Multiattack is an action exclusive to NPC creatures and cannot be used by PCs. Players with the Extra Attack ability can take extra attacks when taking the Attack action. Casting spells requires the “Attack” action, while the “Cast a Spell” action requires the “Attack” action. A 5th-level monk still has one Attack action, meaning they do not get two Multiattacks or if they take the Multiattack action, they do not get a Multiattack.
Multiattack is not an action given to PCs, as shapeshifting (druid or spell) is the only way for them to gain access to the multiattack action. Beastmaster Rangers can have their Extra Attack at level five regardless of the path chosen. The additional attack gained will add modifiers to damage, unlike dual wielding.
Multiattack does not qualify as an action given to PCs, as it is more than one attack and does not allow for moving between attacks. The rules in PHB p.190 about moving between attacks also apply to multiattacks that contain more than one weapon attack.
Spell Multiattack is similar to regular Multiattack but for your Spell Autoattack, which is next to useless because it does nothing for DPS. Multiattack is its own action and wouldn’t stack with Extra Attack. Multiattack is one action, but two attacks. If something triggers on an action, it triggers it once, but if it keys off attacks, it triggers it twice.
Primary spellcasters are generally balanced on the basis of spikier damage/effectiveness than martial characters with extra attacks. If you gain the Extra Attack class feature from more than one class, the features don’t add together. You can’t make more than two attacks with the Extra Attack class.
📹 D&D 5e Optimization: Extra Attack & Multiclassing
An in depth analysis of the the failings of the Extra Attack game design. If you like what I do, and would like to support the channel: …
Does extra attack effect spells?
A spell constitutes a full action that is not related to an attack. It should be noted that the ability to cast a spell is not permitted by the “multiattack” designation. It is still possible to cast a spell as a bonus action.
Does multi attack work with spells?
Multiattack is not a viable option for PCs, as it is exclusive to NPC creatures and an action. Those who possess the Extra Attack ability are permitted to undertake additional attacks during the Attack action. Please be advised that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by extensions, and that your browser does not support cookies.
Can you move between attacks in multiattack?
In instances where a player is engaged in an action that involves the use of multiple weapons, it is possible to further fragment their movement by moving between them.
What is the difference between extra attack and Multiattack?
The “Extra Attack” rule applies exclusively to attacks, whereas the “multiattack” action represents a distinct and special category of actions. It is not possible to utilise the “Extra Attack” option in conjunction with the “Ready” action. However, it is permissible to “Ready” a “Multiattack”. In the event that JavaScript is disabled or blocked by extensions such as ad blockers, or if your browser does not support cookies, the aforementioned functionality will not be available.
Do you roll once for Multiattack?
Multiattack 5e is a FoundryVTT module for the DnD5e system that simplifies multiattack action. Users can perform multiple attack/damage rolls simultaneously, condensing the output into a custom chat card. To use it, roll the weapon item, select Attack/Damage, add an additional input, select the number of extra attacks, select a token, click the Multiattack tool button, check each item to be included in the roll, and save the entire multiattack configuration for subsequent attacks. GMs can enable/disable this button for players.
How does spells known work with multiclass?
The multi-classing rules permit users to select spells based on their levels in specific classes; however, they receive slots based on the combination of classes. A sixth-level artificer is permitted to select up to two spells from the provided list. It should be noted, however, that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by extensions, and cookies may not be supported.
Can you grapple multiple times with Multiattack?
The Attack action enables the execution of a Special Melee Attack, otherwise known as a grapple, which allows the user to grasp or restrain creatures. In the event that the action in question permits the player to make multiple attacks, it shall replace one, thus enabling a PC with multiple attacks to grapple and shove in a single turn.
Can you use Multi-Attack with ready action?
It is possible to prepare both Multiattack and Attack, but only one attack is available during the readied Attack due to the requirement of the Extra Attack feature that it be used on one’s own turn. In the event that an attack is prepared that is triggered on one’s turn, the benefits of Extra Attack will be applicable. Please be advised that your browser may not support cookies or may have JavaScript disabled or blocked.
Can I cast two cantrips with extra attack?
It should be noted that the Extra Attack and Thirsting Blade abilities can only be triggered when the Attack action is taken. Similarly, casting a cantrip necessitates the use of the Cast a Spell action, which precludes the possibility of combining these two abilities.
Can you use Eldritch blast twice with extra attack?
The Eldritch Blast, with a character’s one-action casting time, allows a Warlock to cast it only once per turn.
Can you grapple multiple times with Multi-Attack?
The Attack action enables the execution of a Special Melee Attack, otherwise known as a grapple, which allows the user to grasp or restrain creatures. In the event that the action in question permits the player to make multiple attacks, it shall replace one, thus enabling a PC with multiple attacks to grapple and shove in a single turn.
📹 Should you use Booming Blade or Extra Attack? D&D5e
Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:35 Booming Blade 6:40 Level 5 11:20 Level 11 14:58 Level 17 Join my discord: …
I agree with your conclusions, in general, but I feel like you kind of half-assed the math on this one. You didn’t account for the penalty to hit with Great Weapon Master, which, unlike the regular calculations, doesn’t actually equal out when using BB. You also didn’t add Improved Divine Smite to your Paladin example. Again, I believe your conclusions are mostly valid, but you usually work the math a bit better. Edit: I hope this didn’t come off as dickish. I really like your articles and I think you usually do an excellent job providing good math for things that can’t easily be quantified. I just feel like maybe you rushed this one, a bit.
