A Comprehensive Guide for Every Sorcerer Spell in DnD 5e

Unleash the Power Within

Sorcerers in Dungeons & Dragons 5e are the embodiment of raw magical potential, their power stemming from innate sources like draconic ancestry or wild magic rather than rigorous study or divine favor. This natural connection to magic makes Sorcerers one of the most potent spellcasting classes, enabling them to manipulate spells to their advantage using Metamagic.

Unlike Wizards, who meticulously prepare spells each day, Sorcerers know a limited number of spells but can cast them with unmatched flexibility. By shaping their spells to fit the situation, Sorcerers can bend the rules of magic in ways other casters only dream of.

Choosing Your Sorcerer Spells

As a Sorcerer, your spell selection is critical. You’ll want to pick spells that not only complement your innate talents but also address the limitations of your relatively small pool of known spells. Let’s dive into some tips to help you craft the ultimate spell list:

Optimize Your Spell Versatility

Sorcerers thrive when they have a mix of offensive, defensive, and utility spells. Signature damage options like Fireball or Chaos Bolt let you bring the pain, while Shield and Absorb Elements provide reactive protection. Spells like Misty Step or Counterspell ensure you can adapt to unexpected challenges.

Because your known spells are limited, choose options that stay relevant across multiple situations. For example, Mage Armor is always useful, while situational spells like Knock can have their effectiveness negated by a Rogue with a lockpick.

Capitalize on Metamagic

Your Metamagic choices significantly influence which spells will shine in your arsenal. For instance, if you’ve chosen Twinned Spell, prioritize single-target spells like Haste or Chromatic Orb. If Quickened Spell is more your style, consider spells like Fireball or Disintegrate to maximize your action economy.

Additionally, think about how your Metamagic can enhance your role in the party. A Subtle Spell Sorcerer excels in covert magic use and getting around Counterspells, while a Distant Spell Sorcerer can safely unleash spells from afar.

Play to Your Origin’s Strengths

Your Sorcerous Origin gives you unique features and spells that help shape your playstyle. For instance, the Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer can get around Resistances to certain damage types, so they’re able to go all-in on certain types of damage spells. Other Sorcerers will want to make sure they have a mix of damage types amongst their spells.

What is this guide?

This guide is meant as a deep dive into the best spells for the 5e sorcerer. For the full overview of the sorcerer class, check out our sorcerer class guide.

To allow you to scan through the options quickly, we use the following color rating scheme:

• Red : Isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
• Orange : Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
• Green : A good option
• Blue : A great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
• Sky Blue: An amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized

Sorcerer Spells in D&D 5e

Cantrip

• Acid Splash: Can target multiple creatures.
• Blade Ward: The only time this is worth it is if you know for a fact you're going to be taking bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing from a weapon in the next turn which isn't a common occurrence. Otherwise, if you find yourself in a tricky situation and need to mitigate damage for a turn, take the Dodge action.
• Chill Touch: Good damage and a solid debuff for creatures that are able to heal themselves. This cantrip because extremely effective when fighting undead creatures.
• Create Bonfire: Good damage and battlefield control.
• Dancing Lights: Solid range and utility when you need to light a dark area. Has very similar effects to the light cantrip, so take your pick of whichever you prefer.
• Fire Bolt: One of the better damage dealing cantrips. Good range and damage dice, fire is one of the most resisted damage types so be careful when casting at unknown enemies.
• Friends: Give yourself advantage on CHA checks, but after a minute the target will become hostile. This certainly has its uses, like interrogation or doing a very quick deal with a shopkeeper. Otherwise, the cons outweigh the pros.
• Frostbite: Frostbite has a very interesting secondary effect (giving disadvantage on target’s next attack). The problem is that it requires a CON save which many monsters are very good at.
• Green-Flame Blade: Good option for martial spellcasters as long as the enemy their attacking has allies nearby. Scales relatively well with levels, but depending on the amount of extra attacks you get this may or may not be worth it. Definitely a good option for builds that have picked up War Caster.
• Light: Useful, but there are plenty of ways around having to pick up this spell. As long as your not underwater, simple torch could save you a slot for another cantrip.
• Mage Hand: Mage hand provides a lot of utility for a caster, allowing them to extend the range they can grab or interact with objects, with little combat benefit.
• Mending: Being able to repair mundane object is situationally useful at the best of times, a waste of a cantrip at the worst.
• Message: Often pointless due to unavoidable metagaming, but for roleplaying purposes it’s great.
• Mind Sliver: This spell is an absolute beast when combined with your Quickened Spell Metamagic. Using this combo, you can use Quicken Spell on mind sliver and, if the target fails its save, follow up with a higher-level saving throw spell like blindness/deafness or hold person.
• Minor Illusion: If used creatively, this cantrip can be the most flexible tool in a spellcaster arsenal.
• Poison Spray: Bad range, a common save to avoid all damage, and a commonly resisted damage type. Pass.
• Prestidigitation: Extremely versatile, even if the effects are small this cantrip can do a lot.
• Ray of Frost: Solid damage cantrip. The speed reduction can help with kiting enemies.
• Shocking Grasp: Advantage against metal armor and preventing reactions for a turn bundles damage and utility.
• Sword Burst: Good AoE damage if you get surrounded.
• Thunderclap: Good AoE damage but targets a common save and can’t be used while stealthing.
• True Strike: Wasting a whole turn just to gain advantage on a single creature the next turn is not what you want to be doing.

