Best AOE Spells in D&D 5e

Learn all about area of effect spells and find out which ones are the best

What is an AOE spell?

Area of effect spells are spells you can cast that cause an effect over a large area that is more than just a single creature. The area affected by such a spell is measured in feet (with 5 feet affecting a single square on a battlemap).

AOE spells can be cast in different shapes too including:

• Spheres (like fireball)
• Cubes (like fire storm)
• Cones (like Prismatic Spray)
• Cylinders (like call lightning)
• Lines (like wall of fire)

Area of effect spells can also impact things above them too, potentially impacting creatures on some kind of elevation or that are flying.

Because AOE spells affect a large area, they are great in situations where there are a large number of enemies that you want to direct an attack against. Even better if they’re gathered together in a small space! Of course, with a large space being impacted, players do need to be careful of causing friendly fire as allies caught in the spell might also be harmed by the effects (depending on the spell).

Area of effect spells all operate in different ways. Not all AOE spells are damage dealers like fireball. Some are designed to confuse enemies, debuff them or restrict movement. We’ve considered all these options in determining the best AOE spells later in the guide.

How does area of effect work in D&D 5e?

There are 5 shapes with which an area of effect spell can take which determines the space it covers and who is affected by the spell. These are:

• Line
• Cone
• Cube
• Sphere
• Cylinder

Each area of effect spell will have a point of origin which is a space the caster chooses within range (all spells have a range from the caster at which the spell can be cast) but it can also originate from the caster as is the case with cones. Area of effect spells don’t typically go through obstructions like walls which is also worth bearing in mind when considering who is hit.

The distance of an area of effect spell is determined by the number of feet described in the spell description.

Cones – A cone spell will draw it’s distance at 45 degree angles from the point of origin at the distance described.

Cubes – Cubes have a point of origin at the centre of a face of the cube. The distance described in the spell is the length of each side of the cube.

Cylinders – A cylinder has its point of origin at the centre of the circle with the effects of the spell reaching upwards the distance described in the spell as well as outwards the same distance as the radius described in the spell.

Lines – A line extends in a straight line from the point of origin to the distance described in the spell. Lines will have a thickness that helps determine who might be affected by the spell.

Spheres – A sphere takes up an area determined by the radius in the spell reaching in all directions from the point of origin including horizontally, vertically and diagonally.

What AOE Spells are there?

There are a lot of area of effect spells in D&D 5e from pure damage spells like fireball to crowd control spells like confusion to ones in between like Evard’s Black Tentacles. Thankfully, we’ve listed them all out below along with important details around what the spells do and who can use them. Don’t worry, we’ve also put together some handy information below to help you choose the best AOE spell for your caster because there’s a lot.

