D&D 5E Vicious Mockery utility

[Darkwing Duck]

I've seen several posts praising this spell, but I'm having trouble seeing its usefulness. The damage isn't all that great. It takes an action to cast, then and only then the victim gets a save and then and only then the victim gets a disadvantage on attack rolls.

The roleplaying favor is nice, but what am I missing regarding its power?

 

[Coredump]

Well, its 'just' a cantrip, so needs to be judged as such.

All cantrips are 'all or nothing', so that is normal. So is it better to do 1D10 damage, or do 1D4 and give disadvantage?
You can do a similar comparison with the other cantrips.

There are plenty of enemies where I would prefer to give them disadvantage instead of another 3hp of damage (on average)

Besides, the very coolest thing in 5E is to kill something using VM. How else can you claim to have insulted someone... to Death!

 

[mellored]

Disadvantage is a pretty big effect. Cutting most creatures damage by 1/2 and few resist psychic.

It does lose steam as you level when multi-attack is more common (cutting damage by 1/4 or 1/6th) and the damage size grows so slowly, but you won't be using it as often then.

But you can't expect too much from a cantrip.

 

[pdegan2814]

Forcing Disadvantage on an enemy's next attack can be very helpful. Plus psychic damage isn't resisted very often. Some enemies will have strong Wisdom saves, but others definitely won't, so pick your targets accordingly. Plus, its components are purely verbal, so it can be cast even when your hands are full, or you're being bound but can still speak, etc.

Don't knock Vicious Mockery. On the web series Critical Role(pro voice actors live-streaming their D&D campaign on Twitch), the Gnome Bard has gotten at least two kills with that cantrip. It was hilarious.

 

[Asatania_GM]

The roleplaying favor is nice, but what am I missing regarding its power?

Others have talked about how disadvantage balances the low damage.

I love the flavor though. Its a great role playing crutch for new players. When they cast the cantrip, I find most need little prompting to come up with insults to hurl. For some, it is the first time they ever truly get into character.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

A bard behind the front lines just spamming Vicious Mockery can definitely have an impact. Even the toughest monster is bound to roll badly on a saving throw eventually. And as others have said, disadvantage can definitely turn the tide in combat.

 

[Blue]

I can me-too the others here - damage-wise it's not much different than other cantrips and carries a powerful rider. Now, if you are facing four equal foes, the rider is better than nothing, but not a big deal. But throw it on at hobgoblin's sgt, or the solo golem, or whatever, and you're helping to negate an attack from the most powerful foe.

Is it super powerful? - no, you spend your action for a chance to mess up theirs. But that's the power level of a cantrip. Want something with bigger results, use a spell slot.

 

[pdegan2814]

I can me-too the others here - damage-wise it's not much different than other cantrips and carries a powerful rider. Now, if you are facing four equal foes, the rider is better than nothing, but not a big deal. But throw it on at hobgoblin's sgt, or the solo golem, or whatever, and you're helping to negate an attack from the most powerful foe.

Is it super powerful? - no, you spend your action for a chance to mess up theirs. But that's the power level of a cantrip. Want something with bigger results, use a spell slot.

Blue's got a point, it's less useful when going up against a horde of similarly-powered enemies. But if you're going up against just one big baddie, or a group of cannon fodder and something of higher level(a bunch of goblins and an ogre, for example), then having the Bard hang back and try to nerf the Big Baddie each round isn't such a bad idea. The Bard can also use his Bonus Action to cast Healing Word on someone in his party who takes one too many hits, while still Mocking each round.

 

[GainVanquish]

Well, its 'just' a cantrip, so needs to be judged as such.

All cantrips are 'all or nothing', so that is normal. So is it better to do 1D10 damage, or do 1D4 and give disadvantage?
You can do a similar comparison with the other cantrips.

There are plenty of enemies where I would prefer to give them disadvantage instead of another 3hp of damage (on average)

Besides, the very coolest thing in 5E is to kill something using VM. How else can you claim to have insulted someone... to Death!

Couldn't agree more. Our bard did exactly that last session and insulted a cultist to death. Had everyone in laughter for a while

 

[FuelDrop]

You might be able to swing the spell not being obviously using magic, depending on your DM. This can be good if you want to taunt someone into fighting you while weakening him at the same time, if for whatever reason you don't want to be seen starting the fight but hurling insults is acceptable.

My current Bard (who's busily pretending they don't have any magic) tends to combine it with swordplay until fights are somewhat monkey island-esque. By the way, you fight like a milkmaid.