So, you’re a spell caster in Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition (DND 5e), and you’ve just made it to level 3. Congratulations! You are officially slightly less squishy, and might even be able to survive a single round of combat! Now, if only you can survive past level 5…
Of course, putting the ‘wizard takes 1d4 insult damage’ jokes aside, casters are one of those kinds of classes that goes from strength to strength with each new spell level.
Sure, Barbarians become even angrier, Rogues get even trickier, and Monks get more ki points, but the extra spell levels unlock completely new worlds of possibilities for Sorcerers, Wizards, and even Warlocks.
Pretty soon, you’ll be control-alt-deleting the very fabric of reality itself! Still, you’ll need to survive long enough to get to that point. And to do that, you need to pick the right spells that you can defend yourself with.
Well, for our money, you could do a lot worse than picking Shatter as a 2nd level choice. And in this complete guide (see also: Complete Guide To Synaptic Static 5e)for this particular spell, we’re going to explain to you why that is.
Shatter Spell In 5E: Explained
So, before we get any further into this, the description for Shatter is as follows in the Player’s Handbook:
‘A sudden loud ringing noise, painfully intense, erupts from a point of your choice within range. Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Constitution saving throw.’
‘A creature takes 3d8 thunder damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature made of inorganic material such as stone, crystal, or metal has a disadvantage on this saving throw.’
‘A non-magical object that isn’t being worn or carried also takes the damage if it’s in the spell’s area.’
Requirements
As we mentioned before, Shatter is a 2nd level spell. Meaning that this is a spell that full casters can learn at the 3rd level, half-casters at the 5th level, and third-casters at the 7th level when the rest of their 2nd level spell list.
This spell also requires a verbal component (spoken word), a somatic component (a movement from your casting focus, your staff/wand), and some material components (a chip of mica).
If you have an arcane focus or a material component pouch, the material aspect will be covered by your focus. It takes an action to cast this spell, the effects are instantaneous and can be cast up to 60 feet away.
Not the furthest spell in terms of pure range, but plenty far away enough to keep its effects away from you!
Which Classes Can Cast Shatter In 5E?
So, which classes can cast this spell? After all, there’s no point in getting hyped up for a spell that you can’t use in the first place! Well, the Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Bard classes will all get this spell naturally in their spell lists at level 3.
While the Cleric class does not get Shatter as standard in its spell list, the Tempest domain cleric does get this spell permanently prepared. Monks, through the Way of the 4 Elements subclass, can get access to this spell at 6 levels, at the cost of 3 ki points.
Both the Eldritch Knight and the Arcane Trickster subclasses for the Fighter and Rogues respectively also get access to the Wizard’s spell list, giving them access to this at level 7.
No half-casters in Dungeons and Dragons 5e can currently cast Shatter without a feat or feature that allows you to dip into another class’s spell list, so sorry aspiring Rangers and Paladins, this one isn’t for you.
However, the Artillerist and Armorer subclasses for the Artificer class do get this as a prepared spell at level 5, so go nuts with it, wacky magical inventors across the forgotten realms
What Makes Shatter Great In 5E?
So, those are the basics for what exactly this spell does. Now, you’re probably more interested in learning why so many players of Dungeons and Dragons (ourselves included) love this spell!
Rare Damage Type
One of the biggest things that shatter has going for it is its damage type. One of the things that can throw off a spellcaster’s game plans for a fight is when an enemy that they are attacking ends up being resistant to whatever spells they happen to have prepared.
We’ve all been there: You’re going to cast Fireball, Scorching Ray, or Poison Spray, thinking you’re going to do a ton of damage, only to find out that you’re doing less than half of what you expected. And you have no other types of damage-type spells either!
So, if you want to feel assured that you’re doing damage that is going to land, you’ll want a damage type that is pretty rarely resisted by your enemies. And that’s where the damage type of Shatter comes into the picture.
Thunder damage is a relatively rare type of resisted damage in 5e. Not quite as rare as force damage, but still much rarer than the more common elemental resistances like fire, cold, lightning, or poison.
Whipping out the Shatter spell means that you can be confident that whatever your opponent has in terms of resistance, thunder is pretty unlikely.
(confident, but not guaranteed. Don’t underestimate your GM picking a monster with resistance to this magic, or homebrewing a monster to be resistant to it.)
Speaking of damage that you know will land, let’s talk a little about the damage that Shatter does. Not the thunder damage that we talked about, but how the attack itself works. When it comes to early-game spell slots, every one of them matters.
Especially for your latest spell level, which will always be pretty rare and valuable, for those big-number damage spells. This makes it all the more frustrating when you cast your one 2nd level spell slot, only for the spell attack roll to get a natural 1 on your dice.
Nothing feels worse than burning a spell slot on nothing! However, when it comes to Shatter, you don’t have to make a spell attack roll to hit them. Instead, your opponent has to make a Dexterity saving throw, to halve the damage that they receive.
But even if they succeed on the saving throw, your target will still be taking damage, regardless of how well they roll. This means that, unless your target is immune to thunder damage, you’re always going to be doing damage, even if it is not as much as you were hoping.
And as we already discussed before, thunder is very rarely even resisted, much less completely ineffective!