1st level

• Absorb Elements: One of the best defensive spells at this level, especially for protecting against elemental AoE effects.
• Burning Hands: One of the better AoE damage spells you can get at 1st-level but there are better direct damage spells and better mass effect spells. This filler spell can be great if you catch a group of enemies close together.
• Chaos Bolt: If you don’t have the money for Chromatic orb, or need a bit more range, this is a decent option.
• Charm Person: One of the better options for dealing with NPCs outside of combat. Good for quick interactions, but the biggest caveat to this spell is the target knows it was charmed by you once the effect ends.
• Chromatic Orb: Your go-to damage spell. It has a costly material component that might be difficult to procure at early levels. The diamond isn't consumed when you cast your spell, so once you get it you can use this spell as often as you'd like.
• Color Spray: On average, this can affect creatures with 10hp more than sleep. Imposing the Blinded condition with no opportunity to save is quite the debuff. Unfortunately, it only lasts until the end of your next turn as opposed to sleep's full minute. Most of the time, sleep will be the way to go, especially because it has a longer range.
• Comprehend Languages: Been able to read and understand any language will have its uses at some point. Is it worth it to keep the spell stocked for your whole campaign? Probably not. Is it worth it to stock when you're heading into ancient ruins? Probably.
• Detect Magic: Every party should roll with at least one character who has access to detect magic.
• Disguise Self: Great 1st level infiltration spell.
• Expeditious Retreat: This spell could come in handy for characters that value high movement and may have no real use for their bonus action, like a Bladesinger.
• False Life: Temporary hit points are always useful, especially at very low levels where characters can be taken out in a single hit.
• Feather Fall: It's a situational effect but you’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
• Fog Cloud: Obscuring an area can be better than it sounds. While inside the fog cloud, creatures are effectively blinded so make sure you use the spell in a way that makes it advantageous.
• Ice Knife: Not great single target damage, not great AoE damage. Unless you need the 60ft range, burning hands would be a better spell to use because of the extra damage, better AoE, and damage on a successful save.
• Jump: Tripling a creature's jump distance isn't usually worth a 1st level spell slot.
• Mage Armor: Because of its long duration and lack of concentration, this spell is a great solution to low AC issues early in a campaign, especially if you have some DEX.
• Magic Missile: Your standard first-level damage dealer. This spell always hits which is nice. This spell is great if your targeting a spellcaster with the intention of making them drop concentration because they'll need to make a DC 10 CON check for each dart you send at them.
• Ray of Sickness: Damage isn’t great but Poisoned is a nasty condition. Unfortunately, the save targets CON, a common proficient saving throw, and immunity to the Poisoned condition is also fairly common. Don’t try to cast this at Constructs, Fiends, or Undead at the very least.
• Shield: This is a great spell to have in your pocket when you're stuck in a sticky situation. Obviously, the most common use for this spell is to cast this spell when you get hit by an attack, and the +5 boost to your AC will cause the attack to miss. If you have a particularly low AC, you might find this spell sits on the sidelines more often than not at higher levels when enemies get higher attack bonuses.
• Silent Image: This spell offers great utility for a 1st-level spell. Being able to move the image anywhere in 120ft and make it appear like it's moving makes it quite a bit more effective than minor illusion and will certainly help when you need to bamboozle an enemy (or watch some fantasy TV).
• Silvery Barbs: Probably one of the more broken spells in 5th Edition. Silvery barbs allows you to automatically grant disadvantage to any creature when they succeed on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. This may seem innocent enough, but when used in higher-level play and when noted that there is no saving throw to resist the effect, it can make short work of a legendary monster's Legendary Resistances when saving against powerful spell effects. Essentially, silvery barbs acts like a second casting of a high-level spell, for the low price of a 1st-level spell slot and a reaction. Yes, using your reaction means you won't be able to counterspell. But in most circumstances, especially when fighting a non-caster legendary monster, it can begin to trivialize encounters. The secondary effect, wherein you grant another creature advantage on the next attack roll, ability check, or saving throw is simply icing on top of the extremely powerful cake.
• Sleep: Sleep is a very good 1st level spell slot. It can easily end encounters at lower levels. By the time you reach 5th-level  it will be pretty useless unless you want a semi-consistent way of none lethal damage.
• Tasha’s Caustic Brew: Spells that don’t do damage until the start of the creature’s turn can end up as a wasted spell if they are dealt with before their turn starts.
• Thunderwave: A fantastic, low-level way to knock opponents back if you find yourself in a sticky situation. Damage isn’t bad either but it targets CON saves.
• Witch Bolt: Underwhelming damage, requires your action and concentration, and can be thwarted by simply stepping out of range.

