Best Control spell

[ImSAMazing]

I am currently playing a lvl 15 Wizard and we are almost at lvl 16. So I get to choose 2 spells,1 of which I already chose(Finger of Death). I want a control spell as the second spell, because my only real control spell atm is Banishment(ik not smart of me ya stupid wizard). Our party really needs control spells, so which control spells do you guys find useful? OP? Cool? I prefer to get a control spell where I can choose who I target, since I don't want to debuff my party members.

[Mjolnirbear]

Sorry i havent played with banishment but ive heard it's amazing. Can you explain why you think it was a bad pick?

[AmbientRaven]

I'm a huge fan of grease. 10ft square difficult terrain that causes knock down. Movement is doubled in difficult terrain, so standing takes their whole move action. Then they have to pass a save or fall at end of their turn. Also, no conentration on the spell if i remember correctly.

Theres another i forget, watery sphere maybe? I remember that being excellent

[ImSAMazing]

Sorry i havent played with banishment but ive heard it's amazing. Can you explain why you think it was a bad pick?

It is amazing, I ment that it was stupid of me that I didnt pick up other control spells.

[zinycor]

I really like slow as a control spell. Also counterspell is amazing if you have a fight against another spellcaster.

[Yagyujubei]

slow is great, as is banishment, or hypnotic pattern, or hold/dominate anything, or mass suggestion.... but force cage is the best control spell hands down. its literally an instant win for any encounter.

[SharkForce]

wall of force is a good option for anything that can't teleport.

web is a pretty good low-level option as well, lots of things have really bad dex saves, and while their strength is fine, getting out is a strength *check* so basically no monsters get proficiency... even the strongest will typically have ~50/50 to escape, and it uses their action.

[GiantOctopodes]

Agreed on Wall of Force. It is the better option vs Forcecage imho because of its versatility. 10 10' panels which only need to be touching allows for a lot of variety in the configuration, and you trade a weakness to Dispel Magic (a 3rd level spell) for a weakness to disintegrate (a 6th level spell, higher level than the wall of force itself!). Instead of creatures who partially fit being pushed out, you get to choose which side of the wall they appear on. In addition, the wall of force is only bypassed by teleportation

Solar,
Balor,
Marilith,
Nalfeshnee,
Dryad (only if a tree is within the area of the Wall of Force),
Intellect Devourer (in very, very specialized circumstances),
Sphinx,
Unicorn,
Arcanaloth,
Mezzoloth,
Nycaloth,
Ultroloth,
Archmage

and by Ethereal Travel
Ghost
Night Hag
Nightmare,
Succubus / Incubus,
Blink Dog,
Phase Spider

Since you already have Banishment to deal with the "loths" and the Demons of the world, that leaves a very small list of creatures which will provide you with trouble by just popping out of there. Finally, as a 5th level spell, you can cast it at most 5x per day, vs a 7th level spell at most 2x per day. 7th level spell slots seem better spent on Simulacrum and Plane Shift, or Finger of Death imho.

Edit: I also like Hypnotic Pattern, but I'd try to learn that one from another Wizard rather than spending a level up slot on it. Far easier to get a hold of a 3rd level spell than a 5th or 7th level spell, after all.

[Shining Wrath]

Wall of Force is an extremely good choice if you are often in places where a WoF can form 2 or 3 sides of a square. If you're dealing with creatures too large to fit, or dealing with creatures with 3d movement capabilities (air or water or burrow), other choices might help you more.

Hold Monster is a solid choice for a single enemy, not so good for hordes.

[EvilAnagram]

Mass Suggestion, Wall of Force, Sleep, Slow.

Also, Illusion spells tend to be amazing if you're a creative thinker.

[Yagyujubei]

oh man thats what i meant to say before, wall of force not force cage. it's WAY more flexible than force cage if you get creative with your panel arrangement.

OH NO AN ANCIENT DRAGON! wall of force+ranged atk to death. np bros.

