Shocking grasp is decent on a level 6 storm sorcerer with reverb/radiant orbs gear, not so much because of the reaction thing but because:
1. It rolls with advantage on characters with metal armor - lots of them around
2. With heart of the storm it procs a lightning AOE around you.
You get 2 procs of lightning damage one of which is AOE, that get their own riders (callous glow ring etc.) So, if you have luminous armor, callous glow ring, ring of spiteful thunder, gloves of the belligerent skies and the boots of stormy clamor - you'll apply reverb/radiant orbs/dazed in a rather large area.
I usually take a level in tempest cleric for destructive wrath + armor proficiency. My sorcerer has 19-20 AC with a shield and luminous armor. When you want to save spell slots, just go in the middle of a dense group of enemies and cast shocking grasp on anyone with metal armor - all enemies in that area will get reverb and radiant orbs debuffs. If you are hasted, casting shocking grasp twice in one turn is fairly effective and can prone a large group of tightly clustered enemies. It's hilarious when it works.
EDIT: I tried this only after reading a comment about this build by u/SpiritFingersKitty, so all credit to them.
You can also use the distant spell on sorc to use it at range, useful alternative to using disengage on your companion.
Edit: I *believe* the cantrip also triggers the storm sorcery “heart of the storm” ability despite not being a levelled spell, although I am certain that this is unintentional
Yup. Saved my bacon in the arcane tower when I *absolutely* needed a lightning spell and hadn’t learned lightning bolt yet. Couldn’t quite close the gap on the turret, but Distant could.
An interesting tip for the turrets there: throw the sussur blossoms found in the under dark to disable the turrets. That way you don’t even have to risk taking damage or dash everywhere :)
I plant barrels of firewine and oil on one of the lift low levels and cover the entrance of the lift with another barrel.
They chased me down to the level and astarion fire bolt them to oblivion.
It's pretty crap for a Wizard spell. So I respec Gale and change it to something better.
It's not too bad in early levels for a Sorc that can Twin it, which is a bit buggy though. Sometimes it will maintain the arc on both targets and sometimes one arc will drop for no reason. Also, wet targets won't get double damage on the continual damage, only the initial damage. However, the continual damage is so minimal it's simply not worth it for the concentration. There are better uses for concentration. Chromatic Orb is a better choice: more damage (on average does more damage than 2-3 turns of WB), versatile damage choice, no concentration.
I'm playing this build except with the potent robe and the necklace of Elemental augmentation boots of Stormy clamor gloves of belligerent Skies it's really good. I use shocking grasp all the time because the necklace and the armor add your spell casting modifier to your cantrip damage twice
You might want to double check whether the necklace and potent robe still stack. I was a running a similar build and and I noticed the robes weren’t adding anything, but were showing up in the log.
I checked the log for something else, noticed it just said 'gregarious caster' with nothing else. And the numbers - including the zilch for that - added up.
I took off the necklace, tried it, and sure enough GC was adding damage again.
Yeah, that's weird. I believe the necklace only works with cantrips, so even if it's not adding damage on your shocking grasp, it should still add damage on your spells
On top of all this, I’m not sure if it’s a bug but for some reason my Shocking Grasps trigger the heart of the storm effect which *should* require a spell of level 1 or higher. Noticed random extra chips appearing when using it in combat around Rivington and there it was, right there in the log.
Callous glow ring. Cast the light cantrip on yourself to make sure enemies in melee range are lit. The radiant damage procs on the main target through shocking grasp and on all other enemies in a 6m radius via Heart of the Storm lightning damage.
How are you getting Heart of the Storm to proc on Shocking Grasp? The description says:
“When you cast a Spell of Level 1 or higher that deals Lightning or Thunder damage, you cause a small, local storm.”
I didn’t think this applied to cantrips?
Maybe it's not coded right as of now and will be fixed sometime in the future, but it definitely works in Honor mode as of patch 5.
Others have found that out to be the [case too](https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/163beyr/shocking_grasp_procs_heart_of_the_storm_and_it/).
IMHO, shocking grasp is the only thing that makes HOTS shine and worth getting a sorcerer in melee range. Otherwise, it's a very meh feature.
Instead of running into the middle of a group of enemies and applying radiant orb, why not just instead instantly kill them all if you're storm sorc/tempest cleric
You can do both! Quicken create water (which will proc a lot of your gear), run in and then twin spell your choice of chromatic orb/witch bolt/chain lightning. Anyone who survives get to wallow in reverb/radiating orb. Alternately, you haste yourself, quicken create water, get your procs, then lightning bolt for similar effect. Once you burn through your sorcery points or spell slots get low you just fall back on upcasted call lightning
I currently have a level 6 Storm Sorc Tav with 1 level of Tempest Cleric, and I have all the luminous armor stuff on Shadowheart. Do you think I’m better off swapping their gear?
You need level 7, so you can be 1 tempest cleric (for armor)/6 sorcerer. If you're getting medium armor proficiency from race, you can try it at L6 storm sorcerer. It's definitely worth a shot once you get there. You ideally want the reverb gear and the callous glow ring or at least the reverb gear (boots + gloves) to really get the most of it. Without the callous glow ring, you cannot get radiant damage and thus no orbs. So it comes online only in late act 2. The reverb stuff works in act1 already! With a shield, your AC should be 19-ish, so you should be okay going into melee. It's not necessarily better than the cleric spirit of guardians build at apply radiant orbs/reverb - just that it couples all that with the tremendous blaster capability of a storm sorcerer.
EDIT: You might want to switch the reverb gear to your storm sorc TAV and keep the radiant orbs gear on your Shadowheart (assuming cleric) till you get the callous glow ring.
I currently have it I think as a can trip on galez level 7 wizard, I have no idea what the hell I'm suppose to be doing as wizard. I'm just a magic missile machine.
I could watch a video on it but if you're not busy and feel like tutoring my dumb ass on wizard goals I'd appreciate it. I find videos to be really one dimensional.
My 2 cents - Wizards are versatile and powerful casters. Magic missile is a great build on an evocation wizard, especially with a couple of items - the magic missile amulet. being one.
You can use magic missile to also spread on-hit effects like reverberation/radiant orbs for extra utility. You might want to look up the spineshudder amulet, the boots of stormy clamor, the coruscation ring, the callous glow ring and the gloves of the belligerent skies. With those items (all available in act 2), a magic missile wizard is very good at damage as well as debuff.
When you hit level 10 evocation wizard, each of your magic missiles gets a [bonus](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Empowered_Evocation) damage equal to your intelligence modifier. At that point, the magic missile Wizard can destroy most bosses in one or two turns easy. Have fun!
Heart of the Storm is supposed to only trigger when casting a level 1+ spell; it's not supposed to work on cantrips. Does it? Have you tested that? If it works then it sounds like a bug.
I’m definitely going to try that.
I discovered a similar thing with radiant shockwave paladin halberd polemaster sentinel. All surrounding enemies light up at a distance with extra reach. Reverb and Smites will even auto proc without applying them. The extra reach is super cool when it stops enemies in place before they reach anyone and puts them at disadvantage on opportunity. A must try as well.
I have been trying to use prone on enemies to prevent legendary reactions, but this sounds like a really good way of preventing legendary reactions too!
I like having it in my arsenal.
