Melf’s Acid Arrow

Level 2 Evocation spell available to Wizards. A green bolt for 4d4 Acid damage on impact and another 2d4 at the end of the target’s next turn, and even on a miss it still deals half the initial damage. It is the Wizard’s most reliable single-target Level 2 nuke for exactly that reason: it cannot fully whiff.

Spell description: Shoot a green arrow that covers the target and the ground with acid. Deals 4d4 Acid damage immediately and 2d4 Acid damage at the end of the target’s turn. If the spell misses, the target still takes half the initial damage.

Spell properties

• Range: 18m (60ft)
• Attack: Attack roll
• Damage: 4d4 Acid
• Conditions applied: Deals 4d4 Acid damage immediately and 2d4 Acid damage at the end of the target’s turn. On a miss, the target still takes half the initial damage.
• Cost: Action + Spell Slot
• Recharge: Per action

Spell upcasting

Deals an extra 2d4 Acid damage for each spell slot level above the 2nd. 1d4 on impact and 1d4 at the end of the target’s turn.

How to obtain Melf’s Acid Arrow

• Wizard at Class level 3

Source items: Melf’s First Staff, Scroll of Melf’s Acid Arrow

When to cast Melf’s Acid Arrow

The miss clause is what earns this spell its place. Scorching Ray can miss all three rays and do nothing at all. Melf’s cannot. Even a total whiff returns half of 4d4, which makes it the safe pick against a high-AC target on a turn you cannot afford to waste.

Acid is also the right damage type more often than people expect. It gets past most of the game’s common resistances, and Acid stops Troll regeneration alongside Fire. If your party has no Fire caster, Melf’s is your answer to the trolls in the Underdark.

The delayed 2d4 is easy to forget and easy to waste. It lands at the end of the target’s next turn, so if you kill them first it evaporates. Do not open with Melf’s on something you are about to finish. Open with it on something that will still be standing next round.

Melf’s First Staff gives you a free cast per Long Rest and boosts Acid damage, which is a genuinely strong Act 1 pickup for an Evocation Wizard.