The Ultimate One D&D Sorcerer Guide – Mastering Sorcerer

I do a standard S-F tier ranking and here’s how I categorize them:

S Tier – The absolute best of the best. These options can even broach into unfair territory and may be subject to being banned at certain tables. If you’re looking for power level alone, there’s functionally no reason not to use these.

A Tier – While not as broken as the S Tier options, these are as good as you can get without broaching into unfair territory, although some of them may be strong enough to feel unfair!

B Tier – These will not be as inherently powerful as A Tier options, but are still quite strong in their own right. These are likely a bit more situational or slightly weaker than the A tier options, but still very good.

C Tier – Decent options, but likely not particularly strong. These options don’t offer too much or may just be a bit too situational to be ranked higher, but are still options you should consider as these will be the average power level.

D Tier – While not completely useless, these options are either very weak or very situational so are unlikely to be used, but unlike F tier, these aren’t completely unusable or actively detrimental.

F Tier – Either so weak or so situational that these should functionally never be taken or considered unless in the most niche of circumstances.

Level 1

Starting Proficiencies – D Tier – Obviously Simple Weapon proficiency is not taking this class very far. The only reason this isn’t in F Tier is because you do get to use True Strike if you want, but that’s personally not a big improvement.

Innate Sorcery – A- Tier – Adding 1 to your spell save DC is no big deal, but advantage on all of your spell attacks? That is a really strong ability, even if you only get to use two of them a day.

1st Level Spells – A+ Tier – First level spells are foundational to all casters, and Sorcerer is no different. You get really powerful utility options here you are going to use for the rest of your campaign.

Level 2

Font of Magic – B+ Tier – Font of Magic is a really solid ability, especially now that Sorcerers can prepare and cast substantially more spells. Having the choice between prioritizing Metamagic features or simply getting more spells is always a good choice to have.

Metamagic – A+ Tier – The main feature of Sorcerers and it’s even better than it was in the 2014 version. While you won’t have that many sorcery points to use right now, as you progress this will become substantially more powerful.

Level 3

2nd Level Spells – A+ Tier – While generally your 1st level spell options are going to be your staples, the second level spells Sorcerers get access to may arguably be better!

Level 5

Sorcerous Restoration – B+ Tier – Recovering sorcery points is awesome, and although this won’t be recovering that many, any extra is always good.

3rd Level Spells – A+ Tier – Third level spells, like a martial characters Extra Attack, is a huge power spike for every full caster as you have a lot of devastating combat options on the list.

Level 7

Sorcery Incarnate – A Tier – The ability to get more Innate Sorceries per day is already great, especially since you’ll have enough Sorcery points to make this viable, but the ability to add two Metamagic features to a spell? That’s really strong. This ability will eat up your Sorcery points really quickly, but this can be extremely powerful even if you use it just to reactivate Innate Sorcery.

4th Level Spells – A+ Tier – The hits keep on hitting as the Sorcerer spell list still does not disappoint, even now.

Level 9

5th Level Spells – B- Tier – Unfortunately, your 5th level spells are lacking and this is not a big power spike for you like it can be for other casters.

Level 10

Additional Metamagic Feature – B Tier – I may be in the minority here, but the first two metamagic features you chose are likely the ones you’re the most interested in using. Additional is great, but it’s hard to say how badly you need more of them.

Level 11

6th Level Spells – B+ Tier – Sorcerer gets few, but solid options here. You don’t increase your strength too much, but this is still good.

Level 13

7th Level Spells – A Tier – You don’t need many spells here, but you get some great ones to work with!

Level 15

8th Level Spells – B- Tier – You only get one reasonable option here in Dominate Monster, and that’s just ok. However, your Metamagic features do make this better so it’s still potentially impactful.

Level 17

Additional Metamagic Feature – B- Tier – Personally, I think each subsequent Metamagic Feature is slightly weaker than the last, but still good.

9th Level Spells – S Tier – 9th level spells are absolutely broken and the game is very much going to revolve around when you get to use them.

Level 20

Arcane Apotheosis – A+ Tier – Now this is a capstone ability! Getting a free metamagic every turn is obviously extremely strong.

