# What 2nd-level spells should any Wizard have?



## dcollins

Here's a poll I'm going to try to use to generate a "baseline" core Wizard's spell list. You can pick as many selections as you like.

Say you have a Wizard of about 5th level -- adventuring, PC or NPC, non-specialized, non-multiclassed, core rules only. He or she can prepare maybe 3 spells of 2nd-level. What spells should he or she prepare in those slots?

You can pick as many selections as you'd like -- I would suggest around 3. I've tried to narrow down the full list to about 20; feel free to choose "Other" and post the core-rules must-have selection that you think I left out.


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## Hypersmurf

No Glitterdust and no Web?!

-Hyp.


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## Elder-Basilisk

You missed False Life. Every wizard needs hit points.

You also missed Glitterdust (area effect blindness on a will save) and Web (low level battlefield control).

Glitterdust is probably the best of the bunch at the levels you're talking about though web is in the same ballpark provided that there are anchor points in the environment.

Scorching ray doesn't really get good until 7th level. Until that point, Flaming Sphere is often better.


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## Urbanmech

Alter Self is one of the most useful 2nd lv wizard spells.  Sure you can't fly with it anymore (unless you play FR) but it does allow you to breath underwater, swim, gain a +6 natural armor bonus and the list just keeps going on.


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## Thanee

I voted See Invisibility and Other (leave one slot free for utility). 3rd one would be any useful combat spell, probably.

Bye
Thanee


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## shilsen

My two favorite ones are Glitterdust and Alter Self.


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## Lord Pendragon

I picked _Alter Self_ and _Scorching Ray_, but I'd have added _Glitterdust_ in a second, if it were an option.  It's not only anti-_Invisibility_ but a replacement _Blindness_ as well.  Very useful.


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## The Souljourner

Glitterdust, Alter Self, and False Life!  Sure sure, scorching ray, whatever.  I'd almost rather have a silent, stilled, or widened magic missile.

-The Souljourner


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## Hypersmurf

The Souljourner said:
			
		

> I'd almost rather have a silent, stilled, or widened magic missile.




You can't Widen a Magic Missile...!

"You can alter a _burst, emanation, line, or spread shaped spell_ to increase its area..."

I convinced our party Conjurer to take Glitterdust at 3rd level.  We're about to hit 6th, and he still glares at me sometimes, because he hasn't cast it yet.

It's not _my_ fault if he can't find a use for one of the best 2nd level spells around!

-Hyp.


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## The Souljourner

Sorry... meant enlarge.... I couldn't remember which was which, since both sound like they increase the area.  You'd think they could have come up with a better name for a range increasing feat.

Glitterdust is *so* good.  If you don't cast it practically every fight, you're not using it right.  I had a character almost get killed pretty much solely because of that spell.  being blind *really* sucks.

-The Souljourner


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## tleilaxu

i'm not commenting on what is powerful or useful, but any wizard should be ashamed and shunned in the wizarding community if they don't know these:

invisibility :: see invisibility
arcane lock :: knock


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## Hypersmurf

The Souljourner said:
			
		

> You'd think they could have come up with a better name for a range increasing feat.




Yeah.  But 'Extend Spell' was taken, and while a couple of the design team tried to suggest 'Elongate Spell', the emails kept getting fried by Jonathan Tweet's spam filters...



> Glitterdust is *so* good.




_I_ know that.

The player seems to have a 'direct damage' mindset, though - inflicting a penalty so the tanks can chop someone up doesn't register as 'contributing', I think.  He wants to take hit points off personally.

-Hyp.


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## Ancalagon

Gliterdust is a good wizard spell.

However, as a sorcerer spell it is incredibly great.  It gives  you:

-a will save spell (with pretty dire consequences if it is failed)
-an area of attack spell
-a way to deal with invisible creatures

All that for just one spell!  This kind of versatility just can't be beaten.

Ancalagon


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## Liquidsabre

Wow folk don't like _Acid Arrow _ much? When you happen upon a creature with good SR there's nothing better than a spell that bypasses the thing's SR, such as _Melf's Acid Arrow_.


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## Al'Kelhar

The "one-hit-to-kill" spells (i.e. spells that take an opponent out of the combat, although not necessarily killing it): _blindness, glitterdust, hideous laughter, web_.  My specialist diviner/loremaster always has to take a divination, and both _locate object_ and _see invisibility_ are pretty useful; the former can be quite a versatile spell if used intelligently.  _Invisibility_ is good, but is overtaken by _greater invisibility_ at 4th, and IME the illusion school is frequently dumped by specialist wizards (it's dependent on the type of campaign you play, of course).

