Which Damage Dealing Cantrips are Best in D&D 5e?

Analysing all the damage dealing cantrips to help you decide which to take.

How do damage dealing cantrips work?

Although damage dealing cantrips don’t require a spell slot, they are still spells, just simple spells that don’t drain the spellcaster’s powers in any significant way. This means you can cast them as often as you like, making them a great option for when you want to preserve spell slots (or have run out of them).

Unlike weapon attacks, they typically deal a die roll of damage but without adding an ability modifier to the damage (though there are class features that can change this). But to help damage scale with levels, they typically gain a damage boost at levels 5, 11 and 17.

Comparing damage dealing cantrips

Part of the challenge of choosing damage dealing cantrips is knowing how well they perform against each other. To help here, I’ve included a table to easily compare the effects of each damage dealing cantrip. I’ve also split them into different types of cantrips. These are; standard, weapon enhancement and AoE.

It’s important to be aware that I’ve used the 2024 versions of the cantrips in my analysis below. In most cases, the 2014 versions remain the same or similar, but there are some differences (most notably, to true strike).

Standard

The most common form of damage dealing cantrips, these deal damage to a single target, often with an additional effect too.

Cantrip	Available for	Range	Damage	Damage type	Other effects
Chill touch	Sorcerer, warlock, wizard	Touch	1d10	Necrotic	Can’t regain hit points for a turn.
Create bonfire	Artificer, druid, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	60ft	1d8	Fire	Remains in a space and can continue to cause harm. Requires concentration.
Eldritch blast	Warlock	120ft	1d10	Force	Creates multiple beams at higher levels which can be directed at different targets.
Fire bolt	Artificer, sorcerer, wizard	120ft	1d10	Fire	Can burn flammable objects.
Frostbite	Artificer, druid, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	60ft	1d6	Cold	Disadvantage on target’s next attack roll.
Lightning lure	Artificer, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	15ft	1d8	Lightning	Pull 10ft.
Mind sliver	Sorcerer, warlock, wizard	60ft	1d6	Psychic	-1d4 on target’s next saving throw.
Poison spray	Artificer, druid, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	30ft	1d12	Poison	None.
Produce flame	Druid	Self (hurl 60ft)	1d8	Fire	Sheds light.
Ray of frost	Artificer, sorcerer, wizard	60ft	1d8	Cold	Slows by 10ft for a turn.
Sacred flame	Cleric	60ft	1d8	Radiant	No benefit from half and three quarter cover against this spell.
Shocking grasp	Artificer, sorcerer, wizard	Touch	1d8	Lightning	Prevents target taking opportunity attacks.
Sorcerous burst	Sorcerer	120ft	1d8	You choose	Roll an extra d8 when you roll an 8 for damage.
Starry wisp	Bard, druid	60ft	1d8	Radiant	Target sheds light and can’t be invisible for a turn.
Thorn whip	Druid	30ft	1d6	Piercing	Pull 10ft.
Toll the dead	Cleric, warlock, wizard	60ft	1d8/1d12	Necrotic	Increased damage when the target isn’t on full hit points.
Vicious mockery	Bard	60ft	1d6	Psychic	Target has disadvantage on next attack roll.

Weapon enhancement

Some cantrips use a weapon attack as part of the casting of the spell which then enhances that attack in some way. You can’t benefit from the extra attack feature if you do this, but for single attack characters, this can be a good way to beef up your weapon attacks with a spell.

Cantrip	Available for	Range	Damage	Damage type	Other effects
Booming blade	Artificer, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	Self	Weapon damage + 1d8	Thunder	Extra damage only dealt if the target moves in their next turn
Green flame blade	Artificer, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	Self	Weapon damage + spellcasting modifier	Fire	Additional damage hits another creature within 5ft. The damage grows as you increase levels.
Magic stones	Artificer, druid, warlock	Touch (throw 60ft)	1d6 + spellcasting modifier	Bludgeoning	Applied to three pebbles that can be thrown as spell attacks.
Shillelagh	Druid	Self	Changes weapon damage to 1d8	Force	Weapon damage increases with levels, you can use your spellcasting modifier for attacks. Lasts 1 minute.
True strike	Bard, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	Self (range of weapon)	Weapon attack	Radiant	Can use spellcasting modifier for the attack and deals extra damage as you gain levels

Area of Effect

Some cantrips cause a small AoE, potentially causing damage to multiple enemies. These include:

Cantrip	Available for	Range	Damage	Damage type	Other effects
Acid splash	Artificer, sorcerer, wizard	60ft	1d6	Acid	5ft sphere.
Sword burst	Artificer, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	Self	1d6	Force	5ft emanation.
Thunderclap	Bard, druid, sorcerer, warlock, wizard	Self	1d6	Thunder	5ft emanation.
Word of radiance	Cleric	Self	1d6	Radiant	5ft emanation.

