Irony is, the poisoned status (I forget if all poison causes it) causes Disadvantage on attack rolls. So even if concentration wasn't broken and your health above 0, you would have been right back where you started. One round later. The treatment of True Strike in 5e saddens me.
@@Bozemoto oh my gosh. That's perfect! The normal fix of switching to a bonus action or reaction makes it ridiculously spammable, such that it's stupid not to have it. Your solution is a good midpoint that works with the theme of predicting enemy movements and weaknesses.
@@TheGruspastej you can't strike true if you're getting struck in the teeth. Also, with all of this attention you're giving to one opponent, you'd think you could avoid their attacks with some self-preservation.
@@Bozemoto Make it so you can cast it on others at range and it would be serviceable even with the concentration requirement. Remove the concentration requirement on top of that and it's not half bad anymore. It'd be a useful buff spell for sorcerers to cast after quickening something else at the very least.
@@CycloneSP It would be pretty ok then. Cast it at max range, maintain your distance for 1 round, everyone dog piles, overall not bad. However, one could argue that then it's too powerful for a cantrip. To them I would say "Faerie Fire". Another easy way to make true strike worth while would be to make it a bonus action while still following the rest of the spell.
And he used a quarterstaff. So he needed Charisma for casting, Dex for AC, Strength for attacking, and Con for not dying. That's one hell of stretching your stats thin
I took blade ward with my first character. Thankfully the DM let me re-spec before level 5 (there's actually some verbiage in one of the handbooks about allowing people to do that before locking them in, if memory serves). As a sorcerer, it only really helped me if I quickened a spell and then blade warded with main action, so the cost was nuts to effectively use the cantrip. Haha
Blade Ward isn't the worst cantrip as it's an ok way to reduce damage if you need to run through an enemy range and eat an opportunity attack, True Strike is only good for eldritch knights
Some tweaks have emerged over and over in the comments this would be my advice on those takes: *Make it a bonus action* This would mean advantage every attack which makes it way too good for a cantrip. *Make it a touch spell so you could give it to others* This sounds good, a kind of remote help spell, then at least you get to see the result same round. *Everyone gets advantage against that target for the round* I think Faerie fire probably does this better? *Let it give a flat bonus* I'd say bless and bardic inspiration already do this. *Auto-hit next attack* Seems intensely powerful I'd say if you do this it'd have to eat a higher level spell slot. 3rd level? *it also makes the targeted* *opponent have disadvantage* *against you* Oooh that's clever, I definitely like that more.
I went the auto-hit route but made it so that on the turn it's cast, you must make a successful spell attack against the target. On a hit, the next attack you make within the round will auto-hit. I also increased the range to 60 feet. That way it's useful for ambushes, stacks with advantage, lets you attack with your spellcasting ability, and can be readied on a turn you aren't able to get as close as you want to the target. Plus I like the flavor of the attack roll you make to cast the spell being almost like a glimpse into the future of what you're about to do, and checking to see if you mess up.
I've heard the bonus action change and also agree that would be to much. Consider this however, as a reaction. So if you get hit you use your reaction to point your finger (somatic) toward the target, like the monkey from family guy. Still requires concentration so you have to choose to use it or another concentration spell as well as having that reaction cost for getting advantage next turn. Although it says target and not creature so objects would be an issue with the reaction cast, perhaps objects could be bonus? Or just apply only the reaction to only creatures. I understand they want it to cost you something for getting advantage but an entire action is just a waste but i feel your reaction and concentration would work, if to much, then keep as the reaction but change it from a cantrip to a lvl 1 slot. I do like that idea of that persons next attack against you has disadvantage.
the last option sounds good! make a new, rare spell. don't call it True Strike, but perhaps something related. The Strike of the Ancients or something. Some ninja cult has this mildly good secret.
I don't think advantage is that great of a bonus. A lot of low level class benefits seem to give advantage on rolls. Getting to roll 2 dice instead of one still means you could roll poorly on both. You could just miss instead of critically miss
I miss the 3rd ed version :( a cool spell at lower levels, but really powerful at the higher level while also being easy to forget. A simple solution like "speak friend and enter" that brought a caster back their fundamentals.
All they needed to do was say your next attack has advantage, instead of your next round. Then sorcs could quicken this and get some actual use out of it.
couldn't they also cast a quickened spell and then cast true strike as a bonus action to get advantage next round? that would be the only situation I could see in which its useful.