One big sticking point is just the fact that if you attack twice, you’re more likely to hit at least once vs. a single attack with Booming Blade. Mediocre damage is always better than no damage. But my favorite use of Booming Blade is having it on a Cleric once they get their Divine Strike feature, because then you have an extra 1d8 of damage scaling every three levels from 5-17. I think that can be fun if you have a Cleric you like to take into battle, want to conserve spell slots, and want something more interesting to do than Toll the Dead. But Booming Blade in general is just better for characters who will never get Extra Attack.
I feel like no one mentions Booming Blade is a freaking weird spell. Thunder damage can be weird to visualize already. Having precise sound flow through a blade, then patiently wait for a turn and intelligently decide if the target moved willing or not. That is some Far Realms shit right there. I much prefer the aethestics of Green Flame Blade. Stab somewhere with a sword wreathed in flames, then sling the excess off at somebody nearby. (I know that’s not how the spell describes it, but it’s easy to head cannon without changing the mechanics).
I know this article is a year old, but it’s subject is relevant to my new character. It’s why I’m here now, but I just realized that I’ve been coming to your website for at LEAST a couple years now without subscribing! Thanks for your in depth work on these ideas and builds, but more importantly thank you for doing the math!!
I love my Arcane Trickster with Elven Accuracy and Booming Blade! No extra attack to choose from but still fantastic damage and chance to hit and definitely getting the extra damage more than 50% of the time. Find familiar help action, run in BB with super high accuracy against a foe that isnt next to another party member, bonus action disengage. 🙂 Feels like the best Booming Blade candidate honestly.
This advice lines up pretty well with my experience playing multiclass paladins. Even support builds that don’t optimize for damage at all (shield > heavy weapon, cha > str, warcaster/sentinel/alert/inspiring leader > gwm/pam, etc), extra attack still wins out over booming blade or gfb when you factor in magic weapons, improved divine smite, the option for divine smite, etc. It does help smooth over the added wait for extra attack on multiclass dips, though, and can stay relevant even at later levels when combined with war caster to use on opportunity attacks if a build doesn’t have room for sentinel.
100% agree that a 50/50 chance to proc the extra damage is optimistic. Using booming blade on a sort of melee druid build has been pretty frustrating, in truth. I thought I made the perfect booming blade build… shillelagh for max hit accuracy, crusher to guarantee the secondary effect. Hit em, push em 5 feet away, leave them helpless. And if that wasn’t enough, park a flaming sphere next to them! Use Summon Fey to dunk a cube of darkness on them! I had every tool at my disposal to maximize the damage of booming blade… I even considered taking polearm master, war caster and three levels of Swarmkeeper ranger to push the concept to it’s limit and do it all twice a round. But in the end, it’s just not as practical as I had hoped. It doesn’t matter how far away you knock them back if a melee ally parks themselves beside the enemy next turn. Even if the initiative order works out and the ally goes first there’s only so many places to push the enemy. And every level you progress enemies will have greater movement, reach and an ever-growing arsenal of tools the DM can tap into to avoid dealing with the bind you’ve supposedly put them in with the booming energy… To me, booming blade damage is as dependent on your party and even the battle map design as it is on your build. You can negate some of the party dependency by breaking off from the party’s main target and 1-v-1’ing a different target but that’s usually suboptimal.
I always defaulted to just saying “on-hit effects”, and those include pretty much everything. Hunters mark, giants might, gathering swarm, hexblade curse, geenies wrath, enlarge, flametongue, magical bonuses and your strenght/dexterity modifier. If they happen on every hit, just that additional bonus can be more than the scaled damage and the secondary damage added together. Just something as simple as increasing your strenght can make extra attack more worth it. If you have things that only happen once (geenies wrath, giants might, swarmkeeper), it becomesa question of hit%. Do you feel lucky enough that you can hit once, or do you believe you will need 2 attacks for it? If you have effects that only help you with 1 attack (guiding bolt advantage), BB gets more weight.
My favorite use of Booming Blade has been with my dwarven Artificer/Battle Smith using a warhammer and the Repulsion Shield that he has made. Hit the enemy w/a booming blade warhammer attack, then wait for the enemy to hit you. Boom, trigger Repulsion Shield and knock them back 15 feet. “Come get me, orcie!” If they move, extra damage kicks in. If they have multi-attack, the Repulsion Shield (as a reaction) kicks in, moves them out of melee combat range and disrupts their attack sequence.
The other thing to consider is using Booming Blade for the threat of additional damage, in order to keep an enemy adjacent to the warrior? Yes it may not always be better for pure damage but it could be useful to make the warrior “sticky” to keep them off an ally. That’s how I see it being useful. The War Caster feat would be required in this case, of course.
Awesome article. I love booming blade, but as I’ve played more D&D 5E, I generally use it now on bladesingers and warcasters, where its primary damage is worth taking that Cantrip. It’s REALLY difficult to get that secondary damage in our campaigns because we usually focus-fire kill a monster before it thinks to flee. You have to have party buy-in on all skirmishers or ranged to get that secondary damage reliably. I love your optimism of 50%. I feel like it’s 5 – 10% for the campaigns I play in.
