D&D Best Artificer Cantrips To Have

Updated:

15 Jun 2022

Magic is the ability to manipulate the ambient energies of the world to produce desired results, and any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

In the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Artificers are masters at unlocking magic in everyday objects. They are the supreme inventors, using tools to channel arcane power and imbuing objects with magical properties.

By employing wondrous gadgets and technological breakthroughs, artificers are a powerful addition to any adventuring party, they are a swiss army knife with an answer for any situation.

So many are their tools that it can be daunting to pick a handful to accompany you through your adventures but worry not, we’re going to help you with the groundwork of your toolset: We’ve made a list to help you pick from the best cantrips available to artificers!

10. Prestidigitation

Part of every player’s bag of tricks, prestidigitation lets you create several, harmless sensorial effects to flex your creativity and lead to interesting role-playing scenarios.

This cantrip shines in the hands of a creative player, granting your toolkit an arsenal of minor tricks to get by.

Why Prestidigitation Is Great:

Dirty shoes, wet clothes, smelly odors. It's usually the weirdest things that have the biggest impact, and Prestidigitation does just that, deals with the littlest of things, fixing minor inconveniences!

Prestidigitation details: https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Prestidigitation

9. Ray of Frost

Pains a dish best served cold. Ray of frost shoots a cold discharge that not only deals a decent amount of damage but also slows foes down.

Particularly useful for when you got ranged superiority on your foes, its speed reduction can let you kite enemies around open spaces.

Why Ray of Frost Is Great:

Unlike bows or crossbows, cold damage ignores physical resistances, making it a good elemental type.
Reducing your enemies' speed can mean a lot of things: Controlling the flow of battle, ensuring they don’t get away, etc.

Ray of Frost details: https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Ray%20of%20Frost#content

8. Firebolt

The classic choice for a damaging cantrip, this spell lets you fire off a beam of flame that strikes a foe for fiery punishment. If you hit a flammable object, it lights up in flames if it isn’t worn or carried.

The reason for picking this up is simple, it’s the highest damage cantrip available to the wizard.

Why Fire Bolt Is Great:

Unlike other damaging cantrips, Fire Bolt has a d10 damage dice, putting in On Par with ranged weapons when it comes to dealing damage.
120 feet is no joke when it comes to range, letting you snipe at foes from a relatively safe distance.

Fire Bolt details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:fire-bolt

7. Mending

The broken axle of a cart, a torn dress, or a damaged lock. These are things that can spiral into obstacles that derail your plans.

Worry not, for mending can fix and repair minor tears and breaks on certain items. It might not look like much but properly used you can take most carpenters out of commission with this here cantrip.

Why Mending Is Great:

Item-based obstacles are not common, but they happen. With mending, you no longer need to care about being subtle or careful, you can just repair the object afterward.
If your campaign places a great deal of importance on equipment, its durability, and maintenance, then Mending can completely take a load off of your shoulders.

Mending Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:mending

6. Thorn Whip

Thorn Whip is a ranged spell attack that lets you pull your target up to 10 feet towards you if they are large or smaller.

Not only can you move foes and allies alike around the battlefield with this, but you can also cut off enemies from their allies and come up with all kinds of creative combinations.

Why Thorn Whip Is Great:

If you have a strong front line, you can pull your enemies towards your friends and gang upon them.
Moving people around with a cantrip is always useful, for you can reposition people as you please.

Thorn Whip Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:thorn-whip

5. Magic Stone

Magic Stone is an interesting spell. You imbue up to three pebbles with your magical prowess, and these use your spellcasting modifier for attack and damage.

What makes this spell so great is that you can give these pebbles to someone else and said creature throws them with your modifier.

Why Magic Stone Is Great:

You can arm NPC allies with these before a fight, guaranteeing a round of good damage without taking up your concentration.
Pebbles are everywhere. In situations where you or your friends are disarmed, you can easily turn the tables with this spell.

Magic Stone Details: https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/magic-stone

4. Message

The most reliable communication spell, message lets you whisper a message to a creature you point towards, and only they can hear it.

Since it has a 120 feet range, you can coordinate with your allies in any situation without blowing up your cover or stealth.

Why Message Is Great:

Communication is the key to teamwork, by taking this spell you can make sure that distance is never an issue when dealing with critical information.
Since it’s a whisper, you can deliver eerie thoughts and creepy messages towards a creature you can see, potentially messing with them.

Message details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:message

3. Shocking Grasp

Unlimited Power! I mean, strips of lightning spring from your hands to shock a creature you touch, dealing lightning damage and it can’t take reactions until your next turn.

To top it off, you get an advantage on this attack if they are wearing metal armor.

Why Shocking Grasp Is Great:

Metal Armor is the most common kind of armor in the 5th edition, meaning you’ll always have a good chance to hit with this spell.
No reactions mean no attacks of opportunity, no Shield spells, no pesky ways to interrupt your turn.

Shocking Grasp details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:shocking-grasp

2. Guidance

This is it, a cantrip so good most Dungeon Masters (DMs) struggle with limiting its use.

Guidance lets you touch a willing creature, granting an extra d4 to an ability check of their choice.

The reason this is so good is that the target can roll the d4 before or after making the check, and since it’s a cantrip, there’s no reason not to keep this spell up in every situation that allows it.

What Guidance Is Good for:

Ability checks are the most common type of checks in Dungeons & Dragons. By perpetually boosting your chances of succeeding in them, you’re making most of the challenges you face that much easier.

Guidance details: https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Guidance#content

1. Mage Hand

You conjure a spectral, floating hand that can manipulate objects, retrieve items and so much more.

While the hand can’t attack or activate magical items, it's impervious to damage, so it could pull acid-covered levers, retrieve ancient treasures within pools of lava and scratch your back when it itches somewhere inconvenient!

Why Mage Hand Is Great:

The utility is the third name of this spell. There are many issues regarding distance or booby-trapped objects that simply summoning an impervious hand from 30 feet away can solve.

Mage Hand details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/spell:mage-hand