War Cleric Build Guide – Master of Life and Death – 2024 Update

For all D&D guides on Nat1gaming, they only use the main sourcebooks (Player’s Handbook, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Xanathar’s Guide to Everything) as well as Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos (mostly for Silvery Barbs) as those tend to be the most commonly used books at tables. Always be sure that if you’re following a guide that you’re adhering to your tables rules about what sourcebooks you are allowed to follow.

Any spell, class, feature, or other game item that is linkable on this website is covered by the 5th edition Open Games License and will be in the Player’s Handbook, but not everything in the Player’s Handbook will be linked to. All other materials that aren’t linked to are from other sourcebooks or aren’t allowed to be linked to per the 5th Edition Open Games License, so please refer to the appropriate sourcebooks for that information.

For the purposes of this guide, it will be assumed that you would not be multiclassing. While multiclassing can be excellent for many of these, this is for those who want to play the build all the way through in the same class. Guides that use multiclassing will be separate from these.

For spellcasters, you may notice substantial overlap between the spell lists of builds with the same base class. This is due to each guide utilizing a generically good spell list and not considering extenuating factors that will influence how you particularly sculpt your spell list. When creating your own spell list, you should take into account the campaign setting, what spells any other party members are capable of casting, potential overlap (ritual spells tend to overlap so it’s rare you need multiple people capable of casting them), or potential shortcomings in the parties total spell list. While this guide can definitely help point you in the right direction for crafting a spell list, you should use your judgement and preferences to figure out what spells make the most sense for your character.

To that end, please refer to the Spell List and Spell Tier list for any substitutions you’d want to make to the build.

The Complete Cleric Spell List

Cleric Spell Tier List – The Best Cleric Spells

War Domain Clerics are for players who want to play a heavy armored spellsword, plain and simple. While the Bladesinger would likely be considered the best gish fullcaster, they don’t get the simple pleasure of HEAVY ARMOR AND SHIELD. There’s something comforting about being behind a metal skin.

In totality, War Domain offers a lot of versatility in how to approach combat as you are a solid martial class with all the casting capabilities of a Cleric. Interestingly enough, I would argue that despite this class functioning as a decent frontliner, this class works best when you have a lot of martial allies as well making this a great choice for larger parties or parties with just one dedicated caster.

Channel Divinity: Guided Strike (Level 3) – B- Tier – While this is mainly helpful on those who hit like a truck with one attack or when an enemy is really low on health, converting a miss into a hit is still a reasonably powerful ability

War Priest – B- Tier – This is a really good ability early when you have less to do with your bonus action, but as you level up, this gets weaker. Still, this is a very solid ability overall.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – Two solid spells, but both are options you can just pick up normally.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Magic Weapon is not a particularly exciting spell, but Spiritual Weapon is solid, but again, you could’ve just grabbed this yourself no problem.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C+ Tier – Once again, you get two solid spells, but at least Crusader’s Mantle is not a spell you could normally get for Clerics.

War God’s Blessing (Level 6) – D Tier – Using a Channel Divinity just for +2 AC or a base Spiritual Weapon may be acceptable early, but it is not going to scale well at all. I would much rather save my charges for Guided Strike.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D Tier – Two very mediocre spells, even if Fire Shield isn’t part of the Cleric spell list.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – B- Tier – Two pretty solid spells and both are unique to Cleric! Steel Wind Strike, in particular, is a nice pick up.

Avatar of Battle (Level 17) – B- Tier – The ability is good, it just comes really late as Barbarian’s get this with their Rage normally. Still a strong ability.