The Complete Sorcerer Spell List

Sorcerer Spell Tier List – The Best Sorcerer Spells

Aasimar – A Tier – A generically strong species that gives you a lot of things for any class. Two damage Resistances (Necrotic and Radiant), Darkvision is great to have, some free healing, the Light cantrip for free, and a cool form to transform into with 3 reasonable options. Just a great all around choice and my general pick for Sorcerer.

Dragonborn – B Tier – A decent species in general as you get a damage resistance, Darkvision, Flight at level 5, and a breath weapon that can be useful in a pinch. Dragonborns are good, but are generally just outshined by Aasimar who offer a similar, but stronger package.

Dwarf – C- Tier – Long range Darkvision, Tremorsense for scouting, and extra health is nice. Resistance to poison damage and advantage to save against the poisoned condition is alright, but pretty rare so it’s not going to come up that often and the poisoned condition is not that relevant to spellcasters.

Elf – A- Tier – Darkvision is great, an extra skill proficiency is nice, and advantage on saving throws against being Charmed can be useful in some situations. The real treat, however, is being able to pick your lineage for free, prepared spells. Wood Elf in particular to get Longstrider and Pass Without Trace on top of extra movement speed is particularly appealing, but High Elf for Misty Step is definitely great as well..

Gnome – C+ Tier – Darkvision is obviously good, but more importantly, advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws is excellent. This is a decent choice if you want to be relatively resistant to enemy spells/effects, but Gnome does give you less than most of the other classes.

Goliath – C+ Tier – Extra movement speed and a free ability is nice, but the only one you’d be super interested in is Cloud’s Jaunt for a functional Misty Step, and you could’ve just chosen Elf with High Elf ancestry if you wanted that (you do get more teleports for free, but you’re trading off all the other abilities Elf gets for it).

Halfling – D Tier – Brave is ok and Luck is a fun feature, but Sorcerers don’t get much out of being a Halfling.

Human – A- Tier – A free Heroic Inspiration every day, a free skill, and a free Origin feat is great for any class. A generically good choice.

Orc – C Tier – Long range Darkvision, bonus action Dash, and not going down the first time you hit 0 health are all fine abilities, but none of them are super exciting for Sorcerer in particular.

Tiefling – D Tier – Damage resistances and Darkvision are always great, but the spells package is just worse than what Elves could give you.

Acolyte – A- Tier – Boosting Charisma is great, and while you don’t get Dexterity or Constitution as well, Wisdom is a decent alternative. Getting Insight as a skill proficiency is excellent, but more importantly, getting to pick up Guidance and Bless because of Magic Initiate (Cleric) is excellent.

Artisan – D Tier – Great skill proficiencies, but only being able to boost Dexterity and getting an awful feat does not help the situation.

Charlatan – B+ Tier – Perfect ability scores, decent proficiencies, and a decent feat culminates to a solid background.

Criminal – B Tier – Not being able to boost Charisma isn’t ideal, but you get an excellent feat and solid proficiencies.

Entertainer – A+ Tier – Nearly perfect ability scores, good proficiencies, and the best Origin feat makes this the go to feat for Sorcerers.

Farmer – C Tier – Medium ability scores, medium feat, and pretty sad proficiencies for a Sorcerer. Not a bad pick up, but not exciting.

Guard – C Tier – Great feat and getting Perception as a proficiency is great, but the rest of the package really isn’t good for you.

Guide – B Tier – Not boosting Charisma is rough, but you get solid proficiencies as well as Magic Initiate (Druid) which can get you Guidance and your choice of Entangle or Goodberry which is quite awesome.

Hermit – C+ Tier – Ideal ability scores, but mediocre feat and proficiencies. Could do worse, but can definitely do better.

Merchant – B+ Tier – Ideal ability scores, a solid feat, and solid proficiencies makes this a great option.

Noble – B- Tier – Boosting Charisma is awesome, great proficiencies, and you get a decent feat to boot.