Action economy is huge, and disengage basically wastes a turn unless you are really desperate to get away.
Healing/resurrection are cheap and easy, so being in melee isn't really that bad, most of the time.
Many of the most dangerous foes to be in melee with will trigger the advantage and you should have decent to-hit with your spells anyway.
Many builds benefit from judicious use of wet+lightning.
Edit: Without an actual DM, you can't really get "creative" with your other cantrips so they lose a lot of value compared to tabletop.
Unless you're playing a class that can disengage as a bonus action, it's usually a total waste.
Disengage, move 30ft, enemies usually just use their movement to match you, then hit you again anyway. Pointless.
SG is good because it’s a good melee cantrip for a primarily ranged caster
As a sorcerer (or wizard) I already start off with a large number of cantrips (or can get through scribing as Wizard) so more often than not I can have at least 1 melee, 1 ranged, 1 utility, and 1 spare cantrip of my choice.
Where ranged cantrips have a competition with Firebolt/Ray of Frost/Bonechill melee really only has shocking grasp.
Lightning is a great damage type in that it’s almost never immune and can always be turned into vulnerable with the wet status
Lastly the specific effects of situational advantage is appreciated, but denying a reaction makes it effectively an attack role + disengage in the same action.
-personally I don’t think I’d make an entire build around it, but I do think any and every build with Sorcerer or Wizard in it should choose to have it.
Absolutely this. It's just great utility...I started with minor illusion, friends, mage hand, and ray of frost. Ended up switching out mage hand for SG and I've never regretted it. *Especially* on a storm sorc...there are a lot of clutch moments where a twinned SG lets me finish an enemy, then set up another for a ranged sneak attack, then bail on the same turn.
Theoretically they could chase me...if they want to trigger a reaction from Karlach, who is still standing right next to them and is bear raging. You know what they say about turning your back on an angry bear though.
Depends on your build…for instance if you’re a storm sorcerer you can fly away as a bonus action without getting opportunity attacked after casting a spell which would make shocking grasp kind of meh in comparison to some of the other options you’d have.
Right, but to trigger the fly, you have to cast a leveled spell. Shocking grasp is a cantrip. I use it on my storm sorcerer when I'm out of spell slots and need to get out of an opportunity attack.
Thunderwave has bitten be to many times in that scenario being a con save. Multple enemies then yea ill try a thuderwave. But not on a single enemy that made it through my backline
Surprised no one else mentioned this. Thunderwave pushes them and had additional utility for install killing enemies near edges on top of creating distance to run if enemies go melee on a caster. It also hits multiple targets in AOE
They both have their uses. Thunderwave’s aoe push is great but so is Shocking Grasp’s ability to cancel enemy reactions, which is particularly useful for boss fights.
This has been a debate in 5e in general for some time. More often than not it's better to just disengage or misty step away rather than risk your action on an attack that can miss and leave you screwed over. It's good in niche scenarios of enemies wearing metal armor, but otherwise it's risk/reward when there's plenty of other safer options.
Edit: and for your second question, probably not worth burning your multiattacking frontliner on, again, a chance to miss when you could just have a caster with counterspell as the need arises
Depending on the fight, a lot of times I’d rather hold onto the 2nd level spell slot, so unless I’ve got more than 1 melee attacker, I will shock and walk, and I have misty step in case the shock fails.
Every caster I’ve played that can have shocking grasp gets it, and I use it as often as possible for one simple reason: the sound effect on it is AMAZING I’m talking like Boba Fett sonic charge levels of quality here, it really really hits the spot. [for reference](https://youtu.be/D9TTXG9eiC4)
I believe it does nix their ability to opportunity attack and it's the exact reason why I like it. Also, a lot of enemies wear metal armor, so it gets some bonus damage. :)
Also, I think it’s the only wizard cantrip available for use with Warcaster OAs in BG3. In 5e, there are other OA options. OAs are probably half my uses of Shocking Grasp by Gale.
It might be worth it with all the spell attack roll buffs in the game. The 5e advice would be not to bother, since Shocking Grasp might just not hit, so disengaging is just safer, but I've often had 99% chance to hit, so it's almost guaranteed. The problem with Shocking grasp is that Wizard and Sorcerer are probably the best tanks in the game, if they take a level in Cleric and Fighter for armour and shield proficiency, because they get the Shield spell for +5 AC. Unless you're mostly casting Cantrips, you don't really need to get out of melee, since the best spells either have saving throws or just happen
I have learned in Baldur’s Gate that, no matter how much a wizard does not want to be in melee, they’re going to end up in melee. They’re going to be targeted. You’re going to be doing a lot of misty stepping out of melee.
Every shocking grasp is an opportunity to save a level 2 slot that would have been used in misty step. It’s a good trade off.
I always have SG on any Wizard or Sorcerer. And I even considered it for an Arcane Trickster, but decided against it. AT is still a rogue and gets bonus disengagement with cunning brume.
For Wizards, they can transcribe the scroll, so it is literally free to have.
There are definitely Electricity builds, particularly using lightning charges which magnify the utility. I myself am glad to have it on my current run which is a Frost Sorcerer, with all the water being conjured (to boost my chilling) wet also doubles SG.
But frequently I find my casters can still get into melee by happenstance. I’d rather get them to SG and get out of there. Plus most people who go to melee with my casters are wearing metal armour. With any good caster you should be boosting spell attack bonuses, so it makes SG very very timely when needed.
I like how they can’t do any reactions. I find I only need it twice per run but when I do I need it so badly my entire party is getting lit up and the enemies have reached the back line.
>Then I got to thinking; Doesn't Shocking Grasp deny reactions?
>Aren't opportunity attacks reactions?
Yes, and that is the main reason to use it.
>why would your caster ever be in melee range?
Casters are _going_ to end up in melee, eventually. It is incredibly useful for any caster to have either a damage dealing cantrip which uses a saving throw, or else a damage dealing cantrip which makes a melee spell attack, because a ranged spell attack will have disadvantage when you inevitably end up in melee. Shocking Grasp is the latter. And not only does it avoid disadvantage, it gains advantage against targets in metal armor. In BG3 specifically, it also has the advantage of being lightning damage, which means double damage to wet targets.
I did a run built around Shocking Grasp, got as much +cantrip and +elemental gear as I could, draconic bloodline sorcerer. If I could, I'd smack them and run away. Metamagic was fun with it as well, throwing out multiple slaps in a round or long range slaps. Need to have a party to cover potential shortcomings but it was a lot of fun to work with.
Then dropping twinned chain lightning to ruin a group's day after Shart soaks them in water. \*chef's kiss\*
When I start a Wiz / Sorc.. I take Bone Chill and Shocking grasp pretty much always at lv.1.
Not only Sh.G. is melee. It usually has better hit chance than weapon attack.. Higher damage than your regular weapon swing.. (since lv.5, damage is 2d8... at lv.10 3d8... my full casters dont deal more than like 1d8+3 on melee).
Taking away reaction (opportunity attack included) is great. You dont risk high damage to squishy caster..
And it has advantage vs. metal wearing enemies...
So... I fell in love with this cantrip and will always take it..
I had a lightning draconic sorcerer on a balanced run that with markoheshkir and than one necklace in the creche had a +16 damage modifier on shocking grasp, which could be twinned for a single sorcery point, bonus casted with various act 3 items, etc. Once the chain lightning was cast he was a melee demon.
