We Ranked the Best Druid Cantrips in Dungeons and Dragons 5E

We now have our official list of great cantrips for a Druid to learn in 5e! A cantrip is a spell that can be cast at will, does not take up an available spell slot, and it does not need to be prepared in advance. Some classes, like the cleric, rely on these spells a lot. Cantrips are super important for Druids, since they’re your main source of damage and a great utility tool. They stay consistent, so having good choices are essential here.

How Many Cantrips Does a Druid Get in 5E?

At level one, your Druid will get two cantrips. Your character will learn another cantrip at level four, and your final cantrip will be learned at level ten. You will have exactly four cantrips available to your Druid throughout the entirety of the game! That is why you need to be vigilant in regards to your selection. The last thing you want is to waste a free spell slot on an ability that you will never use it during the campaign.

Do Druids Have Access to All Cantrips?

Druids do not have access to all the cantrips available in 5E D&D. Instead, they are limited to the cantrips on the druid spell list unless their druid circle provides additional options.

Our Top 10 Best Druid Cantrips 5E

So without further ado, here is our Official Ranking of all of the Druid’s Cantrips in Dungeon and Dragon’s fifth edition.

10. Create Bonfire

• School: Transmutation
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 5 foot square within 60 feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: One Minute (Concentration)

As you might suspect, casting create bonfire causes you to create a roaring bonfire in a five-foot space within 60 feet of where you stand. This bonfire deals 1d8 fire damage to anyone in the space when you cast the spell, when the enter that space, or when they end their turn in the space. This bonfire sets fire to flammable objects within its range. The spell also deals increasing damage at higher levels. This is a nice cantrip as it deals damage but is also effective in blocking enemies from entering tight spaces or doorways.

9. Shape Water

• School: Transmutation
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 30 feet
• Components: Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous or one hour

With shape water, you can manipulate a five-foot cube of water in one of several ways. You can cause to take different shapes, colors, or opacity. You can also freeze the water or move the water in a certain direction. While you can’t deal damage with this spell, the sky is the limit when it comes to avoiding or triggering traps, putting out fires, or distracting enemies. This is one of those cantrips that is especially powerful in the hands of a creative player.

8. Mending

• School: Transmutation
• Casting Time: One Minute
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (two lodestones)
• Duration: Instantaneous

At number seven is mending. As long as a break in an object is shorter than a foot long, and you can cast for a minute, you can fix it. It won’t get magic back if it’s lost, but you can fix magical items. Make sure your party can’t do this job manually before just taking this willy-nilly.

7. Resistance

• School: Abjuration
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a miniature cloak)
• Duration: Concentration, up to one minute

You give someone the ability to roll 1d4 to a saving throw that they choose. You can roll the die before or after the saving throw’s d20. The d4 is pretty nice, but it eats your Concentration slot. And Druids have incredibly strong concentration spells that Resistance just can’t replace.

6. Poison Spray

• School: Conjuration
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Ten Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

You extend your hand towards your enemy and release a ball of noxious gas from the palm of your hand. Your target has to make a successful Constitution save or they will take 1d12 of damage. Fifth level will be 2d12, eleventh is 3d12, and seventeenth is 4d12. While the damage is nothing to sneeze at, especially with how early you can possibly acquire this cantrip, Poison Spray can only be used for damage because you cannot poison your target with this spell. The spell’s description needs to specify that it can poison the enemy; not just deal poison damage. Consider it for melee-range druids.

5. Produce Flame

• School: Conjuration
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Self
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Ten Minutes

When you cast produce flame, you create a ball of light that can be used for two reasons – to illuminate a ten-foot radius around yourself, or to hurl at an enemy for 1d8 of damage. Fifth level is 2d8, eleventh is 3d8, and seventeenth is 4d8. This is the kind of utility that can be very useful in a campaign! Being able to light up a dark area and deal some sort of damage will cover a lot of basses while building out your team.

4. Primal Savagery

• School: Transmutation
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Self
• Components: Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

With primary savagery, you can channel your primal magic to sharpen your claws or teeth. This lets you make a melee spell attack that deads 1d10 damage upon a success. Like with other damage cantrips, primal savagery increases in damage at higher levels. While 1d10 isn’t going to overwhelm anyone, it deals acid damage which is a better option than your standard slashing or piercing damage.

3. Shillelagh

• School: Transmutation
• Casting Time: One bonus Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (mistletoe, a shamrock leaf, and a club or quarterstaff)
• Duration: One Minute

When it comes to melee combat, the Druid is normally a weaker character. With the Shillelagh cantrip, that measly 1d4 turns your club or quarterstaff into a  much more desirable 1d8 of damage. Instead of using your Strength for your attack rolls, you will use your spellcasting ability. That is why Shillelagh is number one on my list. Just make sure that you hold onto your weapon tight, or the spell will need to be recast this combat. This cantrip can be quite powerful for younger characters, but it admittedly does not scale as well compared to other spells. To learn more, see our in-depth Shillelagh 5E Guide.

See Also: The Complete Guide to 5E Ritual Spells

2. Druidcraft

• School: Transmutation
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range:  30 Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

Druidcraft will do all of the tiny effects that another character will need to be creative in order to do. Do you need to create a small distraction that will lead your enemy in a different direction? How about cast a faint odor that’ll make people say “Who did that”? You can predict the weather, make flowers bloom faster, and move tiny objects at the casting of this cantrip. It will be super useful outside of combat. Very fun utility, with a lot of versatility going for it.

1. Guidance

• School: Divination
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Concentration, up to one minute

Much like Resistance, Guidance lets you help an ally pass an ability check by rolling 1d4 before or after the resolution of the check. This is a very important difference, as Guidance is an offensive cantrip as opposed to being a defensive one like Resistance. The best defense is a good offense. And Guidance can also be used out of combat, giving an average of a +2 to skill checks! Your bard will have to try hard to fail their Diplomacy with you buffing them with this!

Wrapping Up our Best Druid Cantrips 5E List

And that concludes our druid cantrips 5E rankings. Agree? Disagree? Either way, let us know in the comments. Also, don’t forget to check out the rest of our rankings for the best warlock cantrips in 5E here at Nerds and Scoundrels.