Spell	Level	Range	Saving Throw	Duration	Class	Damage	Effect
Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting	8th	150 ft (30 ft cube)	Constitution	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Wizard	12d8 necrotic	Wilts plants
Aganazzar’s Scorcher	2nd	30 ft (30 ft long and 5 ft wide line)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Wizard	3d8 fire	None
Arms of Hadar	1st	Self (10 ft radius)	Strength	Instantaneous	Warlock	2d6 necrotic	No reactions for a turn
Burning Hands	1st	Self (15 ft cone)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Wizard	3d6 fire	Ignites flammable objects
Call Lightning	3rd	120 ft (60 ft radius cylinder, 10 ft tall)	Dexterity	10 minutes concentration	Druid	3d10 lightning	None
Circle of Death	6th	150 ft (60 ft radius sphere)	Constitution	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	8d6 necrotic	None
Cloudkill	5th	120 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Constitution	10 minutes concentration	Wizard	5d8 poison	None
Cone of Cold	5th	Self (60 ft cone)	Constitution	Instantaneous	Wizard	8d8 cold	Frozen if killed
Confusion	4th	90 ft (10 ft radius sphere)	Wisdom	1 minute concentration	Bard, Druid, Sorceror, Wizard	None	Confused
Conjure Barrage	3rd	Self (60 ft cone)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Ranger	3d8 of same type as weapon used for spell	None
Conjure Volley	5th	150 ft (40 ft radius, 20 ft high cylinder)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Ranger	8d8 of same type as weapon used for spell	None
Darkness	2nd	60 ft (15 ft radius sphere)	None	10 minutes concentration	Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	None	Can’t see in the area
Delayed Blast Fireball	7th	150 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Dexterity	1 minute concentration	Sorceror, Wizard	12d6	Ignites flammable objects
Destructive Wave	5th	Self (30 ft radius)	Constitution	Instantaneous	Paladin	5d6 thunder and 5d6 radiant or necrotic	Prone
Earthquake	8th	500 ft (100 ft radius circle)	Dexterity	1 minute concentration	Cleric, Druid, Sorceror	Possible damage falling into fissures and being hit by falling buildings	Prone, fissures, estroys structures
Entangle	1st	90 ft (20 ft square)	Strength	1 minute concentration	Druid	None	Restrained, difficult terrain
Erupting Earth	3rd	120 ft (20 ft cube)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Druid, Sorceror, Wizard	3d12 bludgeoning	Difficult terrain
Evard’s Black Tentacles	4th	90 ft (20 ft square)	Dexterity	1 minute concentration	Wizard	3d6 bludgeoning	Restrained
Fireball	3rd	150 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Wizard	8d6 fire	Ignites flammable objects
Flame Strike	5th	60 ft (10 ft radius, 40 ft high cylinder)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Cleric	4d6 fire and 4d6 radiant	None
Fire Storm	7th	150 ft (ten 10 ft cubes)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Cleric, Druid	7d10 fire	Ignites flammable objects
Fog Cloud	1st	120 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	None	1 hour concentration	Druid, Ranger, Sorceror, Wizard	None	Heavily obscures vision
Hallucinatory Terrain	4th	300 ft (150 ft cube)	Intelligence	24 hours	Bard, Warlock, Wizard	None	Illusion
Hunger of Hadar	3rd	150 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Dexterity	1 minute concentration	Warlock	2d6 cold and/or 2d6 acid	Difficult terrain
Hypnotic Pattern	3rd	120 ft (30 ft cube)	Wisdom	1 minute concentration	Bard, Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	None	Charmed
Ice Storm	4th	300 ft (20 ft radius, 40 ft high cylinder)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Druid, Sorceror, Wizard	2d8 bludgeoning and 4d6 cold	Difficult terrain
Incendiary Cloud	8th	150 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Dexterity	1 minute concentration	Sorceror, Wizard	10d8 fire	None
Insect Plague	5th	300 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Constitution	10 minutes concentration	Cleric, Druid	4d10 piercing	None
Investiture of Flame	6th	Self (15 ft long, 5 ft wide line)	Dexterity	10 minutes concentration	Druid, Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	4d8 fire	Various
Investiture of Ice	6th	Self (15 ft cone)	Constitution	10 minutes concentration	Druid, Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	4d6 cold	Various
Investiture of Stone	6th	Self (15 ft radius sphere)	Dexterity	10 minutes concentration	Druid, Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	None	Prone, various others
Investiture of Wind	6th	Self (15 ft cube)	Constitution	10 minutes concentration	Druid, Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	2d10 bludgeoning	Various
Lightning Bolt	3rd	Self (100 ft long and 5 ft wide line)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Wizard	8d6 lightning	Ignites flammable objects
Maddening Darkness	8th	150 ft (60 ft radius sphere)	Wisdom	10 inutes concentration	Warlock, Wizard	8d8 psychic	Darkness
Meteor Storm	9th	1 mile (4 40 ft radius spheres)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Wizard	20d6 fire and 20d6 bludgeoning	Ignites flammable objects
Otiluke’s Freezing Sphere	6th	300 ft (60 ft radius sphere)	Constitution	Instantaneous	Wizard	10d6 cold	Freezes liquid surfaces
Prismatic Spray	7th	Self (60 ft cone)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Wizard	Various	Random effects
Programmed Illusion	6th	120 ft (30 ft cube)	Intelligence	Until dispelled	Bard	None	Illusion
Shatter	2nd	60 ft (10 ft radius sphere)	Constitution	Instantaneous	Bard, Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	3d8 thunder	None
Sickening Radiance	4th	120 ft (30 ft radius sphere)	Constitution	10 minutes concentration	Sorceror, Warlock	4d10 radiant	Exhaustion, prevents invisibility
Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm	2nd	90 ft (5 ft radius sphere)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Wizard	3d6 cold	None
Spirit Guardians	3rd	Self (15 ft radius sphere)	Wisdom	10 minutes concentration	Cleric	3d8 radiant or necrotic	None
Stinking Cloud	3rd	90 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Constitution	1 minute concentration	Bard, Sorceror, Wizard	None	Incapacitated
Storm of Vengeance	9th	Sight (360 ft radius sphere)	Constitution	1 minute concentration	Druid	Various	Various
Storm Sphere	4th	150 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Strength	1 minute concentration	Sorceror	2d6 bludgeoning and/or 4d6 lightning	Difficult terrain
Sunbeam	6th	Self (60 ft long, 5 ft wide line)	Constitution	1 minute concentration	Druid, Wizard	6d8 radiant	Blinded
Sunburst	8th	150 ft (60 ft radius)	Constitution	Instantaneous	Druid, Sorceror, Wizard	12d6 radiant	Blinded
Synaptic Static	5th	120 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Intelligence	Instantaneous	Warlock, Wizard	8d6 psychic	Muddled thoughts
Thunderwave	1st	Self (15 ft cube)	Constitution	Instantaneous	Bard, Druid, Sorceror, Wizard	2d8 thunder	Pushed 10 ft away
Vitriolic Sphere	4th	150 ft (20 ft radius sphere)	Dexterity	Instantaneous	Sorceror, Wizard	10d4 acid and 5d4 acid	None
Wall of Fire	4th	120 ft (60 ft long, 20 ft high and 1 ft thick line)	Dexterity	1 minute concentration	Druid, Sorceror, Wizard	5d8 fire	None
Wall of Ice	6th	120 ft (various shapes and sizes)	Dexterity	10 minutes concentration	Wizard	10d6 cold	None
Wall of Light	5th	120 ft (60 ft long, 10 ft high, 5 ft thick line)	Constitution	10 minutes concentration	Sorceror, Warlock, Wizard	4d8 radiant	Blinded
Wall of Thorns	6th	120 ft (60 ft long, 10 ft high and 5 ft thick line)	Dexterity	10 minutes concentration	Druid	7d8 piercing	None
Web	2nd	60 ft (20 ft cube)	Dexterity	1 hour concentration	Artificer, Sorceror, Wizard	None	Restrained
Weird	9th	120ft (30 ft radius sphere)	Wisdom	1 minute concentration	Wizard	4d10 psychic	Frightened
Wrath of Nature	5th	120 ft (60 ft cube)	Dexterity	1 minute concentration	Druid, Ranger	4d6 slashing and/or 3d8 bludgeoning	Restrained, difficult terrain
Zone of Truth	2nd	60 ft	Charisma	10 minutes	Paladin	None	Must speak the truth