@@pennyrq9454 Unfortunately, that still has the weakness of "if something unexpected happens before your next turn (target gone, you suddenly need to do something other than attack, you lose concentration, etc.), the spell is wasted." So it's better than True Strike alone in that you avoid the Lose a Turn drawback, but still not ideal.
Actually that's a lie. I did use True Strike once for dramatic effect. I pointed at the BBEG while muttering True Strike's arcane words, preparing for the fight that was obviously about to start... ...Then the gigantic evil Vampire Tree our party was inside of decided to switch teams. It sent out vines that lept out from the walls, restrained the BBEG and instantly sucked the life out of him. At the same time, the tree "offered" its strength to our party's naive Druid, who gladly accepted help from the good and pure tree spirit in her head. The tree possessed our Druid's body and with expressed it's pleasure at having a truly powerful host for the first time. Our next session is gonna be interesting.
~pushes up glasses~ Uhhh, True Strike doesn't have a verbal component. It has no arcane words, but instead just gestures (Somatic). Now maybe your dm house ruled for a handicapped limbless sorcerer the ability to cast with words instead? Or you added them for..... FLAVOR! ~Audience gasp track~ Strickly inefficient complication of action for the sense of ROLEPLAY ~Guffa~ @@SpaghettiViking1
@@SpaghettiViking1 Oh man, what happened next? I feel like it /could/ be worth a metamagic bonus acti-nope you could just turn point into spell and cast something better nevermind.
Video title: TRUE STRIKE! Me: There's no way he's going to be able to find a way to convince me it's worth using. Three Minutes and forty-six seconds later: Pretty accurate, yeah.
Archem I mean as a Ranger it would be handy since my deal is setting up traps, and ambushes, but it’s use would have to be via magic item. As a gloom-stalker if I cast it with my action, and it was paired with zephyr strike just before the fight starts. Then I could get advantage on two of my three attacks and if the last one misses I can just roll another attack due to stalker’s fury, and that’s kinda neat. Plus if I multi-class into fighter, and Grab arcane Archer I can turn the missed shot into a hit on another target. Giving me two additional attacks or double advantage depending on the dm’s ruling. (Missing allows you to use both abilities at once since they activate the same way or you can try one, and then the other if they both fail.) after that I can use my action surge to make a final attack for a possible 6 total attacks in my opening round So in this incredibly Niche build true strike can be powerful for an opening round. But this requires at-least 11 levels in ranger, and 7 in fighter
Honestly I watched a couple videos on true strike, and everyone says its actually useless. So I did some brainstorming. What situations can it ever be useful? And yeah sneak-attack seems to be one use. Alternatively I was thinking about monsters that deal damage to you whenever you attack or whenever you miss. So hitting twice would be worse than hitting once with advantage. I remember a troll thingy in a Critical Role episode that had an acidic splash whenever it was being hit that almost killed half the party bc they were in melee range. Outside that, it seems wasteful to use it.
I personally imagine something like True Strike would be handy if you can't reach your intended target this round. Basically "storing" your attack roll to make the roll you'll get to make next round more likely to succeed.
Make a high elf fighter, use racial trait to pic up true strike. Go champion archetype and take the elven accuracy feat. Give yourself advantage with true strike then roll 3 d20 to hit, a 19 or a 20 crits. It's a pretty specific circumstance but could be a killer build.
@@davidbodor1762 By playing 3.5 or Pathfinder and use it to set up extremely powerful touch attacks, mostly. Want that +20 to hit after all. It's just comically bad in 5e.
He spent a round imagining a character imagining itself hitting a scorpion, instead of imagining a character attacking a scorpion. (I think I need pen and paper just to make sure I wrote this sentence correctly)
@@Nickthedoggo Hold Person would spend a second level spell slot minimum and your action. In order for this strategy to work, the target would have to fail both two wisdom saving throws, once on the caster's turn and a second time on the target's turn, and the caster would also still need to hold concentration on the spell. This would only work on humanoids, as the spell describes. It's not a bad idea, especially if you have two casters in the party, as it has additional utility outside of this strategy, but still, it's a strategy that requires many things to go right, much like True Strike, but costs more resources.
