughout your campaign, as it scales pretty well as you level up.
Best Level 4 Druid Spell: Polymorph
A druid in the midst of transforming.
4th level Transmutation. This spell transforms a creature into a new form, with an unwilling target making a Wisdom saving throw to avoid the effect. This new form can be any beast whose challenge rating is equal to or less than the target's (or the target's level, if it doesn't have a challenge rating). The creature is limited in the actions it can perform by the nature of its new form and it can't speak, cast spells, or take any other action that requires hands or speech.
Why Polymorph Is Great
- Polymorph is commonly considered one of the more powerful fourth level spells in 5th Edition. It’s almost a given that a druid will take this once it's available to them.
- This spell’s greatest strength is in its versatility. You can use it on yourself or on your allies as a kind of buff, bestowing Strength or other skills, or as debuff on enemies, turning them into non-threatening creatures.
- It also has plenty of utility outside of combat for situations that require things like stealth, flight, or other abilities.
Second Best Level 4 Druid Spell: Wall of Fire
4th level Evocation. You create a massive wall of flames. When it first appears, it inflicts 5d8 damage on a failed Dexterity check or half as much on a successful one. The side of the wall that you and your allies are on deals no damage, but the other side deals 5d8 fire damage to each creature that ends its turn within 10 feet of it.
Why Wall of Fire Is Great
- Wall of Fire is a great spell option for area control. While it also does damage, its most beneficial effect is the power it gives you to shape the battlefield.
- The best way to utilize this spell's effects is to use it in combination with another team member’s spell or action to magically or physically force enemies into the flaming wall.
- It’s an effective way of preventing a group of enemies from reaching the party, especially while you attempt to heal or complete some other sort of necessary action.
Best Level 5 Druid Spell: Maelstrom
Get a little wet and wild with the spell Maelstrom.
5th level Evocation. A swirling 30-foot wide body of water appears. Any creature that starts its turn in this area must succeed on a Strength saving throw or take 6d6 bludgeoning damage and be pulled 10 feet toward the center.
Why Maelstrom Is Great
- Maelstrom covers a 30-foot area of the battlefield in difficult terrain. Most creatures would have to take two turns or dash just to reach the edge of the area of effect, and that’s if they succeed on the Strength saving throw to avoid being tugged towards the center of the water.
- It can be difficult to escape, and there’s the potential for an enemy to be continuously pulled back to the center after each escape attempt.
- It’s super effective against creatures who don’t have a swim speed, since for them each foot of movement costs 2 extra feet in difficult terrain while swimming.
- There’s potential to be creative and collaborative with this spell. If you or another party member can do something to force enemies to stay in the affected area, you can inflict continuous damage.
Second Best Level 5 Druid Spell: Reincarnate
5th-level Transmutation. You can reincarnate someone into a brand new body if they have died within the past 10 days and their soul is free and willing. However, the body they are reincarnated into has an element of randomness to it: the DM can either roll on a table of races to decide or choose the new form themselves.
Why Reincarnate Is Great
- This is the only resurrection spell that is exclusive to druids, which means the only time you’ll be able to experience Reincarnate’s fun and random potential is when you’re playing as this class. It’s really worth experiencing at least once!
- This is a good option to have if no one in the party has Raise Dead or another resurrection spell. If you only have Revivify, Reincarnate lets you bring someone back to life even if they’ve been dead for some time.
Best Level 6 Druid Spell: Heroes Feast
Nothing is better than a shared meal with friends, except maybe one that gives you all the benefits of the Heroes Feast Spell.
6th level Conjuration: A huge feast appears with magnificent food and drinks for you and your party members to enjoy. The meal bestows some great buffs to give everyone an extra edge during your next battle and all of the benefits last 24 hours.
Why Heroes Feast Is Great
- While Heroes Feast does require a 1,000 GP gem-covered bowl to cast, it’s a worthy sacrifice for the spell’s incredible benefits. Giving yourself and your party members immunity to poison and being frightened, advantage on Wisdom saving throws, and multiple buffs to everyone's health is an amazing way to prepare for an approaching encounter you know is going to be super difficult.
- This is also a spell you can do the night before a major battle. Because of its 24-hour duration, you can take a long rest after casting and regain the spell slot while still reaping its benefits.
Second Best Level 6 Druid Spell: Wind Walk
6th level Transmutation. You and ten willing creatures are turned into clouds for up to 8 hours, with a flying speed of 300 feet and resistance to damage from nonmagical weapons.
Why Wind Walk Is Great
- Wind Walk allows you to cover massive distances in short amounts of time without the restrictions common to true teleportation spells.
- It also functions as more than just a kind of teleportation spell. Since you are in cloud form, you can squeeze through tight spaces or get into places you otherwise couldn’t. Your party can bypass obstacles like cliffs, mountains, bodies of water, or other barriers.
- While Transport Via Plants is great, there are reasons why this might be a better option. With Transport Via Plants, you have to have seen or touched the destination plant at least once before you cast the spell. Wind Walk doesn’t require this kind of previous planning to use. It’s also still useful even if you are in an area without plant life, such as a desert or a prison cell.
Best Level 7 Druid Spell: Whirlwind
Send your enemies spinning with Whirlwind.
