In a surprise move, we got the next UA hot on the heels of playtest 7. But unlike all the previous ones, which were focused on classes (and species) and content in the PHB, this one is giving us a major feature from the DMG.
Now, I have not yet read the full Bastion section, which is a system meant to give mechanical benefits for maintaining a party headquarters - something that will surely work better for some campaigns than others, but could potentially be fun.
However, we've also got a lot of revisions for Cantrips, which to be fair probably will be found in the PHB. And there are some big changes. Some are getting nerfed, some are getting buffed. One is getting at least halfway to being more appropriately-named.
So, let's go down the list.
Acid Splash:
Acid Splash is now a true AoE cantrip - rather than hitting a secondary target, you target a point and creatures in a 5-foot-radius sphere have to save or take damage. While the damage is, of course, on the low end, Acid is one of the more reliable damage types (if you're not fighting Yugoloths) and being able to hit multiple targets for free is good. Friendly fire is going to be a new concern with this version of the spell, and I think the chance of hitting three targets in a 5-foot radius is unlikely, but I might still consider this a slight buff.
Blade Ward:
Similar to revisions to Guidance and Resistance, Blade Ward is now a reaction used to impose disadvantage on someone targeting you with a melee attack. So, this is quite different: the old version gave you resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. This one will work better against foes that are doing force damage with their attacks, which seems to be the new version of "the attacks count as magical" but this will no longer help against ranged attacks, and will be less powerful against swarms of enemies or monsters with lots of attacks. Making this a reaction certainly helps it, but I still doubt I'll ever take this version either.
Chill Touch:
Hoo boy. Chill Touch is now a Touch spell, which gets it halfway to actually matching its name. It now deals 1d10 damage (which is still Necrotic, not Cold). It also still prevents healing for the next turn, but it no longer gives undead targets disadvantage on attacks against you.
So, here's my thoughts: I think maybe they nerfed it in the wrong way. As a DM, it's always a little frustrating that so many monsters' cool and unique thing is hurt by Chill Touch. Vampires regenerate unless they're hit with radiant damage - which is thematic and cool. But Chill Touch also prevents it. Loup-Garou fixed the werewolf problem where spellcasters could just ignore the whole "need a silver weapon" thing, and also fixed the problem where any old magic weapon could harm them. But a simple Chill Touch also gets around it. These problems aren't fixed with this change.
Now, it does make it a little more risky to actually apply the spell to a foe - you need to get into melee range, which a Wizard probably doesn't want to do with a Troll or other thing you want to shut down healing for. Still, I liked Chill Touch thematically for a Necromancer character as their go-to damage cantrip. So I'm not really into this change.
Friends:
Friends now straight up charms the target for a minute. Now... this is certainly better (there's also no rider that the target will become hostile after the duration ends, though I think that's up to the DM to kind of work out). The issue here is, other than its limited 10-foot range, is this just better than Charm Person? Are we getting an equivalent effect for free with this cantrip? The target will automatically succeed on its save if you're fighting it, to be fair. So maybe this is just a decent buff? My concern now is that it's too powerful, rather than not powerful enough.
Poison Spray:
Ok, so Poison Spray now has a 30-foot range and is made with an attack roll rather than a Con save. It's also now a Necromancy cantrip rather than a Conjuration one. This is, unquestionably, a buff. Con saves are the one save that basically every monster is going to be decent at (there are vanishingly few creatures with negative Con modifiers) and I think in general, usually an attack roll is a more reliable way to deal damage (it gets around things like magic resistance). Poison as a damage type is, of course, still very risky with the existing monsters in 5E, as most undead, constructs, and fiends are fully immune to it (maybe Celestials too?) And 30 feet is better, but still pretty limited. Still, this is a buff in almost all situations. So good.
Produce Flame:
The big change is that the spell is now a bonus action, but throwing the flame even on the first turn is an action. The good side about this is that there's nothing about whether you need to have an open hand, and the flame emits no heat and ignites nothing (while in your hand) so you should be able to keep the flame in the hand even if you pick up a weapons or something. Also, you only need the bonus action to start the spell - hurling flame doesn't consume the fire. Additionally, the range has increased to 60 feet.
So, I think the issues with this spell are largely now dealt with. It's a little action-costly on the first round, but I think this become a pretty solid option for a ranged Druid spellcaster.
Shillelagh:
Two changes: Rather than making the weapon "count as magical," you can now have it deal Force damage - which is consistent with a lot of the recent design. The other change is that the damage now scales up with tier. At level 5, the damage goes up to a d10, then at 11 it becomes a d12, and at 17 it becomes 2d6.
Interesting that at tier 4 it goes up only by .5 average damage. I think it's wise that they didn't let you do something like extra attack with it as it scaled, because I think a lot of characters will either dip into Druid to get this with a class (like Ranger) that can multiclass or otherwise use it in conjunction with such a feature. I don't have any issues with these changes.
Shocking Grasp:
Shocking Grasp gets two nerfs: the first is that you no longer get advantage if the target is wearing metallic armor. The second, and arguably more relevant one, is that you prevent only opportunity attacks, not all reactions.
I think the intention here was always to use it as an emergency-escape cantrip, so a Wizard could run away from the big armored knight that just got into range. You will no longer be preventing Counterspells or Shield spells with this. Mechanically, I think that's a fair nerf. Thematically I'm less in love with it, as it seemed appropriate that shocking someone would make it harder for them to react in any way, but I guess that's the compromise of flavor and mechanics.
Spare the Dying:
This got a buff in that it now has a 15-foot range, rather than being touch. (A previous version had it restore 1 HP to the target, but that was also when they were testing the confusing "1 HP but you're unconscious" rules). This is certainly better. While a Healer's Kit will do the same thing and leave you an open cantrip slot, I still like this as a spell.
True Strike:
Ah yes! The worst cantrip in all of D&D! The spell where you might as well just attack instead!
True Strike has been totally redesigned, as well it should be.
As an action, you make an attack with the weapon used as the spell's material component. But you make the attack and damage rolls using your spellcasting ability rather than Strength or Dexterity. If the attack deals damage, you can make that damage Radiant, or its normal damage (your choice). At level 5, the damage of the attack deals an additional 1d6 Radiant (regardless of your chosen damage type). At 11, you get 2d6, and at 17 it's 3d6.
Phew. So... this could actually be... good? Like, not mind-blowing, but consider this: If you're a 1st level Wizard shooting a Light Crossbow, this will have the same bonus to hit as your Firebolt, but will deal 1d6+3 (assuming standard 1st level stats) or 6.5, which is more than the 5.5 of your Firebolt. And it's Radiant damage, which very few things resist (and which sometimes has bonus effects such as against Zombies and Vampires). At level 5, you'll be doing say 2d6+4, or 11, which is the same as the Firebolt. By level 11, assuming you're maxing out Intelligence to start with, you're doing 3d6+5, or 16.5, which is still keeping pace (and that's without any sort of magical bonus like a +1 Light Crossbow).
Of course, I think what's more likely is that you'll use this as some kind of hybrid role, like an Eldritch Knight. While not as good as Booming Blade or Green-Flame Blade for them, this will let you weave in a cantrip (that said, an EK might prefer regular attacks or the aforementioned SCAG cantrips because their Intelligence is unlikely to be as good as their main weapon attack ability).
Still, I actually think this cantrip is remotely useable now, which is a massive upgrade!
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