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

Welcome to our Ranger spell rankings! This class doesn’t have many options for spells (nor do rangers have cantrips), so our choices are limited here. That doesn’t mean they don’t get some great effects! Rangers have mostly Druid flavoring, so a decent mix of summoning and damage, which is exactly what we went for! Let’s see where the spells landed in our Best Ranger Spells 5E Ranked!

Our Criteria for Ranking the Best 5E Ranger Spells

Every list ranking spells for 5E is subjective, but we’ve attempted to create ours with specific criteria in mind. First and foremost, we are looking for spells that will be useful to the traditional ranger build. When casting spells as a ranger, you’re largely looking for utility. Your damage is going to primarily come from weapons attacks, and many builds may not prioritize Wisdom. We put a premium on spells that are useful without needing a high Wisdom modifier for that reason.

Ranking Our Favorite Ranger Spells in 5E D&D

The following are our 15 favorite ranger spells for 5E listed in descending order.

15. Wrath of Nature

• School: Evocation
• Level: 5th
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 120 Feet (60 foot cube)
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Thematically, Wrath of Nature is one of my favorite spells in all of D&D. Functionally, it can be hot and cold. When you cast this spell, you create a 60-foot area where you can bend nature to your will and use it against your foes. Underbrush becomes difficult terrain for your foes, while trees attack your enemies. You get similar benefits from roots restrain foes and rocks that fall on their heads. The creative possibilities are endless – unless you’re not in a forest. What if you are on the tundra with no roots or trees in sight? This spell is ripe for homebrewing, but it can be a lot of fun in the appropriate setting.

14. Swift Quiver

• School: Transmutation
• Level: 5th
• Casting Time: One Bonus Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a quiver containing ammunition)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

The Swift Quiver spell doesn’t get talked about much, but it is fun -albeit situational – option for a ranger. In fact, this spell is only available on the Ranger spell list. When the spell is active, you never run out of ammunition from the quiver. More importantly, you can use your bonus action to make two additional ranged weapon attacks with that ammunition. This has a tremendous impact on your action economy. The major downside is that, because the spell requires your concentration, you can’t use this coupled with Hunter’s Mark. Whether or not this option does more damage will come down to things like magical weapons, feats, and critical hits. That said, it’s probably the best possible use of your bonus action as a ranger other than Hunter’s Mark.

13. Guardian of Nature

• School: Transmutation
• Level: 4th
• Casting Time: One Bonus Action
• Range: Self
• Components: Verbal
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

When you cast Guardian of Nature, you must select one of two forms: Primal beast or Great Tree. Primal Beast is generally for strength builds, which isn’t going to make sense for your average ranger build. Great Tree, on the other hand, has some fun options. You gain advantage on dexterity and wisdom-based attack rolls. That means it applies to both spellcasting an weapons-based rangers. You also gain benefits that are great for any build, like temporary hit points, advantage on Constitution saving throws, and making the ground within 15 feet of you difficult terrain for enemies. This spell is a great option for the big fights. It’s especially appealing given how weak high-level ranger spells can be.

12. Fog Cloud

• School: Conjuration
• Level: 1st
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 120 Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 Hour

The 12th entry into our Ranger Spells 5E Rankings is Fog Cloud. With Fog Cloud, you create a sphere of fog that extends from a 20-foot radius from the targeted space. This fog can move around corners, and it makes the whole area obscure for the duration of the spell. The radius increases for each level above the first that you cast this spell at. It will disperse if a wind that moves at least 10 miles per hour moves through the fog. Fog allows you to choose where combat is most violent. Blocking off your escape, allowing for stealth, or forcing a low-health enemy into a terrible situation is easy with this spell. And it lasts so long!

 11. Animal Friendship

• School: Enchantment
• Level: 1st
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 30 Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (food)
• Duration: 24 Hours

This spell will convince a beast with an Intelligence score below 4 that you mean no harm to it as long as it fails its Wisdom check. The target must be able to see and hear you. If the target is harmed by you or one of your allies, the spell ends. When cast in a slot above the 1^st level, you get to target an additional beast for every level above the 1^st. This can instantly end a fight against some fairly high-level beasts! And animals often don’t have a stellar Will save. Situational, but potent.

10. Freedom of Movement

• School: Evocation
• Level: 4th
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a leather strap, bound around the arm or a similar appendage)
• Duration: 1 Hour

A willing target of your choice is no longer affected by difficult terrain for the duration of the spell’s length. Spells and other magical effects cannot change the effect that Freedom of Movement gives the target, nor can the target become paralyzed or retrained. The target can also spend 5 feet of movement to escape from nonmagical restraints. And lastly, being underwater does not give the typical movement or attack penalties the target would normally receive.

This spell is great for emergencies. Removing painful statuses, like Paralyze, will allow you to handle a fight much easier. Put this on your damage dealer to let them handle a bad situation.

9. Cure Wounds

• School: Evocation
• Level: 1st
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Instantaneous

A character within touching distance heals 1d8 plus your spellcasting modifier, which is the Wisdom modifier for a Ranger. If you set Cure Wounds in a spell slot above the first level, you will get to roll an additional 1d8 per level. Healing is strong in 5E, because you really want to get people out of unconsciousness quickly. Cure Wounds gives them a decent health barrier to work with, and Ranger doesn’t have Healing Word naturally. So, Cure Wounds is up here. Yay, teamwork!

