Dungeons & Dragons: The 23 Most Useful Fourth-Level Spells, Ranked
Summary
- Fourth-level spells for casters in D&D 5e have improved, offering useful options like Banishment and Greater Invisibility.
- Spells like Stoneskin and Fire Shield have lost utility in newer editions, while others like Wall of Ice have been moved to a higher level.
- The updated 2024 Handbook has added or modified spells, making Leomund's Secret Chest and Banishment ideal spells for utility and combat.
For as long as Dungeons & Dragons and similar TTRPGs have been around, it seems like fourth-level spells are a wasted level. Traditionally, there were never many good damage-dealing spells at fourth level, but this has been remedied with Fourth and Fifth Editions.
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Posts 1Many fourth-level spells that were invaluable in previous editions, like Stoneskin and Fire Shield, have been severely weakened. Others have been removed from the game altogether, like Recitation and Defensive Harmony. Then, some useful spells have been placed in a higher spell level, such as Wall of Ice. No matter your character's spec or moral alignment, here are the best fourth-level spells for casters in D&D 5e.
Updated on February 23, 2025 by Jack Filsinger: Every great spellcaster, whether wizard, sorcerer, or other, needs to round out their spell list. Fourth-level spells include some great utility and damage-doing effects, so we've updated this list to include even more options for the best fourth-level spells in Dungeons & Dragons. We've also added tables that breakdown casting time, which classes can cast these spells, and whether or not concentration is required to maintain these spells' effects.
23 Arcane Eye
The Scrying Spell by GabolepsCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Wizard
Yes, up to 1 hour
Arcane Eye is an excellent spell that gives you an invulnerable sentry in the form of an invisible eye that hovers within 30 feet of you. You can move the eye as a bonus action, and the eye can move through an opening as small as one inch.
When you have the eye up, you can mentally see through the eye, even through darkness. This is a great spell for when you need to spy on adversaries without being detected. Just be careful, as spells and effects like Truesight will be able to detect this eye.
22 Conjure Minor Elementals
Summon Fey by Joseph WestonCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Druid, Wizard
Yes, up to 10 minutes
When you cast this spell, you conjure spirits from the elemental planes that form a 15-foot emanation around you. This emanation of elementals can cause 2d8 damage whenever you hit a creature with an attack, and the damage can be cold, fire, lightning, or acid.
This is a fantastic spell for increasing your action economy and your damage during combat. Because you can inflict extra elemental damage with every attack, it's almost like having multiattack as a spellcaster. Plus, you can exploit elemental damage vulnerabilities by switching up the type of damage you do.
21 Leomund's Secret Chest
Mimic by Mark ZugCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Wizard
No
Leomund's Secret Chest is an ideal spell for resource management, particularly when the Dungeon Master is not giving your party a Bag of Holding or any similar item. With this spell, you can send a chest and all its contents to the Ethereal Plane, where it stays until you summon it back with a tiny replica of the chest.
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PostsOf course, you don't only have to use it for carrying items on day-to-day adventures, but you can also use it to craft elaborate plans that require you to smuggle certain items. After all, it is far easier to hide a tiny replica of a chest than it is to try and pass an entire chest through a checkpoint.
20 Banishment
Hunger of Hadar by Joseph WestonCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Cleric, Paladin, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard
Yes, up to 1 minute
Banishment is a great spell for removing a high-priority target from the battlefield, sending them to a harmless plane for up to one minute. Since the caster needs to concentrate on the spell for the spell to last that full minute, it is better suited for classes such as paladins or warlocks that have other tools beyond concentration spells.
Now, if the targeted creature is native to a plane that isn't the material plane (specifically aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, or fiends), you can send them to a different plane permanently, as long as Banishment lasts for a full minute. Based on the rules as written, you can be in the Elemental Plane of Fire and permanently banish a fire elemental from there, probably to the adjacent para-elemental planes.
19 Aura Of Life
Daylight by David AstrugaCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Cleric, Paladin
Yes, up to 10 minutes
Facing undead creatures is a dangerous endeavor, but one most adventuring parties have to get used to. These creatures often deal necrotic damage and lower the hit point maximum of their targets, making them not only dangerous during an encounter, but tough to face during drawn-out, multiple fights.
Aura of Life is the perfect tool to deal with these evil problems since it creates an emanation that counters most of them. Allies of the caster within the emanation have resistance to necrotic damage, can't have their hit point maximum reduced, and should they end up with zero hit points, they get back up with one instead.
18 Polymorph
A Druid by Alexander MokhovCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Wizard
Yes, up to 1 hour
This spell allows you to change one being into a new form limited to humanoids and beasts. A Wisdom saving throw is allowed to avoid the effects if the target is unwilling. The recipient keeps their alignment and personality, but mental and physical stats and abilities are those of the new form. When the spell’s duration of one hour ends, or if the target dies, then the target reverts to its original form.
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PostsWhen the polymorphed reverts, the creature's hit points are restored to the pre-polymorphed total. A caster using this spell on themselves was previously allowed to end the spell at any time in past editions, but this would have made the spell a bit too powerful for a fourth-level spell.
17 Divination
A Scholarly Magic-User by Billy ChristianCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action or Ritual
Cleric, Druid, Wizard
No
A spell that can only be learned by clerics but does appear in scroll form for those that can use them, Divination is a bit situational. But, it works well during times when a group might be unsure of how to proceed or when a character is working alone.
This spell allows you to contact a deity and ask them a question, but the exact details of how this spell works depend on which god you're asking. The casting components include a ritual offering to the cleric's church of choice, and should they be looked upon favorably, they can ask a question about something that will happen in the next seven days. The form that the reply takes is entirely up to the DM, but expect something cryptic in the form of a riddle or poem.
16 Phantasmal Killer
Demonic Possession by Alexandre HonoréCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Bard, Wizard
Yes, up to 1 minute
Phantasmal Killer is only available to wizards, which relegates it closer to the bottom of the list, but it's one of the best fourth-level spells for wizards in 5e. It's just as badass as it sounds, which makes it both useful and fun. It's not just a matter of conjuring a ghost to do your murderous bidding, either.
The wizard taps into the deepest fears of the target creature and creates an illusion that manifests those fears, which only the target can see. If the target fails their Wisdom saving throw, they become Frightened and take a disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls. The spell ends on a successful save, but if the Wisdom checks fail, the target takes 4d10 psychic damage.
15 Fire Shield
Orb of Dragonkind by Brian ValezaCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard
No
Before third edition, Fire Shield caused attackers to take an equal amount of damage they dealt to you from their normal melee attacks. In 5e, this spell deals 2d8 points to an attacker who successfully hits you with a melee weapon or an unarmed attack.
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PostsThis could potentially deal more damage than you received from the attack, but chances are it will deal less. Fire Shield can also be cast to provide a Chill Shield instead, causing cold damage to attackers. Fire Shield provides cold resistance, while the Chill Shield provides fire resistance. This spell is also useful in dark areas as it provides more light than a torch.
14 Giant Insect
Giant Wolf Spider by Michele GiorgiCasting Time
Classes
Concentration Required?
Action
Druid
Yes, up to 10 minutes
It's situational and exclusive to druids, but so handy and effective and just plain cool that it's still highly recommended. Giant Insect is part of the Conjuration magic school, meaning it's essentially a summoning spell.
Usually, the spell is used to summon centipedes, spiders, wasps, or scorpions, but the DM can vary the usual guidelines if you want to use another critter, like a bee or an ant. Once the animals become giants, they obey your verbal commands for the duration of the spell.