Best AOE spells

This is a tricky question to answer as there are so many AOE spells and the answer can depend on the level of your caster, the class (as many are limited as to the AOE spells they can choose) and even what you’re trying to accomplish. No need to fear though, we’ve sifted through all the spells and have picked out the ones we think are best for a variety of different things.

Best AOE spells for damage

6th Thunderwave

At 1st level, your options for AOE are very limited, but thunderwave is a great option that can grow in power as you increase your spellcasting levels. It’s got decent damage output and is worthwhile even if you only hit a single target. The only downside is it means having your caster in melee range of an enemy, though this isn’t too bad if you’re a blade, a druid or a battlesmith. Plus it can push enemies away from you allowing you to make a timely escape.

while a great spell, because of its situational nature, thunder wave only managed 6th place.

5th Cloudkill

Cloudkill is not only a great damage dealer, but also great at dispersing the crowds as it tends to linger (as long as you can hold your concentration). It doesn’t deal as much damage as other spells at this level, but because it has a habit of sticking around, it can cause much more damage in the long run. It’s especially good for a tactical approach, blocking off an enemy’s route at you while you fire away with projectiles and spells or let them charge through the spell for lots of damage. Its main drawback is making sure it isn’t a nuisance for your allies over that extended concentration time.

its the challenge of keeping cloud kill useful that means it doesn’t sit higher, especially as enemies could just avoid it.

4th Meteor swarm

Ever want to recreate what happened to the dinosaurs? Meteor swarm is an absolute extinction level spell with 4 40 ft radius blasts doing a total of 40d6 damage each! It’s no wonder that this is a 9th level spell and reserved only for the very upper echelons of spellcasters!

meteor.swarm is clearly the most powerful AOE spell around, but its high level means it’s so inaccessible that many will never use it.