2nd level

• Aganazzar’s Scorcher: Decent AoE spell but is only better than other damage options when you can line up a bunch of enemies.
• Alter Self: Decent utility when infiltrating hostile areas or needing to travel underwater. Unfortunately, disguise self is a 1st-level spell and usually better for infiltration and the combat part of this spell is pretty worthless.
• Blindness/Deafness: Very effective debuff that doesn’t require concentration. The only downside is that it targets CON.
• Blur: Pretty good evasive option. The higher your AC, the better this is.
• Cloud of Daggers: If you can get this into a chokepoint you can do amazing damage.
• Crown of Madness: This spell has a lot of crippling limitations because of its powerful effect at such a low level.
• Darkness: Good way to cut off an opponent's visibility. Unfortunately, it doesn't offer much of a strategic advantage unless someone in your party can see through magical darkness.
• Darkvision: Essential if you or party members don’t have natural Darkvision and want to navigate without a torch. At a 2nd-level spell slot, the cost for this effect is quite steep.
• Detect Thoughts: Useful spell for interrogations, or to determine if there are any hidden creatures near your location.
• Dragon’s Breath: This spell can be quite effective with the proper setup and in a longer fight. First, you need an animal companion that has an action to use on its turn but no effective attack. The best option for this is a familiar conjured using the Find Familiar spell. Then, you can buff that creature to have a breath weapon that doesn’t use the “attack” action. As long as you maintain your concentration, this allows the familiar to dish out 3d6 damage each turn which is a solid use of a 2nd-level spell slot.
• Dust Devil: Situationally useful if you need to lock off a certain area of the battlefield.
• Earthbind: If you need to lock down a flying creature and don’t have a way of making it fall prone this is a good option. Useful in very narrow circumstances.
• Enhance Ability: Decent buff before you go into combat. Also has a fair amount of utility for just about any out-of-combat situation.
• Enlarge/Reduce: A solid shenanigan spell that is really only limited by your imagination. This can do everything from enlarging your barbarian so they can grapple an adult dragon to shrinking a boulder so you can fly with it then drop it on an enemy's head.
• Gust of Wind: This spell is usually useless unless you find yourself in a rare situation where you can use it to push multiple enemies off of a cliff.
• Hold Person: This can be encounter-breaking against humanoids. Scales well with levels.
• Invisibility: Great infiltration spell.
• Knock: Great spell if you don’t have a rogue around and works better than Thieves’ Tools anyway since it works automatically. If you need to be stealthy, keep in mind that this spell is audible from 300 feet away.
• Levitate: Can be used to get up high, or completely remove a melee attacker from combat. Levitate can be good at any level.
• Mind Spike: The damage isn't great, but it allows you to track an enemy. Can be helpful if you're up against invisible or retreating enemies, but you have to be able to see the creature before you can target them with the spell.
• Mirror Image: Great way to avoid damage with a low level spell slot. Plus, it doesn't require concentration. Overall a solid option.
• Misty Step: Misty step is the staple movement spell for those classes lucky enough to have access to it. It can be cast as a bonus action and avoids opportunity attacks.
• Phantasmal Force: There are extreme situations where this could be useful, but it is simply not a good spell.
• Pyrotechnics: Limited because it needs a nonmagical flame to be able to work. Can be comboed with bonfire.
• Scorching Ray: A potential 6d6 focused damage at a 2nd-level spell slot, can target multiple opponents, and has crit potential.
• See Invisibility: If you know you're going to be coming across invisible creatures, this spell is worth it to stock. Otherwise, faerie fire is a better option as it allows party members to see the invisible creatures as well.
• Shadow Blade: Typical sorcerers don’t want any part of melee combat, but this is an amazing option if you are going for a Sorcadin.
• Shatter: Decent AoE that can be super effective against specific creatures. Also good for destroying inanimate objects.
• Spider Climb: A useful movement option if you want to get away from a combatant or sneak into a hostile area. Seeing as your hands are free, you're still able to attack and cast spells while climbing. Will also allow you to live out your Spider-Man fantasy.
• Suggestion: Never underestimate the power of suggesting a course of action to an NPC. Yes, Mr. Scary Guard, why don’t you give us the keys to your king’s treasure vault?
• Tasha’s Mind Whip: Mediocre damage, but it can help you break away from a pursuing enemy while still doing damage.
• Vortex Warp: This spell has a good baseline, being able to move enemies and allies around the battlefield is solid utility. In situations where you have environmental hazards, like fire or ongoing AoE effects, this spell really shines. Unfortunately it's limited by the fact that you can't just teleport an enemy 90ft in the air or off a cliff and that it targets CON, which is a notoriously good save for monsters.
• Warding Wind: Pretty much the only time this is useful is when you’re caught in a combat situation where you are surrounded by ranged enemies or if you need to keep out a deadly gas.
• Web: For when you want to get creative. Web is a great way to take away an enemy’s turn and deal some extra damage at the same time.