7th level Evocation. You create a whirlwind that draws in any creature within its radius who fails a Dexterity saving throw, dealing 10d6 damage (or half damage on a successful throw). Once inside the whirlwind, any large or smaller creature has to roll a Strength ability check: on a failure they are restrained, and on a success they are hurled 3d6 by 10 feet away in a random direction.
Why Whirlwind Is Great
- This spell has the potential to remove many of your enemies while also dealing a decent amount of damage.
- Any victim caught inside the whirlwind has to make ability checks (as opposed to saving throws or skill checks), which means it can be difficult for even enemies with high Strength or Dexterity to escape.
- Even when a creature is successful, they’re still thrown in a random direction up to 180 feet away. And because you can move the whirlwind up to 30 feet in any direction, you could plausibly suck the target right back up after they’ve escaped.
Second Best 7 Level Druid Spell: Reverse Gravity
7th level Transmutation. This spell does exactly what its name suggests. All creatures and objects in a 50-foot area that aren’t anchored to the ground fall upward for the duration.
Why Reverse Gravity Is Great
This is a ridiculously fun spell that has the potential to be both hilarious and totally devastating.
If there’s a ceiling or solid object of some sort overhead, everyone targeted by this spell receives falling damage when they make contact with it. You could definitely cast Reverse Gravity, inflicting damage when your targets hit the ceiling, and then immediately end the spell and let them crash to the ground, dealing double damage.
You could use this spell to escape from a sticky situation or to get something out of reach. There’s a lot of creative potential here for really fun applications.
Best Level 8 Druid Spell: Tsunami
Wipe out!
8th level Conjuration. You create a massive wave that is 300 feet long, 300 feet high, and 50 feet thick. Each creature within its area must make a Strength saving throw and take 6d10 bludgeoning damage on a failed save or half as much damage on a successful save.
Why Tsunami Is Great
- The wave moves 50 feet away from you at the start of each of your turns, carrying away any creature trapped inside it. This pushes enemies away and prevents them from escaping unless they succeed on Strength (Athletics) checks.
- The creatures must also hold their breath while being carried off by the wave, unless they have the ability to breathe underwater.
- This spell can definitely be used in collaboration with some of your party members to push all of your enemies into an area control effect like Wall of Fire, Maelstrom, or Blade Barrier.
Second Best Level 8 Druid Spell: Earthquake
8th level Evocation. You cause a seismic disturbance that rips through the ground in a 100-foot- radius, creating difficult terrain. When you first cast this spell and at the end of every turn you spend concentrating on it, each creature must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature is knocked prone. The spell has additional effects, like creating huge fissures in the earth or destroying structures and buildings.
Why Earthquake Is Great
- Casting Earthquake really makes you feel like an elemental god on the battlefield, giving you the power to rip fissures into the earth or destroy entire villages. This is exactly the kind of power you would expect to see in a higher-level druid.
- It can also be a useful way to interrupt spells negatively affecting the party. Each creature on the ground that is concentrating must make a Constitution saving throw, and the creature's concentration is broken on a failed save.
- The fissures this spell can create are pretty powerful. Up to six of them can appear, and any creature standing on a spot where a fissure opens must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or fall in. While the locations are chosen by the DM, these fissures could be used to wipe out enemies or as an impassable barrier to protect the group from an approaching threat.
- This spell can be used to deal damage to structures, causing them to collapse and inflicting damage to any nearby creatures. The collapsed building can also bury the creature in rubble, requiring an Athletics skill check to escape.
Best Level 9 Druid Spell: Shape Change
Changing into dinosaurs with the Shape Change Spell is always a good option.
9th level Transmutation. This is the ultimate shapeshifting spell. You can change into any creature that you’ve seen before with a CR equal to your level or lower. You gain the statistics of the chosen creature - but you also keep your original ability scores, proficiencies, and class features. You can use your action at any point during the spell’s duration to assume a different form following the same restrictions and rules for the original form, with one exception. If your new form has more hit points than your current one, your hit points remain at their current value.
Why Shape Change Is Great
- One of the best things about this spell is that you gain the benefits of shapeshifting without having to give up all of your class features while transformed.
- You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, while also gaining those of the creature you’ve changed into.
- You can change shape multiple times during the duration of the spell. This means you can continuously adapt to fit the situation at a moment’s notice.
- A very popular tactic is changing into a dragon, which admittedly does feel very cool. But there are tons of other interesting and unique creature options to explore in the Monster Manual and Volo’s Guide to Monsters.
Second Best Level 9 Druid Spell: Foresight
9th level Divination. You touch a willing creature and give them several different benefits. The target can't be surprised and has advantage on all attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws. Other creatures have disadvantage on attack rolls against the target.
Why Foresight Is Great
- One of the best buff spells in the whole game, Foresight is infinitely useful. Most of the rolls you have to make in Dungeons and Dragons are attack rolls, ability checks, or saving throws, and this spell gives you advantage on all of them.
- It also has a pretty long duration of 8 hours, which means you can cast it on a fellow party member and have them reap the benefits for a whole day of adventuring.
- This spell can also be used to allow someone a small glimpse of the future, though what and how much they see is left to the DM’s discretion.
