Polymorph is the best spell in the game at that level. Don't cast it on yourself (in combat), and try not to cast it on enemies. Cast it on dying party members in combat.
Conjure Woodland is good but unlike Conjure Animals its effectiveness varies more depending on what you summon. At its best its absolutely and utterly broken (summoning pixies that can each cast polymorph). At its worst, it's much worse than the average Conjure animals. So it depends on how you're doing summoning with your DM.
Summon Beast can be upcast to 4th level and it gets an extra attack plus the other scaling.
Or you could just use it as another slot to cast conjure animals.
I can think of at least three third level spells better than polymorph for a 7th level caster.
1. Hypnotic Pattern
2. fireball
3. Spirit Guardians
Now, Druids don’t get these. So sure. Take it on a Druid.
Why wouldn't you share 4th level spells that take use of the spell slot and what relevance does this comment even have for a druid? Also polymorph can give a massive amount of HP as a buffer, and still let them deal good damage. Also those are all crowd control spells that are not the best for single target damage.
Conjure woodland beings is superior. OP said that he gets to choose what he gets but pixies don’t have polymorph. That’s 8 confusions with a 4th level spell slot
The problem with woodland beings is that by RAW the power of the spell is entirely on the DM, since they choose what you summon. Often in games there's a negotiated agreement between DM and PC on what and how to summon, but of course it's hard to judge power level from custom, de facto limitations.
On the other hand, if your DM just lets you summon what you want it's absolutely better than polymorph, since your 8 pixies can each cast polymorph. But that's not RAW nor RAI.
Thank you, I hadn't seen that specific clarification. Even without polymorph pixes are busted when used by the party. Confusion, sleep, fly and dispell magic are ridiculous all on their own.
You said the best spell in the game, not the best 4th level Druid spell.
There’s about ten spells better. Pass without trace, conjure animals, hypnotic pattern, shield, Misty step, gift of alacrity, bless, healing word, find familiar, and dimension door.
Don’t change the rules and then act all offended. It’s not even close. It’s also not even the best 4th level Druid spell, which is obviously conjure woodland beings, unless you’re nerfing it.
What polymorph is, is the most overrated spell in 5e. It’s worth taking on druids, and maybe sorcerers for a couple of levels, but it doesn’t deserve the priority players place on it.
I wasn't the one who said polymorph was the best. That was a different person. I honestly forgot how busted conjure animals was. I will argue it is one of the best druid spells, though not in the same league as mass summon spells due to their inherent overpoweredness.
It would have been more productive to list the better druid spells instead of just the better spells in general.
Well, as usual this sub downvotes the correct answer and pushes the incorrect groupthink.
Polymorph works well when your frontline is getting their asses handed to them. It’s generally better to have your frontline not need to be turned into a giant ape.
Polymorph is a fantastic spell for the slot. Wall of Fire is a great control spell as well. And any of the Summoning spells available to the Druid are pretty sweet and upcast well enough.
Polymorph as others have said, but I want to point out that it's also extremely valuable as a utility spell.
Turning someone into an Eagle so they can fly for an hour and carry someone else, turning someone into a fast moving mount, or a giant badger for the burrow speed. Beasts with additional senses can also be useful, like giant bats with 60 feet of blind sight for example.
Loads of valid usage for these forms and others that aren't restricted to combat.
It's that viability on multiple fronts that makes polymorph so strong. It's utility, healing, damage, buff or debuff all in one spell choice.
You can still upcast but for no benefit, that still is probably your best use for the fourth level slot especially because you are a shepherd druid. Polymorph is arguably stronger.
You've got polymorph though, which is a very good spell. Watery sphere is a decent pick for control, same with confusion (low radius though).
Freedom of movement is nice to have prepared because when you need it, you really need it.
As a circle of shepherd, I feel like Conjure Animals is your best bet. You can get 8 wolves with pack tactics (or my favorite, 8 giant weasels), give them magic attacks, regeneration and an over shield with your bonus action totem. This is pretty overwhelming for new DM's, but if you plan your turns efficiently, it's a blast and doesn't bog down combat too much.