Cheers, Al'Kelhar


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## Thanee

Yes, Glitterdust is very, very good, but against an invisible target it often does not help, unless you have a way to pinpoint its location.

If you have, it's obviously better than See Invisible, but in general I prefer the latter for just being automatic.

I don't really like Alter Self much in 3.5, in 3.0 it was my favorite 2nd level spell, tho. 

Bye
Thanee


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## Al

You missed out Glitterdust, which seems to have received more votes as a 'write-in' option than many on the actual poll!

Not only is it handy against invisible opponents- at least as useful as See Invisibility (whilst SI allows more accuracy it only enables the caster to see the invisible opponent whereas Glitterdust makes them plain for all to see) but it's superior to Blindness/Deafness.  Of course B/D is permanent, but against most opponents you're only going to fight them in one combat so Glitterdust's duration should be easily long enough.

Of those on the poll, Mirror Image is the only must-have in my book.  Invisibility is extremely useful but rapidly rendered obsolete by Greater Invisibility, but few spells supplant Mirror Image, which can effectively guarantee victory against melee types (unless they have Great Cleave).


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## Hypersmurf

Thanee said:
			
		

> Yes, Glitterdust is very, very good, but against an invisible target it often does not help, unless you have a way to pinpoint its location.




10' radius gives you a reasonable margin of error, though 

-Hyp.


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## Li Shenron

I play a 6th level Sorcerer in a 3.0 campaign, so the question is not directly for me   but I know 3 spells: _Glitterdust_, _Invisibility_ and _Web_.

edit: however, I think no spell is 100% essential, and the selection really depends on which spells you have of other levels! I have _Lightning Bolt_ at 3rd, but I could have dropped that and _Web_ for _Scorching Ray_ and _Slow_.



			
				Thanee said:
			
		

> Yes, Glitterdust is very, very good, but against an invisible target it often does not help, unless you have a way to pinpoint its location.
> 
> If you have, it's obviously better than See Invisible, but in general I prefer the latter for just being automatic.




While this is true, I still prefer Glitterdust because (1) it lets everyone see the invisible creature, not just the caster and (2) when there are no invisible creatures around, you still have the blindness effect which is never wasted, especially in the Wizard's case


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## Darklone

I chose: 
Alter Self (multifunctional), Blindness (For the weak Fort dudes), Blur (against pesky sneak attacks), Tashas (for the weak Will dudes), Invis, Mirror Image, Rope Trick (you can't beat these three in their own field), See Invis... Resist Energy for later.

Scorching Ray and Melfs Acid Arrow are nice, but depending on your other damaging spells sometimes not necessary while it's always a good idea to have a scroll of the abovementioned spells at hand even if you don't prepare them.


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## Thanee

Li Shenron said:
			
		

> While this is true, I still prefer Glitterdust because (1) it lets everyone see the invisible creature, not just the caster and (2) when there are no invisible creatures around, you still have the blindness effect which is never wasted, especially in the Wizard's case



 Yeah. Best to have both, anyways! 

 Other advantages of See Invisibility include:

 - Pretty good duration, thus you can have it running during a dungeon exploration, for example.
 - Actual detection of invisible foes, while Glitterdust is just a means to fight them.
 - Divination school (which is probably the best school specialisation in 3.5).

 Glitterdust OTOH is (as Li said):

 - Useful against non-invisible targets!
 - Gives everyone the ability to perceive the target.
 - Area effect.

 So they are actually fairly different in application. See Invisibility is normally used to prevent being surprised by invisible attackers, while Glitterdust is used to fight them, once their presence has been spotted, which is mostly useful against Greater Invisibility (or Summoners ).

 Bye
 Thanee


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## just__al

In addition to the poll choices, I voted for glitterdust.  It's a good offensive spell (will save to avoid blindness) and it can reveal invisible opponents which is always nice.


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## diaglo

all of them.

however, it depends on the campaign when (s)he will use them.


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## Nail

No _Web_?  What were you thinking????  

Web is the best 2nd level spell, bar none.