Booming blade works pretty well in concept for a barbarian/sorcerer character (like my attempt to make a meme-build of mine a bit more serious, abyssal tiefling barb./sorc., both wild magic subclasses (originally with more random-effect-having classes)). Lightning lure to get the enemy close (or simply advancing) + quickened spell booming blade to dissuade the enemy from attacking allies seems a decent way to fulfill the tank role.
I hear what you’re saying here, Chris, but I want to suggest that the basic premise of this article sort of briefly acknowledges, but then largely blows past something very significant, which I was recently made aware of by Colby over at D4: sometimes maximizing damage isn’t the best play. Sometimes doing good damage – but not the best damage – but otherwise shaping the battle can be huge. Here’s where Booming Blade can come in. Say you’ve got an Eldritch Knight. And yes, this is a non-random example, as I’m currently playing an EK 10/War Wizard 5 (about to level to WW 6), with the intention of getting to EK10/WW10, so that I can finish with War Magic’s Durable Magic feature as my ersatz capstone. So Mr. Eldritch Knight has a flame tongue greatsword (as it happens, I do), and access to Hex. Clearly, three attacks gets you more damage. That’s clearer than day. But Mr. EK also has the mobile feat, and has lots of squishy party mates he wants to protect, with lots of big nasty giant-types featuring among the cast of villains. I’ve been doing a lot of going in, hitting with booming blade, hitting again with bonus action, and getting back out. Baddie has to chase me to hit me, they have to chase my fellows to hit them, which means they’re either eating damage or twiddling their thumbs. Basically, this specific cantrip has the meta effect of forcing enemies to think about the choice to move. Extra attack doesn’t do that. If you’re a fighter (even an Eldritch Knight) with three attacks and you hit something with a nasty melee-range ability with those many attacks, you’ll hurt it.
With polearm mastery, you chance of actually getting the bonus damage from Booming Blade is less since you might miss and not get it. This would make Booming Blade look a little better. This should be a part of the calculation. Also, a use of Booming Blade is to glue an opponent to you. They could move to engage one of your allies, but then take Booming Blade damage. I feel this use is the most important part of Booming Blade – but this use is situational.
For what it’s worth (and I know that’s not much) i’ve always ruled at that dissonant whispers and command spells would trigger the effect of booming blade at my table. Basically if the enemy had to put 1 foot in front of the other they take the damage because mechanically that makes sense imo. If they are shoved or otherwise moved maybe with telepathy then they don’t take the damage, similar to opportunity attack provocation. The number of times this is become a problem is zero for me at least 🤷♂️ .
Best use of booming blade I have seen is my friend’s kid is using it on a Swashbuckler Rogue. Since rogues only get one attack and we are playing a pure class campaign(no multi-classing). He does hit and run attacks so either gets the extra damage or the enemy has less options to hit the rogue, we also have a cleric in the party that is using Spirit Guardians. The two players didn’t even plan for this synergy but man the DM has had to up the difficulty quite a bit to give us a challenge. Oh and if it isn’t obvious the Swashbuckler is a variant human with the magic initiate feat.
Booming Blade is useless to any character that has the Extra Attack feature, with the exception of characters with the War Caster feat (and that’s situational damage). But this was probably made for spellcasters to give them an extra option when the enemy gets close. They can boost their abysmally low melee damage, and if they enemy tries to chase them they take extra damage and may likely die (the extra damage is high for low level enemies). A caster with Shadow Blade and Booming Blade is no joke. It may be a bonus for melee characters with the Extra Attack only in certain cases like the high level character I am playing now (6 Devotion Paladin, 5 Hexblade Warlock, 6 Divine Soul Sorcerer), and that’s because I can make the 2 attacks and then use the Quickened Spell metamagic to cast Booming Blade as a Bonus action for a 3rd attack with all the extra benefits plus one more smite…
One thing that makes Booming Blade great that I’m surprised I haven’t seen mentioned is that because it’s a spell, you can use Quickened Spell on it, giving you a total of 3 attacks when you include Extra Attack. Because the damage is as comparable as it is, a character can deal massive damage for a couple rounds just with the help of a feat or a few levels in Sorcerer. Instead of choosing between ((weapon die) + mod)*2 or ((weapon die) + mod + d8s), you can have ((weapon die) + mod)*2 + ((weapon die) + mod + d8s). The only downsides I see to this are that it may require you to change your build to allow it and that it takes up a consumable resource each round. I recently designed a Sorlock build based around this concept and at level 20 it was ably to consistently deal around 86 DPR without Hexblade Curse.
I’m currently playing a swashbuckler3/genie (efreeti) warlock 2. Without eldritch blast and going with booming blade(+sneak attack) + disengage/fancy footwork… and my very generous DM allowed me to expend my ALL my accumulated loot to get a Illusionists bracers (copy a cantrip from action with bonus action…). Just got it and have not tested in combat, just double mage hand for shenanigans…
This actually illustrates a change that should be made to D&D in general: Weapon attacks (normal/magical/natural) base damage should scale like cantrips do with character tier. This would greatly diminish the gap between martial and casters which grows with as levels go higher. The standard would become 1d4/2d4/3d4/4d4 at 1/5/11/17 for a dagger, which for most classes will be two attacks with extra attack and perhaps a bonus attack. The class which benefits most from this will be pure fighter as they could get four 8d6 attacks for a spread of 0-4-48 base damage (all misses, all hits minimum, all hits maximum) for a “bounded accuracy” average of 16.8 base damage per round at 20th level, still a far cry from the potential a caster can do with leveled spells, but on par with hit or miss cantrips cast at this level and on the same level as a Warlock Agonizing Blast for any d8-2d12 weapon.