Sage – B Tier – Not getting the chance to boost Charisma, per usual, hurts, but you can get a nice Wizard spell like Shield and great proficiencies is a decent tradeoff.

Sailor – D Tier – Beyond Dexterity to boost and Perception proficiency, this is not what you want to be picking normally.

Scribe – C- Tier – Not getting to boost Charisma and getting a mediocre feat for Sorcerers is far from ideal, but the skill proficiencies are solid.

Soldier – D+ Tier – Dexterity and Constitution are decent ability scores, but your feat is horrendous for you and your proficiencies don’t make up for it.

Wayfarer – B Tier – Nearly perfect ability scores, a decent feat, and good proficiencies are all great.

Arcana – B+ Tier – Unless you have a Wizard on your team, it’s very unlikely anybody is going to be good at this making it a tempting option. This is a bit too common of a skill check to not at least consider.

Deception – A- Tier – You’re going to lie to people so it’s definitely good to be good at it.

Insight – B Tier – This is a great proficiency, but you’ll likely have someone on your team with better Wisdom than you realistically.

Intimidation – B+ Tier – I generally believe that Deception or Persuasion are more universal checks, but this is still obviously great.

Persuasion – A Tier – The most common charisma check (in my opinion) so being good at it is definitely relevant.

Religion – D Tier – Your Intelligence is going to already low and this is a very uncommon skill check.

While not every feat can be mentioned as that would be an oppressively long list, the ones I would at all consider would be here (all the Origin feats included as any of the backgrounds could be potential choices). Feats left off the list are not ones I would normally not consider for any Sorcerer build, but a full reference on the all the feats in the Player’s Handbook and their associated rankings, check the link below.

The D&D Feats, Fighting Styles, and Epic Boons Tier List

Origin Feats

While your Origin feat is tied to your background, it’s good to know how good each feat is to help consider which background you may want or if you decided to pick Human as your species. Past level one, I would functionally never consider taking an origin feat (though it is allowed).

Alert – A+ Tier – An excellent feat, especially for Sorcerers who want to go first to lay down some battlefield control.

Crafter – F Tier – The feat is just bad unless there’s something big about it I’m missing.

Healer – C Tier – It’s not a bad feat, just a strange one for Sorcerers in general as you’ll run the risk of getting too close to the action.

Lucky – C+ Tier – A decent feat in general, fine for any class or build.

Magic Initiate (Cleric) – A- Tier – Guidance is an excellent cantrip to have and you can never have too many Guidance on your team (plus you get another cantrip which can let you grab any utility feat you want). Picking up Bless (or more commonly) Healing Word is very solid for Sorcerers and will remain a solid choice throughout your game.

Magic Initiate (Druid) – A- Tier – Like Cleric, Guidance is great to have, and you can take something like Entangle or Goodberry for your spell choice as both are excellent and not normally available to Sorcerers. If you’re playing with spells outside of the PHB, Absorb Elements can be a really strong option as well (I would probably wait until minimum level 5 to take it though as large chunks of elemental damage aren’t going to be that common until then.) While your second cantrip option is less consequential (probably an attack cantrip for a decent ranged option, but a utility option can be reasonable as well), but if you are playing with spells from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Magic Stone can be a good pickup to synergize with your team if they are about that lifestyle.

Magic Initiate (Wizard) – B Tier – You can pick up some nice utility or attack cantrips (neither of which you’re really hurting for) which is nice. The real prize, however, is being able to pick up Shield which is an excellent spell overall.

Musician – S Tier – An excellent feat for any class, an adventuring party should always have at least one Musician!

Savage Attacker – F Tier – Doesn’t do anything for Sorcerers unless in the most niche of niche circumstances.

Skilled – C+ Tier – A reasonable feat for pretty much any class save Bards or Rogues where it’s a bit weaker.

Tavern Brawler – F Tier – Unless you have an incredibly wacky build in mind or you want the flavor, this is something I would never pick.

Tough – B Tier – Extra health is always solid, even if you shouldn’t be taking that many hits.

General Feats

Fey-Touched – A Tier – A great feat to get spells you wouldn’t normally have access to (Misty Step in particular) while bolstering Charisma.