@@JadeHarleyCoffeeMug You can have fun with "bad" spells. Optimization can be fun, but sometimes you wanna use Poison Spray or Toll the Dead instead of Eldritch Blast. True Strike though? Terrible spell. Not even worth considering for a joke one-shot character.
I modify it in my campaigns so that true strike, in addition to it's base effect, also reveals the remaining HP of the target as well as it's vulnerabilities and resistances.
I've had the idea to do a similar thing for a magic item-Volo's Guide to Monsters. If you roll an Investigation check that beats the target's AC, you get to reveal either the target's remaining HP, one of their resistances, immunities, or weaknesses, their AC, spell slots, or maybe some other thing.
Well a 1 minute Fight lasts 1 hour (if you are lucky), So its getting there. On the flip side multiple days of travel with out interruption can take 5 minutes (if you stretch it).
I like the idea of true strike giving your opponent disadvantage on hitting you while active, just because you’re already pulling out that mega-big brain analysis on them, and because it sucks currently
In pathfinder, trues strike is a level 1 spell but it gives you a +20 in the next attack roll, you don't need specify a target, you just have that bonus, and there's a rule that any bonus to hit it can be also aplied to combat maneuvers, so you can have a +20 to bull rush and sent an enemy to the moon or steal an item from them.
I usually give my players "True Strike Weapons" that automatically cast true strike on an enemy when you hit them, making it so you have advantage next time you hit them
Just call them weapons of guiding in reference to guiding bolt. When the spell hits, deals a handful of dice in radiant damage and next attack has advantage.
You know, I'd say that that is super busted and then I remember that you can get advantage so easily in 5e that it really isn't that big of a deal. Except for the rogue. That's pretty busted.
As a DM, I homebrewed ruled the True Strike cantrip to be a support role cantrip. Instead of an action, it is a bonus action, and no longer requires concentration. However, you cannot target yourself with it. You can grant the bonus to a creature of your choice within range (30 ft.) against a creature you can see until the start of your next turn or until the bonus gets used. (Bonus means the advantage)
That’s nice, but it obviates bards and the aforementioned rogue subclass, and to some degree familiars (though to a lesser extent since they stack). If it was a first level spell that did that (plus another effect like granting a bonus to damage or something) that’d be good, but a free bonus action to always give advantage? Even if it is still concentration that changes the power curve until you get to 5th level and have better stuff to concentrate on. Also see the spell silvery barbs (strixhaven) for a good example of this, a reaction first level spell that gives 1 enemy attack roll or save disadvantage (or even triple disadvantage) and 1 ally of your choice (including yourself) gets advantage on one attack save check etc.
True strike was soooo much better in 3.5. It was basically a free action and it provided +20 to attack. I loved playing a Bladesinger and using it on my final attack with a low bonus.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but true strike is a standard action in 3.5. And it's a 1st level spell. Granted it does give you a +20 so it's at least pretty much a guaranteed hit.
I just got out of a conversation with a thug during the conversation I casually truestriked (the only sign you used the spell is pointing at the target al components are somatic) them and then 6 seconds later attacked them. I did this twice the only other time this character used it was when I was sure they couldn't reach my next turn, and I only had one spell slot left and had discussed with the DM that if I had extra damage from the single target ray spell the extra damage could go into the monsters directly behind them, my level two warlock got a crit (10% chance) and killed all 4 remain bugbears. I am now level 3. The big upside I see is the casualness if you have a stealthy gambit against someone you can wait 6 seconds and then start your sneak attack they won't notice anything
Even all the old (3.5) high-level attack spells, like disintegrate and chain lightning, are now reflex saves. So it's not even good for "I need to make sure my 1/day attack that I can't just do twice in a row hits". Also, pretty sure your familiar can use the help action every turn to give you advantage without needing to spend an action or use concentration for it.