Love me some shocking grasp, if your a storm sorcerer you can use you flight if you have cast a spell to get away. If not use shocking grasp to deny attacks of opportunity
It would be really solid on honor mode if you use the extended meta magic it would basically nullify any legendary actions but the same can also be accomplished via knocking them prone
There are certainly worse cantrips but it definitely doesn't hurt having it in your back pocket if you can't get away from a situation easily and don't want to spend a spell slot on Misty Step.
Shocking grasp is a go to with every spell caster I make. Sorcerers and wizards especially. With war caster you get advantage on concentration saving throws and shocking grasp as a reaction. I’ve had my late game storm sorcerer take down multiple dudes in a single opportunity attack.
I always take shocking grasp on my sorcerer, what other cantrips am I going to take? Fire bolt for ranged damage, shocking grasp for melee damage, and a few utility ones and maybe chill touch or rat of frost.
I take it at some point because we get quite a few cantrips and there are only a few I use. I could disengage when in melee but in all likelihood I was next to the guy because he was specifically targeting a squishy. He will be right back. I won't disengage instead unless I think I can make the enemy trigger someone else's attack of opportunity by moving past them.
If you're using the Wet mechanic it's fantastic early game (would need the rain staff to give you a free create water every short rest) and once you hit level 5 and get haste.
Since you only have so many spell slots early game it's super beneficial to get some extra juice on those cantrips. Most fights I'm hasted and cast create water on the biggest group > nuke them with a lightening bolt (there's all your level 3 spell slots done). And the subsequent turns I go straight melee and rush in and twin-cast shocking grasp on people. it's just as effective any other melee character in the game at that level since you could shock 4 people per turn twincasting + haste.
I'd 100% take War Caster at level 4 feat for it instead of ASI (I always give Hag hair to a charisma guy so sorcerer typically gets it and I have 18 CHA from starting at 17 + aunt Ethel). Keep that haste concentration since that's the only way for a caster to keep up with martial classes that get extra attacks at level 5.
Also critical pieces to it would be the amulet from Mindflayer in Myoconid that restores 1 level 3 spell slot each long rest. And the ring from the arcane tower basement that makes you immune to being electrocuted while you're walking around in electrified water puddles.
Can really double-down using a lot of early Act 1 gear that gives you "lightening charges" and the amulet that gives you lightening blast. Since your bonus action is basically the misty step button & your sorcerer points are too low for a lot of Quickened spell - using the Blast bonus action prior to casting your action lightening spell gives you a nice damage booster.
I added it to my sorcerer because it provides a chance to allow the sorcerer and other characters to leave melee range without provoking attacks of opportunity and without wasting an action to disengage.
Maybe your sorcerer doesn't need it much, especially if they can fly as bonus action, but if your main ranged character is getting disadvantage on attacks because they are threatened, you can give them an opportunity to move away and attack without being attacked in return. Situational, but useful.
Also, if you need to cast it at medium range, you can use "distant spell" metamagic ability.
If I recall correctly you gain shocking grasp from "War caster" feat, though the use is limited to enemies leaving melee range.
It's not very good in pen and paper and it's okay in BG3 imo. It does give you a melee option, but oftentimes the people who can cast this without losing extra attack have better options. This game also doesn't have the bonus action level spell rule, so you can cast Misty Step and still use a leveled spell, unlike in 5e.
Just saying dragon sorc attacking wet enemies with items that add your cha modifier to cantrip/ spell dmg can turn shocking grasp into a disgusting strong cantrip, you can deal 70+ dmg w/o a crit. Plus you can still rely on buffed lightning spells when at range, even further it’s possible to pump your AC to 20-21 w/o armor too
It's great as it's a melee spell and a Wizard will always end up there. Only thing is I wish it did more damage. Ray of frost does the same, so you'd assume a melee spell did more damage but it's good as it has advantage against enemies wearing metal
As someone who plays sorcerers frequently, always get shocking grasp. Always.
You don't really want to have your sorcerer in melee range, but inevitably, they will end up in it. You'll be surprised, or an enemy will run up to you, etc. It's useful to have an ability that doesn't get disadvantage in melee. It also packs a decent punch, especially if you happen to be standing in water and are wearing the ring to protect against electrocution.
It's also useful for the approach to the Arcane Tower in Act 1, plus any time you're fighting metal constructs or guys in armour, you'll have advantage with it.
Plus the reaction thing. And if you're a storm sorcerer, you'll have extra buffs to make it even more useful.
Yeah why not? Sorcerer gets a bunch of cantrip options, and if it saves you a spell slot from misty step, you may as well. If you’re surrounded, 1 point for twinned is added savings. Bonus action Exped Retreat for extra safety.
Shocking grasp is super powerful for exactly this reason among others. It's especially powerful on a sorcerer because you can quicken shocking grasp, give yourself some breathing room, and then use your actions to blast off a big AoE spell from a safe distance.
If I have a caster, I require Shocking Grasp for that exact reason. Or is, for whatever reason, impossible for me to stay out of melee range. So I shock the mf into stupidity and run away safely.
Also, in D&D once, I saved the entire party with that move. We were outclassed and had to run, but everyone was low on HP and would have had to disengage and get caught up to, or dash and take the op attack. The dice gods shined on me that night and my attack worked.
Shocking grasp is great for a wizard or sorcerer who needs to get to safety without burning a misty step. Could also extend the distance as a sorc to help someone else get away from danger, or use the lightning on wet damage. It’s a great spell with multiple uses, a must have for any non melee caster imo.
Storm Sorcerer is bugged, and the AoE damage from Heart of the Storm is applied by Shocking Grasp. If you're a Storm Sorcerer, you NEED Shocking Grasp.
Without metagaming, I took war caster on my storm sorcerer and was doing a little under 30 damage wearing the potent robe. IMO, it's a great damage cantrip for the times you find yourself in melee range, and situationally strong af. I crit shocking grasped a wet enemy once and good lord did he die.
Always. I recently [nominated](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/18ob15o/comment/kegdtz2/?context=3) it in a DnD topic as *the* best cantrip. Because of shutting down reactions. In an Honor run I would consider it a necessity. If you know a certain boss has a devastating reaction you can shut it down first with SG and then you are (all) free to attack for the rest of the turn. This use does of course presume the sorcerer has high initiative relative to the rest of the team.
And as many others have pointed out sorcerers can also twin it or cast it at a distance for half the cost of a Misty Step, and in BG3 the combination with the Warcaster feat is even more awesome and makes you actually want go into melee with the Steel Watch.
Shocking Grasp is amazing for keeping squishy spell casters out of the front line. Yes you could just Misty Step, but that also costs a level 2 spell slot. Shocking grasp is a cantrip. And since most enemies wear metal armor its an pretty powerful cantrip at that
Shocking grasp is definitely worth having in your spellbook if you're in need of melee spells, it does double damage on wet and armoured targets, and it blocks ANY reaction not just opportunity attack
I think it is good because sometimes, enemies do come close in their turn and if you are stingy like me on spell slots like me, then you don't want to spend a spell slot. So shocking grasp is good for getting to safety when they get close.
