Complete Guide to Radiant Damage Spells in D&D 5e
by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
Is it holy light, or is it nuclear fallout? Who knows! Radiant Damage is a damage type with a bunch of unique spells to its name making it an appealing option for holy warriors purging undeath and otherworldly wizards harnessing light itself for power. Here, you’ll find a comprehensive list of every spell in D&D 5e that can deal Radiant damage sorted by level and class. Let's dive in!
Radiant Damage Spells by Level
The following spells can deal Radiant damage when cast. Each can only deal Radiant damage, deal Radiant damage randomly, or has the option to deal Radiant damage.
Spells that Deal Radiant Damage
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | Sacred Flame, Word of Radiance |
| 1st | Divine Favor, Guiding Bolt |
| 2nd | Branding Smite, Moonbeam |
| 3rd | Blinding Smite, Crusader’s Mantle, Spirit Guardians, Spirit Shroud |
| 4th | Guardian of Faith, Sickening Radiance |
| 5th | Dawn, Destructive Wave, Flame Strike, Holy Weapon, Summon Celestial, Wall of Light |
| 6th | Forbiddance, Sunbeam |
| 7th | Crown of Stars |
| 8th | Sunburst |
| 9th | - |
Always Deals Radiant Damage Spells by Level
The following spells always deal Radiant damage when they deal damage. They can also deal an additional damage type to qualify, such as Radiant and Fire damage.
Spells that Always Deal Radiant Damage
| Spell Level | Spells |
|---|---|
| Cantrip | Sacred Flame, Word of Radiance |
| 1st | Divine Favor, Guiding Bolt |
| 2nd | Branding Smite, Moonbeam |
| 3rd | Blinding Smite, Crusader’s Mantle |
| 4th | Guardian of Faith, Sickening Radiance |
| 5th | Dawn, Flame Strike, Holy Weapon, Summon Celestial, Wall of Light |
| 6th | Sunbeam |
| 7th | Crown of Stars |
| 8th | Sunburst |
| 9th | - |
Radiant Damage Spells by Class
The following are in order of spell level per class encompassing any spell that can deal Radiant damage. Spells with parentheses following them are accessible through the specified subclass.
All Radiant Damage Spells Ranked Worst to Best
All Radiant damage spells aren’t created equally. For your consideration, here is my ranking for the worst to best Radiant-damaging spells in the game. Any spell that can deal Radiant damage is included in this ranking, even if only some versions of the cast deal that damage type.
These rankings aren’t ranking the total Radiant damage a spell is capable of dealing but how useful the spell will likely be on a character sheet. Let's dive in!
F Tier: Near Uncastable
21. Branding Smite: Branding Smite is everything wrong with the smite spells. It does less damage than a 1st level Divine Smite. It requires your Concentration. While it makes the invisible creature visible, that creature still benefits from all the perks of being invisible in what has to be one of the dumbest rules as written interactions I’ve ever seen. There is next to no reason to ever put this trash on your character sheet- it really is horrendous.
D Tier: Most Sheets Don’t Want These
20. Forbiddance: Forbiddance is more of a feature that’s part of a specific adventure- you’re defending a church from an army of demons, a town hall from a fey invasion, that kind of thing. It's a world effect DMs can use to prevent necromancers from running rampant, or as a countermeasure to spells like Conjure Woodland Beings and Conjure Minor Elementals.
As a player tool, you’re rarely going to be on defense. You’re normally the aggressors moving into dungeons to slay monsters, and for that reason, you’re not going to readily be able to set up Forbiddance to actively impact fights or exploration. You’ll prepare it for that one adventure your DM wants to run where you hold a settlement from demons, and fortunately, in that instance, it won’t even cost you a spell slot, but I wouldn’t expect anything more from it.
19. Flame Strike: 8d6 damage in a 10 ft. radius is a lower radius than Fireball. Fireball is a 3rd level spell. The only reason this escapes F tier is some clerics don’t have a better ranged instantaneous damage option. You’ll probably be far better off leveraging spells like Spirit Guardians over this for your area of effect damage, but if you need Fireball and can’t get it any other way, you can pay a 5th-level slot for it with this.
18. Word of Radiance: I don’t love Acid Splash, and I have a hunch that spell is on average way better than Word of Radiance. It scales the best as the game goes, as its d6 bonus multiplies by the number of creatures you can hit, but most of the time this is going to hit one or two creatures, tops. Clerics can make decent weapon attacks against things close to them for almost always higher average damage, leaving this as an option that doesn’t really have windows of great use.
17. Destructive Wave: As a Bard spell, Destructive Wave is kind of interesting to get through Magical Secrets, especially in the martial options like Swords or Valor. Knocking things prone and 10d6 damage for a 5th level slot is a pretty decent deal when you have other allies that can use the prone for advantage.
The only other way to get this is to be a 17th-level Paladin, when you’re almost always going to want to be taking the attack action on your turn, as that’s entirely what your character is built to do. As a 5th-level spell for 9th-level characters, this is pretty interesting. As a spell for 17th-level characters that have to compete with an amazing attack action of their own and their allies' 9th-level spells, this is a joke.
