Buffing or debuffing which is better

[intregus]

I was thinking about making a wizard or cleric necromancer focused on debuffing but it got me thinking, is it better to buff the party or debuffing the enemy?

[Gardakan]

I'll just let you think of this. A sorcerer can use Twinned Spell on an impactful buff for two members (like Haste at level 5).

Two potent attackers with Haste on their butt can be pretty signifiant (and you can still debuff with non-concentration spells).

You think of buff-debuff as they are opposite.

You can buff (with passive things like Aid, Mage Armor, Darkvision or Guidance outside of combat) at low levels while also debuffing the enemy (with many options).

Doing both is quite possible and pretty more rewarding.

If you want to be impactful while you are buffing, consider the Divine Soul variant of the Sorcerer from Xanathar's, it let you pick Cleric spells while being a Sorcerer (and you have a neat luck-like ability at level 1). Grab Twinned Spell... use it on both buffs-debuff (pick your playstyle).

If you are worried about healing and not having enough spells slot, take a dip in 1 level of Cleric (life) and you'll have level 1 spells covered + a nice boost to your healing capability.

I'm playing a Cleric 1 - Sorcerer 3 so far and let me tell you that Healing Word with Twinned Spell is wonderful (+ the Twinned Shield of Faith that turns out to be pretty wonderful).

I have 3 level 2 spells from Sorcerer-Cleric : Suggestion - Enhance Ability - Silence

I can debuff with :

Cantrip - Frostbite (advantage on next roll)
1 - Guiding Bolt (good base damage + advantage on next roll, can be twinned)
Sleep (will likely swap it soon, but still efficient)
2 - Silence (and can buff Stealth, Cleric spell) and Twinned Suggestion (more likely to take hold in combat in you double the odds of failure).

+ the massive amount of utility gained through the rest of spells (Enhance Ability - Shield of Faith - Healing Word - Comprehend Languages (Rituel Casting) - Mage armor - Bless - Guidance )

See the pattern. I'm pretty efficient at doing buff-debuff-heal. I even grabbed the Actor feat at level 1 with human variant to act as the party face.

[polymphus]

Debuffs allow saving throws, Buffs don't. Debuffers are viable, but they're definitely weaker.

[Gardakan]

Debuffs allow saving throws, Buffs don't. Debuffers are viable, but they're definitely weaker.

Faerie Fire allows a bunch of saving throws. Pretty neat for a level 1 spell. Sleep is still pretty efficient at putting things to sleep.

Debuffs are still there. Magic has been tone down overall, which is healthy for the game.