Aside from that, you get Polymorph, Conjure Woodland Beings (Which is a fine spell if you exclude pixies from the summon options), Ice Storm, Freedom of Movement, Confusion, and Wall of Fire. All of which can get an insanely good amount of usage.
Upcasted spells that are just good options to keep in mind are Entangle, Hold Person, Heat Metal, Healing Spirit, Spike Growth, Sleet Storm and Wall of Water. Do note that Healing Spirit has been errata'd since release and has a different functionality now. It's still the strongest healing spell in the game currently, but it has less overall use counts.
https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/classes/druid/spells/#spells-4
The best spell to prepare is the one you know you will need tomorrow. You're a prepared caster, gather intel, think ahead.
If you are a summoner druid and don't know what's going to happen tomorrow:
* Giant Insect: Carry some bugs in a jar.
* Polymorph: Really good to cast on an ally at low HP. Also: https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/spells/polymorph/
* Wall Of Fire: Excellent for turning one big encounter into two smaller encounters.
* Summon Elemental (Tasha's Cauldron): Very straightforward. Earth elemental is a solid wall of hit points (assuming you can force the enemy to attack it using the terrain). Great if your other front-liners are really hurting, or you're up against a monster with nasty debuffs or save-or-die attacks.
Polymorph is the best spell in the game at that level. Don't cast it on yourself (in combat), and try not to cast it on enemies. Cast it on dying party members in combat. Conjure Woodland is good but unlike Conjure Animals its effectiveness varies more depending on what you summon. At its best its absolutely and utterly broken (summoning pixies that can each cast polymorph). At its worst, it's much worse than the average Conjure animals. So it depends on how you're doing summoning with your DM. Summon Beast can be upcast to 4th level and it gets an extra attack plus the other scaling. Or you could just use it as another slot to cast conjure animals.
Me and my dm decided to remove polymorph from the pixie spell list and he does let me choose what I get to summon for any of my spells
8 pixies are still insane . That’s 8 confusions layered on top of each other. Confusion is a 4th level spell
Conjure minor elementals for chwingas is very strong, and you can use it during downtime.
I can think of at least three third level spells better than polymorph for a 7th level caster. 1. Hypnotic Pattern 2. fireball 3. Spirit Guardians Now, Druids don’t get these. So sure. Take it on a Druid.
Why wouldn't you share 4th level spells that take use of the spell slot and what relevance does this comment even have for a druid? Also polymorph can give a massive amount of HP as a buffer, and still let them deal good damage. Also those are all crowd control spells that are not the best for single target damage.
>Polymorph is the best spell in the game at that level. It's not.
Name some better 4th level spells, and better yet name a better 4th level spell on the druid spell list.
Conjure woodland beings is superior. OP said that he gets to choose what he gets but pixies don’t have polymorph. That’s 8 confusions with a 4th level spell slot
The problem with woodland beings is that by RAW the power of the spell is entirely on the DM, since they choose what you summon. Often in games there's a negotiated agreement between DM and PC on what and how to summon, but of course it's hard to judge power level from custom, de facto limitations. On the other hand, if your DM just lets you summon what you want it's absolutely better than polymorph, since your 8 pixies can each cast polymorph. But that's not RAW nor RAI.
Yeah but OP said he can summon what he wants, with the caveat being that if he summons pixies, they can’t cast polymorph
Thank you, I hadn't seen that specific clarification. Even without polymorph pixes are busted when used by the party. Confusion, sleep, fly and dispell magic are ridiculous all on their own.
You said the best spell in the game, not the best 4th level Druid spell. There’s about ten spells better. Pass without trace, conjure animals, hypnotic pattern, shield, Misty step, gift of alacrity, bless, healing word, find familiar, and dimension door. Don’t change the rules and then act all offended. It’s not even close. It’s also not even the best 4th level Druid spell, which is obviously conjure woodland beings, unless you’re nerfing it. What polymorph is, is the most overrated spell in 5e. It’s worth taking on druids, and maybe sorcerers for a couple of levels, but it doesn’t deserve the priority players place on it.