I remember the days of 3.5 where true strike was amazing. I remember one time we were trying to attack some boat for some reason, but the ranger and the rogue got captured trying to do some sneaky something (I was away at the time so I wasn't paying attention) when I got there, a battle on the shore began as the bat set sail, wisking our friends away. Apparently when he got captured he threw his OP magical bow into the bushes, I found it and being the wizard casted true strike shot a magical grappling arrow and yoinked the captain right off of the boat. Then me and the bard flew on board and beat everyone up. Fun times
@l-3176-l I was thinking the same thing. He said Cantrip and I thought "oh, He's playing _that_ instead. Yeah... True Strike bad." But absolutely, positively fantastic in Pathfinder.
yeah, the 5e true strike is pretty terrible with a very limited usage. The 4e is way better because it was a bonus action and +20 to hit. So, you could still fail, but it was because the AC was extremely high, or you rolled a 1
when I played 3.5 with a havoc mage, it was the most fucking spell I had. I was a guish, fighter and wizard, and used with power attack, with +20 attack, put 10 power attack and increased +20 damage (double hand).
baldur's gate 3 teached me the true use of this cantrip. So many fights where my rangers got nothing in range or line of sight but dont want to leave his advantage position. There I use True Strike and in the next round when the enemy did come closer I got advantage on the roll.
“Huh... well, if Zee is going to argue in favor of the spell, I guess I should pay attention. Might just change me opinion. ... Right, as you were then.” Edit: 3 months later and guess what! I made an Arcane Trickster, telling my party before hand that I would take what is widely considered the worst cantrip in the game, and I’m now convinced that True Strike is included in the game exclusively for their use. Yes, I give away every other turn. But I also have a consistent damage output of ~19, and we’re level three, so that’s huge. Basically, it really does have a use! I promise! Just, y’know, for EXACTLY one class archetype (or high elf assassins with true strike, which are probably an untapped source of power)
Tigercup I mean as a Ranger it would probably also be handy since my deal is setting up traps, and ambushes, but it’s use would have to be via a magic item As a gloom-stalker if I cast it with my action, and it was paired with zephyr strike just before the fight starts. Then I could get advantage on two of my three attacks and if the last one misses I can just roll another attack due to stalker’s fury, and that’s kinda neat. Plus if I multi-class into fighter, and Grab arcane Archer I can turn the missed shot into a hit on another target. Giving me two additional attacks or double advantage depending on the dm’s ruling. (Missing allows you to use both abilities at once since they activate the same way or you can try one, and then the other if they both fail.) after that I can use my action surge to make a final attack for a possible 6 total attacks in my opening attack round. If I did my math right. So in this incredibly Niche build true strike can be powerful for an opening round. But this requires at-least 11 levels in ranger, and 7 in fighter
High elf fighter, take true strike as a cantrip and go champion martial archetype. Every level after 3 just multi class into rouge and take the Assassin archetype. At level 7 get elven accuracy from Xanathar's guide. Now you can truestrike every other turn you crit on 19 and 20s, also yo get double advantage if you're making a dex based attack. You go from 1/20 chance of critical success to 1/10 because champion, to 1/5 because advantage, to 1/2.5 chance to crit with sneak attack damage every other turn because of elven accuracy.
@@aesheronanglvd3th309 Even if you quicken true strike, you still have to concentrate until next turn to get advantage and it's only on one attack that gets advantage.
@@vryafoat777 Oof... rereading, yeah, that's pretty much garbage. I could see some edge cases to quicken it and get advantage on the same turn, but it doesn't even grant it until next turn.
A few ways to improve True Strike: 1. Make it function kind of like Hunters Mark, where you pick a target, and if the target is killed, you can swap targets, 2. Don't make it a concentration spell, 3. Make it last multiple rounds.
Honestly I think if they'd made True Strike akin to Guidance or Resistance, giving you a d4 bonus to your next attack roll (or maybe attack rolls during your next turn) within the next minute as long as you hold concentration, that'd solve several of the issues with it. A stackable bonus that isn't target-limited works so much better than unstackable advantage against one opponent, and fits nicely as a cantrip-level counterpart to Bless. Rather than a minute of +1d4 to atks and saves, it's just a turn's worth, or even just one attack, of +1d4 to attacks. As it is unless you're burning a high-level spell slot on a spell with one attack roll it's a total trap for new or mechanically-disinclined players.
That's another possibility, though arguably a little too strong due to the action economy. It undercuts the spell as an investment for a set-up shot later and makes it more of a spammable self-buff that gives nigh-permanent 1st-atk-of-the-turn advantage, though the concentration requirement does a bit to curb its abuses there, and it's not much worse than Find Familiar in that regard. Definitely a simpler way of fixing it too.
