Mass Cure Wounds: A Fix for Six
Usable By: Bard, Cleric, Druid
Spell Level: 5
School: Evocation
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Duration: Instantaneous
Components: V, S
A wave of healing energy washes out from a point of your choice within range. Choose up to six creatures in a 30-foot-radius sphere centered on that point. Each target regains hit points equal to 3d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier. This spell has no effect on undead or constructs.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 6th level or higher, the healing increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 5th.
Review by Sam West, Twitter:@CrierKobold
When you’re getting your ass kicked by an evil dragon and their cult of dragonborn fanatics, you may find you and your friends in need of some quick healing. Healing that specifically can get a couple of people surrounded by danger up, and give them a reasonable chance of getting a turn to retreat. Where Mass Healing Word is cheaper and does most of what Mass Cure Wounds does, Mass Cure Wounds lets you spend 2 extra spell levels and an action for a dice upgrade from d4s to d8s. Is that worth it? Spoilers: usually no.
Comparing Healing Word to Cure Wounds isn’t exactly the same as comparing Mass Cure Wounds to Mass Healing Word, namely because of the tier of play we’re looking at. In the lower tiers, having your action available to hit things with cantrips or weapon attacks is a major reason why Healing Word is so much better than Cure Wounds, but in the upper tiers, that extra action will often feel less impactful. The tradeoff feels a bit better here; you’re giving out more hit points to more creatures, making the power exponential.
Where it does compare well to the competing lower tier versions is in range; 30 ft. radius around you is way worse at getting lots of people up and bolstering some hit points within 60 feet of you. Mass Healing Word has a better time in more dynamic and wild environments, the kind you tend to see the higher you get in the tier of play. When you’re preparing healing magic, you’re often wanting to prepare the least amount necessary, and upgrading dice for reduced range and inflexible casting makes Mass Cure Wounds worse than Mass Healing Word in the majority of cases. If I’m a cleric or druid, I’m probably only ever preparing a cheap 1st level spell that brings one person up (normally Healing Word), and Mass Healing Word past that. Bards probably are learning the same pair. Mass Cure Wounds would be some additional option to tack on, but at a strictly higher spell level without much comparative upside.
If you’re in the market for mass healing, while it does heal less, the flexibility of range and spell level makes Mass Healing Word a more reliable option I’d recommend over Mass Cure Wounds basically every time.
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