Are you looking for exciting spells to flesh out your new Cleric built? Prayer of Healing in 5e is a fun spell for beginning players to learn the ropes. This evocation magic is strong, has multiple targets, and is a valuable addition for as good as any cleric built.
Justin, our expert DM, will give you tips and the best uses of Prayer of Healing in the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons. You will find out the pros and drawbacks and if it is worth picking!
Prayer of Healing 5e: attributes and description,
Attributes
- Casting time: 10 minutes
- Level: 2nd level evocation
- Range: 30 feet
- Target: Up to six creatures of choice in your range
- Components: Verbal
- Duration: Instant
- Classes: Cleric
Spell description
When you cast the Prayer of Healing, you choose up to six creatures within the range of 30 feet.
Each of these creatures will regain hitpoints equal to 2d8 plus the spellcasting ability modifier you have.
- No effect on undead and constructs like helmed horrors.
- For every spell slot above the 2nd, you can add 1d8.
Check out the following article to find out how to heal the undead in 5e DnD.
Prayer of Healing advantages and drawbacks
Pros
- Great for dungeons: If you want to save on healing potions and are going through a long dungeon, this spell is great. You only need to have a verbal component, and you are set.
- No materials needed: I love spells that do not need material components; they are free, so you don’t need to spend your gold pieces.
- Great for life Domain Clerics: If you have a big party and want to focus on healing more, then getting Prayer of healing 5e is a must-have for your character.
- Upcast: You can upcast the spell. While not super strong, it can come in handy sometimes.
Cons
- Only beneficial for large parties: The spell loses effectiveness if you have a small party of only 3 or 4 adventurers. You need to have a party of 5 or 6 for it to be worth picking amongst the other spells.
- Very long casting time: You can only use this spell in an everyday situation in-between combat when you are safe. The reason for that is the long casting time of 10 minutes.
Best uses for Prayer of Healing 5e
1. Healing up large parties
The best use for Prayer of Healing 5e is when you can heal up larger parties. You can get the most out of the spell if you and your allies count around 5 to 6 members. If you are only healing up to three targets, using it isn’t worth it, as you can only get at most 50% of the potential healing from casting the Evocation.
You can choose the targets within quite a large radius, so you can heal NPCs, allies, or enemies you want to live with because you have cast Enemies Abound on them.
2. Combining it with Beacon of Hope
Beacon of Hope can maximize your healing spells. You no longer have to roll dice and can just pick the maximum amount the spell will restore hitpoints. For example, if you use Prayer of Healing on large parties of 6, you can heal six times 16 hitpoints without upcasting. That amount of HP adds up to quite a bit.
3. Casting just before a long rest
Before taking a long rest, it is a great idea to use the Prayer of Healing. If you don’t get attacked, no problem! Your Cleric will just get his spell slot back, and no foul done if you do get attacked; lucky you! After casting this Evocation first, your party has restored some of their hitpoints and will probably have a much easier time with this encounter.
Advice and final thoughts
If you have a party of 5 or 6, not counting undead and constructs, you can get a lot of value from the Prayer of Healing in 5e DnD. However, you must be aware that this is not a combat spell and will not save your party when losing a fight.
There are quite a few downsides to the Prayer of Healing. The 10-minute casting time is my main problem with it. That amount of time is just too much for me to consider this Evocation a must-have for every Cleric. Then there is also the fact that Prayer of Healing is pretty bad when you have a party of just 4 or 3 members.
The upsides are also pretty straightforward. You can upcast the spell a bit, and it works great when you have a large group of allies to help you out in a dungeon with plenty of opportunities to rest.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| Effective for healing large parties (5-6 members). | Less effective for smaller parties (3-4 members). |
| No material components required. | Long casting time of 10 minutes. |
| Beneficial for Life Domain Clerics focusing on healing. | |
| Can be upcast for increased healing. |
Best Uses for Prayer of Healing 5e
- Healing larger parties effectively.
- Combining with Beacon of Hope for maximized healing.
- Casting before a long rest to restore hitpoints before potential encounters.
TIP: you might want to learn more about the strongest one-shot healing spell in DnD: Life transference 5e.
Prayer of Healing FAQ
How much does the Prayer of healing heal for?
This evocation spell heals for 2d8 hitpoints per target. You can choose up to six targets for you to heal. So the maximum amount of hitpoints you can heal without upcasting is 108.
What level is Prayer of Healing 5e?
This spell is a level 2 evocation. You can upcast it to a level 3 or even higher to spell slot level 10. The class that can use Prayer of Healing is the Cleric.
Is Prayer of healing a good spell for Clerics?
How good Prayer of healing is for your character depends mainly on your party size. The spell can heal up to six targets for 2d8. So if you can heal six times for 2d8, you get more value out of the spell than if you would only heal 3 targets.