The Ultimate 2024 One D&D Subclass Tier List

DnD 2024 Class and Subclass Tier List Breakdown

Level	Class Features/Feat	Notes
1	Spellcasting, Divine Order (Thaumaturge)	+ Guidance + Light + Sacred Flame + Toll the Dead + Bless + Detect Magic + Guiding Bolt + Healing Word
2	Channel Divinity (x2)	+ Command
3	War Domain, Bonus Proficiency, War Priest, War Domain Spells, Channel Divinity: Guided Strike	– Guiding Bolt + Guiding Bolt (War) + Protection from Evil and Good + Shield of Faith (War) + Aid + Magic Weapon (War) + Spiritual Weapon (War)
4	Feat: War Caster (WIS)	+ Word of Radiance + Augury
5	Sear Undead	+ Aura of Vitality + Crusader’s Mantle (War) + Revivify + Spirit Guardians (War)
6	Channel Divinity (x3), War God’s Blessing	+ Dispel Magic
7	Blessed Strikes (Potent Spellcasting)	+ Banishment + Fire Shield (War) + Freedom of Movement (War)
8	Feat: Resilient (CON)	+ Divination
9	–	+ Commune + Greater Restoration + Hold Monster (War) + Steel Wind Strike (War)
10	Divine Intervention	+ Thaumaturgy + Summon Celestial
11	–	+ Heal
12	Feat: Wisdom to 20	None
13	–	– Bless + Conjure Celestial + Plane Shift
14	Improved Blessed Strikes	None
15	–	+ Holy Aura
16	Feat: Heavy Armor Master (CON)	None
17	Avatar of Battle	+ Mass Heal
18	Channel Divinity (x4)	+ Antimagic Field
19	Epic Boon: Boon of Fate	+ Gate
20	Greater Divine Intervention	+ True Resurrection

Not seeing the build you would want from this guide? This article can help!

The Ultimate One D&D Cleric Guide – Mastering Clerics

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Species: Human

Attributes:

	POINT BUY
STRENGTH	15
DEXTERITY	8
CONSTITUTION	15 (+1 background) = 16
INTELLIGENCE	8
WISDOM	15 (+2 background) = 17
CHARISMA	8

Class: Cleric

Class Features: Spellcasting, Divine Order (Protector)

Skill Proficiencies: Insight, Medicine, and Perception (Human)

Background: Farmer

Human Feat: Musician (or Alert if two or more party members have Musician)

Starting Equipment: Mace, Scale Mail, Explorer’s Pack, a Shield, Holy Symbol, and 30gp + 50gp from background

Starting Spells:

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt
1st Level Spell	Healing Word

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Species: Human

Humans are simple – you get an extra Origin feat, Heroic Inspiration each long rest, and an extra skill. This is a great species for those who didn’t get their origin feat of choice with their background.

Human Feat: Musician (or Alert)

Musician is an excellent feat that at least one party member should have, if not two. However, if your team doesn’t need a Musician, Alert is an excellent backup.

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Attributes

	POINT BUY
STRENGTH	15
DEXTERITY	8
CONSTITUTION	15 (+1 background) = 16
INTELLIGENCE	8
WISDOM	15 (+2 background) = 17
CHARISMA	8

Every heavy armor Cleric is going to need Constitution and Wisdom buffed as much as possible and 15 Strength so you can wear the heaviest of armors.

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Proficiencies: Insight, Medicine, and Perception (Human)

Solid proficiencies for Cleric as they’re all Wisdom based skills.

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Background: Farmer

The best background for Clerics as it gives Constitution and Wisdom on top of the best Origin feat that you can get with this attribute split.

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Starting Equipment – Mace, Scale Mail, Explorer’s Pack, a Shield, Holy Symbol, and 30gp + 50gp from background

Standard Cleric fare if you aren’t going Protector. If you are, swap out Scale Mail for Chain Mail and 25 of your gold.

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Class – Cleric

Starting out, Clerics get two abilities – Spellcasting and Divine Order (Thaumaturge).

Spellcasting is pretty much the same as the other full casters and will be expounded on in other sections.

Divine Order lets you choose between Protector and Thaumaturge. Protection gives you heavy armor and martial weapon proficiency and Thamaturge gives you an additional cantrip and the ability to add your WIS modifier to Arcana and Religion checks. While I would normally always pick Protector, even for subclasses that get heavy armor proficiency so you also have martial weapon proficiency, you may as well pick Thaumaturge here as War gives you both proficiencies in a few levels. However, if you know you might be level 1 or 2 for a substantial amount of time, picking up Protector may still be worth it just so you have a higher AC in the interim and you get to start with Chain Mail. This is completely up to you as having better skills and an extra cantrip is not that exciting. If you decide to go Protector, take out one of the attack cantrips.

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Starting Spells

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt
1st Level Spell	Healing Word

This is going to be an extremely standard spell list for a level one Cleric. You have good cantrips and versatile level one spells with varying effects with buffs, damage, and healing. Simple and effective.