3rd level

• Blink: 50% chance of completely avoiding any damage for a turn is more consistent over a long period than mirror image and better for builds with lower ACs than blur. Plus, it isn't concentration.
• Clairvoyance: Not many situations will call for this spell but it can be useful for scouting.
• Counterspell: Always get counterspell. Even if you don’t want to pick it up as soon as it is available to you, come back and get it at a later level. It can literally save lives when facing a powerful spell caster.
• Dispel Magic: Always make sure at least one of your party members has this.
• Enemies Abound: Enemies abound only works in fights with more than one enemy, if your allies are willing to ignore that enemy, and if the enemy isn’t immune to being frightened. Really only useful for causing a stir from a hidden position.
• Erupting Earth: Mediocre damage compared to Fireball but causes difficult terrain. Situational.
• Fear: Amazing crowd control spell. Particularly good because they don’t get to retry the save until they break line of sight.
• Fireball: The gold standard for damage spells in 5e. This spell was intentionally designed to be overpowered for a 3rd-level slot, making it the most optimal choice when looking to lay the hurt down.
• Flame Arrows: The 1 hour duration allows this to be cast before initiative so that you don’t waste an action on this. If you are really set on adding 1d6 to your ranged attacks, consider taking a feat that will allow you to pick up hex or hunter’s mark instead.
• Fly: Extremely useful movement option. Being able to fly opens up a whole new world and can overcome many obstacles. Be cautious about the concentration component when flying to lofty heights.
• Gaseous Form: This spell can honestly vie for the top “infiltration” spell over invisibility. Being able to fly and move through tiny cracks as an inconspicuous cloud can make getting into any heavily defended fortress a cinch.
• Haste: Lovely buff for non-caster party members, just make sure you don’t immediately have your concentration broken and waste a 3rd level spell and your party member's next turn.
• Hypnotic Pattern: Good range, good AoE, and its effect are potent. Incapacitating multiple enemies is a fantastic tactic to passively flee from the situation or do massive damage with automatic crits. The effect can be ended by a friendly creature taking an action to wake the affected creature from its stupor, but that will eat up a lot of action economy. Either way you slice it, hypnotic pattern is one of the best crowd control spells at this level.
• Intellect Fortress: Only useful in very specific circumstances. Say, for example, when wandering into a den of Mind Flayers.
• Lightning Bolt: Does as much damage as fireball but has a less effective AoE because it’s a line rather than a circle.
• Major Image: Much like silent image, major image is really only limited by your imagination. A 20ft cube is quite the space to play around in and fit just about any creature (within reason).
• Melf’s Minute Meteors: Not as good as Flaming Sphere (which is a 2nd-level spell). Sorcerers don’t get access to Flaming Sphere so this is a good option for Sorcerers, especially if you are focusing on a Draconic Bloodline (Fire) Sorcerers.
• Protection from Energy: This is typically outshined by absorb elements except in the specific circumstances when you are constantly being subjected to a type of damage.
• Sleet Storm: Messes with enemy concentration, can extinguish flames, and has the potential to knock enemies prone.
• Slow: This spell has a great range, good AoE, and imposes and handful of potent debuffs. While it may not be as straightforward and effective, it certainly has its place in combat. This is usually a more effective option that hypnotic pattern when you can't get all of the enemies in the AoE. That way, you can gain the advantage of the debuff and not have to worry about an enemy shaking his companions out of the stupor before you can react.
