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

Welcome to our top ten Bard spell list! We went through every single spell in the Bard’s repertoire to discover all the most potent spells a Bard could muster. The Bard’s a support caster to the core, so we made sure to find what would make the Bard shine, in and out of combat. So, let’s get this performance rocking! Here’s our top ten Bard spells 5e list.

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 Bard spells 5E List is Hypnotic Pattern. Everything in a 30 foot cube is charmed, unless they make a Wisdom save. This charm lasts until the spell ends, they take damage, or someone shakes them out of it with an action. Great for bards who want to duck around enemies! It’s one of the best distraction spells that 5E has to offer.

9. Blindness/Deafness

• School: Necromancy
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 30 feet
• Components: Verbal
• Duration: 1 minute

One character within eyesight has to make a Constitution saving throw. If the target fails the save, they will either be Blind or Deaf based on your decision. The target makes a Constitution saving throw every round to see if the spell ends. You can choose additional targets for each level higher you cast this spell at.

This is a brutal spell that’ll ruin an enemy’s day. Being blind is no laughing matter, and will prevent most enemies from doing anything. Admittedly, Deaf is less useful in most situations. Though, it can let you more easily sneak around.

8. Vicious Mockery

• School: Enchantment
• Level: Cantrip
• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: V

You literally insult someone – lacing your insults with magic – until they get embarrassed and distracted. The target takes 1d4 damage (scaling at 5th, 11th, and 17th levels by 1d4) and they get disadvantage on their next attack roll. Brutal for melee combatants, devastating for ranged ones, and just an all-around great use of an action if you don’t need to spend spell slots.

It’s also the only damaging spell that bards have, besides Thunderclap.

7. Invisibility

• School: Illusion
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (an Eyelash encased in Gum Arabic)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour

You cloak either yourself or an ally with invisibility, giving them permanent ability to hide and making them impossible to see without magic or special senses. They can still be heard, though, so the Fighter isn’t safe yet! At higher levels, you can cloak multiple creatures. Invisibility ends when a hostile action is taken, making this a better stealth or escape tool than a combat one. Even in combat, this can grant someone the ability to position themselves correctly and then make a devastating strike!

See Also: The Best Sorcerer Spells in 5E

6. 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 cannot pick anything up that is heavier than 10 pounds, activate enchanted items, or attack. Mage Hand is primarily used to solve puzzles and distract enemies. This spell also makes our list of the Best Cantrips in 5e.

5. Enemies Abound

• School: Enchantment
• Level: 3
• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range: 120 feet
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Concentration, to 1 minute

You make someone so scared of its allies it goes on a rampage. On a failed intelligence saving throw (which is a Frighten effect), the target randomly selects from its allies or your party when it attacks. It also must take opportunity attacks. This spell is devastating in encounters where there’s one big dumb stupid melee guy and a bunch of squishy monsters.

4. Heat Metal

• School: Transmutation
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: Somatic, Material (a piece of iron and a flame)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

One targeted piece of metal turns bright red from the amount of heat radiating off of it from the resolution of this spell. Anything that touches or is touching the item takes 2d8 fire damage. The damage increases by 1d8 per level higher you set Heat Metal at. If someone is holding or wearing the item after Heat Metal has resolved, the character now has a disadvantage on all of their rolls. As a free action, you can have the item flare up so it can deal damage again.

This can deal 20d8 to an enemy in heavy armor, with no chance to save. However, against enemies holding an item, they can just drop it to avoid the damage. And yet, that means that a Barbarian enemy cannot use their weapon anymore! Great use of Concentration against humanoids or weapon-wielding combatants.

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, this spell can’t be beat! The target makes a Wisdom save or they become fully paralyzed. They have to make a Wisdom save every round; on a success, they’re free! At higher level slots, you can target someone else with this. If you know that you’re not gonna be fighting humanoids for a while, this becomes much, much worse. But, it’s so effective against humanoids – which are pretty common and dangerous – we just had to put it this high.

2. Tasha’s Hideous Laughter

• School: Enchantment
• Level: 1
• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range: 30 feet
• Components: V, S, M (tiny darts and a feather, waved in air during cast)
• Duration: Concentration, to 1 minute

Someone (with at least beyond animal intelligence) really likes your jokes! And also laughs at everything. On a failed Wisdom save, the target falls prone and is incapacitated, unable to stand.  At the end of every turn, and when it takes damage, it gets a Wisdom save (with advantage if it’s from damage). A success ends it. At level 1, this spell can keep an enemy out of an encounter for a long time!

1. Healing Word

• School: Evocation
• Level: 1st
• Casting Time: One Bonus Action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: Verbal
• Duration: Instantaneous

A character within sixty feet heals 1d4 plus your spellcasting modifier which is the Charisma modifier for a Bard. Every spell slot above 1st gives you another 1d4, but that doesn’t change much. What is great is that, during combat, spending a bonus action to revive an unconscious ally is perfect! Use this to save your Cleric some spell slots without spending your entire turn! The ability to bring somebody back into the fight makes this spell so crucial for a buffing class like Bard!