Inspiring Leader – A+ Tier – A staple for almost any Sorcerer as this gives so much temporary health. You only need one per team realistically, but it makes the most sense on a Sorcerer.

Lightly Armored – C+ Tier – Don’t get me wrong, this feat is really good for Wizards in theory but doesn’t work that well in practice. Using your whole feat just to get Light Armor and Shield proficiency when you can just multiclass is not a great deal. That said, if you don’t want to multiclass or your table doesn’t allow it, then this will give you an appreciable boost to your AC.

Resilient – B Tier – Always a solid feat, worse on Sorcerers as you already have proficiency in Constitution saving throws.

Ritual Caster – B- Tier – If you’re the only spellcaster in your party, I can see grabbing this to have a greater suite of spell options to work with.

Speedy – B Tier – While not super exciting, Sorcerer doesn’t really need to pick up Resilient (CON) as you already proficiency in Constitution saving throws, so this is the next best thing. A higher movement speed is definitely relevant on Sorcerers as well to effectively kite enemies as needed which is really important for staying alive.

Telekinetic – B Tier – Not every Sorcerer will always have something to do with their bonus action, so shoving enemies or allies around is definitely not bad.

War Caster – B Tier – While an excellent feat, the main reason to take this is for casters who risk having their hands full which Sorcerers rarely struggle with and for advantage on Concentration checks. If having a free hand is potentially an issue or you really don’t want to fail concentration checks, this is a great choice.

Unsure how to build your specific Sorcerer? This section can help you! While each subclass guide has my specific way of building it (with plenty of overlap between builds), there’s a lot of directions you could take Sorcerer.

(For all builds, this is assuming you have 17 starting Charisma between your initial ability score distribution and your background)

Battlefield Controller – A+ Tier – While it’s generally less exciting than trying to outright obliterate enemies, controlling the battlefield is generally the direction you want to go. Sorcerers have a wellspring of awesome control spells starting at level 3 making this an extremely efficient play style as your one spell slot is going to be extremely valuable compared to using spell slots just for damage. If you’re going this route, you have a lot of flexibility in how you want to build your Sorcerer. Generally speaking, I would take a Charisma feat to 18 (usually Inspiring Leader), then at level 8 you either go straight to 20 Charisma or take a Constitution feat to get to 16 Constitution (I generally opt for Speedy), then you take the other one at level 12.

Blaster – A Tier – While a bit less effective than using your spell slots on control spells, using them on damage dealing spells certainly works as well. Sometimes, casting Fireball is just a bit too fun and I can’t blame anyone for wanting to do that as often as possible! While I do consider this strategy to be weaker, this is more effective against weaker enemies (as why try to control them when you can just kill them) and can be more effective against singular, strong enemies (damage will always add up, but if the enemy passes the save against a control spell, you lost your action and a spell slot). If you’re going this route, you have a lot of flexibility in how you want to build your Sorcerer. Generally speaking, I would take a Charisma feat to 18 (usually Inspiring Leader), then at level 8 you either go straight to 20 Charisma or take a Constitution feat to get to 16 Constitution (I generally opt for Speedy), then you take the other one at level 12.

Not every potential multiclass is going to be mentioned as most don’t synergize well with Sorcerers, just the ones I would consider. Furthermore, these multiclass considerations are going to assume that Sorcerer is remaining your base class. For a more thorough breakdown on multiclassing, check out the link below.

The Ultimate Guide To Multiclassing in One D&D

Bard – C Tier – Easy to dip into as you will naturally have good Charisma, you just don’t get too much from it. On the bright side, getting Light Armor proficiency and some solid spells like Healing Word (a big draw) and Faerie Fire (less exciting), a bit of Bardic Inspiration, and an additional level can make you really good at a lot of skill checks. All of these things are decent, but none of them are super exciting.

Cleric – A Tier – Having at least 13 Wisdom is no big deal, especially when you don’t need a decent Dexterity score going this route! Heavy armor proficiency and shield proficiency is huge for Sorcerers as you go from a pitiful AC (unless you’re a Draconic Sorcerer, then it’s probably alright) to an extremely high AC. Furthermore, you get access to a bunch of spells that Sorcerers normally wouldn’t get access to like Bless and Healing Word to give you even more versatility than you would normally get.