• Stinking Cloud: Used in the right circumstances, like locking enemies in a room then casting this into the locked room or when an enemy has to funnel through a "choke" point (heh). Outside of these specific situations, it's quite mediocre.
• Thunder Step: Great spell in case you are surrounded and need to retreat. You get to damage the enemies and carry a friend with you.
• Tongues: Most of the time, it will be tough to justify a 3rd-level spell for the effect this produces. Of course, understanding a creature and allowing it to understand you could have the potential to stop a terrible situation unfolding. This is a spell that would be worthwhile to prepare for specific situations, but is too niche to consider stocking all the time.
• Water Breathing: This is almost required for enabling underwater traversal, which may or may not happen a lot in a campaign.
• Water Walk: This is likely not to see use in an entire campaign.

4th level

• Banishment: Get rid of creatures from another plane, or take out a big threat for most of the combat. One of the better save or suck spells out there. Keep in mind that, unless the creature is natively from another plane, they will return after the spell ends.
• Blight: 4th-level single-target spell that targets a common save. It barely out damages 4th-level fireball and flat-out doesn’t work on some common creature types. SKIP.
• Charm Monster: Charm person, just for any creature. Great for avoiding fights with potentially hostile monsters.
• Confusion: Bestow curse is a better targeted debuff and is a full spell slot lower.
• Dimension Door: Teleport, with a friend, over a much longer distance than misty step. Unfortunately, it’s two spell slots higher than misty step and a full action to cast. Still, this spell can save your bacon is a tight circumstance.
• Dominate Beast: Not many Beasts are going to be worth your 4th level spell to dominate. If you’re fighting a CR8 T-Rex you’ll wish you had this spell.
• Greater Invisibility: Being able to attack or cast spells while invisible is a huge upgrade from regular invisibility. Give it to a melee party member and watch them get advantage on every attack and disadvantage on attacks against them, bonus points if it’s a paladin or rogue for extra crit + Divine Smite / Sneak Attack potential.
• Ice Storm: You already have fireball, and ice storm does less damage, and the terrain control doesn’t make the reduced damage worth it.
• Polymorph: The best save or suck spell at this level. The hour duration makes transforming a hostile creature and running away a viable option or will give you more time to finish of its friends before it transforms back. This also allows you to shape-shift a friendly party member into a beast for combat or exploration purposes. The sheer utility this spell offers makes it an incredibly effective spell to keep in your arsenal.
• Sickening Radiance: Giving creatures levels of exhaustion seems good on paper but you need at least two failures for this spell to really kick in. Radiance damage is great for getting around a resistance but this spell also targets CON (common save for monsters) and requires concentration.
• Stoneskin: Effectively double your or your favorite melee fighter’s hit points. Better at lower levels or when fighting enemies without magical attacks. If you'll be casting this on yourself, make sure you have a decent CON modifier and consider taking the Resilient (CON) feat if you don't have proficiency in CON saving throws or the War Caster feat for advantage on concentration checks.
• Storm Sphere: Simply an amazing spell. 20ft radius that hits like a greatsword and a bonus action to deal 4d6 every turn.
• Vitriolic Sphere: Worse damage than fireball on a successful save and better any more damage on a failed save. Targets the same save and effects the same radius. The only real change is that it's a full spell slot higher than fireball.
• Wall of Fire: Amazing battlefield control option to divide enemies and deal massive damage.
• Watery Sphere: Restrain and move around up to four enemies. You can even send them over a cliff to remove them from combat, it won’t kill the creatures in the sphere because they descend at a slow rate.