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## Gaiden

My take on the wizard is that he should learn every spell he can get his hands on.  Also, for the wizard, obsolete spells are not a big deal because he can know as many as he wants.  (Granted this costs money, but my vision of the wizard is the old knowledge seeker, i.e. Gandolf).

I will also add in on the lack of Glitterdust.  It is an incredibly useful spell and is a must for any wizard or sorcerer.  Mirror Image is another one that any wizard should have.  This is the meaning of life and death at any level for melee combatants.

Web I have found is another incredible 2nd level spell.

I am surprised more people did not go for scorching ray and resist energy.  Scorching ray is incredibly powerful for a 2nd level spell.  Resist Energy I have found is better than protection from energy in many cases at higher levels and is still good at early levels.

Using the 3.0 original version of alter self, I find that it is an incredibly versatile spell as well.


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## Thanee

Gaiden said:
			
		

> I am surprised more people did not go for scorching ray and resist energy.  Scorching ray is incredibly powerful for a 2nd level spell.




Because Magic Missile is better than Scorching Ray within the boundaries of this poll. 

Yeah, Resist Energy is really good!

Bye
Thanee


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## Gort

Liquidsabre said:
			
		

> Wow folk don't like _Acid Arrow _ much? When you happen upon a creature with good SR there's nothing better than a spell that bypasses the thing's SR, such as _Melf's Acid Arrow_.




Yeah, but I keep mispronouncing it as _Melf's Massive Arrow_ which makes it sound too good


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## Pax

Glitterdust.  It's a Mass See Invisible *and* a status-attack spell, all in one!


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## JimAde

Web.  Gotta have it.  Stops foes AND lets you set them on fire.  Now how can that not be fun?


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## dcollins

*Results*

After 100 votes cast, here's the results ranked in order. Those within 50% of the top entry are listed in bold. Thanks for the write-in votes for spells such as _glitterdust_ and _web_.

*
65	Invisibility
45	Scorching Ray
45	See Invisibility
44	Mirror Image
39	Alter Self*
27	Knock
21	Acid Arrow
20	Rope Trick
16	Animal Buff (physical)
16	Resist Energy
15	Hideous Laughter
13	Glitterdust (write-in)
11	Blindness/Deafness
11	Blur
7	Animal Buff (mental)
7	Web (write-in)
6	Flaming Sphere
5	Touch of Idiocy
4	Darkness
3	Minor Image
3	Summon Monster II


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## Hannibal Barca

Glitterdust
Invisibility
Alter Self

Honorable Mention: Scorching Ray


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## Harmon

Endurance makes for a pretty good heal spell.  Your cleric is down to -5 hp give him a +4 to his con, now how many hp does he have?  Useful vs Con drains too.

For combat I like Melf's (who doesn't-? oh, wait spelled the wrong, nevermind   ) and Web.

I have a 10th lvl wiz that 90% of the time takes Invisibility.

Meta-ed spells are cool ideas too- Extend that Mage Armor, or something like that.  You can even get the idea of leaving empty slots for the utility spells.


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## Thanee

empty slot > ALL, anyways. 

 Bye
 Thanee


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## Falling Icicle

2nd level spells is where Illusion really shines. Two of the most useful and powerful low level Wizard spells, Invisibility and Mirror Image, are both 2nd level Illusions. Blur and Minor Image are also very useful.

And don't forget the new "must have" combat spell, Scorching Ray. False Life is also a no-brainer. If you have a spell slot to spare and don't know where to spend it, get False Life. More HP never hurt.


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## Doug McCrae

I can't believe Web wasn't in the oiginal list. It's the best 2nd level spell IMO. The poor man's fireball. False Life should've been in too. My necromancer's got a lot of use out of it, especially empowered in the 4th level necro slot.


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## ForceUser

Detect Thoughts (_Invaluable!_)
False Life
Glitterdust
Invisibility
Resist Energy (_This is a must!_)
Rope Trick
Scorching Ray
See Invisibility
Web

That's my list of mission-critical 2nd-level spells.


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## Testament

Scorching Ray, great attack spell.
Alter Self, fear the Troglodyte.
Glitterdust, anti-invisibility status breaker.


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## dcollins

Okay, this is a fairly old thread that was recently resurrected. The poll is deficient because at the time I thought there was a 20 item limit (first one I did). I'll be asking the Moderators to lock it down, and start up a new one with all the 2nd level spells as options. I hope to see how accurate this one was in comparison.


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## Morrus

Closed at dcollins' request.


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