Pole arm master with warcaster and a reach weapon hit your on coming enemy with booming blade before they reach melee range. They take the extra damage to be able to attack. Now use your multi attack on the enemy that took a bunch of damage just to get to you. I have this on a warlock and to make it extra fun I will cast darkness on myself so all of my attacks have advantage.
It also depends on how metagamey your DM is. Does the creature automatically know it shouldn’t move once it’s hit with a booming blade? Or does your DM take the position that if a creature isn’t intelligent, it’s not a spell caster, or they haven’t seen the spell used against themselves or another creature then that creature should have no idea that it’s not supposed to move?
What about having Dissonant Whispers on the same turn? There’s three ways to do it: Action Surge, Metamagic Adept for Quicken Spell, and Order Cleric 6 to cast it as a bonus action. In any of this cases, you hit with the booming blade, then potentially force them to move. Now there’s conflicting rulings even on Sage Advice whether the secondary damage triggers from Dissonant Whispers, but regardless, as long as none of the rest of the party runs in and prevends them from moving, the monster then does have to move, to get back to you. Thoughts on this combo?
I guess Booming Blade is a place where I’m just a crank. I feel like the attack cantrips were an awkwardly designed patch that cause some issues. The Extra Attack interaction is frustrating, particularly since they released with a power creep version with Bladesinger. Rogue and Cleric scaling become really strange. They maybe should be scaling damage better by default, but it’s still a really frustrating tax. Meanwhile, they’re also cantrips with full scaling but can also proc twice, and inherently add ability scaling to damage. There’s a reason Acid Splash is a d6 rather than d10 scaling like Firebolt. BB and GFB put the other close-range cantrips (like Poison Spray, Primal Savagery, and Shocking Grasp) utterly to shame in a rather depressing way. They just irk me, since they feel like they’re not quite in line with the rest. Or maybe it’s that BB/GFB highlight broader issues in weapon-user scaling. For example, there never should have been effects to ignore the loading property, but loading weapons should have had some other sort of scaling with a single attack. Making Crossbows and Bows feel different would have been great. But that of course runs into Sharpshooter issues, although SS/GWM are also a problem, in the way that they form a tax on weapon attackers, and just about mandate bonus action attacks and rule out tonnes of weapons simply because they don’t qualify.
So I’ve googled and searched YouTube, couldn’t find anyone with this combo for the question. Level 7 Paladin (Extra Attack), dueling, + 4 levels Sorc Quicken Spell. Can I (Not saying it’s the best option) Quicken Spell Booming Blade to be a bonus action, THEN Regular attack action for 2x attacks? I’m pretty sure the answer is yes. Also, I do know that I could not smite were I to bonus action Booming Blade. This would be for rare situations in the four levels before I get GWM, as in I’m out of spell slots higher than level 1 with only 2 Sorcery points. Would that = Attack 1d8+7 Attack 1d8+7, bonus action Quicken Spell Booming Blade 2d8 + (2d8 if it moves)? This will also help me choose if I even want Booming Blade for levels 8-15.
Like others here pointed out, I feel BB and/or GFB work best with rogues and clerics, but I especially like them with the latter. It really works well with the scaling effects of divine strike, and the cleric classics of spiritual weapon and spirit guardians. My main character in a campaign right now is a 6th lvl tempest cleric/ 1 lvl wizard multiclass and he’s the main front liner in our party, with an echo knight also in tow. Our DM jokingly called bull during the first big encounter, where I faced off with a stone giant homebrewed monster that summoned an earth elemental lol (shield spell + plate armour really helped me out, and +1 greatsword for damage with BB), while the rest of the party were dealing with 2 other normal stone giants. The damage was plenty good, got a cheeky chromatic orb website divinity combo that hurt but afterwards it was a scary melee faceoff that surprisingly went to my favor. Once the other spellcaster banished the other giant, concentration fire on the other 2 ended the encounter. This was a 6 man party (3 of which are DMPc’s) against 3 giants for context. Just wanted to share that semi-relevant story since the game just happened on Wednesday and were all still hyped about it lol.
This article initially made me think I’ve been playing my bladesinger wrong by adding my Dex modifier, magic item extra damage, and Song of Victory extra damage to booming blade. But the text of the cantrip states that if the melee attack hits, the target suffers the weapon attack’s normal effects. To me, that means the relevant ability modifier is added to the damage, as are any other modifiers, such as those coming from a magic weapon or other effects such as Song of Victory. I know bladesinger is an outlier on this topic because of the ability to extra attack and use the cantrip, but it made me question your calculations quite a bit on this one.