16. Moonbeam: I have seen Moonbeam cast a lot. It’s mostly a single instance, small area burn, and for that purpose, it isn’t uncastable, but it's normally going to be a lot less exciting than it reads. There are dozens of better things at equal or lower levels to concentrate on. For some Druids, this is kind of the best damage area spell you get access to at 3rd level, so a few sheets will have a use for it.
15. Dawn: 4d10 damage per turn isn’t the most damage in the world, and concentration is often going to be contested. It’s like an upgraded Moonbeam that costs a 5th-level slot- it fixes a lot of the issues, namely in using just a bonus action to move, but still deals damage when it ends its turn in the cylinder. A lot of creatures can just move and suffer no consequences. It hits a huge area, and can force some things to move, but I want more out of my 5th level slot than that.
C Tier: Have a Home on Some Characters
14. Sunbeam: There are plenty of spells that give you a new action; Sunbeam might be the best of them. 6d8 radiant damage lines are close to Lightning Bolts. While you probably are better off spending your actions casting other spells using spell slots, I think there are plenty of characters that’ll be happy to cast this over and over again in a few fights during the game.
13. Sacred Flame: Sacred Flame’s biggest problem is in how infrequently cover is consistently used. Some tables literally won’t play with half and three-quarters cover, making it function as a d8 radiant damage version of Fire Bolt. Even at tables leveraging the cover mechanic, the juice isn’t worth the squeeze. Most of the time, a weapon attack is going to be as good or better than this, and Clerics have great weapon proficiencies and often want to be in the front line. On ranged Clerics like Light I can see it being fine for the first few levels, but it’ll quickly get cycled out of your regular play pattern.
12. Guardian of Faith: 60 damage for a 4th level spell can be great, especially against a single monster. Having to wait for three rounds while keeping the thing you want to damage in the area is challenging. Against large groups, it doesn’t provide a consistent area of effect damage, and while 8 hours with no concentration sounds great, it ends up being a non-factor for this effect. Some encounters will have moments where it’s excellent- others will find it close to useless.
11. Sunburst: 8th-level spells need to do something unique and interesting to justify their cast to me. Sunburst is a slightly lower damage up-cast Fireball, but with a blind. While this is neither unique nor interesting, it hits a large area with reasonable damage and a condition, and all of that bundled together is a good deal. You don’t need this effect, but it can be a reasonable way to spend an 8th-level spell. Both damage and a solid condition in a huge area will majorly affect a lot of fights.
10. Divine Favor: A d4 bonus damage isn’t a particularly robust quantity of damage. Hex and Hunter’s Mark both deal a d6, which is more, and both have a far longer duration, which really makes Divine Favor look underwhelming. Most of the time, if you’re a paladin, you’re going to want to get 2d8 damage up-front for your 1st-level spell instead of needing to connect with three or more attacks to break even with this. It isn’t unusable but isn’t particularly appealing.
9. Crusader’s Mantle: Crusader’s Mantle is a feast or famine kind of spell. If you’re in a group with a Monk, Fighter, and melee-ranged ranger, it is superb, often resulting in 5-10d4 bonus damage each round it up with all of the extra attacks happening. If you’re the only martial character, it is a 3rd level version of Divine Favor, and literally uncastable. I think if you’ve got two or more allies making two or more attacks, it can be worth it, but it is heavily dependent on your group composition and positioning.
8. Guiding Bolt: While it's not revolutionary, Guiding Bolt serves a noble purpose: it gives characters who want to play a supportive role a solid damaging option in the low tiers. Clerics who want to use effects like Bless and Holy Weapon still need ways to contribute to lowering enemy hit points- this is a clear option for both supporting and damaging enemies, making it a great option for low-tier Clerics. It being able to miss is tragic, as you can spend a slot and get nothing in return. On top of that, it isn’t going to be that much more damage than a weapon attack, but it’ll be fine on many character sheets.
B Tier: Solid Options on Many Characters
7. Sickening Radiance: Six failed saves deal 24d10 damage, sure, but it also provides six levels of exhaustion, meaning no quantity of hit points can survive it, making it a tool that can kill some of the game’s strongest enemies if you can keep it up. Two rounds of damage is enough to justify the cast on an average adventuring day, and it does hit a huge area, making this easy to put on sheets if you don’t already want to concentrate on something else.
6. Spirit Shroud: There are two predominant builds that care about Spirit Shroud, and both of those builds can do decent stuff with it: Bladesingers and Hexblades. What sets this up for greatness is its up-cast, as 2d8 bonus damage on hit is solid for both options with Extra Attack. Concentration is a bit of an issue, and the speed reduction is a non-factor, but adding 2d8 to each attack made past 9th level is a big damage jump. You really want it up for at least six attacks, which isn’t given but is often going to be worth the risk and reward features like War Caster on those builds.
