Feat: Elemental Adept: Fire - What Spell Should You Choose?

If you take the Elemental Adept feat from the 5e Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook and choose the damage type of fire, then you can ignore your opponents’ resistance to fire damage, and any fire damage that you roll the 1s are changed to 2s. You can also take this feat multiple times to add more damage types such as acid, cold, lightning, and thunder.

It is very important that the cantrips you pick up doll out fire damage. Your go-to damage spells had better be fire damage as well. Remember you are giving up a +2 to your ability scores so that you never roll a 1 for your fire damage dealing spells and so you can ignore the target’s resistance to it as well.

There are quite a few monsters that have resistance to fire damage. This could be very useful if you are focusing in on spells like Firebolt and Fireball for doing a majority of your damage. Picking up the eight six-siders when casting Fireball it is good to know that at least a couple of the dice will get to be changed from 1s to 2s.

Unlike the acid damage type version of this feat, the focus on fire is much more useful and affects more spells. Granted, it does not help every spellcaster in the game, but Wizards and Sorcerers could find this useful and impactful.

Here is a list of spells that have the fire damage type including the classes (and subclasses) that have access to the spell:

Cantrip:

• Create Bonfire (Artificer, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard)

• Firebolt (Artificer, Sorcerer, and Wizard)

• Green-Flame Blade (Artificer, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard)

• Produce Flame (Druid)

• Sacred Flame (Cleric)

1st Level:

• Absorb Elements (Artificer, Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, and Wizard)

• Burning Hands (Cleric (Light Domain), Druid (Circle of Wildfire), Sorcerer, Warlock (The Genie – Efreeti), and Wizard

• Chromatic Orb (Sorcerer and Wizard)

• Chaos Bolt (Sorcerer)

• Hellish Rebuke (Warlock)

• Searing Smite (Cleric (Forge Domain), Paladin, and Ranger)

2nd Level:

• Aganazzar’s Scorcher (Sorcerer and Wizard)

• Dragon’s Breath (Sorcerer and Wizard)

• Flame Blade (Druid and Sorcerer)

• Flaming Sphere (Artificer (Alchemist), Cleric (Light Domain), Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock (the Celestial), and Wizard)

• Heat Metal (Artificer, Bard, Cleric (Forge Domain), and Druid)

• Scorching Ray (Artificer (Artillerist), Cleric (Light Domain), Druid (Circle of Wildfire), Sorcerer, Warlock (The Genie – Efreeti), and Wizard)

3rd Level:

• Ashardalon’s Stride (Artificer, Ranger, Sorcerer, and Wizard)

• Elemental Weapon (Artificer, Cleric (Forge Domain), Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Warlock (Hexblade))

• Fireball (Cleric (Light Domain), Sorcerer, and Wizard)

• Flame Arrows (Artificer, Druid, Ranger, Sorcerer, and Wizard)

• Melf’s Minute Meteors (Sorcerer and Wizard)

4th Level:

• Elemental Bane (Artificer, Druid, Warlock, and Wizard)

• Fire Shield (Artificer (Armorer), Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock (The Genie – Efreeti), and Wizard)

5th Level:

• Flame Strike (Cleric, Druid (Circle of Wildfire), Paladin (Oath of Glory), Warlock (The Genie – Efreeti and The Celestial)

• Immolation (Sorcerer and Wizard)

• Summon Draconic Spirit (Druid, Sorcerer, and Wizard)

6th Level:

• Investiture of Flame (Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard)

7th Level:

• Delayed Blast Fireball (Artificer (Artillerist), Sorcerer, Warlock (The Genie – Efreeti), and Wizard)

• Fire Storm (Cleric, Druid, and Sorcerer)

• Prismatic Spray (Bard, Sorcerer, and Wiz)

8th Level:

• Illusory Dragon (Wizard)

• Incendiary Cloud (Druid, Sorcerer, and Wizard)

9th Level:

• Meteor Swarm (Sorcerer and Wizard)

• Prismatic Wall (Bard and Wizard)

• Storm of Vengeance (Druid)

That is a total of 36 spells and here is how it breaks down by class. Artificers have access to nine of the spells with Alchemists and Armorers having an additional spell each and Artillerists having two additional spells. Bards can only select three spells that come from the list with none of them being cantrips. Clerics can choose three of the spells, but Light Domain get an additional four spells while Forge Domain get three additional spells. Druids have a whopping fourteen spells with the Circle of Wildfire Druids getting an additional three spells. Paladins only have two spells unless they choose the Oath of Glory then they get one additional spell. Rangers have access to five spells except Swarmkeepers who have six spells. Sorcerers have twenty-five spells available to them. Warlocks have six spells available with two of them being cantrips. The Genie (Efreeti) has an additional five spells (which is no surprise) while the Celestial, Hexblade, and Fathomless each get one additional spell. Wizards have twenty-five spells with three of them being cantrips. This is a spellcasters feat with Sorcerers and Wizards leading the way although a case can be made for The Genie – Efreeti Warlock and Druids (especially those of the Circle of Wildfire).

Other possible spells, depending on your DM’s interpretation of the rules, are Web, Summon Construct, Summon Elemental, and Summon Fiend. If the Web that is cast is caught on fire, then it can cause fire damage. Including this aspect of Web is not likely to be agreed to, but there is a case for it. Any of the summoned creatures that cause fire damage also could be included, but I would understand if my DM said no, but it does not hurt to ask.

My opinion is just like for all the other damage types versions of this feat, if this were a half-feat and your character also got a +1 to either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma then I could recommend this feat, but as written there are much better options. But taking Fire is the best option of all the damage types that can be taken from the standpoint of options. A Bladesinger Wizard who uses Green-Flame Blade for most melee attacks and Firebolt for ranged attacks would get the most benefit from this feat, but is it really worth it? All you get is the occasional 1 transformed into a 2 and not getting your damage halved due to a resistance to fire. If you diversify your damage types when selecting spells then the resistance does not matter.

So, what do you think? Have you ever made a character that took this feat? Did you feel like it was worth it? Let me know in the comments below. I might do a build with a Bladesinger and take this feat to see how it goes.