Would love to see a breakdown for a Hexblade Pact of the Blade pure Warlock where this discussion is very relevant but has additional things to consider like Eldritch Blast scaling. I’m using a Greatsword so my Green Flame Blade seems basically useless after level 5 when I got Thirsting Blade for Extra Attack on a heavy weapon such as mine. So I think I know I’m coming out ahead vs either melee cantrip until level 11, but then it gets more complicated because Hexblade never gets a third weapon attack, but you do get a third beam of Eldritch Blast at level 11. I have 18 CHA and am considering grabbing GWM at level 8 instead of capping my stat. I am not good at DPR math but to me it seems I may actually need GWM at higher levels if I don’t want Eldritch Blast to outscale damage from my Greatsword pact weapon? I just started using Spirit Shroud at Warlock level 6 for 1d8 extra damage per hit having dropped Hex for now. I think the move after level 7 is Shadow of Moil combined with Great Weapon Master at level 8. But I do wonder how all the math looks after level 11 or 12 or so with EB scaling up again. But then you can also take Lifedrinker at level 12 for an extra +5 necrotic damage per hit if you have capped Charisma. So a lot of moving pieces. Could make for another good article similar to this one.
This is homebrewed and possibly broken but is good for tanking I am lvl 8 fighter (Battle master) 5 artificer (armorer) I am able to used booming blade with my thunder Gauntlets via Guardian Armor That’s applies a goading effect from the gauntlets and the if they move dmg from moving willingly. I would move away and let the dm decided, disadvantage on any attack but against me or dmg if they go after me. Many more variables but I wish 5e had mechanics like this
Since I’m playing with an alternate rule set, Giffyglyph’s Darker Dungeons, booming blade ends up working out in my favor. Part of this rule set is a set of blacklisted feats that DMs shouldn’t allow players to take, which includes Great Weapon Master. Im glad it’s a requirement too, because it really does make builds so bland and stale when you see the same broken feats pop up in every character. Anyway, I’m playing an armorer artificer so I’m doing 2d8+10 with two thunder gauntlet attacks. With BB, I do 3d8+5 and my target has disadvantage on attack roles against everyone but me. So with the mobile feat, I can mvoe away and then I either get an extra 3d8 tuunder damage or I get to force my opponent to waste their turn. Those are both pretty great options for a cantrip. And I have my homunculus dealing extra damage with a magic missile SSI. Or if I get Dimir Gloves, then I can get the two attacks anyway thanks to two booming blades. I’m just happy that at least the build is viable thanks to the ban on some feats like GWM.
One thing that’s missing from this analysis is whether or not the target understands what’s happened to it. Booming Blade is a weird spell, thematically. I mean, it essentially enchants/curses the target, but doesn’t say at all whether or not the target would be aware of this or not, or if there’s some kind of check they can take to understand that moving will cause them more harm. A typical low Intelligence monster isn’t going to understand that the hit they just took, even if it had some kind of magical visual effect occur, is going to result in this specific condition. There’s just no way for them to know, unless they’ve experienced it before, lived to tell the tale, and put two and two together. So, if you are in melee with an enraged melee monster, and you use Booming Blade on it and then manage to back away from it, assuming it’s still angry with you, and hasn’t lost it’s nerve yet, then there’s no reason to assume it wouldn’t close the distance to attack you, triggering Booming Blade. That said, I’m not a fan of Booming Blade. It’s situational (even if the ‘situation’ is fairly common) where plenty other spells or attack options aren’t and just give you extra damage and are more controllable. I’m a big fan of controllable. Between Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade, I always choose Green Flame Blade.
Can’t you use great weapon master with booming blade? It works whenever you make a melee weapon attack on your turn not when you use the attack action- right? So wouldnt it be more fair to compare great weapon attack with a great weapon attack booming blade? I think it still doesnt make booming blade better but it seems weird to throw out the extra damage at the same cost you are assuming. Right? If we are assuming optimization I think we would optimize our booming blade, right? Love your articles, I look forward to the next one!
I’m curious about yourview on this character: A Warforged Artificer (Armorer) with the Crusher Feat. He can use his fists which count as bludgeoning weapons which will cause the enemy to move 5 ft away. Thanks to the Thunder Gauntlets, the enemy will be “taunted” to attack you or have a disadvantage to attack your friends. Wouldn’t Booming Blade be a nice option here? Or use the booming blade on a tripped opponent?
A few combos I like: – Rogue : Booming Blade + Cunning Action – Cleric : Booming Blade + Spirit Guardians -> If the target moves..Bam, if it doesn’t Boom ! – Eldritch Knight (lvl7) or Bladesinger (lvl6): Attack + Booming Blade + Crusher Feat -> Attack then Boom the target and move it 5 feet away – Various (1 attack): Warcaster + Dissonant Whisper + Booming Blade (Better with a rogue that got access to DW spell as it can also sneak)
Booming Blade works really good with the Crusher feat, if you are looking for an alternative to Mobile. Provided the creature is no more than one size bigger than you, you push it 5 feet away as part of the Attack you make with booming blade. Only downside is, you need to deal bludgeoning damage, and most weapons with that damage type suck… (Though one Level of Genie Warlock can solve that)
One point that Chris overlooked, that I feel is relevant. If you’re building a “tank” character that is intended to front line and prevent enemy mobility… than combining Sentinel and Booming Blade will allow you to prevent / deter movement of 2 enemies rather than 1. Simply Booming Blade one, so that IF they move they take bonus damage, and rely on Sentinel to stop / deter another. Granted, any subsequent enemies COULD move past you, but no build is perfect. I think if preventing movement with BB is going to save lives or reduce the total damage the party takes, then it is probably worth using over extra attack. Damage now is almost always better than damage later, but if the party doesn’t take damage at all… it doesn’t matter how long the fight lasts. If you prevent their movement, and they can’t consistently hit you… you win.