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Level 2

Class Features: Channel Divinity (x2)

Spell Change Log: + Command

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt
1st Level Spell	Healing Word

Level two brings another spell, but more importantly, your Channel Divinity!

Your Channel Divinity brings two charges per day and two features to the table with Turn Undead and Divine Spark. Turn Undead potentially makes undead run in fear if they fail a WIS save which is a unique feature, but not always the most useful as this obviously only works against undead. Divine Spark lets you use your action to either deal or heal a little bit of damage. Definitely not great, but the healing can be helpful in a pinch.

For your spell choice, you can pick up Command. While right now it’s not a great spell as using your action and a spell slot to potentially rid one enemy of their action is not a good trade. However, as you get to upcast it, trading a spell slot and action for potentially ridding multiple enemies of their action is a much better deal. Save this for a few levels from now.

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Level 3

Class: War Domain

Class Features: Bonus Proficiency, War Priest, War Domain Spells, Channel Divinity: Guided Strike

Spell Change Log: – Guiding Bolt / + Guiding Bolt (War) + Protection from Evil and Good + Shield of Faith (War) + Aid + Magic Weapon (War) + Spiritual Weapon (War)

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)

Level 3 brings your subclass which gives you many abilities and new spells!

The first ability you get is the important heavy armor and martial weapon proficiency. Heavy Armor is way more important, but having martial weapon proficiency as well is definitely nice.

The next ability is War Priest which gives you a worse Extra Attack only a few times a day which is sad, but still pretty powerful ability for the early game. Maybe I’m crazy, but I think they could’ve just given this subclass an Extra Attack at level 6 instead, change this ability, and this subclass would’ve been much better, but what can you do.

Your next ability is War Domain Spells, and you get a bunch with Guiding Bolt, Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, and Spiritual Weapon.

Guiding Bolt is a solid first level damage option that gives the next attack against the target advantage which is pretty nice in earlier levels. It doesn’t scale the best, but it will be helpful for a few levels.

Shield of Faith gives you a flat +2 AC boost, which at level three, would give you a total of 20 AC (assuming Chain Mail and Shield are being used). That’s really good AC for the level and this can be helpful if you’re currently relegated to being the frontliner.

Magic Weapon makes your weapon magical and adds a +1 to damage and attack rolls. Not the highest impact spell around, and since enemies don’t have non-magical weapon resistance anymore, this spell is unfortunately even weaker than it used to be.

The second spell is much more exciting with Spiritual Weapon. Spiritual Weapon is a great combat spell that can deal solid damage, only costs a Bonus Action, and is relevant both in early and later levels. Just a great spell all around.

Finally, you get the War Domain’s Channel Divinity – Guided Strike. Simply you get to add a +10 to one of your or your allies attack rolls. This ability is less exciting than it seems, but can help to put enemies down a little bit faster which is definitely nice.

For your actual spell choice, you get to pick up one of (if not the best) second level spells with Aid! 15 temporary hit points spread throughout your team is pretty strong, and getting 15 more to work with for each upcast makes this good in earlier and later levels!

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Level 4

Feat: War Caster (WIS)

Class Feature: None

Spell Change Log: + Word of Radiance + Augury

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)

Level four brings a feat, cantrip, and new spells!

For your first feat, you absolutely have to pick up War Caster. Buffing your Wisdom to 18, getting advantage on concentration checks, and being able to spellcast when you don’t have two free hands is excellent.

For your cantrip, you already have the best ones, but Word of Radiance can be alright if you find yourself surrounded often enough. Since you may be getting into the fray relatively often, you should find ample opportunities to use this.

For this level, you can pick up a new spell with Augury.

Augury is a great spell to gather information as getting an answer straight from the DM can be invaluable depending on the question asked.

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Level 5

Class Feature: Sear Undead

Spell Change Log: + Aura of Vitality + Crusader’s Mantle (War) + Revivify + Spirit Guardians (War)

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)

For level five, your Turn Undead feature upgrades with Sear Undead. Now undead that fail the saving throw for Turn Undead take damage equal to your WIS modifier in d8s. While this is still a pretty niche ability, it’s much better than the Clerics old features.