@@ethanfeil9200 It also conflicts with other bonus-action spells and abilities. So it's not end-of-the-world levels of good. But I can see how it would be problematic. Overall I suppose which option is more balanced as a fix is based on the player and the build it's in.
1) I LOVE your animation style. 2) Your voice is perfect for what you do. Lots of range and variation. 3) Your game advice has never failed me yet. Thanks for doing this channel.
True Strike is only useful for those attack spells that require an attack roll and _are the highest level spell you have,_ so you REALLY don't want to miss. Even then, it's worse than it used to be.
@@MistxTube "It's only been 12 hours, you're not tired yet!" I get tired after 12 hours awake in real life NOT doing anything, let alone fighting cloud giants! Tempted to homebrew a narcoleptic character so that, sure, I fall asleep in the middle of combat, _but at least I have spell slots_
In 3.5 when Truestrike made your roll a 20, I had come up with a monk/sorcerer concept I wanted to try out. Had to start in monk of course, once you "leave the path" you're banned. So my roleplay idea was that he would have 3 levels in monk and one in sorcerer, getting kicked out of the monastery after somebody finally figured out why he was so damn good at archery. He was to be an "accidental sorcerer" not truly understanding what was happening to him or that he was casting spells not just concentrating really hard. Forget why, but I never did get to play that guy.
That's why true strike should give you an automatic success to hit and you only roll to see if you crit. They should really rename It because when I think of the phrasing "True Strike", I think your strike Is always true.
That's the best change I have seen for it. Maybe as a cantrip, it guarantees that your next single attack hits, but you can't roll for critical hits. That should keep its power reasonable, but make for a more thematic and interesting cantrip. Basically you get a bit of free damage when you really need it.
I've always favored A.) making it a bonus action, B.) changing it to a 1st level spell, and C.) maybe making it last until the end of the caster's next round.
My idea was: just change it from a specific target to a general effect: You get advantage on your next attack roll. Then you can use it to get a jump start in combat when expecting an ambush having some time to prepare before a fight.
In my opinion the only change needed is casting as a bonus action, no more potential of optimization than other cantrips, the limiting factor of maintaining concentration until the next turn is immense considering the "floor to ceiling" range of potential outcomes. Also I think it's good to reiterate the limits of 1 cantrip and 1 higher level spell cast per turn. My center point of comparison is the battlemaster fighter subclass ability to Feint as a bonus action. But I do concede that a high elf battlemaster fighter using dodge as an action, true strike as a bonus, and riposte as a reaction does seem like a lot, but only vs 1 target.
I saw somewhere else where someone was talking about True Strike, and they made a good point: True Strike is an EXCELLENT cantrip...for NPCs. You give this to a character who hits hard and is intimidating. First round of combat, Nar-Paul-Chos wields his greataxe menacingly, pointing at the party's rogue. "You." He states with confidence, his deep voice echoing inside his helmet. You inform the party of the spell he just cast: Nar-Paul-CHos gets advantage on his next swing against Knives McStabby, UNLESS the party can break his concentration or ensure he can't get McStabby in range next turn. Now the fight gets interesting. Next round (assuming the party succeed), Narly casts it on the party tank (who is likely busy trying to lock the guy down), now the party is trying to seperate their own tank from the guy with the big axe.
True Strike (hide behind cover), then next round cast Chromatic Orb or a similar high damage spell slot requiring spell. Later, take Quicken Spell and cast True Strike as your Action and then Quicken Chromatic Orb as a Bonus Action. As a Divine Soul Sorcerer you can swap out Chromatic Orb for Guiding Bolt and get a continuous chain of attacking with Advantage going on.
I tried using True Strike with my Rogue, and it worked great! (Until I realised that I was casting it for a bonus action... which was wrong.) Afterwards, the Cantrip was garbage, and the DM let me pick a new cantrip
Even casting it as a bonus action wouldn't do that much for you, because the shit icing on the shit cake is that the advantage comes into play on your next turn. A hypothetical BA cast of True Strike into an action attack on the same turn would have no benefit. Horrible cantrip.
well, to be more fair than it really deserves, still getting your attack while you wait for it to finish would just make it regular, vestigial kind of bad, and not "actively weighing you down" bad
True strike is specifically for low resource or low availability attacks, like if you got some plot device arrow you can’t miss, need to use a spell slot, or are ranged and want to get a sneak attack before alerting anyone. The problem is that those things don’t really appear enough in attack rolls and matter enough to waste a turn on
@Moon Debris You can cast cantrips as a bonus action when they say you can cast them as a bonus action. Shillelagh for example does. True Strike doesn't (also, in that case you can cost them _only_ as a bonus action, unless they say you can use either but I don't think there's an official spell that works like that). The only way I can think of you could cast True Strike as a bonus action would be as a sorcerer using Quickened Spell... but then, what are you doing with your life?