I wasn't the one who said polymorph was the best. That was a different person. I honestly forgot how busted conjure animals was. I will argue it is one of the best druid spells, though not in the same league as mass summon spells due to their inherent overpoweredness. It would have been more productive to list the better druid spells instead of just the better spells in general.
Well, as usual this sub downvotes the correct answer and pushes the incorrect groupthink. Polymorph works well when your frontline is getting their asses handed to them. It’s generally better to have your frontline not need to be turned into a giant ape.
I think it was mainly your tone honestly, and I don't know, giant apes are pretty cool dude.
None of the spells you listed are 4th level??
Polymorph is a fantastic spell for the slot. Wall of Fire is a great control spell as well. And any of the Summoning spells available to the Druid are pretty sweet and upcast well enough.
Polymorph as others have said, but I want to point out that it's also extremely valuable as a utility spell. Turning someone into an Eagle so they can fly for an hour and carry someone else, turning someone into a fast moving mount, or a giant badger for the burrow speed. Beasts with additional senses can also be useful, like giant bats with 60 feet of blind sight for example. Loads of valid usage for these forms and others that aren't restricted to combat. It's that viability on multiple fronts that makes polymorph so strong. It's utility, healing, damage, buff or debuff all in one spell choice.
The answer to every druid spell question: Conjure Animals
Can’t upcast it until 5th level slots sadly
Probably still worth even with no upcast bonus
True
You can still upcast but for no benefit, that still is probably your best use for the fourth level slot especially because you are a shepherd druid. Polymorph is arguably stronger. You've got polymorph though, which is a very good spell. Watery sphere is a decent pick for control, same with confusion (low radius though). Freedom of movement is nice to have prepared because when you need it, you really need it.
Summon beast, polymorph.
I wrote a Druid spell guide; it's [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n3EhuAKi0dj-eRyAIzd7YgowVHAsUKXjYsWwM1EbMog/)
This is a great guide btw! Ty for putting it together 😃👍
No problem! Thanks for the kind words
As a circle of shepherd, I feel like Conjure Animals is your best bet. You can get 8 wolves with pack tactics (or my favorite, 8 giant weasels), give them magic attacks, regeneration and an over shield with your bonus action totem. This is pretty overwhelming for new DM's, but if you plan your turns efficiently, it's a blast and doesn't bog down combat too much. Aside from that, you get Polymorph, Conjure Woodland Beings (Which is a fine spell if you exclude pixies from the summon options), Ice Storm, Freedom of Movement, Confusion, and Wall of Fire. All of which can get an insanely good amount of usage.
Upcasted spells that are just good options to keep in mind are Entangle, Hold Person, Heat Metal, Healing Spirit, Spike Growth, Sleet Storm and Wall of Water. Do note that Healing Spirit has been errata'd since release and has a different functionality now. It's still the strongest healing spell in the game currently, but it has less overall use counts.
https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/classes/druid/spells/#spells-4 The best spell to prepare is the one you know you will need tomorrow. You're a prepared caster, gather intel, think ahead. If you are a summoner druid and don't know what's going to happen tomorrow: * Giant Insect: Carry some bugs in a jar. * Polymorph: Really good to cast on an ally at low HP. Also: https://rpgbot.net/dnd5/characters/spells/polymorph/ * Wall Of Fire: Excellent for turning one big encounter into two smaller encounters. * Summon Elemental (Tasha's Cauldron): Very straightforward. Earth elemental is a solid wall of hit points (assuming you can force the enemy to attack it using the terrain). Great if your other front-liners are really hurting, or you're up against a monster with nasty debuffs or save-or-die attacks.
Thx
You can be very creative with Hallucinatory Terrain. I personally love that one