This level brings two more Domain spells with Crusader’s Mantle and Spirit Guardians.

Crusader’s Mantle is like Divine Favor, but as a 30 foot aura. If you have multiple martial allies, especially those who can make a lot of attacks, then this can be a solid option. Otherwise, this is not going to give you the returns you’re presumably looking for.

Your next Domain spell is a Cleric staple – Spirit Guardians. This spell is egregiously good and really shines on tanky clerics as enemies will have a very hard time breaking your concentration on this. Walking up to a group of enemies, triggering this and then moving slightly out of the way so allies can shove them back into this is going to be a super common play pattern.

For your third level spell choices, you get two excellent spells immediately with Aura of Vitality and Revivify.

Aura of Vitality is a cool healing spell that can be useful in combat to keep healing your team, but out of combat, can be really potent. This will dole out an average of 70 points of healing over the full length of the spell which is really nice. If you want your team to conserve hit dice, you can use this instead to potentially help!

Revivify is a staple spell that can bring back a freshly killed friend back, but generally, that’s more than good enough. You want minimum one Revivify user on your team to ensure that nobody has to go down permanently.

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Level 6

Class Features: Channel Divinity (x3), Thunderous Strike

Spell Change Log: + Dispel Magic

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)

You get your third Channel Divinity charge for level 6 and your next subclass feature, War God’s Blessing.

Now you can use your Channel Divinity to either cast Shield of Faith or Spiritual Weapon without a spell slot and without concentration. While I do like getting free spells, these are not the spells you’d want for free. I’d recommend just saving your Channel Divinity charges for Guided Strike.

For your spell choice, you can pick up Dispel Magic, and since Clerics don’t naturally have Counterspell, this is the next best thing.

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Level 7

Class Features: Blessed Strikes (Potent Spellcasting)

Spell Change Log: + Banishment + Fire Shield (War) + Freedom of Movement (War)

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)

Level 7 brings a new class ability and more spells to the table.

Your ability for this level is Blessed Strikes which gives your melee weapons an additional 1d8 damage per turn (Divine Strike) or you get to add your WIS modifier to cantrip damage (Potent Spellcasting). At this point you’re almost certainly moving away from attacking with your weapon, so the cantrip improvement would be my choice.

For your Domain spells this level, you get to pick up Fire Shield and Freedom of Movement.

Fire Shield can be ok if you know you’re going to be facing a lot of fire or frost enemies, but is pretty unexciting otherwise as the damage it deals is pretty low for the spell level.

Freedom of Movement does exactly as advertised, and while you may not be using it often, it is nice to have on standby in case you are ever bound in some way.

For your actual spell choice, you can pick the best one available with Banishment. Banishment is a solid CC spell that can take an enemy out of the fight for the length of the spell, but if the enemy is an extraplanar being, you have a chance to send them back to their home plane if they fail both saving throws! This can obviously be helpful in campaigns with a lot of extraplanar enemies, but will still be good in your average campaign.

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Level 8

Feat: Resilient (CON)

Class Features: None

Spell Change Log: + Divination

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)

Level 8 brings a new feat and new feature!

Level 8 brings your second feat and this is a good time to pick up Resilient (CON). Getting more health on top of proficiency in constitution saving throws is really good for casters, especially in conjunction with War Caster.

For your spell choice, you can pick up Divination,

Divination is a really nice ritual spell which lets you ask a god or their servant a question and you’ll receive a truthful reply, even if it’s a bit cryptic. Free information is really powerful in D&D and generally underrated as well, so I like picking this up at this point.

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Level 9

Spell Change Log: + Commune + Greater Restoration + Hold Monster (War) + Steel Wind Strike (War)

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)

Level 9 brings you fifth level spells and the final spell additions from your Domain spell list.

For your final Domain spells, you get Hold Monster and Steel Wind Strike.

Hold Monster is a very high risk/high reward spell as, if it fails, you wasted your action and a high level spell slot to get nothing in return. However, if this manages to work, you stun the target which means your martial allies can bring them down extremely quickly. I generally don’t like spells with such swingy outcomes, but if you’re in a real pinch, this may save you.