Throwing my two cents in, while I believe each gish class should get the bladesinger’s extra attack feature, with booming blade in my opinion it depends on whether or not the enemy is going to freely move on it’s next turn. It’s the freely moving part that’s contentious for the most part because If they don’t freely move you’re only doing about half damage. Basically, unless you’re a scouting Rogue Swashbuckler or Arcane trickster, never assume you’re going to get the caveat. Eldritch Knight: you’re giving up a potential three hits at max level for a bit of extra damage on one hit. If that’s worth it to you, go ahead. It’s basically the same argument as longbow vs firebolt. One stupid strong attack vs lots of attacks that statistically one should hit. Only reason Eldritch blast is as good as it is, is because it does both for one action. I’ve also never had a Dm have a ‘monster’ run off when they were in combat so the ‘tank’ aspect of the spell I’ve never encountered. Iunno, maybe with warcaster I would change my stance. I’m rambling now, apologies.
There’s another thing to consider in the choice between booming blade or extra attack: you can miss. Doesn’t matter how much damage you can do with BB if your one and only attack that turn misses. With two (or more) attacks you increase the likelihood of hitting. So in a scenario where a fighter using BB attacks and misses, that’s it until their next turn. If a fighter using extra attack misses they have a second opportunity to hit and do damage. True, they can miss the second attack too, but they still have another chance to land a hit
Booming blade is solid in certain situations but like you say it is so situational and booming blade/green flame blade are cantrip versions with no higher levels available that are useful in combat. I have designed levelled versions of similar skills as spells that gishes can use and I have designed several gish subclasses and new martial subclasses as they are so boring and badly made in dnd 5e 🙁 “I attack” for 5 years straight isn’t really my idea of fun and engaging combat experience is dnd 5e and honestly that is what most fighter ranger and barbarian subclasses peak at.
My booming blade build was always more about enemies trying to hit me (a tank) than about hitting the most damage. Want to walk past me, good luck, get the damage. If you stay put you’ll waste your attacks on my high ac shield casting guy that has a cloak of displacement and that gets to AC 25 at relatively low levels after casting shield (mitigating a bit of the tank fallacy to the best of my ability). I was already getting to 28 AC without espectacular equipment after shield. Once I had War Caster the fun started… But the campaign ended shortly after TT. And we lacked any healers. I hate low level play and that’s I get to do :/. I feel like I can’t really do anything mechanically fun without having to be purposefully exploitative or cheesy or mechanically dubious.
Not sure if anyones mentioned it but one of the reasons EK is better than blade singer when it comes to BB is the versatillity in the options surrounding it. You wanna proc the secondary damage from BB? Use your shove action using your strength thus allowing you to move away to bait the creature into moving or simply staying put and letting it walk 5 feet to hit you either way your much better off in terms of procing than a bladesinger will ever be because they arent gonna put points into strength.
Chris did you account feats that could potentially increase your Booming Blade consistency in your 50% chance for the extra damage? Like using Telekinetic to push an enemy away after hitting them with BB for ex. Not saying it would make BB come out on top But I would be curious of your analysis of how good things that help BB are
Play a custom lineage, swashbuckler rogue with a 1 lvl fighter dip to get shields and the dueling fighting style. Take magic initiate wizard to get booming blade and find familiar and you’re a pretty tough melee combatant that puts out good damage. With fancy footwork you can move away from enemies you attack without taking opportunity attacks; which will increase the chances of the enemy moving on their next turn and getting the extra BB damage.
Booming blade is a good replacement for Extra attack if your level 8 build requires 4 levels in one class, and 4 levels in another, since cantrips scale, Taking 4 levels of barbarian and 4 levels of fighter does not give you extra attack, and taking 5 levels of each only gives you one additional attack. I wonder if any of this will be changed in the revamp of 5e.
I feel like this question is most relevant for “tank” builds that have sword and shield and want to deal a bit more damage to feel like they are contributing to the team. It’s tough seeing the dps do 100 pts of damage on their turn and the tank does ~30. True they didnt optimize for it, but sometimes not every enemy group needs a dedicated tank. Paladins, warlocks, and barbarians have extra damage riders (and clerics…) to make their weapon attacks deal more damage at higher levels. Fighters get extra extra attack. So sword bards, monks, artificers and rangers are really the only ones who might need to decide on this. Booming blade doesnt require optimized spellcasting to be effective.
I think part of it depends on whether you are using war caster and can afford 5 levels in an extra attack class. A war caster’d booming blade is in all aspects better than any plain weapon opportunity attack, and if going 5 levels into a multiclass doesn’t work for you, then the opportunity cost of getting extra attack isn’t worth it.
2 HUGE errors. I scrolled through some comments and could not find one pointing out that you missed sometginh: if you have advantage on your first but not subsequent attack like with familiar help action. This at lvl 5 with +3 attribute and d8 weapon give instead of previous BASE dmg 7.2 without secondary dmg (12*0.6) a base of 10.08 (12*0.84). Sure the base of extra attack (EA) is still higher (7.5×0.84)+(7.5×0.6) =10.8 but they are already really close withput the secondary dmg. Then: you have a high degree of control and knowledge if or if not BB secondary dmg will trigger. Yes if you are pretty much sure it won’t don’t BB but EA but if it will do! You can’t just assume you are agnostic about the chance in this case so calculating it in such a generic average form is a bad way of doing it. What you should show is WHEN and HOW to use it and not just say: well if you do it 100% or 0% of the time one or the other is better. That is not a useful way of thinking about it!