8. Conjure Animals

• School: Conjuration
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range: 60 feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 Hour

Conjure Animals is one of my favorite options in our Ranger Spells 5E list. When you cast Conjur Animals, you summon one of the following options:

• One beast with a challenge rating of 2 or lower
• Two beast with a challenge rating of 1 or lower
• Four beast with a challenge rating of 1/2 or lower
• Eight beast with a challenge rating of 1/4 or lower

All beasts summoned with this spell are spiritual versions of beasts. They don’t fall unconscious; at 0, they’re gone. They have their own initiative, and don’t necessarily attack enemies unless they’re commanded. Since you’re a Ranger, you can only upgrade this to a 5th level spell; you double the beasts at that level. That’s still enough to surround enemies with wolves, at least! And trust me, that mauling circle will destroy your target.

7. Spike Growth

• School: Transutation
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 150 Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (seven sharp thorns or seven sharpened twigs)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 10 Minutes

Hard spikes and thorns sprout up out of the ground, creating a difficult terrain for others to move through. If a character was not in the area at the time you cast Spike Growth, they have to make a Perception check against your spell save DC in order to see the change in the terrain. For every 5 feet an unsuspecting character travels in this area, they take 2d4 Piercing damage.

This is great area denial. After the enemy steps a foot into this massive, 20-ft radius, they’ll have to think twice before moving any farther. As long as they can’t fly or jump a large distance, this can naturally prevent movement. Or, at least force the target to take upwards of 16d4 damage as they slog through difficult terrain.

6. Goodberry

• School: Transmutation
• Level: 1st
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (a spring of mistletoe)
• Duration: Instantaneous

Up to ten berries will appear in your hand that is infused with magic that can heal whoever consumes them. Each berry will heal 1 hit point, and it will provide enough nourishment to sustain a creature for 1 day. The berries will lose their effectiveness if they are not consumed within 24 hours. Decent money savings with alright healing. A Goodberry can be as effective as a Cure Wounds, if your goal is to heal someone out of Death saves.

5. Entangle

• School: Conjuration
• Level: 1st
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 90 feet (20 feet cube)
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 Minute

When it comes to area control, rangers will have few options as strong as Entangle. There are many monsters that don’t have great strength saving throws, including some higher-level monsters. What’s more, its often possible to gauge an enemy’s strength based on their size. The downsides are it requires concentration and use your spell modifier. That means rangers that aren’t focused on casting won’t get as much use out of this one, and it doesn’t pair with Hunter’s Mark.

4. Silence

• School: Illusion
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: 120 Feet
• Components: Verbal, Somatic
• Duration: Concentration, up to 10 Minutes

For the duration of the spell’s length, no sound can be created within or pass through a 20-foot radius centered on a point of your choice. Any character in this sphere is immune to thunder damage, and creatures are deafened while inside. This will be very useful when you are fighting against another magic castor, as most spells have a Verbal component. Very good anti-mage tech, and with the help of other casters’ spells, this can shut down Wizards entirely. Silence is also one of our favorite options for ritual casters. You can learn more about that option with our Ritual Spells 5E Guide.

3. Pass Without Trace

• School: Abjuration
• Level: 2nd
• Casting Time: One Action
• Range: Self
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (ashes from a burned leaf of mistletoe and a sprig of spruce)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 Hour

You and several of your allies are masked in a veil of shadows, giving everyone this veil covers a plus 10 bonus to Stealth checks, they can only be tracked by magical means, and they leave no tracks or trace of being in the area. All targets have to be within 30 feet of your location. +10 to Stealth is hilariously absurd, and will leave enemies scratching their heads as they look for where you disappeared to.

2. Revivify

• School: Necromancy
• Level: 3rd
• Casting Time: 1 Action
• Range: Touch
• Components: Verbal, Somatic, Material (Diamonds worth 300 gp, which the spell consumes)
• Duration: Instantaneous

Revivify is one of the most valuable spells in 5E in general. While the material cost is high, it is one of the best options for saving a party member that has already died in combat. This spell is excellent regardless of your spellcasting ability, making it viable for every ranger build. Realistically, having as many party members with revivify as possible is a positive thing.

1. Hunter’s Mark

• School: Divination
• Level: 1st
• Casting Time: 1 Bonus Action
• Range: 90 Feet
• Components: Verbal
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 Hour

And number one of our Ranger Spells 5E top 10 list is Hunter’s Mark! One target becomes mystically marked as your quarry; that means until the spell ends, you deal an extra 1d6 damage whenever you hit it with a weapon and you have an advantage against them on any Perception or Wisdom check. When the target reaches zero hit points, you can use a bonus action on your next turn to cast Hunter’s Mark on a new target. When you cast this spell at a 3^rd or 4^th level slot, Hunter’s Mark will last 8 hours. At the 5^th level, this spell will last 24 hours.

Great bonus to damage with extra utility as a tracking tool. Rangers actually hit fairly often for most of their archetypes, so Mark’s d6 of bonus damage comes into play a lot. Since the Ranger’s main goal is to deal damage, this ends up being our best 5e D&D ranger spell. 

Wrapping Up our Rundown of the Best Ranger Spells in 5E

That’s for our breakdown of the best ranger spells for 5E D&D. If you’re still working out your character, check out our Ranger feats guide.