So which damage dealing cantrips are best?

That’s a total of 26 damage dealing cantrips in D&D 5e! This means there’s a lot to choose from. And even harder is knowing which is best. Of course, this largely depends on what you’re trying to accomplish so I’ve broken it down by use case:

Best cantrips for single target damage

If we’re talking about pure damage to a single target, poison spray has the highest damage. The pathetic range in the 2014 rules is bolstered in D&D 2024 but sadly, the damage type remains poison which is the most commonly resisted damage type in the game. And the range remains fairly low.

A better alternative, I think, is toll the dead, it deals 1d8 necrotic damage unless the target has taken damage, in which case, it takes 1d12 damage. This isn’t hard to manufacture so I’d prefer this over poison spray.

Theres also eldritch blast. It’s a little less damage from the dice roll at 1d10, but warlocks (who this spell is nearly exclusively for) can enhance this with the agonising blast eldritch invocation letting them add their spellcasting modifier to each damage roll. And because each beam is a separate damage roll, this quickly becomes the biggest damage dealer of them all.

Best cantrips for multi-target damage

Of course, while eldritch blast could focus all it’s beams on a single target, it can also send beams at multiple targets allowing you to damage multiple foes at once. With its heightened damage dealing, it’s one of the best options available for this.

Most other cantrips don’t target multiple foes (though we’ll get onto AoE cantrips soon). However, green flame blade has its damage jump to a nearby foe. It’s a pretty good option for single attack martials like rogues (specifically arcane tricksters) or eldritch knights who can mingle cantrips with attacks. Something like a war cleric might do well here too with a single attack but another attack that can be made as a bonus action. You’ll often want to avoid these for multiple attack characters who can only use one of them when casting this spell.

Best cantrips for AoE damage

Acid splash is your only option that can be cast at range, but it will only affect 4 squares rather than the potential 8 of the other 3 AoE options. Sword burst, thunderclap and word of radiance all basically do the same thing and all 4 cause the same damage to targets, but you’ll need to make yourself vulnerable in the middle of multiple enemies.

This makes acid splash the obvious choice for casters like sorcerers and wizards, but other spellcasters, like druids, clerics and warlocks may be more comfortable throwing themselves into the midst of their enemies. You’ve got the chance of hitting more enemies (which is great for hoards), but also more chance of getting hurt.

Best attack enhancement cantrips

Most of these are quite good options, but can be a little fiddly.

Personally, I like the straightforward buff that true strike grants. It’s really only good for single attack classes (like rogues and wizards), but it’s basically free, extra damage to your weapon attacks. And because it’s a weapon attack, it still benefits from the extra damage from ability modifiers (or sneak attacks) and can prevent you having to invest in strength or dexterity as heavily. You can also use it at range or in melee.

Green flame blade and booming blade can work well too for what is basically some free extra damage. Booming blade can be a bit convoluted as you need to coax the target into moving, but hit and run tactics or the push weapon mastery can help here. Green flame blade can also be a little contrived as you need another target nearby to gain the benefits. These work great on rogues who have both weapon masteries and bonus action disengage. Eldritch knights can easily benefit too through the push weapon mastery and their ability to use cantrips in place of an extra attack.

Shillelagh is great for multi-attack martials that want to increase their damage output while dual wielding or using a shield. By raising the damage on a one handed weapon attack, you can get the output (eventually) of a two-handed weapon, while getting the benefits of a shield or offhand weapon. Plus it lasts a little while so only needs casting once for what is basically free, extra damage.

Best cantrips for debuffing

Some cantrips have additional effects to add to the damage. Usually, the more profound the effect, the less damage the cantrip does.

I think mind sliver is one of the better options for this. A reduction on saving throws can really help with landing save or suck spells so works nicely in combination with these (especially if you have allied spellcasters).