Steel Wind Strike is a unique damage spell that is almost similar to Fireball, but with teleportation tacked onto it. Furthermore, this is a much better damage type than Fireball, so if you to put the hurt on some enemies, this is a great way to do it.

For your spell choices, you can pick up Commune and Greater Restoration.

Your first choice is the best Divination spell in the game – Commune. Unlike the other Divination spells, you get three questions rather than just one. This is a lot of information to gather and getting specific answers is extremely good.

Your second spell choice is a lot more niche, but still great, with Greater Restoration. While this is not something you’re going to cast often, it’s definitely invaluable when you need to cure conditions like exhaustion, petrification, or cursed item attunement. While these sometimes can wait, sometimes fixing this quickly can be extremely important and time sensitive.

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Level 10

Class Features: Divine Intervention

Spell Change Log: + Thaumaturgy + Summon Celestial

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial

Level 10 brings you a really unique feature in Divine Intervention. Now once per day, you can call upon your deity to get a spell effect that’s 5th level or lower without using a spell slot or any components. Even if it’s one free spell per day, being able to choose any lower leveled spell is extremely powerful as you aren’t limited to spells you actively prepared, giving you a much wider pool of spells to pick from.

You get your final Cleric cantrip now, and since you already have all the good ones, you just have to pick from what’s left. You can pick up Thaumaturgy as a crappy utility cantrip, but it’s better than nothing.

This is also a good opportunity to pick up a Cleric’s best summoning option – Summon Celestial. While it’s not the greatest at level 5, upcasting it to level 6 gives your summon more health, AC, and attacks making it a substantially better option and a sixth level spell in spirit!

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Level 11

Class Features: None

Spell Change Log: + Heal

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal

Level 11 brings sixth level spells!

For your spell, it’s hard to go wrong with the classic Heal. 70 flat points of recovery with some status recoveries is some solid in combat healing, even if it’s a bit pricey.

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Level 12

Feat: Wisdom to 20

Class Feature: None

Spell Change Log: None

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Bless
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal

Twelfth level brings your third feat and you can now max out your Wisdom for the strongest spells possible.

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Level 13

Class Feature: None

Spell Change Log: – Bless / + Conjure Celestial + Plane Shift

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal
7th Level Spell	Conjure Celestial
7th Level Spell	Plane Shift

Seventh level spell time and you can pick up really good ones with Conjure Celestial and Plane Shift.

For your first spell, you can pick up Conjure Celestial! You create a pillar of light that you can move for free to sear enemies while healing allies. In a tough fight, this can be invaluable as the hit point differential you can make with this spell is massive.

For your second spell, you can pick up the best teleportation option available to Clerics – Plane Shift. While you can’t use it for travel within the same plane, this can be a decent escape tool provided you aren’t in combat and you have the magic fork attuned to the plane you’re trying to go to. What’s nice about this, though, is that if you’re going back to your original plane, this doesn’t have a fail chance like Teleport would. In a real pinch, you can try to banish creatures with this as well making it rather versatile.

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Level 14

Class Features: Improved Blessed Strikes

Spell Change Log: None

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal
7th Level Spell	Conjure Celestial
7th Level Spell	Plane Shift

You get a somewhat new feature this level with Improved Blessed Strikes, and now you get some temporary health to dole out when you cast cantrips. Even just a bit of temporary health can go a long way.

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Level 15

Spell Change Log: + Holy Aura

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal
7th Level Spell	Conjure Celestial
7th Level Spell	Plane Shift
8th Level Spell	Holy Aura

Eighth level spells and you may as well pick the best one – Holy Aura. Granting advantage on saving throws and disadvantage on attacks made against those covered by the aura is really strong and makes your allies very hard to meaningfully hurt for the extent of the combat.

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Level 16

Feat: Heavy Armor Master (CON)

Class Feature: None

Spell Change Log: None

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal
7th Level Spell	Conjure Celestial
7th Level Spell	Plane Shift
8th Level Spell	Holy Aura

You get your final ASI and you can pick up Heavy Armor Master (CON)! Being able to reduce the damage of attacks hitting you can add up really quickly, especially since your proficiency bonus is quite high at this point.

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Level 17

Class Feature: Avatar of Battle

Spell Change Log: + Mass Heal

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal
7th Level Spell	Conjure Celestial
7th Level Spell	Plane Shift
8th Level Spell	Holy Aura
9th Level	Mass Heal

Level 17 brings your final subclass feature and most importantly, ninth level spells.