I think this is the first time I've seen a negative review of any magic on this channel. Honestly, you couldn't have picked a better spell to show that some spells are generally not worth it.
@@roceb5009 I have seen the episode many tines. He actually makes the argument that the spell is too good and therefore needs to be nerfed so that people can't cheat a specific style of game with it. That is a far cry from saying this spell just kinda sucks. (Although he does mention that some builds want it in very specific situations)
@@cerberouse1 I get what you're saying, but in that episode he did praise the spell for its thematic capacity (similarly to the eldritch blast episode). There is a difference between a sub-par option for similar spells and a spell that actively makes your situation worse (most of the time). You can excuse choosing acid splash if the character is cool, it's HARD to justify taking truestrike.
It could be useful to land an attack for a high level spell where you only have one spell slot. In that situation you couldn’t just attack twice because you only have one spell slot. So it could be useful to higher level casters. Although, I do agree that it could use an upgrade.
very few high level spells require an attack roll, and as a high-level caster its almost always better to get two spells off. maybe to cast before combat would make sense, but there are better ways to try and guarantee a hit, like casting a CC spell such as power word stun or hold monster so that your really important attack hits. Or have your companions lock the target down for you.
but most spells that use attack rolls are cantrips anyway. Besides, inflict wounds is only a 1st level spell (and clerics can't learn true strike). Just homebrew it so that true strike also gives the target disadvantage against you while you're concentrating on it
That basically just makes it a better Entropic Ward, which is a 6th level Warlock class feature. (Which i dont have a problem with, since Entrophic Ward is a really underpowered class feature to gain at 6th level)
At least you can learn other cantrips in that situation. I do kinda agree that entropic ward is underpowered but you have a really limited selection of cantrips as a warlock
That's why I either make True Strike a bonus action or use a reworked version of it that makes it one of those melee weapon attack cantrips like Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade, except the bonus d8's of damage gained at 5th, 11th, and 17th are of the same type as the weapon you use.
Idea for a buff -- True Strike also gives the target disadvantage on attack rolls against you, and you advantage on saving throws against their spells and effects.
Joke aside though that's not a great buff. It's more like an enhanced dodge action at that point and the point of "true strike" is meant to be offensive. Normal dodging already gives disadvantage to ALL incoming attacks and single target attack spells and advantage on dexterity saving throws. All you would be adding is advantage on all saving throws. And sure that's nice and all but advantage on fireball is still probably half damage and you did nothing to retaliate
@VoxAstra-qk4jz actually false, you need a weapon worth at least 1 copper piece. And both booming blade, and green flame blade, say they need a weapon worth at least one silver piece. At least last time I checked.
@mrinfinity5557 I don't think Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards are making unarmed strikes or using improvised weapons all that often, so *basically* all non-magical attacks.
@VoxAstra-qk4jz well the thing is, green flame blade and booming blade is still better for melee attacks. They get d8 dice instead of d6 dice. Hence why i say true strike is for ranged attacks, because it states any weapon attack rather than any melee attack
@@mrinfinity5557 I didn't consider those, as I don't have SCAG. Also, it looks like true strike does the most consistent single targets damage, because of booming blade only working if the creature you hit has to move. Though you could do that with something like Fear or the warlock invocation Repellent Blast on your next turn. Actually, you could make a pretty good build with a fear inducing spell and the War Caster feat.
I sometimes come back to this vid. Not necessarily if I have a bad day, but if I want to get a laugh or a snort... it works very nice along with that metamagic vid.
Same problem though. Why lose a turn so the next one can have 2 rolls when you could spend both turns attacking and roll twice anyway, but with more damage output if you succeed
@@gormauslander Oh, yeah, it's still mostly useless, but there might be occasional uses in some situations. Like maybe you need to hit really precisely because you can't risk hitting something else or something, idk.