Druid – A Tier – Another excellent multiclass choice, it’s just a bit more awkward to have the 13 Wisdom as you need at least 14 Dexterity to get the most out of this multiclass. If you can manage both, Druid gives you medium armor and shield proficiency which is great, but obviously weaker than Cleric’s heavy armor proficiency. However, where Druids excel is the spells you get. Your cantrips options are better than Clerics, and your 1st level spell options are way better and you get a bunch of them with just one Druid level as you can pick up Entangle, Goodberry, and Healing Word as excellent spell options. I would probably give a slight edge to Clerics still, but both this and Cleric are excellent options.

Fighter – B Tier – The Fighter multiclass is classic as you get heavy armor proficiency, shield proficiency, Second Wind, a Fighting Style (if you aren’t going for some sort of melee build, the Defense style is obviously great), and Weapon Mastery if that’s relevant to you (it won’t be in 99% of cases). For an additional level, you can get Action Surge which is obviously an excellent ability, but less good now that you are limited to one leveled spell per turn. These are some excellent benefits, but it’s definitely not free. First off, Fighter doesn’t contribute to your spellcasting level so you are slowing down your spell progression going this route. Second, you’ll need at least 13 Strength (not happening on your average Sorcerer) or Dexterity (obviously reasonable) to multiclass in, but if you decide to use Heavy Armor, your Dexterity is going to be wasted.

Paladin – B Tier – Enabling the famous “Sorcadin” build, multiclassing into Paladin gives you the armor proficiencies you want, the excellent Aura of Protection at level 6, and half progression for spellcasting. While I did say that Sorcerer is going to be your base class for the purposes of these rankings, if you were going this route, I would probably start Paladin, get to level 6-8 depending on your subclass, then go into Sorcerer for better spellcasting progression (as the 13 Charisma requirement obviously won’t be an issue).

Warlock – D+ Tier – Similar to Bard, this would be easy to jump into since both Sorcerers and Warlocks care about Charisma, but it’s awkward as you don’t get inherent armor proficiencies. Furthermore, this doesn’t give you any progression towards your spellcasting making each level you put into Warlock a real detriment towards your casting. However, you getting a level or two into Warlock does give you Eldritch Invocations which are extremely powerful, especially just one level giving Agonizing Blast which makes your cantrips much stronger (and access to Eldritch Blast if you want it). Not a terrible dip as Eldritch Invocations are so strong, but definitely not a great one.

Aberrant Sorcery Sorcerer Build Guide: Gifted with psionic powers, Aberrant Mind Sorcerers have some of the most unique abilities amongst spellcasters as well as access to fantastic spells.

Clockwork Sorcery Sorcerer Build Guide: With a focus on Order, this excellent subclass takes Sorcerer a bit more in the support direction with powerful CC abilities and access to support spells.

Divine Soul Sorcerer Build Guide: Born of a divine bloodline, these Sorcerers get access to both their normal spell list and the Cleric spell list!

Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer Build Guide: With a dragon ancestor somewhere in their family tree, these sorcerers channel their ancestry through tougher skin and affinity to elemental damage.

Shadow Magic Sorcerer Build Guide: Gaining mastery over the shadows, this subclass has extremely unique and powerful features centered around darkness.

Wild Magic Sorcerer Build Guide: Not able to contain the magic in their own bodies, Wild Magic is a chaotic and fun subclass where truly anything can happen!

While half of the subclasses get additional spells, the three that don’t are the clear winners here. You give up additional spells for raw power as the top 3 subclasses all boast some pretty strong abilities, with the top two both having an S rank ability in there. Remember, even though the bottom 3 subclasses have way more abilities, having fewer stronger abilities will supersede numerous weaker abilities. To that end, removing the ability to swap spells from the Aberrant and Clockwork spell lists hit those classes particularly hard propelling them from excellent options to the worse ones available (but both are still solid, don’t let the ranking fool you).