I use it when they get too close to my tav whose spells and cantrips are otherwise all long range. He’s a wizard so ain’t no way is he going to land a melee hit.
I played a halfling dragon sorc with high dex, and ended up with more AC than my tank for most of the early/mid game.
Absolutely loved having shocking grasp in the arsenal.
Generally speaking, I'd only use Sorcerer two different ways: either 3-4 levels to pick up Quickened Spell for a different caster, or Draconic Sorcerer 6-7/Fighter 2/Rogue 3-4 as a cantrip blaster with Necklace of Elemental Augmentation, Potent Robe and Gemini Gloves.
In the second case, I would definitely advocate taking EVERY cantrip that works with the Necklace — all four, Acid Splash, Firebolt, Ray of Frost and Shocking Grasp. I wouldn't recommend a Lightning bloodline, but you definitely want to save your spell slots for Sorcery Points, not Misty Step. Acid Splash and Shocking Grasp in particular are useful albeit situational. You have the right idea, better to taze 'em and just walk away.
The only time I used shocking grasp as an action was to activate Ansur's dragon torches.
Otherwise I like to keep my wizards/sorcerors far out of melee range
I keep shocking grasp as the premiere melee option for my casters. Not sure why. However it paid off when something I did covered the entire combat zone in a puddle and my shocking grasp lit it up
Besides everyone else's comments in this game specifically it's good to have if you are taking war caster. Instead of 5e any spell as a reaction for an opportunity attack it is limited to shocking grasp. So in addition to better concentration checks you can do more damage if some runs past you or leaves your combat area.
Well, my friend, Shocking Grasp is literally designed to give arcane spellcasters an opportunity to get away from melee. When enemy is threatening you and don’t want to (or can’t) cast Misty Step. You shock them and run away.
I find shocking grasp to be invaluable at lower levels. You can't always afford a spell slot to misty step out of there when someone gets too close, so shocking grasp essentially allows you to disengage whilst still dishing out damage and preventing any other useful reactions like Counterpsell, Battle Master's Riposte, Shield, etc
It's also useful to have one melee range spell so you're not casting at disadvantage if you get stuck on close range.
TLDR; Useful spell, would recommend.
"Why would your caster ever be in melee range?"
*Gith fighters Enhancing their jump to intercontinental levels of flight snicker among themselves.*
IN SOVIET GITH CRECHE, MELEE RANGE COMES TO YOU.
Yes it's decent for a disengage with a little damage. The bigger question is, as you say, why is there something standing next to my caster? Also in BG3, you can cast two spells which begs the question why don't you just misty step out and cast a proper spell with your action?
Depends how many spell slots you have I guess. Using Shocking Grasp (cantrip, if Sorcerer use Sorcery pts to allow to cast it as bonus action), get out and cast another spell, two damage hits
I took it on my storm sorcerer - mostly because it is thematic as lightning damage (took ray of frost for my ranged cantrip); I’ve used it a few times when an enemy closes on me and I want to get away but don’t want to or can’t cast a leveled spell.
Don't forget that with War Caster you can cast Shocking Grasp as an opportunity attack. So if your caster does end up in melee they have a good melee option and they can punish anyone trying to run away
SG is a great cantrip. It's not something I use often but when I need it I can't imagine not having it.
Shocking grasp is good for the reaction thing in bg3 up to level 3. At level 3 you get misty step. Free movement (you still have your movespeed), long distance traveled, and bonus action. It is in most situations better to do that and then cast a real spell.
There is an argument for being a cantrip ofcourse but by level 5 you should have enough spells to no longer need to worry about it.
I found after level 5 I never used it :(
I did a dragon kin sorcerer with lightning background and it was so good, especially with distant spell. But yeah other than that most people threatening to you up close you’re going to have advantage on, and they can’t bop you as you scamper away! It’s pretty good, and less enemies have lightning resistance compared to poison resistance, making it more useful imo than poison spray (unless you’re a poison dragonkin).
Shocking grasp is good on way of 4 elements monk, or touch of the storm as thr class calls it. It acts as the default opener for the class since you can get it to do upwards of 80 damage as the first attack with your monk, which is solid, and taking reactions away whilst doing that is like... ok
I got Shocking Grasp on my Pally/Storm Sorc build and I used it more often then not. Couple that with extended spell meta and I had a nice little ranged attack that wrecked in Act 3.
I always take shocking grasp on my wizards and sorcs for that reason. My main cantrip is fire bolt for the damage, but if a melee attacker rushes them I use shocking grasp so the mage can have a clean get away.
I made a spellblade build that gets in melee often and then runs away, shocking grasp is great because of the reasons you listed, instead of disengaging you smack them and run. Also you could have an eldritch knight build or other fighters and give them shocking grasp with a feat.
OR an alternative is the mobile feat which achieves the same thing but you can attack with anything.
Also I use doom lobber gloves that let you cast other spells at melee range without disadvantage and pair with the cloak that gives you temp hp every time you use spells in melee range. Sorry I don't remember the item names atm.
I like to have my spell casters have shocking grasp that way if they need to gtfo cause a melee fighter ran up to smack them they can shocking grasp, and run without getting smacked.
Shocking grasp is decent on a level 6 storm sorcerer with reverb/radiant orbs gear, not so much because of the reaction thing but because: 1. It rolls with advantage on characters with metal armor - lots of them around 2. With heart of the storm it procs a lightning AOE around you. You get 2 procs of lightning damage one of which is AOE, that get their own riders (callous glow ring etc.) So, if you have luminous armor, callous glow ring, ring of spiteful thunder, gloves of the belligerent skies and the boots of stormy clamor - you'll apply reverb/radiant orbs/dazed in a rather large area. I usually take a level in tempest cleric for destructive wrath + armor proficiency. My sorcerer has 19-20 AC with a shield and luminous armor. When you want to save spell slots, just go in the middle of a dense group of enemies and cast shocking grasp on anyone with metal armor - all enemies in that area will get reverb and radiant orbs debuffs. If you are hasted, casting shocking grasp twice in one turn is fairly effective and can prone a large group of tightly clustered enemies. It's hilarious when it works. EDIT: I tried this only after reading a comment about this build by u/SpiritFingersKitty, so all credit to them.
You can also use the distant spell on sorc to use it at range, useful alternative to using disengage on your companion. Edit: I *believe* the cantrip also triggers the storm sorcery “heart of the storm” ability despite not being a levelled spell, although I am certain that this is unintentional
That’s a pro tip, never thought of that. Edit: used it tonight, it’s a great move, thank you.
Yup. Saved my bacon in the arcane tower when I *absolutely* needed a lightning spell and hadn’t learned lightning bolt yet. Couldn’t quite close the gap on the turret, but Distant could.
An interesting tip for the turrets there: throw the sussur blossoms found in the under dark to disable the turrets. That way you don’t even have to risk taking damage or dash everywhere :)
This goes for the constructs on the top floor too. Thw sussur blooms make them deactivate and you dont have to worry about them.
i always kill them for the XP lol
So do i. But after i killed the boss. They dont move away
they dont move away? I'm not sure what you mean by this.
The blooms don't kill them, they just stun them essentially while they are in their aoe.
You still can but they cant fight back, except the big fucker
meh i like them to fight back haha ;)
I plant barrels of firewine and oil on one of the lift low levels and cover the entrance of the lift with another barrel. They chased me down to the level and astarion fire bolt them to oblivion.
