First time Druid, what spells would you recommend?

[CursedRhubarb]

Been running my first Druid and it's been a blast, but I'm torn on what spells to try out. I love the variety of control spells, but have yet to be able to use them since I don't want to shut down my team as well.

Character is a Lizardfolk Land Druid of Grasslands. Just hit level 3. Thanks to some nice rolls my Stats are:

Str 14
Dex 16
Con 18
Int 6
Wis 18
Cha 7

AC is a nice 16 or 18 with shield (plan on Warcaster at lvl 4)
I've found myself actually being an extra tank with my AC and having one of the highest HP pools in the group. (Thorn Whip to yank an enemy close then Hungry Jaws BA bite is going to be fun)

So far I've only really used Shillelagh, Good Berry, Create or Destroy Water, and Cure Wounds. I've had Entangle and Faerie Fire memorized but so far, if I use them I'd light up or trap at least two team members with them as well as the enemies. Any ideas for others I can try and creative uses for them? PHB spells only sadly.

[Ixidor92]

So from my experience playing a tiefling druid from lvl1 to lvl5 en-counting, here are a couple suggestions for first and second level spells that I found useful:
-Fog cloud: Definitely situational, but obscuring your entire group from the enemy usually has good implications. You do have to be careful with placement, since throwing it into the middle of a melee causes the same problems as faerie fire and Entanglement, but unlike those two a character can simply leave the area of the fog
-Speak with animals: I keep this prepared always on my character more for fluff than anything, but depending on your dm you would be surprised with how much information you'll be able to find out with this spell. In addition, you can cast it as a ritual and almost never use it in the middle of combat, so you don't have to worry about using up spell slots with it.
-Enhance ability: NEVER underestimate this spell. Giving an ally advantage on all checks related to a certain ability can work wonders, and its also one of the most flexible spells for usage. Are you in a diplomatic situation? Give the bard advantage on charisma checks. Does your group need to hide in a hurry? Give advantage on dexterity checks to the individual in heavy armor so he actually stands a chance of success. Seriously I almost always prepare this
-Heat Metal: One of my favorite single-target druid spells, with the caveat that it is only useful against humanoid opponents. If you are going into a dungeon full of monsters that have no armor, don't bother. Against an enemy wearing metal armor though, it forces them to make a choice--suffer damage and disadvantage every round, or lose the armor. My party has mostly been fighting monsters and dragons, but the two times I have used this, it completely shut down an extremely dangerous enemy.
-flaming sphere or moonbeam: Do not prepare both of these spells, but preparing one or the other at all times is usually a good idea. The question is what type of damage do you want, and how much control do you need? In most scenarios, I would go with flaming sphere due to its increased size that can hit more targets, though the damage output is slightly lower. However, if you need pinpoint accuracy in a group of individuals, or your worried about fire resistance, moonbeam is probably your better option. Regardless, at 3rd level one of these two spells is probably going to be your strongest offensive option.

Without knowing more about your group's game style that's about all I can offer.

[daltonispanda]

Moonbeam and Thorn Whip combo together well. Even better if your DM says entering the beam doesn't have to be voluntary.

Longstrider is great for chases and doesn't require concentration.

Pass without Trace is situational, but borderline overpowered whenever you need group stealth or just to get away from enemies tracking you.

Goodberry is the best spell in the game. Be sure to expend all your remaining spell slots on them before going to bed. The berries last for 24 hours, so you'll be able to have plenty of out of combat healing for the next day. Also, you can fill up any hangry beasts you come across. Make friends!

[CursedRhubarb]

Moonbeam looks like fun. We're running CoS and so far not much outside areas when we find ourselves in a fight. Would help keep things from the casters I bet. I'll have to try out Speak With Animals, never actually used it before.

[Citan]

Been running my first Druid and it's been a blast, but I'm torn on what spells to try out. I love the variety of control spells, but have yet to be able to use them since I don't want to shut down my team as well.

Character is a Lizardfolk Land Druid of Grasslands. Just hit level 3. Thanks to some nice rolls my Stats are:

Str 14
Dex 16
Con 18
Int 6
Wis 18
Cha 7

AC is a nice 16 or 18 with shield (plan on Warcaster at lvl 4)
I've found myself actually being an extra tank with my AC and having one of the highest HP pools in the group. (Thorn Whip to yank an enemy close then Hungry Jaws BA bite is going to be fun)

So far I've only really used Shillelagh, Good Berry, Create or Destroy Water, and Cure Wounds. I've had Entangle and Faerie Fire memorized but so far, if I use them I'd light up or trap at least two team members with them as well as the enemies. Any ideas for others I can try and creative uses for them? PHB spells only sadly.
Well, now you regret not having the Careful Metamagic don't you? XD

Don't worry, there are plenty great spells to use. Especially if you have Elemental Evil spells allowed.
- Earth Tremor is fairly small AOE so ally-friendly, and also put enemies prone (good for melee pals).
- Heat Metal is the best single-target spell by far, as long as the target wears metal armor.
- Moonbeam is great to dissuade enemies to come across.
- Dust Devil is like washing powder, triple action: push/blind/damage. ;)
- Flaming Sphere is another great pick for long encounters, movable damage for bonus action.

By the way, with such great stats, if you wanted to tank, I'd argue that a multiclass in Open Hand or Long Death Monk could work fairly well. :=) Just a wild thought...

[Beelzebubba]

So far I've only really used Shillelagh, Good Berry, Create or Destroy Water, and Cure Wounds. I've had Entangle and Faerie Fire memorized but so far, if I use them I'd light up or trap at least two team members with them as well as the enemies. Any ideas for others I can try and creative uses for them? PHB spells only sadly.

For Entangle and Faerie Fire, you need to realize you're not going to get everyone, and just be happy reducing the number your party is fighting. Even if it's just a couple, often just changing the balance between 'more of them than us' to 'more of us than them' quickly decides the fight. And don't forget how HUGE Advantage is.

Or, if coordinate with your team mates. Like, delay your action until the one in the thick of it disengages, they Disengage, you fire it off. That requires teamwork which takes time to learn how to do, but is incredibly satisfying when it happens.

Or, just get most of the enemies, and a friend occasionally, and then deal. Friendly fire with those spells isn't always a disaster. And disasters can still be fun, especially if you keep telling them to stay in formation and one of them always charges into the middle of the enemy. :smallbiggrin:

[SharkForce]

entangle shouldn't be that hard. only the initial hit makes anyone restrained, after that it's just difficult terrain; annoying, but well worth it for half of your enemies to be restrained :P

[Azgeroth]

if you find yourself tanking alot, flameblade is awesome. spell attack (same as shileligh) but 3d6 fire damage..

other 2nd level spells as people have mentioned, heat metal, moon beam.
(you already have pass without a trace, also an amazing spell)

something your going to run into a lot, most of the 'best' spells are all concentration, so you can only have one at a time.

level 1,

cure wounds, healing word, speak with animals, entangle, fog cloud, faerie fire, all good spells.

depending on how you play your druid will determine how you use your spells, personally, with any spell caster, its best to stick to simple attacks/cantrips until either an ideal oppurtunity to get as close to maximum affect for a spell slot comes up, or continue with simple attacks/cantrips.

you should always as a minimum have healing word prepared, in combat dont keep people at full hp, let them drop and then bring them back.

if you get high in the initiative and go 1st/2nd you can still make use of things like faerie fire or entangle, just position it to not affect allies, even if it means missing some enemies.

fog cloud/entangle/pass without a trace are all great for GTFO tactics, its much easier to retreat when they cant see or follow you.