1. Wild Magic – A+ Tier
2. Divine Soul – A Tier
3. Shadow Magic – B+ Tier
4. Draconic – B+ Tier
5. Clockwork – B Tier
6. Aberrant – B Tier

Aberrant Mind

Telepathic Speech (Level 3) – D Tier – Not terrible, but in what situation is a telepathic communication that: only works between two people, you need to share a language, and it only lasts minutes when you can be miles from each other AFTER they were within 30 feet of you? I’m not saying this will never come up, but this is pretty specific.

Cantrips and 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Pretty bad options here unfortunately as I’m not excited about any of these? Will you ever use them? There’s a chance, but I wouldn’t count on it.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Two very niche options that I wouldn’t be excited to cast even when the situation called for it.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C Tier – Finally you at least get some alright options. These aren’t better than your naturally prepared spells, but you will probably use them at some point.

Psionic Sorcery (Level 6) – B+ Tier – The ability to do a 1 to 1 sorcery point to spell slot trade is pretty nice, and to be able to spellcast without any components is really sneaky and can be good for both in and out of combat situations.

Psionic Defenses (Level 6) – C- Tier – Not a bad ability, but pretty niche as only so many enemies use charm or frighten effects against you.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C+ Tier – Black Tentacles is quite solid and I could see casting it over some of your 4th level options. Summon Aberration can be alright, but not exciting.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C Tier – Telepathic Bond is a nice pick up, but Telekinesis was already a Sorcerer option and not really better than the alternatives.

Revelation in Flesh (Level 14) – A- Tier – This ability is pretty cheap to activate and has a lot of nice potential features, so I’m a fan. If nothing else, spending a Bonus Action and Sorcery Point for Flying every fight would already make this ability quite good.

Warping Implosion (Level 18) – D+ Tier – This ability isn’t bad, but in most scenarios, I would rather just Misty Step. The damage is too low to justify using a full action or reusing this ability for 5 sorcery points. You get a free cast a day which you can use, but again, I’d almost always rather Misty Step.

Clockwork Sorcery

Restore Balance (Level 3) – C Tier – This feature is super weird, but it can be helpful from time to time as advantage/disadvantage on average equals roughly -/+ 4 to a roll.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Two niche, but fine options. Alarm you’ll get more use out of as you can just cast it before any rest, but you generally won’t get much warning even with this, you may just avoid being surprised.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – B+ Tier – Two good spells that Sorcerers never generally have access to.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C- Tier – Dispel Magic is obviously great, but you would’ve taken it anyway so it’s just an additional prepared spell. Protection from Energy is much worse than Absorb Elements, but if your table isn’t playing with Tasha’s or Xanathar’s stuff, then this can be helpful

Bastion of Law (Level 6) – B- Tier – This is not the greatest use of sorcery points, but it is like giving out temporary health without it literally being temporary health considering it lasts until long rest. That has to mean something as getting temporary health from something like Inspiring Leader and using this will make someone really tough to put down.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D+ Tier – You aren’t going to be casting either spell often, if ever, but neither spell is terrible.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – S- Tier – These spells are incredible, especially Wall of Force. Greater Restoration isn’t a spell I would normally be excited about, but it both being unique to Sorcerers and it being a free spell preparation makes this much stronger than it normally would be.

Trance of Order (Level 14) – D+ Tier – I’m just not feeling this ability. Enemies not having advantage against you can be relevant if you’re knocked prone and can’t get up for some reason, but having a minimum of 10 on any d20 test is unlikely to help you at this point as spell save DCs and ACs will be pretty high at this point. If you have to pass a series of skill checks, then maybe this is reasonable, but that’s obviously pretty specific.

Clockwork Cavalcade (Level 18) – B Tier – This ability is pretty cool as the healing alone would make this pretty reasonable. The other two effects may not come up, but trading your action for 100 free health is a solid trade.

Divine Soul

Divine Magic (Level 3) – S Tier – Working off of two spell lists is really incredible, just ask the Bard.

Favored by the Gods (Level 3) – B+ Tier – You don’t get this often, but this is a really nice feature to avoid some real nastiness.