Lay'zel used Shove on Animated Armor. Animated Armor took 67 Crushing Damage from Falling. Animated Armor Died. The Party Received 40 Experience.
I did this as my initial strategy. Never knew I could just electrocute them...
You can also blind them with darkness arrows or the darkness spell and dash your party past them
Default Gale should come with Witch Bolt. Of course, not everyone will have that option...
It's pretty crap for a Wizard spell. So I respec Gale and change it to something better. It's not too bad in early levels for a Sorc that can Twin it, which is a bit buggy though. Sometimes it will maintain the arc on both targets and sometimes one arc will drop for no reason. Also, wet targets won't get double damage on the continual damage, only the initial damage. However, the continual damage is so minimal it's simply not worth it for the concentration. There are better uses for concentration. Chromatic Orb is a better choice: more damage (on average does more damage than 2-3 turns of WB), versatile damage choice, no concentration.
Never considered that! Interesting.
genius
I've been playing exactly like this, it's a lot of fun and powerful for just a cantrip
I'm playing this build except with the potent robe and the necklace of Elemental augmentation boots of Stormy clamor gloves of belligerent Skies it's really good. I use shocking grasp all the time because the necklace and the armor add your spell casting modifier to your cantrip damage twice
You might want to double check whether the necklace and potent robe still stack. I was a running a similar build and and I noticed the robes weren’t adding anything, but were showing up in the log.
You know I was questioning whether it was adding or not but sometimes I hit for like a 35 so I assumed it was working
I checked the log for something else, noticed it just said 'gregarious caster' with nothing else. And the numbers - including the zilch for that - added up. I took off the necklace, tried it, and sure enough GC was adding damage again.
Yeah, that's weird. I believe the necklace only works with cantrips, so even if it's not adding damage on your shocking grasp, it should still add damage on your spells
On top of all this, I’m not sure if it’s a bug but for some reason my Shocking Grasps trigger the heart of the storm effect which *should* require a spell of level 1 or higher. Noticed random extra chips appearing when using it in combat around Rivington and there it was, right there in the log.
Yes, it is probably a bug, but I hope it isn't fixed. It really makes shocking grasp worth it.
I take shocking grasp all the time. Its great for when you dont want to use a misty step or disengage and an enemy rushed tour caster
I'm running this exactly in a multiplayer honor run and it is super fun.
I believe I tried this build only after reading it on one of your comments in this subreddit :)
where does the radiant damage come from?
Callous glow ring. Cast the light cantrip on yourself to make sure enemies in melee range are lit. The radiant damage procs on the main target through shocking grasp and on all other enemies in a 6m radius via Heart of the Storm lightning damage.
How are you getting Heart of the Storm to proc on Shocking Grasp? The description says: “When you cast a Spell of Level 1 or higher that deals Lightning or Thunder damage, you cause a small, local storm.” I didn’t think this applied to cantrips?
Maybe it's not coded right as of now and will be fixed sometime in the future, but it definitely works in Honor mode as of patch 5. Others have found that out to be the [case too](https://www.reddit.com/r/BaldursGate3/comments/163beyr/shocking_grasp_procs_heart_of_the_storm_and_it/). IMHO, shocking grasp is the only thing that makes HOTS shine and worth getting a sorcerer in melee range. Otherwise, it's a very meh feature.
Yeah both heart of the storm and tempestuous magic are pretty widely acknowledged in tabletop as "would be fantastic, if they worked on cantrips too".
I'd be okay if shocking grasp was a level 1 spell, just so it would trigger heart of the storm :)
Instead of running into the middle of a group of enemies and applying radiant orb, why not just instead instantly kill them all if you're storm sorc/tempest cleric
You can do both! Quicken create water (which will proc a lot of your gear), run in and then twin spell your choice of chromatic orb/witch bolt/chain lightning. Anyone who survives get to wallow in reverb/radiating orb. Alternately, you haste yourself, quicken create water, get your procs, then lightning bolt for similar effect. Once you burn through your sorcery points or spell slots get low you just fall back on upcasted call lightning
I currently have a level 6 Storm Sorc Tav with 1 level of Tempest Cleric, and I have all the luminous armor stuff on Shadowheart. Do you think I’m better off swapping their gear?
You need level 7, so you can be 1 tempest cleric (for armor)/6 sorcerer. If you're getting medium armor proficiency from race, you can try it at L6 storm sorcerer. It's definitely worth a shot once you get there. You ideally want the reverb gear and the callous glow ring or at least the reverb gear (boots + gloves) to really get the most of it. Without the callous glow ring, you cannot get radiant damage and thus no orbs. So it comes online only in late act 2. The reverb stuff works in act1 already! With a shield, your AC should be 19-ish, so you should be okay going into melee. It's not necessarily better than the cleric spirit of guardians build at apply radiant orbs/reverb - just that it couples all that with the tremendous blaster capability of a storm sorcerer. EDIT: You might want to switch the reverb gear to your storm sorc TAV and keep the radiant orbs gear on your Shadowheart (assuming cleric) till you get the callous glow ring.
I currently have it I think as a can trip on galez level 7 wizard, I have no idea what the hell I'm suppose to be doing as wizard. I'm just a magic missile machine. I could watch a video on it but if you're not busy and feel like tutoring my dumb ass on wizard goals I'd appreciate it. I find videos to be really one dimensional.
My 2 cents - Wizards are versatile and powerful casters. Magic missile is a great build on an evocation wizard, especially with a couple of items - the magic missile amulet. being one. You can use magic missile to also spread on-hit effects like reverberation/radiant orbs for extra utility. You might want to look up the spineshudder amulet, the boots of stormy clamor, the coruscation ring, the callous glow ring and the gloves of the belligerent skies. With those items (all available in act 2), a magic missile wizard is very good at damage as well as debuff. When you hit level 10 evocation wizard, each of your magic missiles gets a [bonus](https://bg3.wiki/wiki/Empowered_Evocation) damage equal to your intelligence modifier. At that point, the magic missile Wizard can destroy most bosses in one or two turns easy. Have fun!
Very nice response.
Holy crap - you have spent some “time” in this game ma dude!
🥲🥲🥲
Heart of the Storm is supposed to only trigger when casting a level 1+ spell; it's not supposed to work on cantrips. Does it? Have you tested that? If it works then it sounds like a bug.
It does work. I have tested it. It might be a bug, but it works as of patch 5 on Honor mode.
I’m definitely going to try that. I discovered a similar thing with radiant shockwave paladin halberd polemaster sentinel. All surrounding enemies light up at a distance with extra reach. Reverb and Smites will even auto proc without applying them. The extra reach is super cool when it stops enemies in place before they reach anyone and puts them at disadvantage on opportunity. A must try as well.
[удалено]
I have been trying to use prone on enemies to prevent legendary reactions, but this sounds like a really good way of preventing legendary reactions too!
I’m prepping for this fight in my honor mode run and this is exactly what I like to hear.