Early Area-Of-Effect Spell
One of the things that casters will start to lean on for damaging spells from 2nd level onwards is Area of Effect spells (or AOE for short). These are spells that, rather than rolling a spell attack and hitting a specific target, will hit a wide area.
Any target within that area (in this case, the 10 feet diameter), is then forced to make some kind of saving through usually dexterity. This allows you to attack more than a single target with a single spell.
Considering that at this point, several of the martial classes will have ways of attacking more than once (a flurry of blows and unarmed strikes for Monks, action surge for Fighters, etc.), this allows you to start dealing more damage to more enemies, especially if they are clustered in one spot on a battle map.
Combine these aspects with the guaranteed damage, and the rarely resisted thunder damage, and you can see why so many people will often pick this spell early on in the campaign!
Utility Uses
One of the things that keen-eyed readers will likely have spotted is that the spell description also mentions damage to inanimate objects. Most spells could do damage to objects such as doors and crates, but you’d have to run it by the GM first.
But Shatter has that aspect covered. It’s able to do massive structural damage to tons of inanimate objects, so long as they are within the radius of the spell.
While this might not mean all that much to an inexperienced player, long-time and creative spell casters will use this knowledge in creative ways, destroying important inanimate objects that put the enemies you are fighting on the back foot.
Shatter Spell Strategies & Advice In 5E
So, now that you have all of this information at your fingertips, you’re pretty much ready to start using Shatter as a player yourself. However, if you’re a new player, you may want to read a few of these strategies, tips, tricks, and other pieces of advice that can help you get the most out of your spell here.
Utility Functions
Remember how Shatter can damage inanimate objects? Well, if you happen to be in an enclosed area, that has, say, a pillar that helps hold the ceiling up, you might find that hitting it with a Shatter spell can have some… let’s say ‘interesting’ effects.
Like, perhaps, the roof caving in on your target, doing more damage than a single Shatter spell ever could. (I mean, you could also be bringing the roof down on your head, but that’s just something you’ll have to plan for!)
This is the type of utility and out-of-the-box thinking that Shatter benefits from, to reach its full potential.
Command/Shatter Combo
This is a strategy that requires two spell casters to be reliably done. One should know the 1st level spell Command, while the other has to have Shatter prepared.
Have the caster with Command readied to use the spell on an opponent/opponents, and order them to ‘drop’ their weapons on the ground. If this succeeds, and they do drop their swords/axes/crossbows, the next person can then cast Shatter on the now discarded weapons.
Because Shatter does explicitly work on inanimate objects too, you’ll be able to destroy your opponent’s main way of doing damage! Of course, this only works if they fail their save against their target. But still, it’ll feel great when it does work!
Closing Notes – Is Shatter A Good Spell?
So, overall, would we say that Shatter is a good spell to have? Yes, absolutely! If you’re still in your early levels, there are a few other spells that have guaranteed area of effect damage, like Shatter.
Plus, if you’re a creative player, you’ll learn to use this spell in all kinds of ways outside its pure damage-dealing power. You’d be crazy not to have it on your spell list! (Just watch out for your teammates when using it!)
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve mentioned the term ‘caster’ and a lot of variations of that concept in this guide, so allow us to give a more thorough explanation.
Not only is this good information to help you know what to expect from these classes, but it will also come in handy if or when you choose to multi-class.
Different classes will learn different levels of spells at different rates in DND 5e, and are categorized based on how quickly they learn those spells:
• Normal/Full casters, learn spells and class abilities that supplement their spellcasting as they go up in levels.
• Druids, Clerics, Bards, Warlocks, Sorcerers, and Wizards are all considered full casters.
• A half-caster will learn spells at (as the name suggests) half the rate of full casters, rounded down. They will also only start learning spells at 2nd level and above. So, whereas a full caster might learn a 3rd level spell at level 5, a half-caster will learn it at level 9.
• Artificers, Rangers, and Paladins are all half-casters.
• Third-casters, which will only exist as class features for certain subclasses, learn new spell levels at a third of the full caster’s rate. • So, to use the example from the half-casters, third-casters will learn 3rd level spells at level 13.
• The Arcane Trickster subclass for rogues and the Eldritch Knight for Fighters that we have already mentioned are the only third-casters in DND currently.
Whereas the full caster’s play styles revolve almost entirely around spells and spellcasting, half and third-casters will have martial features that they supplement their spellcasting with.
In the case of third-casters, it’s probably more accurate to say that spellcasting supplements their normal fighting styles.
Because Shatter is an Area of Effect spell, any target that is within that space will take damage. Meaning that, if you find yourself in that area, you will also have to make the saving throws and take damage.
The spell is described as having a loud, shrill sound to it when it is used.
Now, whether or not that is just inside the spell radius, and that is what is causing the damaging effect, or it’s heard everywhere around it, and it’s really bad inside the affected area will be down to your DM’s discretion.
Some of you may have read the components for this spell, and be wondering what exactly ‘mica’ is. Mica is a type of stone that has a specific luster to it, often being considered a gemstone by many people.
In the real world, it is often used to create decorative pieces. Mica is a common stone to find, hence why there is no extra cost to using the spell as it is described.
In spite of my reservations, there is nothing quite like D&D to bring out your inner creator and now I love the imaginative and even roleplaying elements of the game (I still can’t manage doing accents though!).
My favorite thing about D&D is that there isn’t just one way to play it.
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