3rd Shatter

Shatter is a fantastic low level AOE spell. True, the radius isn’t huge (10 ft) and it’s 3d8 damage is less than most AOE spells, but this is a measly 2nd level spell capable of some very solid damage output and it’s one of the few AOE spells available to a bard (not counting the spells they can steal from other classes’ lists).

shatter makes it 3rd on our list as a great, low level, AOE spell.

2nd Call lightning

Call lightning is one of the better 3rd level AOE spells with 3-4d10 of damage each turn to a point of your choice within a 60 ft radius (which is as large as you need for most battles). Each turn you call down a lightning strike and though the area it hits is small (5 ft radius) it can still hit multiple targets each turn and is very easy to avoid friendly fire. Over the course of a battle, this spell can be a very high damage dealer.

with potential to cause masses of damage over the course of an entire combat, call lightning deservedly takes 2nd place.

1st Fireball

Fireball is the classic of AOE spells and often one of the first when a caster starts casting level 3 spells. It’s for good reason with 8d6 damage that scales at higher levels and a 20 ft radius sphere, it’s great for obliterating crowds of low level monsters or knocking off a chunk from tougher opponents. The main challenge with fireball is it’s equally deadly for your allies so best used at the start of combat if you can before those pesky martials get in your way!

there’s a reason every wizard takes fireball. It’s just so damn good! A lowish level spell that puts out high damage across a large area that scales with levels, fireball is excellent!

Best AOE spells for battlefield control

Not all AOE spells are about raw damage output, some allow you to control the battlefield whether it’s by incapacitating enemies, debuffing them or creating obstacles to funnel enemies in a certain direction. We’ve put together the best crowd control AOE spells below:

6th Fog cloud

This spells obscures a 20 ft radius area making it excellent for making a quick escape or forcing enemies that need to see clearly (that’s most of them) to move from a potentially more favourable location. And this is just for a 1st level spell.

It’s the least effective option on the list but does justify its place as it’s a 1st leavel spell so available to the lowliest of spellcasters.

5th Web

Want to slow your enemies down even more by completely stopping them in their tracks? Web’s got you covered at level 2. What’s more is those sticky webs get even harder to escape from as you get more powerful as they’ll need to check against your spell DC.

you may struggle to ensnare stronger enemies (of which there are many) making it less useful in some situations so it only makes 5th on our list.

4th Spike growth

Need to slow the enemy down a bit with some difficult terrain? Look no further than spike growth. It’s got decent radius and does some bonus damage (it might only be 2d4, but that’s for every 5 ft travelled through it so potential to really stack up the damage). Enemies may well favour going around this growth (why wouldn’t they) but that will also slow them down or stop them in their tracks completely, especially if they’re low on health, allowing you to take them down from afar.

Spike growth is more reliable at slowing enemies down than web as it doesn’t have the opportunity for a save. It does sacrifice the ability to completely stop an enemy in their tracks but with some decent damage output, it certainly justifies its place on the list.

3rd Darkness

Darkness is a really useful spell as it allows you to escape if needs be, blocks darkvision and essentially means those in the area can’t see anything. It’s great at getting your ranged enemies to move into a more vulnerable position but can also be used as a shield for enemies to not see through ready for you to emerge at close range.

Darkness is an extremely versatile and low level spell meaning it makes 3rd.

2nd Confusion

You may want to take that crowd control a little further and get your enemies to do your fighting for you. If that’s the case, then confusion is probably your spell. It’s a relatively small radius at only 10 ft, but those that fail their wisdom saving throw will do all sorts of daft stuff from moving in a random direction to hitting whoever’s closest (hopefully another of your enemies).

confusion justifies itself in 2nd as not only can it effectively crows control enemies, it can also cause them to harm each other and is saved against wisdom which many monsters do not excel in. It’s relatively small AOE does prevent it reaching 1st though.

1st Hypnotic pattern

At level 3 and with a 30 ft radius, hypnotic pattern is excellent at getting a load of enemies within its grasp and incapacitating them if they fail a wisdom saving throw. It may not be so great against high wisdom spellcasters, but is excellent against the usual thugs and creatures you might face.

The most effective crowd control option on this list. With a large AOE, a wisdom saving throw that many will struggle against and effectively preventing enemies from acting, hypnotic pattern is very effective for a 3rd level spell.