I’ve been going back and forth on two rogue builds, and I think the difference overall ends up being if I’m playing from low level or starting at a higher level. Build one is Battle Master 4/Swashbuckler 16. Simple build that gains Booming Blade either from High Elf lineage or (my preference) Magic Initiate from Variant Human/CL which also gives me find familiar. This build is super simple, but a bit limited on utility or anything that’s not just damage. The other build is Battle Master 3/Arcane Trickster 4/Bladesinger 2/Arcane Trickster 11. Grabbing the Mobile feat from Variant Human/CL. This one gets online later, but I get a lot more defensiveness, utility, and just in general options. It comes online much later, but if I’m starting at a high level this could be great.
Holy heck now that is a question and there’s so many ways the answer would change in the moment, BB having only one attack has a realistic chance of just missing and doing nothing whereas attacking twice will almost always land at least one hit, what about advantage, Bless, gwm, are you able to reliably make the enemy move? Anyways maybe I should actually watch the article now.
SO TLDR: Extra attack is most likely better then Booming blade except for blade singer who incorporate booming blade in the extra attack (but as a wizard should be casting maze and wall of force instead of wasting it’s time in melee) Also great for rogues/clerics build who won’t pick up extra attack in their build focus on devastating single attack
I use Booming blade on my Swashbuckler Tabaxi rogue. The ability to run 120ft in a single round (movement, BA Dash, feline agility), hit a creature for 2d8 + 3d6 + 2d8 at level 5. I was lucky enough to find a +2 sword and just maxed my Dex so I have a higher chance of hitting now. Really sucks when you do miss, but when it works its sooo good.
I´ve had a Bladelock of the Genie for whom this was a good question. I had the mobile feat which, in combo with booming blade, becomes really useful, but at level 5 when I got Thirsting Blade, I also got Spiritual Shroud, and I got Two Weapon Fighting (we modified it, basicaly I wouldn’t have to use a bonus action for an offhand attack, it’d just be an extra attack without the modifier). And at level 6, I could fly concentration free because of the Genie´s Vessel If all attacks hit, that would go up to 3d6 + 8 (dex modifier was 4) + 3d8 damage on a turn. And that would only increase as I would cast level 5 spell slots with Spirit Shroud.
I use booming blade on my tempest cleric. It’s thematic and matches well the plus 1d8 you gain at level 8. Booming blade is basically a 8th level ability you gain at level 4. At 8th level I’m hitting 3d8+4 (I have gauntlets of ogre power). 11th 4d8+4 and 17th 5d8+4. In a critical I could use my website divinity do deal 2d8+64+4 damage. It’s not a martial focused build. I’m a Frontline caster, but it’s still better than casting sacred Flame.
Agree with your conclusion, but this does show that the games you play in are very different than the ones I play or run. I’d never assume a 50% chance of the secondary damage — that just doesn’t happen in games I play. You did say you’re now seeing below that, but I am used to way below that. Without planning to make the target move, I’m used to that secondary damage approaching 0. It does make the answer to the question posed much easier to figure.
Maybe this is just me, but if I’m GMing and one of the Players sets up Booming Blade on an enemy, that enemy is definitely going to be moving on its next turn. I don’t want a character’s action or choice of cantrip to feel useless, and I want each Player to have the cool moment of “Wow! The thing I set up worked!” It could be a difference in GM philosophy though. Every criticism of Booming Blade is totally valid if the GM is trying to play smart. I tend to focus on the power fantasy aspect of D&D, which could mean I have the enemies do stupid things just so the Players’ plans work. It depends on the context, but that’s generally my go-to. Good article all around though!
I mean, one of my hexblade Warlocks has been using Illusionist Bracers. Got it off of an evil enemy warlock who was locked in a sniper-esque fight with tbe party. Here I thought he might try to just do multi eldritch blast as the enemy Warlock demonstrated. Nah. The big lunk really wants to cast GFB or BB twice in a turn. He went the big meat head route using Shadow of Moil and GWM. Optimization be damned the endorphins he gets for these big thick smacks fully cements him on never casting eldritch blast unless he absolutely has no other ways of getting in for a melee hit. XD
Great analysis. One thing that is not considered here is that the calculations for Booming Blade are not done to full accuracy. Yes, there are going to be plenty of times where Extra Attack is going to be the optimal choice, but if your calculations for Extra Attack include attack modifiers, feats, etc… these need to be put into consideration for Booming Blade as well. There are plenty of abilities like Sneak Attack that only occur once per turn, so even if you have extra attack, it cannot be added a second time. Cases like this are important to consider when you’re thinking about dealing the extra thunder damage or doing something else. Each does have their specific purpose for a martial character, so really if you’re optimizing, you’re going to want both 🙂
I’ve always wanted to find the “best” build which uses booming blade. Here’s my findings: -You want a martial with no extra attack, because you want armor and high hit points, but do not want 50% of your power budget being eaten by something you won’t use. That means cleric, rogue, hexblade, or artillerist/alchemist. -There’s a combo of feats which really works well with booming blade: crusher/warcaster/polearm master + a quarterstaff. Crusher pushes enemies away, meaning they have to move towards you to hit you, unless they have 10ft reach. Warcaster lets you get a second booming blade per round as an opportunity attack, and polearm master makes it much more likely for you to get those opportunity attacks because the enemy provokes it if they try to get close to you – at which point you can push them back for a second round of secondary damage. With a variant human or a Tasha custom race, you can get this build online at 8th level, and already get some decent mileage out of it from 4th level. -You want as many “1/turn” rather than “1/hit” damage boosts. That means VGM Aasimars, eldritch smite, sneak attack, and to a lesser extent smite spells such as searing smite Unfortunately, sneak attack and crusher are a non-starter, there are no finesse bludgeoning weapons in the game. Same with sneak attack/polearm master. Artillerist is a pretty good one. You get medium armor + shields, the shield spell, and the protector turret, which makes you extremely tanky. And then you get a good 1/cast damage boost at level 5.