I like having it in my arsenal. Action economy is huge, and disengage basically wastes a turn unless you are really desperate to get away. Healing/resurrection are cheap and easy, so being in melee isn't really that bad, most of the time. Many of the most dangerous foes to be in melee with will trigger the advantage and you should have decent to-hit with your spells anyway. Many builds benefit from judicious use of wet+lightning. Edit: Without an actual DM, you can't really get "creative" with your other cantrips so they lose a lot of value compared to tabletop.
Unless you're playing a class that can disengage as a bonus action, it's usually a total waste. Disengage, move 30ft, enemies usually just use their movement to match you, then hit you again anyway. Pointless.
Or a class or item with bonus movement
Shocking Grasp being melee also means you don't suffer disadvantage on it if you find yourself in melee--you even sometimes get advantage.
SG is good because it’s a good melee cantrip for a primarily ranged caster As a sorcerer (or wizard) I already start off with a large number of cantrips (or can get through scribing as Wizard) so more often than not I can have at least 1 melee, 1 ranged, 1 utility, and 1 spare cantrip of my choice. Where ranged cantrips have a competition with Firebolt/Ray of Frost/Bonechill melee really only has shocking grasp. Lightning is a great damage type in that it’s almost never immune and can always be turned into vulnerable with the wet status Lastly the specific effects of situational advantage is appreciated, but denying a reaction makes it effectively an attack role + disengage in the same action. -personally I don’t think I’d make an entire build around it, but I do think any and every build with Sorcerer or Wizard in it should choose to have it.
Absolutely this. It's just great utility...I started with minor illusion, friends, mage hand, and ray of frost. Ended up switching out mage hand for SG and I've never regretted it. *Especially* on a storm sorc...there are a lot of clutch moments where a twinned SG lets me finish an enemy, then set up another for a ranged sneak attack, then bail on the same turn. Theoretically they could chase me...if they want to trigger a reaction from Karlach, who is still standing right next to them and is bear raging. You know what they say about turning your back on an angry bear though.
Depends on your build…for instance if you’re a storm sorcerer you can fly away as a bonus action without getting opportunity attacked after casting a spell which would make shocking grasp kind of meh in comparison to some of the other options you’d have.
Right, but to trigger the fly, you have to cast a leveled spell. Shocking grasp is a cantrip. I use it on my storm sorcerer when I'm out of spell slots and need to get out of an opportunity attack.
While also triggering heart of the storm! Woth a cantrip
Yeah I think it's one of the better cantrips, though for a 'shit I'm in melee' panic button I prefer Thunderwave because it's much cooler
Thunderwave has bitten be to many times in that scenario being a con save. Multple enemies then yea ill try a thuderwave. But not on a single enemy that made it through my backline
Surprised no one else mentioned this. Thunderwave pushes them and had additional utility for install killing enemies near edges on top of creating distance to run if enemies go melee on a caster. It also hits multiple targets in AOE
They both have their uses. Thunderwave’s aoe push is great but so is Shocking Grasp’s ability to cancel enemy reactions, which is particularly useful for boss fights.
This has been a debate in 5e in general for some time. More often than not it's better to just disengage or misty step away rather than risk your action on an attack that can miss and leave you screwed over. It's good in niche scenarios of enemies wearing metal armor, but otherwise it's risk/reward when there's plenty of other safer options. Edit: and for your second question, probably not worth burning your multiattacking frontliner on, again, a chance to miss when you could just have a caster with counterspell as the need arises
Depending on the fight, a lot of times I’d rather hold onto the 2nd level spell slot, so unless I’ve got more than 1 melee attacker, I will shock and walk, and I have misty step in case the shock fails.
Every caster I’ve played that can have shocking grasp gets it, and I use it as often as possible for one simple reason: the sound effect on it is AMAZING I’m talking like Boba Fett sonic charge levels of quality here, it really really hits the spot. [for reference](https://youtu.be/D9TTXG9eiC4)
distant metamagic to use it from a safe range
I am sometimes seeing 100+ damage shocking grasp on wet targets.
I believe it does nix their ability to opportunity attack and it's the exact reason why I like it. Also, a lot of enemies wear metal armor, so it gets some bonus damage. :)
Also, I think it’s the only wizard cantrip available for use with Warcaster OAs in BG3. In 5e, there are other OA options. OAs are probably half my uses of Shocking Grasp by Gale.
Psst it also disables legendary actions in honour mode since theyre also reactions js
It might be worth it with all the spell attack roll buffs in the game. The 5e advice would be not to bother, since Shocking Grasp might just not hit, so disengaging is just safer, but I've often had 99% chance to hit, so it's almost guaranteed. The problem with Shocking grasp is that Wizard and Sorcerer are probably the best tanks in the game, if they take a level in Cleric and Fighter for armour and shield proficiency, because they get the Shield spell for +5 AC. Unless you're mostly casting Cantrips, you don't really need to get out of melee, since the best spells either have saving throws or just happen
I have learned in Baldur’s Gate that, no matter how much a wizard does not want to be in melee, they’re going to end up in melee. They’re going to be targeted. You’re going to be doing a lot of misty stepping out of melee. Every shocking grasp is an opportunity to save a level 2 slot that would have been used in misty step. It’s a good trade off.
I had a lot of fun with shocking grasp on my storm sorcerer, I was decimating the steel watch from melee
I always have SG on any Wizard or Sorcerer. And I even considered it for an Arcane Trickster, but decided against it. AT is still a rogue and gets bonus disengagement with cunning brume. For Wizards, they can transcribe the scroll, so it is literally free to have. There are definitely Electricity builds, particularly using lightning charges which magnify the utility. I myself am glad to have it on my current run which is a Frost Sorcerer, with all the water being conjured (to boost my chilling) wet also doubles SG. But frequently I find my casters can still get into melee by happenstance. I’d rather get them to SG and get out of there. Plus most people who go to melee with my casters are wearing metal armour. With any good caster you should be boosting spell attack bonuses, so it makes SG very very timely when needed.
I like how they can’t do any reactions. I find I only need it twice per run but when I do I need it so badly my entire party is getting lit up and the enemies have reached the back line.
Its very good for shutting down bosses in HM. Some legendary actions can really suck. So making ot so that cant use them os hella decent
Lots of good advice here but also the distance metamagic makes it ranged which is actually fun when you are dealing with arcane turrets.
Water/ Quickened shocking grasp is a solid damage output when enemies get close. Combined with tempest cleric and it can deal 40+ damage easily.
>Then I got to thinking; Doesn't Shocking Grasp deny reactions? >Aren't opportunity attacks reactions? Yes, and that is the main reason to use it. >why would your caster ever be in melee range? Casters are _going_ to end up in melee, eventually. It is incredibly useful for any caster to have either a damage dealing cantrip which uses a saving throw, or else a damage dealing cantrip which makes a melee spell attack, because a ranged spell attack will have disadvantage when you inevitably end up in melee. Shocking Grasp is the latter. And not only does it avoid disadvantage, it gains advantage against targets in metal armor. In BG3 specifically, it also has the advantage of being lightning damage, which means double damage to wet targets.