5th level

• Animate Objects: Turn your trash into treasure. Send an army of pebbles at your opponents for 1d4 + 4 damage with +8 attacks.
• Cloudkill: Not great in an open field but if you can get the drop on an enemy or contain a group of enemies within the spell it can be very effective because it deals damage turn after turn, as long as the caster keeps concentration. It can also be effective to block off a vantage point used by ranged enemies.
• Cone of Cold: Not quite as potent as fireball or lightning bolt for the resource of a 5th-level spell slot and it targets CON saves which are a common proficiency in monsters.
• Creation: Allows you to make a rope, or a rock. Yeah.
• Dominate Person: Amazing spell when fighting humanoids. Taking over the mind of an enemy can completely swing the direction of the encounter. While spells like hold person can take an enemy of the fight, dominate person can make that enemy into an ally essentially creating a two for one. If you are fighting against humanoids a lot in the late game, this is a simply outstanding spell.
• Enervation: What happens when you cross witch bolt with vampiric touch and make them actually good? The increased range is a huge upgrade and being able to damage creatures while healing yourself is twice the value.
• Far Step: Typically a single misty step will work best for spellcasters who won’t be using this ability on each turn to teleport around the battlefield, using their movement to close in and attack creatures teleporting out of danger.
• Hold Monster: Spell that can take a creature out of the fight. Allows for a save after each turn which makes it worse than banishment for consistently keeping a monster out of the fight, but the monster can be attacked with advantage which will make quick work of it after it fails a save or two.
• Immolation: Single target fireball that can damage consistently. The issue comes from the need for concentration and the saving throws the creature gets every turn. If you want fireball damage, cast fireball. If you want consistent fire damage cast heat metal.
• Insect Plague: A decent AoE damage and crowd control option.
• Seeming: Neat out of combat spell.
• Skill Empowerment: This spell is very flexible since you can give any creature Expertise in any skill. It is quite expensive at 5th level and it works best when the creature needs to use the same skill multiple times.
• Synaptic Static: Fireball damage and a debuff rolled into one. Be careful using it on beasts as they are likely to have an INT 2 or less.
• Telekinesis: This is a great spell to have perpetually stocked. Toss enemies around the battlefield or crush your enemies with a giant rock.
• Teleportation Circle: Great teleport spell that requires some prep before it can become really effective. That said, it's nice to not have the ability to fail during your teleport like is possible with teleport. Awesome utility spell to have in your back pocket.
• Wall of Light: Radiant is a great damage type, but 4d8 on a 5th level spell isn’t amazing. The Blinded condition is nice, but is only activated when the spell first appears and doesn’t discriminate between friend and foe. The lasers that you can shoot each following turn use your action, shrink the wall, and provide some solid turn-over-turn damage.
• Wall of Stone: Great tool to manipulate the battlefield to your party’s advantage.

