Far Step: One Step Ahead

Usable By: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Spell Level: 5

School: Conjuration

Casting Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Components: V

You teleport up to 60 feet to an unoccupied space you can see. On each of your turns before the spell ends, you can use a bonus action to teleport in this way again.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

If I had to pick any super power, out of all of comics, movies, and media, teleportation is at the top of my pick list. Instantaneous effortless movement just FEELS epic to me. Misty Step and Dimension Door facilitated that fantasy pretty well in the PHB; they gave you little moments of teleportation greatness. Far Step takes it one step further in one of the simplest ways you could, and lands as a spell I’d love to play with, but ultimately isn’t THAT much better than the aforementioned effects, especially considering its spell level. I’d still snap it up basically every time I get a chance to.

Like Misty Step, Far Step comes with the major boon of just needing a bonus action to use. This will shine brightest then on characters who want to be using their actions doing something else, and characters who care about their tactical positions in combat. These characters often end up being hybrid martial/caster options where you’re making two or three attacks while teleporting around to where you need to be. Far Step being a 5th level spell limits the usable builds with it down to basically just full casters at most tables, but because you can subsequently use it over and over, you can spend your actions casting spells after the first round with it to do some neat stuff.

Bladesingers seem like the go to build for Far Step, as making weapon attacks against whoever you’d like within your movement and a 60 foot teleport is really handy. Alternatively, though, shorter range spells or spells with areas ranging out from yourself can put you in dangerous positions. With Far Step, you can walk right up to the horde of baddies looking to kill you, fire out a Cone of Cold, and Far Step away with a bonus action so long as you cast it a round or two prior.

Unfortunately for Far Step, teleportation tends to be at its most useful in single uses. You don’t often NEED to teleport between six or seven different spots: you just need to get past the guards to open the gate or in to the upper floor window of an estate you’re robbing. Continuing with its problems, you need to see where you’re going to use it at all, and the range is quite a bit smaller than Dimension Door. Still, sometimes you just want to hop into the records office on the third floor, grab a bunch of critical documents you know are in there, and be back out without ever opening a door or window. It probably is worse out of combat for its level than the other teleportation options, but the added flexibility and usefulness of a sixty foot teleport every round in combat for just a bonus action definitely helps justify it finding a home on your character sheet.

I don’t think Far Step is a particularly powerful spell. This isn’t something that will warp encounters around it like summoning magic, nor is it some big splashy world changing tool like the higher level Plane Shifts and Teleports. It probably is a bit too high level for what it does, especially compared to Dimension Door, but for what it is, I love it. If you like this kind of magic too, you’ll have a blast playing with Far Step.

5e Spells

Far Step: One Step Ahead