Empowered Healing (Level 6) – C- Tier – Super niche, but can be nice if you or an ally really low roll a healing spell.

Angelic Form (Level 14) – A+ Tier – You can just fly now, that is extremely good.

Unearthly Recovery (Level 18) – A- Tier – This is like a super charged short rest and only takes your bonus action to activate!

Draconic Sorcery

Draconic Resilience (Level 3) – A- Tier – More health and a better version of the typical Unarmored Defense is very solid! In one level, you’ll probably have an AC of 17 which is obviously much better than the average Sorcerer AC.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Chromatic Orb is great, but you would’ve grabbed that anyway so it just frees up a prepared spell slot. Command isn’t good yet, but it can be reasonable when upcasted so there is some value in getting it.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Neither spell I would be excited casting, but they aren’t useless.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – B Tier – Two very solid spells. You already had access to both, but being able to prepare more 3rd level spells is always a good thing as there are a lot of excellent options.

Elemental Affinity (Level 6) – B+ Tier – This is a great ability as Resistance and additional damage is a real one, two punch, especially if you chose a more common element like Fire to be resistant to.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C+ Tier – Arcane Eye is a solid pick up, but Charm Monster sucks. Can’t win them all.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C+ Tier – Legend Lore sucks, but Summon Dragon is a solid summoning spell.

Dragon Wings (Level 14) – B+ Tier – Getting Flying is awesome and the Sorcery Point cost to rebuy this isn’t too bad either, so this is definitely solid even if it’s weaker than its previous version.

Dragon Companion (Level 18) – B- Tier – One free casting of Summon Dragon that doesn’t require concentration is solid for this level, but always being able to cast it without concentration at the expense of its duration is a pretty solid ability. Upcasting this to 8th level and then casting a different concentration spell on your next turn is a pretty strong sequence!

Shadow Sorcery

Eyes of the Dark (Level 3) – B+ Tier – Long range darkvision is nice, but being able to cast a Darkness you can see through is really strong. You do need a team to more or less build around this for the full effectiveness otherwise they’ll be blind as well, but if you do build around this, this can be really strong in most fights.

Strength of the Grave (Level 3) – B Tier – Staving off unconsciousness is really nice, but the DC is only going to get harder and harder to pass as you level up as it’s based on damage taken and not how much damage over an enemy did to you. Still, any effect that lets you keep fighting when you should go down is generally quite good.

Hound of Ill-Omen (Level 6) – B+ Tier – This ability is quite good for messing up an enemy as this dog can attack a target and give them disadvantage on all of your spells. If you need, you can summon multiple of these hounds as well to get multiple enemies or just really bully one!

Shadow Walk (Level 14) – A Tier – While limited to dim light or darkness, free teleportation is free teleportation.

Umbral Form (Level 18) – B- Tier – You should not be in the line of fire normally so the resistance to damage is just alright, but no free activation of this really hurts as it’s a lot of sorcery points to activate, and for just damage resistance, that is not a great deal. This is still good in a pinch, but I’m not excited by it.

Wild Magic

Wild Magic Surge (Level 3) – A+ Tier – While the old Wild Magic table was much more about being chaotic and fun, this table is much more powerful. With a 68% chance of getting an actively good effect or an 84% chance of receiving a good or neutral effect, most of the time, you are getting a nice addition to your spells.

Tides of Chaos (Level 3) – S- Tier – So you get advantage on any d20 test and you get to roll on the Wild Magic table when you cast a spell? This ability is obscenely good.

Bend Luck (Level 6) – B Tier – This won’t come up often, but when an average of 2.5 can really affect the outcome of an action, this is nearly free to use.

Controlled Chaos (Level 14) – A+ Tier – Wild Magic Surge is good and now you can mitigate rolling a bad or even neutral roll. Now the odds of you getting a bad effect is 2.5% versus 16% which is obviously a much nicer figure.

Tamed Surge (Level 18) – B Tier – Getting a free magical effect is nice, but only once per day does limit its usefulness. This is still a good ability regardless.