[zinycor]

Blindness/deafness is nice too since it doesn't require concentration

[GiantOctopodes]

Not to mention the other uses for Wall of Force, including, but not limited to:

Making a Bridge! Sure, it's only 100ft long, and it's a 5th level spell while Fly or similar is 3rd level, and by now you have Teleport, but even still there's something to be said about having a bridge that you can dismiss at will- say, for example, while the enemies pursuing you are halfway across?

Damming a river! Whether to goal is to dry out an area so your party can traverse through it, flooding an area by blocking the escape of water, or setting up a trap wherein you dam it for a while and then release it while something is in its path, a Wall of Force does admirably. Replace "water" with "lava flow", or "acid" and it becomes even more fun.

Creating a Fortress! Let's say someone in your party has the ultimate fortress spell, the crazy OP Leomund's tiny hut. The trouble? It being a ritual spell, they don't have it prepared, and it takes 10 minutes to cast. Meanwhile, the volcano is erupting right now. You create a free floating box prison, 10' x 20' x 10', containing your party members. That gives your ritual caster the 10 minutes they need to cast Leomund's Tiny Hut, which in turn gives you the 8 hours you need to have a long rest and figure out your next move.

Ending a Grapple! Since you determine on which side a creature ends up, even if two creatures are in the same square and intertwined, this will forcibly give them some separation from each other.

Causing your DM a headache! Carefully position your panels in such a way that there is nowhere inside a room where a creature can fit, even by squeezing, and both exits are blocked off. Ask him or her what happens next and grab some popcorn.

Creating an Ant Lion Trap! Mainly for if you're outdoors. Have a Blade Barrier or other environmental hazard, and little to no natural terrain to keep enemies in it? Craft walls such that they are pushed to the top of a slope leading down to said hazard. Since walls of force have 0 handholds and no way to make one (being immune to damage), they're pretty hard to climb. Throw on a Grease spell if someone's being particularly stubborn.

there are many others, but those are a few of my personal favorites.

[MaxWilson]

Agreed on Wall of Force. It is the better option vs Forcecage imho because of its versatility. 10 10' panels which only need to be touching allows for a lot of variety in the configuration, and you trade a weakness to Dispel Magic (a 3rd level spell) for a weakness to disintegrate (a 6th level spell, higher level than the wall of force itself!).

Neither Forcecage nor Wall of Force is vulnerable to Dispel Magic.

[MaxWilson]

Creating a Fortress! Let's say someone in your party has the ultimate fortress spell, the crazy OP Leomund's tiny hut. The trouble? It being a ritual spell, they don't have it prepared, and it takes 10 minutes to cast. Meanwhile, the volcano is erupting right now. You create a free floating box prison, 10' x 20' x 10', containing your party members. That gives your ritual caster the 10 minutes they need to cast Leomund's Tiny Hut, which in turn gives you the 8 hours you need to have a long rest and figure out your next move.

Unfortunately casting Leomund's Tiny Hut as a ritual actually requires 11 minutes. Enjoy sucking lava for the last minute of the casting time. :)

[ImSAMazing]

Unfortunately casting Leomund's Tiny Hut as a ritual actually requires 11 minutes. Enjoy sucking lava for the last minute of the casting time. :)

You can choose it as Signature spell on lvl 20 so it is always prepared. And 1 free / rest

[GiantOctopodes]

Neither Forcecage nor Wall of Force is vulnerable to Dispel Magic.

Unfortunately casting Leomund's Tiny Hut as a ritual actually requires 11 minutes. Enjoy sucking lava for the last minute of the casting time. :)

Both very true and valid! Hopefully you have a second slot available :smallcool:

Also Wall of Force is not vulnerable to Ethereal travel. I have no idea why I had misremembered them so severely, my apologies for the misinformation.

[Princess]

The ultimate control spells, literally, would be the Dominate line. Control your enemies actions, why not?

[Daishain]

Unfortunately casting Leomund's Tiny Hut as a ritual actually requires 11 minutes. Enjoy sucking lava for the last minute of the casting time. :)
Meh, if you can't find a way to delay needing the force walls to go up for just one minute...

[SharkForce]

The ultimate control spells, literally, would be the Dominate line. Control your enemies actions, why not?

because if it lasts more than a round or two against anything with a decent wis save, it's a miracle.

also because it's single target.