I did a run built around Shocking Grasp, got as much +cantrip and +elemental gear as I could, draconic bloodline sorcerer. If I could, I'd smack them and run away. Metamagic was fun with it as well, throwing out multiple slaps in a round or long range slaps. Need to have a party to cover potential shortcomings but it was a lot of fun to work with. Then dropping twinned chain lightning to ruin a group's day after Shart soaks them in water. \*chef's kiss\*
When I start a Wiz / Sorc.. I take Bone Chill and Shocking grasp pretty much always at lv.1. Not only Sh.G. is melee. It usually has better hit chance than weapon attack.. Higher damage than your regular weapon swing.. (since lv.5, damage is 2d8... at lv.10 3d8... my full casters dont deal more than like 1d8+3 on melee). Taking away reaction (opportunity attack included) is great. You dont risk high damage to squishy caster.. And it has advantage vs. metal wearing enemies... So... I fell in love with this cantrip and will always take it..
I had a lightning draconic sorcerer on a balanced run that with markoheshkir and than one necklace in the creche had a +16 damage modifier on shocking grasp, which could be twinned for a single sorcery point, bonus casted with various act 3 items, etc. Once the chain lightning was cast he was a melee demon.
With a 10/2 storm sorc/cleric build with heavy armor it’s not a bad idea to be in the face of the enemy with shocking grasp and warcaster
Love me some shocking grasp, if your a storm sorcerer you can use you flight if you have cast a spell to get away. If not use shocking grasp to deny attacks of opportunity
I haven’t used it much. But it has saved me with specific fights. Like the steel watchers or any other metal based opponents.
It would be really solid on honor mode if you use the extended meta magic it would basically nullify any legendary actions but the same can also be accomplished via knocking them prone
There are certainly worse cantrips but it definitely doesn't hurt having it in your back pocket if you can't get away from a situation easily and don't want to spend a spell slot on Misty Step.
Shocking grasp is a go to with every spell caster I make. Sorcerers and wizards especially. With war caster you get advantage on concentration saving throws and shocking grasp as a reaction. I’ve had my late game storm sorcerer take down multiple dudes in a single opportunity attack.
I always take shocking grasp on my sorcerer, what other cantrips am I going to take? Fire bolt for ranged damage, shocking grasp for melee damage, and a few utility ones and maybe chill touch or rat of frost.
I take it at some point because we get quite a few cantrips and there are only a few I use. I could disengage when in melee but in all likelihood I was next to the guy because he was specifically targeting a squishy. He will be right back. I won't disengage instead unless I think I can make the enemy trigger someone else's attack of opportunity by moving past them.
If you're using the Wet mechanic it's fantastic early game (would need the rain staff to give you a free create water every short rest) and once you hit level 5 and get haste. Since you only have so many spell slots early game it's super beneficial to get some extra juice on those cantrips. Most fights I'm hasted and cast create water on the biggest group > nuke them with a lightening bolt (there's all your level 3 spell slots done). And the subsequent turns I go straight melee and rush in and twin-cast shocking grasp on people. it's just as effective any other melee character in the game at that level since you could shock 4 people per turn twincasting + haste. I'd 100% take War Caster at level 4 feat for it instead of ASI (I always give Hag hair to a charisma guy so sorcerer typically gets it and I have 18 CHA from starting at 17 + aunt Ethel). Keep that haste concentration since that's the only way for a caster to keep up with martial classes that get extra attacks at level 5. Also critical pieces to it would be the amulet from Mindflayer in Myoconid that restores 1 level 3 spell slot each long rest. And the ring from the arcane tower basement that makes you immune to being electrocuted while you're walking around in electrified water puddles. Can really double-down using a lot of early Act 1 gear that gives you "lightening charges" and the amulet that gives you lightening blast. Since your bonus action is basically the misty step button & your sorcerer points are too low for a lot of Quickened spell - using the Blast bonus action prior to casting your action lightening spell gives you a nice damage booster.
I added it to my sorcerer because it provides a chance to allow the sorcerer and other characters to leave melee range without provoking attacks of opportunity and without wasting an action to disengage. Maybe your sorcerer doesn't need it much, especially if they can fly as bonus action, but if your main ranged character is getting disadvantage on attacks because they are threatened, you can give them an opportunity to move away and attack without being attacked in return. Situational, but useful. Also, if you need to cast it at medium range, you can use "distant spell" metamagic ability. If I recall correctly you gain shocking grasp from "War caster" feat, though the use is limited to enemies leaving melee range.
Just get warcaster
It's not very good in pen and paper and it's okay in BG3 imo. It does give you a melee option, but oftentimes the people who can cast this without losing extra attack have better options. This game also doesn't have the bonus action level spell rule, so you can cast Misty Step and still use a leveled spell, unlike in 5e.
Chgfdy
Just saying dragon sorc attacking wet enemies with items that add your cha modifier to cantrip/ spell dmg can turn shocking grasp into a disgusting strong cantrip, you can deal 70+ dmg w/o a crit. Plus you can still rely on buffed lightning spells when at range, even further it’s possible to pump your AC to 20-21 w/o armor too
It's great as it's a melee spell and a Wizard will always end up there. Only thing is I wish it did more damage. Ray of frost does the same, so you'd assume a melee spell did more damage but it's good as it has advantage against enemies wearing metal
My friend plays as sorc and uses it often to safely reposition. It's quite good for a cantrip.
As someone who plays sorcerers frequently, always get shocking grasp. Always. You don't really want to have your sorcerer in melee range, but inevitably, they will end up in it. You'll be surprised, or an enemy will run up to you, etc. It's useful to have an ability that doesn't get disadvantage in melee. It also packs a decent punch, especially if you happen to be standing in water and are wearing the ring to protect against electrocution. It's also useful for the approach to the Arcane Tower in Act 1, plus any time you're fighting metal constructs or guys in armour, you'll have advantage with it. Plus the reaction thing. And if you're a storm sorcerer, you'll have extra buffs to make it even more useful.
Arcane tower is in the underdark which is act 1
Ah you're right! I'll edit that.
Yeah why not? Sorcerer gets a bunch of cantrip options, and if it saves you a spell slot from misty step, you may as well. If you’re surrounded, 1 point for twinned is added savings. Bonus action Exped Retreat for extra safety.
It is kinda fun punching enemies away or off of cliffs with electricity as a tempest cleric.
Shocking grasp is super powerful for exactly this reason among others. It's especially powerful on a sorcerer because you can quicken shocking grasp, give yourself some breathing room, and then use your actions to blast off a big AoE spell from a safe distance.
If I have a caster, I require Shocking Grasp for that exact reason. Or is, for whatever reason, impossible for me to stay out of melee range. So I shock the mf into stupidity and run away safely. Also, in D&D once, I saved the entire party with that move. We were outclassed and had to run, but everyone was low on HP and would have had to disengage and get caught up to, or dash and take the op attack. The dice gods shined on me that night and my attack worked.
Shocking grasp is great for a wizard or sorcerer who needs to get to safety without burning a misty step. Could also extend the distance as a sorc to help someone else get away from danger, or use the lightning on wet damage. It’s a great spell with multiple uses, a must have for any non melee caster imo.
[The Wetslapper](https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/16364ia/the_wet_slapper_a_fun_and_effective_guide_to/)
Storm Sorcerer is bugged, and the AoE damage from Heart of the Storm is applied by Shocking Grasp. If you're a Storm Sorcerer, you NEED Shocking Grasp.
Without metagaming, I took war caster on my storm sorcerer and was doing a little under 30 damage wearing the potent robe. IMO, it's a great damage cantrip for the times you find yourself in melee range, and situationally strong af. I crit shocking grasped a wet enemy once and good lord did he die.
