The spell’s damage increases by 1d8 when you reach 5th level (2d8), 11th level (3d8), and 17th level (4d8). On a hit, the target takes 1d8 lightning damage, and it can’t take reactions until the start of its next turn.

You have advantage on the attack roll if the target is wearing armor made of metal. Make a melee spell attack against the target. Lightning springs from your hand to deliver a shock to a creature you try to touch. In your question you had specifically mentionedĬasting Time: 1 action Range: Touch Components: V, S Duration: Instantaneous Managing your available slots and keeping resources available is a large part of playing a long rest caster.

That being said, as also further advice from an experienced wizard, usually the better approach is to cantrip/weapon first, then use your spell slots only if really needed, as having to long rest to get them back is suffering. However in the overall experience, cantrips are better. So depending on your stats, you may find specific justifications for using weapons in specific scenarios, especially at lower levels, which is fine. In addition one can find other improvised uses for them which it's hard to use weapons for, such as Fire Bolt setting objects like oil or rope on fire.

The core issue is that they will never really get any better, whereas cantrips will get substantially better as she levels up. This made me pretty competitive with Mage Armour and Shield at level 1. I played a High Elf wizard with a bow and even used a pair of shortswords in melee due to my lucky Dex, +3. Weapons can be better than cantrips at lowest levels depending on the situation. A non-bladesinger only does the firebolt.

+5 to hit 1d8+2 damage arrow (3.5 DPR)Īnd can do both as an action.

+7 to hit 2d10 damage firebolt (7.2 DPR).

At level 6, a 18 int/14 dex bladesinger on an AC 16 foe puts out: If the player likes using weapon, the bladesinger is a solid continuation. Unless the wizard becomes a bladesinger, by tier 2 cantrips pull ahead you'll both probably boost int rather than dex, and they get a 2nd damage die. So it ends up being a matter of style - does the player want to play a elf wizard who uses longbows, or shoots fire from her fingertips? That gap is pretty small between rapier/longbow and firebolt.

The short sword competes with shocking grasp similarly.

Against a high AC foe (18), the longbow/rapier does 1% more damage per round than the firebolt.

Against a low AC foe (13), the rapier/longbow does 7% more damage per round than the firebolt.

Still, she will have the offensive cantrips for when she runs out of arrows (and depleting them reduces their weight), so the greater damage that a bow can do-compared to offensive cantrips-is definitely worth spending the gold on a bow and arrows.įinally, arrows have the advantage of being able to hurt certain creatures that might not be hurt by a fire bolt, for instance, due to immunity to that kind of damage. The only downsides to a bow are that she must carry the arrows (not really a huge deal unless she's exceptionally weak) and those arrows are finite.

She ought to carry at least a dagger though-sometimes a wizard has no choice but to engage in melee.Ī bow is an excellent choice for a wizard since it allows them to contribute to combat when they are out of offensive spells, or when they want to save those spells for a later challenge. This is strictly a survivability issue, but there is also the fact that elves and wizards in general tend to have lower Strength, which is tied to melee success. There are pros and cons to both, but she should avoid melee weapons.Įspecially at low levels, wizards should try to avoid melee combat since they tend to have lower armor class and lower hit points.

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