D&D 5E What Spells Would You Recommend for an EK?

[Azzy]

Pretty much what it says on the tin...

For those of you that have played an Eldritch Knight (or seen one played), what cantrips and spells do recommend taking?

 

[FrogReaver]

shield. Pretty much use everything for shield. Take haste later. Take anything else you like for out of combat.

 

[phantomK9]

It really depends on what type of EK you are playing.

Sword and shield?
Two-hander?
Bow?

For example I've played an EK for a while now (just reached level 18!) and my roll in the group was as primary tank using a sword and shield. So I focused on spells that would help me in my role like Shield and then spells to shore up my weaknesses, namely lack of ranged attack, like Firebolt.

As I leveled I chose spells to make me better at what I do. Blur and haste are some of the high value spells. With a few ranged attacks filling in the gaps.

 

[Ath'kethin]

I also would say it depends on what kind of EK you want to be, but I'd take it in a different direction.

The Ek normally gets access to illusion and enchantment spells. Sounds like Jedi mind tricks to me. So what powers are cool for a Jedi to have?

 

[UnknownDyson]

Take either green flame blade or booming blade and a ranged attack cantrip such as chill touch, fire bolt or ray of frost.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

To a certain extent it depends on how you want to play the EK and what your campaign is like in terms of magic items, but... if I were playing an EK at an unknown table, and I were going for maximum combat effectiveness, I'll prioritize:

Mage Armor, Shield, Absorb Elements, Counterspell -- the obvious defense spells that keep you alive

Magic Weapon -- ensures that your offensive capability remains intact even against Rakshasas/werewolves/etc. Makes your spells more reliable than even spells, since some monsters shrug off magical effects.

Expeditious Retreat -- I'd be playing a Sharpshooter archer with a longbow, and the ability to either kite or run away effectively can be a lifesaver, especially at low levels or if you run into something way too big to fight. Might be less important at a table where you know the DM manipulates the dungeon so you never run into anything you can't handle. In that case you might want Find Familiar instead.

Animate Dead -- it's convenient to be able to generate your own meat shields if necessary, to give you more time to shoot things. Not available until at least 13th level (14th if you don't swap out any 1st or 2nd level spells).

Dimension Door -- again because I'm into survivability and mobility. Otherwise I might pick Polymorph.

Enlarge -- fighters are good at grappling, and grapple/prone is good at taking down single enemies, but by default you can't grapple Huge or Gargantuan enemies. Enlarge can be convenient for taking down giants and such. However, you don't have enough spell picks to get this AND the other non-abj/evoc spells I've suggested, so this is something you'd look into if you felt comfortable foregoing one of the above.

Cantrip: Mold Earth -- endless fun digging pits, creating instant fortifications, and other out-of-the-box thinking. Being able to move 9600 lb. of dirt in six seconds has some real potential. Shape Water has some potential too but is harder to employ.

Cantrip: Booming Blade -- my backup melee combat option. As an archer it's convenient to have options that also work in melee.

Cantrip: Prestidigitation -- for staying clean and dry, other creature comforts.

Cantrip: Fire Bolt -- ranged option in case I'm caught without weapons. Not super important but might as well.

Fireball -- always good to have some AoE on tap.

Darkness -- it can be good to have a way to impose complete darkness, either because you're trying to equalize a fight (e.g. against drow w/ their long-range Darkvision, and they're picking you apart where they can see you but you can't see them) or because you've got the Alert feat and you want something that's functionally equivalent to Blur for defensive purposes, but doesn't cost you an non-evoc/abj slot.

Note: as you can see, I disregard evoc spells almost entirely and focus on free picks and abj spells. A little bit of evoc goes a long way.

 

[Simonb1]

I also would say it depends on what kind of EK you want to be, but I'd take it in a different direction.

The Ek normally gets access to illusion and enchantment spells. Sounds like Jedi mind tricks to me. So what powers are cool for a Jedi to have?

Are you sure? That sounds like the Arcane Trickster subclass of Rogue. I think that it should be Abjuration and Evocation spells.

To the OP, I recommend a ranged cantrip and a melee cantrip if available, Along with Shield, Alarm and Sleep.

 

[Ath'kethin]

Are you sure? That sounds like the Arcane Trickster subclass of Rogue. I think that it should be Abjuration and Evocation spells.

Well, you can see how often those subclasses come up in my game. Oops.

I'll just see myself out.

 

[pukunui]

I'm currently playing an arcana cleric, but my backup character is a bow-wielding moon elf eldritch knight. She's a Harper agent, so I gave her a few spells that seemed thematically appropriate.

Cantrips: message, prestidigitation, shocking grasp
Spells known: absorb elements, alarm, disguise self, shield

 

[dco]

The most interesting from the players handbook: Shocking grasp, Blade ward, Protection from good/evil, Misty step, Mirror image, Counterspell, Haste, Fireball, Greater invisibility...

Other good spells: Mage armor (Dex), Firebolt (STR), Minor illusion, Mage hand, Message, Poison Spray (if you can pick warcaster feat), Chill touch, Expeditious retreat (Dex), Silent image, Darkness, Gust of wind, Blur, Alarm, Protection from energy, Fly, Charm person, Disguise self...

Other books have very good spells like Booming blade, Green flame blade and Absorb elements.