6th level

• Arcane Gate: Allows you to open a portal between two locations that you can see. Fairly similar effect to dimension door except as many creatures as you like can move through the portal in a 10 minute time span. Useful for getting more than one companion out of dodge, but it's quite a high spell slot for the effect.
• Chain Lightning: Great damage and solid control over targets. If you need to do damage to multiple enemies but have friendlies in your fireball radius, this is a good option.
• Circle of Death: Fireball type effect, but has a much wider radius. Necrotic damage, isn't enough to make this 6th level spell worth it, especially because it targets a CON save.
• Disintegrate: Live out your power fantasy as Thanos. The damage can be great, but a successful save negates ALL damage. Definitely a gamble that has huge payoff.
• Eyebite: Clunky spell with powerful effects. Essentially, as long as you maintain concentration, you can use your action to imbue a powerful debuff. Unfortunately, casting something like fear or hypnotic pattern will likely allow you to impose conditions on more enemies, for less action economy, for a lower spell slot.
• Globe of Invulnerability: Block all spells 5th level and lower in a 10-foot radius around your spellcaster. This spell can get really helpful as you start to face more enemies casting spells.
• Investiture of Flame: Damage immunities and resistances are fine but the passive effect has terrible range and the AoE effect is mediocre damage. The biggest issue here is that, if you are using the fire immunity it’s very likely that your enemies are immune to fire damage. Also, requires concentration so you can cast the spell, and lose it before you’re able to use the AoE feature.
• Investiture of Ice: Damage immunities and resistances are fine but the passive effect has terrible range and is even less effective than the IoF and the AoE effect is mediocre damage. The biggest issue here is that, if you are using the ice immunity it’s very likely that your enemies are immune to ice damage. Also, requires concentration so you can cast the spell, and lose it before you’re able to use the AoE feature.
• Investiture of Stone: The resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing are pretty useless in Tier 3 because most creatures will have magical weapons. The passive effect allows you to move through the earth but ejects you if you end your turn there so you can’t travel far distances. The action effect is terrible, it doesn’t even do damage. Also, requires concentration so you can cast the spell, and lose it before you’re able to use any features.
• Investiture of Wind: One of the better Investitures, but it’s really only effective as a defensive buff. The flight is a great movement buff, and ranged attacks have disadvantage. The action can’t even compete with cantrip damage at this point.
• Mass Suggestion: Amazing charm effect. No saving throws, target up to twelve creatures, and a duration of 24 hours.
• Mental Prison: There are plenty of ways to take single creatures out of the fight, but this provides a way to do some damage while also locking down a creature. Nothing crazy for a 6th-level spell but it’s decent.
• Move Earth: Not very helpful unless you're trying to live out a Minecraft fantasy.
• Scatter: It has uses, but none that are particularly worth a 6th-level spell.
• Sunbeam: Not a bad spell for those grindy fights. Blinding opponents, repositioning the beam on each turn, disadvantage for undead make this a solid choice.
• Tasha’s Otherworldly Guise: Bonus action to gain +2 to AC, damage immunities, and flight make this a solid defensive spell. Even though the spell grants the ability to make attacks with spellcasting modifier and allows you to attack twice, you will rarely use these features as a unless your a martial spellcaster.
• True Seeing: Gain the abilities of truesight, spotting secret doors, and seeing into the ethereal plane, all without concentration. This will be effective at some point but a 6th level spell is steep.