Your final subclass feature is Avatar of Battle which gives you resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing attacks which is going to be the vast majority of what you’re hit by. Even if this is akin to a Barbarian’s Rage which they get at level 1, this is still a strong feature!

For your spell choice, you’re going to pick up the best ninth level option available to Clerics with Mass Heal. Simply put, this heals 700 damage split how you choose, so this will be a full heal for every party member more often than not. In fights where multiple party members are heavily injured, this can easily turn the tide back in your favor.

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Level 18

Class Features: Channel Divinity (x4)

Spell Change Log: + Antimagic Field

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal
7th Level Spell	Conjure Celestial
7th Level Spell	Plane Shift
8th Level Spell	Antimagic Field
8th Level Spell	Holy Aura
9th Level Spell	Mass Heal

Level 18 gives you four charges of Channel Divinity and an additional spell!

For your spell choice, you can pick up Antimagic Field. While this isn’t a spell you’ll need often, having the ability to turn magic off when needed is really powerful.

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Level 19

Epic Boon: Boon of Fate

Class Features: None

Spell Change Log: + Gate

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal
7th Level Spell	Conjure Celestial
7th Level Spell	Plane Shift
8th Level Spell	Antimagic Field
8th Level Spell	Holy Aura
9th Level Spell	Gate
9th Level Spell	Mass Heal

Level 19 brings your Epic Boon, and it’s hard to go wrong with Boon of Fate. Being able to potentially turn a failure into a success and vice versa, even if it’s once per short or long rest, can be the difference between surviving an encounter and not.

Clerics have very few ninth level options, but in terms of versatility, your next best option is Gate. There are a lot of interesting uses for this spell, but one of the most interesting is the forced transport of a creature in a different plane from you, no save given. If you have an enemy that you know is hiding in a different plane, force them out. If they’re on the same plane as you, Plane Shift away and then gank them with a Gate spell.

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Level 20

Class Feature: Greater Divine Intervention

Spell Change Log: + True Resurrection

SPELL LEVEL	SPELL NAME
Cantrip	Guidance
Cantrip	Light
Cantrip	Sacred Flame
Cantrip	Thaumaturgy
Cantrip	Toll the Dead
Cantrip	Word of Radiance
1st Level Spell	Command
1st Level Spell	Detect Magic (R)
1st Level Spell	Guiding Bolt (War)
1st Level Spell	Healing Word
1st Level Spell	Protection from Evil and Good
1st Level Spell	Shield of Faith (War)
2nd Level Spell	Aid
2nd Level Spell	Augury (R)
2nd Level Spell	Magic Weapon (War)
2nd Level Spell	Spiritual Weapon (War)
3rd Level Spell	Aura of Vitality
3rd Level Spell	Crusader’s Mantle (War)
3rd Level Spell	Dispel Magic
3rd Level Spell	Revivify
3rd Level Spell	Spirit Guardians (War)
4th Level Spell	Banishment
4th Level Spell	Divination (R)
4th Level Spell	Fire Shield (War)
4th Level Spell	Freedom of Movement (War)
5th Level Spell	Commune (R)
5th Level Spell	Greater Restoration
5th Level Spell	Hold Monster (War)
5th Level Spell	Steel Wind Strike (War)
5th Level Spell	Summon Celestial
6th Level Spell	Heal
7th Level Spell	Conjure Celestial
7th Level Spell	Plane Shift
8th Level Spell	Antimagic Field
8th Level Spell	Holy Aura
9th Level Spell	Gate
9th Level Spell	Mass Heal
9th Level Spell	True Resurrection

Your final level up gives you Greater Divine Intervention, which is the Wish spell in a sense! Every week or so, you can entreat your deity to give you a Wish which is obviously super sick.

For your spell choice, this is a decent opportunity to pick up True Resurrection if you want it. It’s rare that you’re going to need this over the humble Revivify, and even rarer you’ll be in a scenario where it can’t wait a day, but you have it if you need it. Realistically, between this level and next, anything you pick here isn’t going to matter much as you’ve more or less exhausted every option you’d normally be interested in.