Best Sorcerer Spells in 5E Ranked | Sorcerer Spells 5E Guide

Welcome to our top ten Sorcerer spell list! The Sorcerer has a massive set of arcane spells to choose from, so we went through it to choose the best options for your standard Bloodline caster. We were looking for a good mixture of problem-solving magic when building this list; even though it’s not a Wizard, every Sorcerer should be prepared! Let’s see what spells made it onto our top ten Sorcerer spells 5E rankings.

10. Hypnotic Pattern

• School: Illusion
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: Somatic, Material (a glowing stick of incense or a crystal vial filled with phosphorescent material)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

The first entry on our Sorcerer spells 5E list is Hypnotic Pattern. A massive, 30 ft cube of an illusion spell charms all enemies within it who failed a Wisdom save. They also receive a speed of zero, limiting their combat abilities. Of course, an uncharmed enemy can shake them out of it, or they automatically save if they get hurt. Great for making sure you can deal with a specific enemy first!

9. Dispel Magic

• School: Abjuration
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

Target one spell that you know is around. If it’s spell level is equal to or below the level that you cast this at, awesome! It’s ended without any more fuss. If it’s above the level you cast this at, you make a spellcasting roll (d20 + Charisma for Sorcerers!) against a DC of 10 + target’s spell level. You can theoretically shut down 9th level spells with a 3rd level one! That’s spectacular, but limited by its capability of only solving magical problems. And with a risky dice roll.

8. Counterspell

• School: Abjuration
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: Reaction to another character casting a spell within range
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

Target someone who’s casting a spell. This time, instead of reversing magic that’s already been cast, you essentially cast Dispel Magic in advance! Same rules, too; if the spell was equal to or below this spell’s level, you’ve just canceled it out. Otherwise, you gotta make that roll. Either way, this is the best way to save the party from devastating magic.

7. Mirror Image

• School: Illusion
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Self
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: 1 minute

You make two targets that look just like you; opponents that can’t see through illusions don’t know who to hit! If they try to, you get to roll a d20. The number you need to roll is based on your duplicates remaining; 3 duplicates = 6 or more, 2 = 8 or more, 1= 11 or more. Roll above that, and an illusion gets targeted instead. As long as the enemy rolled above a 10, they get popped instead of you! Great for defense.

See Also: The Best Bard Spells in 5E

6. Creation

• School: Illusion
• Level: 5th
• Casting Time: 1 Minute
• Range: 30 feet
• Components: V, S, M (A tiny piece of matter of the same type of item you plan to create)
• Duration: Special

Creation is one of the most creative spells in the game. You pull non-living matter out of nowhere. This could feed your party, make weapons, create traps for small hallways, pile of rope… This is a spell truly limited only by your imagination! Each material has a different uptime, so keep that in mind – you might be able to bribe someone with a 5 foot cube of diamond, but they might be angry when it disappears. We suggest playing for a bit to figure out what items would work best in given situations before really cracking down with Creation.

5. Shield

• School: Adjuration
• Level: First
• Casting Time: One Reaction to when you are targeting by an attack or spell
• Range: Thirty Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: One Round

In response to an attack, you can cast Shield to give yourself a plus five bonus to your AC for one round. Normally, your AC is 10 plus your Dexterity modifier. The additional plus five will make it nearly impossible to take damage while under Shield’s protection. This will be incredibly useful if your team is facing a horde of enemies that could harm you.

4. Mage Hand

• School: Conjuration
• Level: Cantrip
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Thirty Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: One Minute

A spectral hand appears that can do the following actions:

• Manipulate lightweight objects.
• Open an unlocked door or container.
• Pour contents out of a vial

The hand can’t do anything aggressive, take the interact action, or lift anything above 10 pounds. It is a great puzzle solver! Mage Hand’s a must-have cantrip for you.

3. Hold Person

• School: Enchantment
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (small, straight Piece of Iron)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Against humanoids, there’s no better spell in the game. A 2nd level spell slot, and the person gets a Wisdom save or becomes fully paralyzed. They get a new one every turn, with the paralysis ending on a success, but… At 2nd level, this spell is so efficient for making a character’s turn become completely negated. And higher spell levels negate one more person’s turn, per spell slot! Perfect for battling humanoid enemies.

2. Fireball

• School: Evocation
• Level: Third
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 150 Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a tiny ball of bat poop and sulfur)
• Duration: Instantaneous

Near the top of our Sorcerer Spells 5E List is Fireball. You target a specific spot that is at most 150 feet away with a giant ball of fire that forces every creature in a 20-foot radius from the impact spot to make a Dexterity saving throw. If they fail, they take 8d6 damage. If they succeed, they take half of 8d6 damage. For the cost of a little bit of bat poop, you can clear out an entire army!

1. Message

• School: Transmutation
• Level: Cantrip
• Casting Time: One action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (short piece of copper wire)
• Duration: One round

And number one on our Sorcerer Spells 5E list is Message. You point your finger at your target that is in range, and you can whisper a message to that person. This is one of the strongest abilities in the game, as it will let you get information to your party without having to be right next to them. It could save your team a whole lot of time, especially if you are in a situation where you both need to remain silent. This spell also ranks on our list of Best Sorcerer Cantrips in 5E.