My observations: 1. I find that BB is often best used with War Caster, since in that said case, you get to replace your one opportunity attack with a spell that has 1 action. 2. I find that BB often only works better when the PC only gets one attack and then can disengage as a BA (e.g., Rogues via Cunning Action). 3. As a general point of notice, I’ve noticed that once PC’s hit tier 2 and above, monster tactics tend to “shift” in a more intelligent direction. In a semi-practical world setting, where the monsters aren’t stupid (or are for lack of a phrase, are “less stupid”), once they feel the effects of BB, they’re much less inclined to use their actual movement in those situations, and instead would (as suggested by you) make use of either minor teleportation or a ranged attack of some sort to compensate for lack of movement. 4. In circumstances involving the Bladesinger at tier 2 and above, where cantrip casting can be done as a part of the same attack action, then sure, BB can eek out some extra damage if: A. You hit with your extra attack, and B. The creature willingly moves after said attack, while not under any form of duress. But those instances are generally the exception, and not the rule. {This, I think, is what makes BB relatively weak; the requirement for “willing” movement from the creature to conduct non-spell based movement in order to trigger extra damage.} 5. As someone mentioned earlier, I think you may have accidentally left out some GWM math (the to-hit penalties in this case) in doing your calculations, as well as other sources of on-board damage associated with attacks (e.
As far as I’m concerned the main use for booming blade is builds that don’t have extra attack, and don’t have a bonus action tied to strictly the attack action–stuff like clerics. Melee rogues if you can manage to use the focused aim feature. (For examples of how melee rogue might work, maybe your DM lets you get away with being mounted and having the mount move cause “you didn’t use your movement”. Or failing that, Scout Rogue being able to move as a reaction can set up focused aim booming blades decently often, though they may want a 1 level dip to pick up some AC so that they can stand in melee).
This is interesting and I broadly agree with your conclusions. Personally, I homebrew that EKs get the same style of Extra Attack that Bladesingers get, as I think it just makes sense. I do want to ask, though, as last night our Warforged Rune Knight reached level 5. He had been using Green Flame Blade up until now and was excited to get extra attack, but then realized he would have to decide between which to use and wasn’t sure which was better since he liked GFB thematically and for RP, but Extra Attack also has benefits for him as he has a 20 in Strength and will be using a big weapon, in addition to other damage bonuses. I initially told him there probably wouldn’t be much of a point in using GFB as regularly any more, if at all, though I think after perusal this article, the strategy would depend on whether or not there are enough creatures nearby that provoking the secondary damage would make a big difference. I guess my question would be how does this calculation change for a spell like GFB?
Something which wasn’t considered but probably doesn’t change the outcome that much. Many effects provide advantage on a single weapon attack: familiar taking the help action is the most relevant case given it often comes hand in hand with booming blade through spellcasting. In these cases, the single weapon attack made by booming blade is a little better than the usual case as you have a higher hit rate on the stronger attack. Additionally the crit chance is higher and pairs well with the extra dice damage for the primary booming blade damage. But ultimately I don’t think it changes the math that much. What booming blade does well however is make waiting for extra attack less painful on multiclassing builds. E.g. dipping spellcasting before reaching lvl 5 with a martial class. Soradin comes to mind, but I’ve personally got experience dipping wizard on eldritch knight. Not having extra attack hurts, however having an EK with mobile, owl familiar and booming blade is still a very fun build in my experience, and very satisfying on the occasions where a crit happens.
I think Booming Blade’s niche is when you’re playing a melee-ish character that for reasons won’t get access to Extra Attack, like a rogue multi-class. But I agree with the conclusions of this article. In my own math and experience, once you have extra attack, booming blade just doesn’t hit hard enough or do enough to be worth it.
I call Shananigans. How does the spell know your motivation for moving? I don’t even know the motivation for half the stuff I do. If I don’t want to move but my Evil Overlord orders me too am I “willing “. What if I get really scared and run away. What if I fail a morale check or a save? I say if you move under your own power the spell goes off. Makes way more sense.
I think there may be a logic issue here or maybe context. If the context is creating a character with either booming blade or extra attack, then the 50% assumption of secondary effects is completely valid. Totally. You are dealing with the complete unknown and in the world of dozens or hundreds of attacks. But if a character has both and is choosing between the two to use on a turn, then I think you need to think of it as 100% secondary damage. Or at least a with or without secondary damage. Yes, I know you are averaging results. But it will not be both with and without. The character is making a specific instance of a choice with better knowledge of the situation than what a 50% indicates. (And yes, I too think 50% is probably high.)