Fireball

Level 3 Evocation spell available to Sorcerers and Wizards. 8d6 Fire in a big radius, Dexterity save for half, at 18m range. This is the spell every arcane caster levels up for, and it stays useful until the credits.

Spell description: Shoot a bright flame from your fingers that explodes upon contact, torching everything in the vicinity.

Spell properties

• Damage: 8d6 Fire
• Damage type: Fire
• Range: 18m (60ft)
• Area: 6m (20ft) radius
• Save: DEX save (half damage on success)
• Conditions applied: Ignites flammable surfaces and objects.
• Cost: Action + Spell Slot
• Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Fireball at a higher level deals an additional 1d6 Fire damage for each spell slot level above the 3rd.

How to obtain Fireball

• Sorcerer, Wizard at Class level 5
• Light Domain (Cleric) and The Fiend (Warlock) at Class level 5
• Eldritch Knight (Fighter) and Arcane Trickster (Rogue) at Class level 13

Source items: Incandescent Staff, Markoheshkir, Necklace of Fireballs, Scroll of Fireball

When to cast Fireball

Cast it into the biggest cluster of enemies you can find. 8d6 is an average of 28 damage to every single creature in the blast, which deletes most groups of normal enemies outright and softens up the rest for the melee.

It ignites the ground, so a Fireball into a Grease puddle or a room full of oil barrels does a lot more than 8d6. It also ignites your own party, so get them out of the radius first. The radius is bigger than it looks.

Fire is the most commonly resisted damage type in the game, and Act 2 in particular is full of things that shrug it off. When it lands unresisted it is the best damage per slot you have. When it does not, Lightning Bolt does the same job.

Do not upcast it unless you have nothing better to do with the slot. One extra d6 per level is poor value next to the Level 4 and 5 spells you could be casting instead.