Frost bite can be good against tough martial characters by giving disadvantage on the next attack roll. Or you can go with ray of frost to slow an enemy down. In fact, this can combine with the slow weapon mastery from allies to really bog down enemies that might want to get into melee range.

Starry wisp is your lowest level option for dealing with invisibility and hiding. It can be tricky for hitting someone that’s already invisible (as you have to hit them), but can be a way to tackle this.

Best damage dealing cantrips for each class

Different classes will benefit differently from different cantrips because their abilities and features will interact differently with each one. To help, I’ve detailed the best cantrip options for each class.

Magic initiate is available for all classes too as an origin feat so anyone can pick up cantrips for their class, including ones not on their spell list. The 2014 version of magic initiate works for any spell list, but the 2024 version will only let you choose spells from the cleric, druid or wizard spells lists (which means no eldritch blast unless you’re a warlock).

Some species also grant innate spellcasting, giving cantrips to any class. This is the case for species like Tieflings as well as High Elves who can choose a wizard cantrip. For my list below, I’ve taken this into account.

• Artificer: True strike is a good option for artillerists and alchemists. It works well for armorers and battle smiths too up until 5th level. I’d consider AoE options like thunderclap for melee artificers. Mainly because other cantrips will simply do less damage than weapon attacks for these artificers.
• Barbarian: None. Barbarians should be raging, and can’t cast spells while raging so there’s little point grabbing combat spells for a barbarian.
• Bard: As buff/debuff specialists, I like the idea of having mind sliver available for helping those save or suck spells. Frostbite and ray of frost are good options here too. Alternatively, grab a light crossbow and true strike for some solid, ranged damage. Valor and dance bards might consider thunderclap or sword burst for some localised, AoE damage.
• Cleric: With just a single attack, but the ability to wade into combat, I’d say weapon enhancements like true strike (which can work at range too), booming blade and green flame blade can work (but you’ll need to take magic initiate to grab them). Or you can go for AoE damage through word of radiance. Toll the dead is a good option too is probably your best ranged option.
• Druid: Like the cleric, druids can afford to be a little closer to the combat than most spellcasters. This makes spells like thunderclap, booming blade, green flame blade and true strike great options. As a bonus, you can use true strike at range too. Sadly, only thunderclap is available to druids as standard, so unless you take magic initiate, you may want to grab something like poison spray instead.
• Fighter: Weapon enhancements work well before 5th level. This means the likes of booming blade, green flame blade and true strike are great. After this point, this only benefits the eldritch knight, who can mingle spellcasting with attacks. Shillelagh can be good once you hit level 5 if you go for a shield or dual wielder build for extra damage on those single handed weapon attacks. Grabbing an AoE option like sword burst can also work well.
• Monk: Shillelagh works nicely at enhancing the damage of your monk weapons. Before level 5, true strike will work well too. You might consider an AoE option like sword burst. And keep in mind that you can cast a cantrip and still use flurry of blows with your bonus action, so unlike a fighter, using a cantrip doesn’t prevent you using all your attacks.
• Paladin: You may want to grab a ranged option as paladins are notoriously poor at ranged combat. Toll the dead is a good choice or you can use true strike to beef up a ranged weapon attack and use charisma for the attack roll (saving you investing in dexterity or being limited to thrown weapons).
• Ranger: Rangers are great for two weapon fighting. This makes shillelagh a great option for them. Thunderclap, sword burst or word of radiance is a good option if you want to dive into the middle of lots of enemies, but this won’t combine with hunter’s mark (whereas shillelagh will).
• Rogue: Rogues are heavily reliant on landing weapon attacks for their sneak attack. This means you really only want to be using weapon enhancing cantrips like true strike, green flame blade, booming blade and shillelagh.
• Sorcerer: True strike or toll the dead are probably your highest damage options (though you don’t get true strike as standard). You could also grab acid splash for tackling crowds.
• Warlock: Eldritch blast is perhaps the best cantrip around, it’s pretty much exclusive to warlocks and agonising blast is such a great eldritch invocation that it’s hard to justify favouring much else. A blade warlock might want to grab true strike or booming blade, but you’ll quickly get extra attacks with this build making this redundant. Your other option might be an AoE cantrip like thunderclap.
• Wizard: Similar to a sorcerer, true strike and toll the dead will deal the most damage and acid splash can help you handle crowds a bit.

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Which cantrips do you like best? Let me know about it in the comments below.

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