Guiding Bolt

Level 1 Evocation spell available to Clerics. It fires a beam for 4d6 Radiant and hands the next attacker Advantage against the target. The hardest-hitting Level 1 nuke a Cleric owns.

Spell description: Call forth a beam of light. Deals 4d6 Radiant damage and grants Advantage on the next Attack Roll against the target.

Spell properties

• Damage: 4d6 Radiant
• Damage type: Radiant
• Range: 18m (60ft)
• Attack type: Ranged
• Conditions applied: The next Attack Roll against the target has Advantage.
• Cost: Action + Spell Slot
• Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Casting Guiding Bolt at a higher level deals an additional 1d6 Radiant damage for each spell slot level above the 1st.

How to obtain Guiding Bolt

• Cleric at Class level 1
• Circle of the Stars (Druid) at Class level 2
• College of Lore (Bard) at Class level 6 via Magical Secrets
• Bard at Class level 10 via Magical Secrets
• Granted by features: Magic Initiate: Cleric
• Source item: Seraphic Pugilist Gloves

When to cast Guiding Bolt

4d6 is a lot of damage for a Level 1 slot, and it is the best opening nuke a Cleric has for the first few levels. Radiant is resisted by almost nothing, and it scales cleanly when you cast it from a bigger slot.

The Advantage rider is the real reason to open with it. Guiding Bolt into a follow-up attack from your rogue or fighter turns a coin-flip hit into a near-certain crit setup. Fire it first, then let the melee capitalise.