7th level

• Crown of Stars: Great bonus action damage, long duration, no concentration. Up and down a great spell.
• Delayed Blast Fireball: Seeing as you can end concentration at any time this is essentially a 7th-level fireball with upsides. If you're able to time enemies entering the radius exactly 1 minute after you cast it, the resulting damage would be massive for a 7th-level spell. Most of the time, you'll be detonating this with a d6 or two extra damage.
• Dream of the Blue Veil: This spell has more campaign-derailing, shenanigan potential than just about any other spell short of wish. Do your DM a favor and let them know your plans before casting this spell. Because this is more of a plot-based spell, it will not receive a rating.
• Etherealness: This spell allows you to fly or move through solid objects, while not being affected or able to affect creatures not on the Ethereal Plane. You can only target yourself but there is no concentration. Pretty middle of the road all around.
• Finger of Death: It’s a CON save, but they still take half damage on a success. If you want some huge single target damage, it’s not a bad pick.
• Fire Storm: Depending on the size and position of the crowd you are fighting, this can either be insanely big damage or an easy to aim fireball. Most of the time it will be the latter.
• Plane Shift: Good utility to run away from a fight that has turned south, or force a CHA save to avoid getting banished.
• Power Word Pain: As long as the target has less than 100hp, they don't get to make a save to resist the effect. This makes it a decent choice when targeting a creature with Legendary Resistance. The debuff is quite potent, it provides disadvantage on attacks, ability checks, and saving throws, and casting spells becomes more difficult. Unfortunately, the effect can be ended with a successful CON saving throw so there's a good chance the effect only lasts one round. For a 7th-level spell, this is rarely worth it.
• Prismatic Spray: Only 10d6 damage on a failed save, and the damage type is random. This spell just isn’t reliable enough to be worth it.
• Reverse Gravity: Super cool and effective. The only way a creature can avoid the effect is by succeeding on a DEX saving throw, but even then they only grab onto a fixed object to avoid falling up. Besides flying creatures, most will have a tough time escaping this.
• Teleport: Instantly transport yourself and up to eight willing creatures. Of course, there is a chance of a mishap, but a full party teleport is nothing to scoff at.
• Whirlwind: Huge range, good AoE, and a very potent battlefield control effect. If you can catch multiple enemies in this, you can get really good turn-over-turn damage as well as an Restrained effect.

8th level

• Abi-Dalzim’s Horrid Wilting: Essentially just an upcast fireball. Don’t bother unless you fight a lot of plants.
• Dominate Monster: Extremely good option to help swing the tides of battle in your favor. If you manage to dominate one of your enemies, you're 2-for-1ing the opponent by adding an ally to your side while subtracting an enemy from your enemy's side.
• Earthquake: There is way too much left up to the DM’s discretion for this spell to be effective in combat. The only use I can see for this spell would be destroying a city.
• Incendiary Cloud: One of the best options for a choke point. This is insane damage if you can get a crowd to run through it.
• Power Word Stun: You can auto-stun a creature that has less than 150hp, but they get to make a save at the end of each of their turns.
• Sunburst: Big damage and nice debuff. Great AoE that is somewhat limited by forcing a CON save.

9th level

• Blade of Disaster: This is a solid, bonus action, multiturn damage spell that can pay off big time with a couple of crits.
• Gate: Helps you move to another plane of existence, which you can hopefully already do by 18th-level. The feature which allows you to summon a creature from another plane can be extremely hit-or-miss because you don't gain any control over the creature. Be careful of what kind of cosmic horror you might accidentally unleash upon your world…
• Mass Polymorph: Take up to 10 creatures out of the fight or turn your entire party into T-rexes.
• Meteor Swarm: Nuke your enemies from orbit with this one simple trick! 20d6 fire damage and 20d6 bludgeoning damage, or half on a successful DEX save.
• Power Word Kill: Very mechanically interesting spell. Essentially, you can auto-kill a creature if they have less than 100hp. Now, as a player, we do not know how much HP a monster has, but an Investigation or Insight check might allow some clues as to whether or not they’re close. Still, Meteor Swarm can do, on average, 140 damage (70 on a save), and can hit multiple creatures so this might not be that worth it.
• Psychic Scream: Great damage, targets an uncommon save (INT), stuns on a failed save, and explodes your targets head if they die from the damage.
• Time Stop: You can’t target other creatures during your 1d4 + 1 extra turns, but it’s a great opportunity to move into position and buff yourself seeing as it doesn't require concentration.
• Wish: Wish is the best 5e spell, hands down. Its regular use allows you to duplicate any other spell at 8th level or lower. However, it can also be used to regain all hit points for your whole party, change the outcome of a roll, or gain immunity to a spell. Some DMs may allow you to wish for basically anything, but at the risk of something going terribly wrong. This can make for some really cool deus ex machina moments.