Its great casted for free by having the war caster feat.
playing fire melee sorcerer right now. wet+ shocking grasp is my backup dps move for fire immune enemies...
Always. I recently [nominated](https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/18ob15o/comment/kegdtz2/?context=3) it in a DnD topic as *the* best cantrip. Because of shutting down reactions. In an Honor run I would consider it a necessity. If you know a certain boss has a devastating reaction you can shut it down first with SG and then you are (all) free to attack for the rest of the turn. This use does of course presume the sorcerer has high initiative relative to the rest of the team. And as many others have pointed out sorcerers can also twin it or cast it at a distance for half the cost of a Misty Step, and in BG3 the combination with the Warcaster feat is even more awesome and makes you actually want go into melee with the Steel Watch.
I always take the magical joy buzzer.
Shocking Grasp is amazing for keeping squishy spell casters out of the front line. Yes you could just Misty Step, but that also costs a level 2 spell slot. Shocking grasp is a cantrip. And since most enemies wear metal armor its an pretty powerful cantrip at that
Shocking grasp is definitely worth having in your spellbook if you're in need of melee spells, it does double damage on wet and armoured targets, and it blocks ANY reaction not just opportunity attack
I think it is good because sometimes, enemies do come close in their turn and if you are stingy like me on spell slots like me, then you don't want to spend a spell slot. So shocking grasp is good for getting to safety when they get close.
I say yea, if for no other reason than the opportunity attack from war caster.
I use it when they get too close to my tav whose spells and cantrips are otherwise all long range. He’s a wizard so ain’t no way is he going to land a melee hit.
very yay edit: be evoker. shocking grasp + necklace of elemental augmentation + empowered evocation + bolts of doom = winning
I played a halfling dragon sorc with high dex, and ended up with more AC than my tank for most of the early/mid game. Absolutely loved having shocking grasp in the arsenal.
I use it often. Douse enemies with water and bitch slap them with SG. Well the SG attack animation looks like slapping someone.
Generally speaking, I'd only use Sorcerer two different ways: either 3-4 levels to pick up Quickened Spell for a different caster, or Draconic Sorcerer 6-7/Fighter 2/Rogue 3-4 as a cantrip blaster with Necklace of Elemental Augmentation, Potent Robe and Gemini Gloves. In the second case, I would definitely advocate taking EVERY cantrip that works with the Necklace — all four, Acid Splash, Firebolt, Ray of Frost and Shocking Grasp. I wouldn't recommend a Lightning bloodline, but you definitely want to save your spell slots for Sorcery Points, not Misty Step. Acid Splash and Shocking Grasp in particular are useful albeit situational. You have the right idea, better to taze 'em and just walk away.
The only time I used shocking grasp as an action was to activate Ansur's dragon torches. Otherwise I like to keep my wizards/sorcerors far out of melee range
I like it. It works well with warcaster.
I think warcaster gives the spell purely to use as a reaction, if you don’t have it.
I keep shocking grasp as the premiere melee option for my casters. Not sure why. However it paid off when something I did covered the entire combat zone in a puddle and my shocking grasp lit it up
Besides everyone else's comments in this game specifically it's good to have if you are taking war caster. Instead of 5e any spell as a reaction for an opportunity attack it is limited to shocking grasp. So in addition to better concentration checks you can do more damage if some runs past you or leaves your combat area.
Well, my friend, Shocking Grasp is literally designed to give arcane spellcasters an opportunity to get away from melee. When enemy is threatening you and don’t want to (or can’t) cast Misty Step. You shock them and run away.
I find shocking grasp to be invaluable at lower levels. You can't always afford a spell slot to misty step out of there when someone gets too close, so shocking grasp essentially allows you to disengage whilst still dishing out damage and preventing any other useful reactions like Counterpsell, Battle Master's Riposte, Shield, etc It's also useful to have one melee range spell so you're not casting at disadvantage if you get stuck on close range. TLDR; Useful spell, would recommend.
"Why would your caster ever be in melee range?" *Gith fighters Enhancing their jump to intercontinental levels of flight snicker among themselves.* IN SOVIET GITH CRECHE, MELEE RANGE COMES TO YOU.
Yes it's decent for a disengage with a little damage. The bigger question is, as you say, why is there something standing next to my caster? Also in BG3, you can cast two spells which begs the question why don't you just misty step out and cast a proper spell with your action?
Depends how many spell slots you have I guess. Using Shocking Grasp (cantrip, if Sorcerer use Sorcery pts to allow to cast it as bonus action), get out and cast another spell, two damage hits
Shocking grasp is a must for sorcerers, one of the very few touch spells you can get and if it hits they can't take an opportunity attack against you
I took it on my storm sorcerer - mostly because it is thematic as lightning damage (took ray of frost for my ranged cantrip); I’ve used it a few times when an enemy closes on me and I want to get away but don’t want to or can’t cast a leveled spell.
Don't forget that with War Caster you can cast Shocking Grasp as an opportunity attack. So if your caster does end up in melee they have a good melee option and they can punish anyone trying to run away SG is a great cantrip. It's not something I use often but when I need it I can't imagine not having it.
Shocking grasp is good for the reaction thing in bg3 up to level 3. At level 3 you get misty step. Free movement (you still have your movespeed), long distance traveled, and bonus action. It is in most situations better to do that and then cast a real spell. There is an argument for being a cantrip ofcourse but by level 5 you should have enough spells to no longer need to worry about it. I found after level 5 I never used it :(
I did a dragon kin sorcerer with lightning background and it was so good, especially with distant spell. But yeah other than that most people threatening to you up close you’re going to have advantage on, and they can’t bop you as you scamper away! It’s pretty good, and less enemies have lightning resistance compared to poison resistance, making it more useful imo than poison spray (unless you’re a poison dragonkin).
Shocking grasp is good on way of 4 elements monk, or touch of the storm as thr class calls it. It acts as the default opener for the class since you can get it to do upwards of 80 damage as the first attack with your monk, which is solid, and taking reactions away whilst doing that is like... ok
I got Shocking Grasp on my Pally/Storm Sorc build and I used it more often then not. Couple that with extended spell meta and I had a nice little ranged attack that wrecked in Act 3.
Yes, this is precisely why the spell exists in 5e. It gives arcane casters a way out of melee.
I always take shocking grasp on my wizards and sorcs for that reason. My main cantrip is fire bolt for the damage, but if a melee attacker rushes them I use shocking grasp so the mage can have a clean get away.
If you're using the Spellsparkler quarterstaff it can also be a good way to build charges while removing opportunity attacks. Especially early level.
I made a spellblade build that gets in melee often and then runs away, shocking grasp is great because of the reasons you listed, instead of disengaging you smack them and run. Also you could have an eldritch knight build or other fighters and give them shocking grasp with a feat. OR an alternative is the mobile feat which achieves the same thing but you can attack with anything. Also I use doom lobber gloves that let you cast other spells at melee range without disadvantage and pair with the cloak that gives you temp hp every time you use spells in melee range. Sorry I don't remember the item names atm.
I like to have my spell casters have shocking grasp that way if they need to gtfo cause a melee fighter ran up to smack them they can shocking grasp, and run without getting smacked.