You can do better than Eldritch Blast

The new cantrip that should be top of your spell list.

For ten years players have literally been selling their souls to learn Eldritch Blast.

The logic is apparently flawless:

• Eldritch Blast has the best damage die (D10) and can be enhanced further with Agonizing blast.

• It can be customized with other Eldritch Invocations to make it even more tactically effective.

• It offers multiple attack rolls, improving your odds of hitting.

These universal truths have made the Warlock one of the most popular multiclass dips, just to collect this S-tier cantrip.

But here’s what everyone misses: Eldritch Blast is boring.

There’s a reason the dnd5e community is filled with memes of Warlock’s being mocked for casting the spell. It might be tactically effective, but it forces players into repeating the same tactic turn after turn.

It’s 2025, all three core rulebooks have landed in our grubby mitts and new campaigns are beginning across these forgotten realms. Our spellcasters deserve better. It’s time for an upgrade.

An explosive choice

While designing the 2024 Player Handbook, someone got locked in a broom closet and wasn't allowed to leave until cantrips were more fun. It was worth it: previously forgettable cantrips like True Strike have become must picks and a raft of new options have entered the fold, including my new favourite: Sorcerous Burst.

Exclusive to the Sorcerer class, this neat little cantrip allows you to pick from seven damage types for each casting, meaning it's a fantastic multi-tool for dealing with enemy damage resistances and immunities, as well as exploiting vulnerabilities.

With a D8 damage die, it keeps pace with most cantrips but could eclipse them all thanks to an exploding dice mechanic.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept, it's fairly simple: when you roll a natural 8, roll again and add the scores together. You can do this a number of times up to your Charisma modifier, offering the rush of a natural 20 much more regularly.

That means a level 1 Sorcerer with a 17 Charisma has a 12.5% chance of getting to roll an extra damage die and a 0.7% chance of rolling a full 4D8. If that sounds unlikely, rolling two natural 20s has just a 0.25% chance of occuring and I've seen that happen too.

Better still, as your number of damage dice increases at later levels, so do your odds of exploding when you roll an 8 on any die in the pool.

A level 17 Sorcerer with a 20 Charisma stands a 50% chance of getting to roll at least one additional damage die and has the potential to roll 9D8 - on a cantrip. I tried to work out the probability of that happening, but I ended up with a nose bleed.

More importantly, it's a lot of fun rolling handfuls of dice and hoping for that one-in-eight chance. Every time you cast this spell is going to feel like a trip to the casino.

What most players won't realise however, is that they don't have to choose between multiclassing as a Sorcerer or a Warlock.

Warlocks with the Pact of the Tome can choose to learn three cantrips from any spell list. Doing so makes the spell count as a Warlock cantrip, meaning it can also be enhanced with Eldritch Invocations like Agonizing Blast, Repelling Blast or Lance of Lethargy. This loophole in the rules means you can still choose to take levels in Warlock to earn one of the best cantrips in the game - just not the one everyone else at the table will be expecting.

To Burst or to Blast?

Eldritch Blast is a great cantrip. I’m not risking another nosebleed to run the exact numbers but I have no doubt that as both cantrips level up, everyone’s favourite will still land on top.

But here’s a dirty secret your DM won’t tell you: damage isn’t everything. There’s nothing wrong with building a character who can deal 107 damage per round, but that only means your DM will start using monsters that can survive 107 damage per round. They’re not trying to frustrate you, they want the game to be fun. Every combat should be challenging and interesting and they will select monsters that can match your capabilities, including damage output.

So which sounds more fun to you?

You could be the player who does the most damage, or you could start your turn by clutching a handful of dice and watching the whole table lean forward to see how many infinity signs come up this time. No one will be cracking jokes about seeing you cast the same old cantrip for the hundredth time - they’ll be egging you on to explode.

Know a Warlock who needs to refresh their spell list? Share this article with them.

What’s your favourite cantrip in the 2024 rules - have I convinced you to choose Sorcerous burst? Let me know in the comments.

Next week - Strahd's mixtape: Making a playlist for your character.