2024 D&D Player’s Handbook nerfs one of the best Cleric spells (but that’s actually for the best)
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According to previous rules for Spiritual Weapon, this second level evocation can be cast as a bonus action and lasts for a minute or until recast. It creates a floating, spectral weapon which you can use to make a melee spell attack on a creature within 5ft of it. Provided you land the hit, your spooky ghost weapon deals out force damage equal to 1d8 + your spellcasting modifier. You can then use your bonus action in subsequent turns to move the weapon or strike again. Given that even all but the most battle-hardened Clerics tend to be a little on the weedier side, Spiritual Weapon is one of the most viable ways to dish out damage to your opponents. It can even be upcast to provide an extra 1d8 for every two slots above the 2nd level. Beyond the quality of damage, you also have the opportunity to deal an impressive quantity. Given that one minute equates to 10 rounds of combat, you can go for the attack with your spiritual weapon up to 10 times before having to recast it. Let me remind you again, this is done as a bonus action, so you can be bonking foes with your phantom hammer while dashing around the battlefield or healing your party members.
You may be thinking, “Do the team at Wizards hate Clerics? Are they deliberately trying to squash my dreams of becoming the ultimate war priest?” Nope. As explained at a recent Q&A at GenCon, Spiritual Weapon was simply too good for its own good – so much so that it was actively disrupting the pacing of combat. Jeremy Crawford, Dungeons & Dragons’ Lead Rules Designer describes how “one of our biggest concerns is things that bog down play. We’ve noticed over the last decade and in a lot of our own play tests how many rounds of combat can grind to a halt when you get to the Cleric’s turn. The Cleric takes an action then a bonus action […] and so we needed to tighten that up.”
Even OG Spiritual Weapon’s most devout defenders have to admit that doing two extra dice rolls in your bonus action for 10 rounds seriously adds up. So, to prevent your fellow adventurers scrolling on their phone while they wait for you to finish, you might just be in your best interest to accept that the previous magical mainstay of your aggro Cleric build is just a tad more delicate now.
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Abigail is a Tabletop & Merch writer at Gamesradar+. She carries at least one Magic: The Gathering deck in her backpack at all times and always spends far too long writing her D&D character backstory. She’s a lover of all things cute, creepy, and creepy-cute.
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