5. Spirit Guardians: Where Wizards and Sorcerers get Fireball, Clerics get their area of effect damage from spells like Spirit Guardians. I love this distinction, as it clearly designates in what circumstances specific classes have advantages. Spirit Guardians isn’t as strong as Fireball, not by a long shot, but is an entirely reasonable consistent area of effect damage zone you create to reward playing risky and protecting your friends. You only need 6d8 damage for this to nearly Fireball average damage, which is a low bar, and this can do more damage with a third round active, making it potentially better. It's harder to set up, and far less consistent, but it is a great little damage effect for Clerics that defines their area of expertise in damage spells.
4. Wall of Light: You need more than the 8d8 damage from two failed saves, but get that in a bonus action 4d8 radiant damage blast. It turns the wall from an area of effect damage zone into a bonus action laser. Getting the area save can be worth it in some encounters. I don’t love walls, but this one does some unique stuff that makes me want to see it in action more.
3. Holy Weapon: My main beef with Holy Weapon is for Paladins where the concentration component is a pretty substantial downside. On Clerics, this is a great upgrade from Magic Weapon and Elemental Weapon. 2d8 bonus damage is substantially more per hit than the other spells offer, and the bonus action explosion you can cause that comes with a blind gives it additional flexibility that goes a long way in justifying preparing this. If you’re playing a supportive Cleric with a multi-attacking Ranger, Fighter, or Monk, Holy Weapon will majorly empower them to decimate your foes.
A Tier: Excellent Spells for Anyone
2. Crown of Stars: As far as bonus action attacks go, Crown of Stars is about as good as it gets. Each hits for 4d12 damage, which is excellent. The spell lasts an hour, meaning it's easy to prepare and cast for a future fight, and you don’t even have to concentrate on it. You can have bonus action radiant meteors at your disposal alongside a Haste or Summon spell up, giving you tons of stuff to do on your turns. Seven instances will normally be a fight or two in total uses, and while 7th-level is expensive, this spell has all the right words to make it worth it.
1. Summon Celestial: Any spell that creates an additional ally for your team provides a ton of value; Summon Celestial gives you a creature making three ranged or melee attacks for excellent damage, no further actions required. The melee version bolsters itself and allies, making it a great form of tanking some damage, and the ranged option hits like a train. Summon Celestial is superb.
Best Classes for Radiant Damage Spells
9 and 8: Bard and Ranger: While Bards use Destructive Wave best with Magical Secrets, neither class gets access to radiant damaging spells natively, and thus both are the worst at dealing Radiant damage.
7. Artificer: Technically Battle Smith gets Branding Smite, which is about as close to getting no radiant damaging spells as you can get.
6. Druid: Moonbeam, Sunbeam, and Sunburst all aren’t uncastable, and while the class definitely lacks diverse options for radiant damage Druids can deal a decent amount of it if they want to.
5. Paladin: A ton of Oath spells offer various interesting Radiant damage spells. On top of that, they get a decent native list with unique options like Crusader’s Mantle, but ultimately, they’re still half-casters and going to struggle using radiant damaging spells meaningfully when compared to most of the full-casters with more robust options.
4. Warlock: Warlocks aren’t quite full-casters, but they do get to regularly deal a ton of radiant damage with specific subclasses. Celestial in particular can use Guiding Bolt and Sacred Flame reasonably well, and Spirit Shroud paired with Thirsting Blade (their extra attack invocation) sets the class up to surprisingly have great access to radiant damage across the board, even topping things off with Crown of Stars.
3. Wizard: Wizards are like Warlocks, but with way better spell slot access. Missing Guiding Bolt is a bit of a bummer, but with Sickening Radiance, Wall of Light, and Crown of Stars, you have a great pool of solid radiant damaging options in the mid-tiers and higher.
2. Cleric: Guiding Bolt, Holy Weapon, Summon Celestial, and Spirit Guardians all are common and solid radiant damaging spells Clerics get to leverage throughout the entire game. Sure, they lack a handful of great radiant damaging spells, but they have a consistent list from Cantrips to 8th-level spells to deal Radiant damage.
1. Sorcerer: Why is Sorcerer number one? Divine Soul and Metamagic, that’s why! Divine Soul Sorcerers can learn every Cleric spell they’d like, and they get the tools to empower them further. Quicken Spell plus Word of Radiance can turn an 11th-level Divine Soul Sorcerer into a pulsing well of radiant damage for cheap. Twinning Guiding Bolt is really good in the low tiers for both damage and support. It's kind of cheating, as it's a single subclass, but attaching Metamagic to Cleric is a massive boon over Cleric, making it deserve the 1st place slot I think. Outside of Divine Soul, it's a slightly worse Wizard.
Light Them Up with Radiant Damage
All things considered, Radiant damage is a pretty solid damage type with some excellent unique effects that set it apart from a lot of other damage types. If you’re in the market to load up a character with as much light as possible, hopefully, this ranking and these lists help you out. Thanks for reading!
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