Do cantrips get Stronger at Higher level?

[enricofermi2]

Alot of the classes have cantrips that can be used without costing a spell slot. Do you get better cantrips over time. Or do they mostly get weaker as you level up compared to the limited use spells.

[FunkyMonkey]

They scale with level. For example, fire bolt does 1d10 damage at 1st level, 2d10 at level 5 and 3d10 at level 10.

Also, there are items and character features that boost cantrips, too.

[♠.brT]

Spells will always be more powerful, They are to be used in situations where you need the extra damage, cc, etc... Cantrips do get more powerful as you level up, and will remain useful for the entire game, they just aren't as powerful as spells.

[Ironwu]

Yes. But Warlock Eldritch Blast is absolutely the best of the bunch. Not only does it scale, but it scales off character level and not class level. In addition, the scaling is not a little more damage, it is a full extra beam. Absolutely deadly.

[Recjawjind]

Cantrips absolutely do scale every 5 levels.
However, keep in mind, as you level you gain more, and stronger spell slots (other than warlocks, which are very limited in the number of spell slots they have, so they are more reliant on cantrips but in exchange get the best cantrip in the game). So while cantrips grow, they will absolutely be outperformed by levelled spells. It's just that they dont become worthless, and can be used in small, minor fights that you don't want to spend resources on, and are confident in beating quickly.

[FunkyMonkey]

Originally posted by Ironwu:

Yes. But Warlock Eldritch Blast is absolutely the best of the bunch. Not only does it scale, but it scales off character level and not class level. In addition, the scaling is not a little more damage, it is a full extra beam. Absolutely deadly.

All cantrips scale on character level, not just Eldritch blast. But Eldritch blast is the best scaling because you get multiple beams, not just one.

[butbka]

Depends. For example casters usually have Scaling Cantrips at Levels 5 and 10. Some items can enhance cantrip effects.

[Mander]

There is also equipment that augment your cantrips' damage, be it with your charisma (i.e. eldritch blast) or intelligence modifier (for wizards).
And, you can also further augment cantrips with metamagic feats from the sorcerer class, giving you a pool of effect to further strengthen your cantrips.

[General Malaise]

Originally posted by Ironwu:

Yes. But Warlock Eldritch Blast is absolutely the best of the bunch. Not only does it scale, but it scales off character level and not class level. In addition, the scaling is not a little more damage, it is a full extra beam. Absolutely deadly.

3 Beams in the end.

[Heu, Iterum Id Feci]

It helps to think of cantrips as your normal standard weapon swing and slot spells as your special attacks. The special attacks are pretty much always limited by some sort of resource...for example the superiority dice for fighters or the are limited by having special conditions.

[Mander]

Originally posted by Dαятн Wαfflεmαncεя:

It helps to think of cantrips as your normal standard weapon swing and slot spells as your special attacks. The special attacks are pretty much always limited by some sort of resource...for example the superiority dice for fighters or the are limited by having special conditions.

Yes and no.
There are setups that can make cantrips deal a lot more damage than "standard" attacks, which can be further augmented in many ways, resulting in lethal damage (upward of 50 points of damage total) for many of them.
They are more... like ranged attacks with special arrows.
Standard spells instead are more like artillery strike, with the caveat, that they should be used with the aim of causing as much damage as possible on an enemy / group of enemies AND neutralizing them with conditions, tailoring your offensive to their weakness.
In my, albeit limited, experience, my ice wizard is basically the Simbul.

EDIT: my current record for cantrip damage is a resounding 88 for ray of frost, shattering the previous 62 points of damage. This as a pure wizard, so no meta magic feats...