@@ENCHANTMEN_ I think there are a lot of suggestions in these comments for homebrewing it to balance it out that I personally would go for. For my sister's campaign, I put forward that it gives +2 for 6 rounds, and they get a save to break it every round, as well as being able to be broken with concentration disrupt.
@@pacattack2586 Uh. It's an attack. There are Melee and ranged "Spell attacks." Some spells can be attacks. Whenever you make an attack roll it's always a weapon or spell attack and then Melee or ranged. If something only specifies "attack," it applies to anything.
Simple way to fix true strike, make it a bonus action 1st level spell. This is how pathfinder solves it. Even better, add a caveat that this spell can be cast in tandem with a leveled spell, unlike other spells in 5e. And to incorporate a thing mentioned in Zee Bashew's post, you could heighten it to 3rd level and automatically hit with a spell. Heighten it to 9th and it automatically crits.
I was going to argue that True Strike might be useful for, say, an Eldritch Knight Fighter, but since it only has a range of 30 ft, it's really kinda crap. I mean, if the range was doubled, you could at least justify it with, "yes, I'm sacrificing getting in range of the enemy this turn, but I wouldn't be able to hit them anyway, and this way I get advantage when I *do* get in range." Or, if it was a bonus action, you could cast it *then* make an attack. Really feels like the WotC crew dropped the ball with this.
There is an out-of-game way to make this spell somewhat useful. You can use it to confuse the GM regarding your intentions. Basically an anti-metagaming tactic. It's all too easy to think that you're going to attack the thing you cast true strike on, but what if you don't? Just cast true strike on something you don't intend to hit. The GM might take the bait, and play some defensive actions on that enemy. Then you actually attack something you meant to attack all along. It's like a baseball pitcher looking at third base but then throwing out the guy on first because the guy on first thought he could steal a base. It's all mind-games. Or you could do it all on-the-table and homebrew something that makes it not garbage.
It should provide disadvantage on attacks against you from the targeted creature. At least that way it would be useful for dueling or a neat twin spell for sorcerers. Divination/clockwork/abjuration sorc is a really cool power fantasy and it would work great with this homebrew.
True Strike is a bad cantrip because it uses up one of your most valuable resources. Actions. Unless you are have an ability to attack with a bonus or reaction you are going to be attacking every other turn and that is a huge waste of the most limited resource in the game.
Funny enough, it's pretty awful even then because true strike doesn't take effect until the next turn even if you can attack the same turn after it's cast.
@@JH-io8wx I have not played 5th edition that much so I am not sure. Are there any monsters with special abilities that trigger when you miss an attack against them? That is the only situation I can think of where it is useful.
@@Lilitha11 I don't think so. There might be a few legendary or liar actions that might do something similar. The closest ability I can think of is in the Berserker Barbarian archtype, which is Retaliation. It's a reaction that allows an attack right after being damaged, but no other abilities immediately come to mind. Someone else might know of one though.
It's also worth noting that in Pathfinder True Strike is a 1st level spell with limited uses, in 5e it's a cantrip you can use endlessly. I'd still rather have the level 1 version.
@@kevingriffith6011 Also true. You could always houserule it that if you do True Strike in combat and hold concentration you get an automatic success. I mean, if you're dming. Don't try that in AL lol.
I make it so True Strike can be cast as a bonus action without concentration ONLY after hitting with an attack. Lets you chain attacks quite nicely if you "prove" you can hit them without it first. I find it makes melee sorcs fairly viable despite their fragility
It's really only good before the battle has started, like no initiative has been rolled and you're trying to ambush the opponent. During a battle however it's utter trash.
Booty is one of the highest sources of good in the world. True Strike is raw garbage. As is a lot of things in 5th Edition, because the devs are paranoid about anything being too fun and always underbalance for fear of overbalance.
@@supercalifragic1551 They weren't scared of over balancing, they were worried about unbalancing the game. Unfortunately, they heavily nuked the shit out of several spells in an attempt to make magic classes as a whole less over powered.
So, amusing tidbit, this cantrip has a use in BG3. It's concentration, and so if you have the Awakened perk, you can use it to do 6d6 free psychic damage a turn with Concentrated Blast.
Zee Bashew is no match for mighty Scorpones. (Read is as Strong Bad for best effect) BTW Zee Bashew would you ever do video about how Starfinder handles the caster/combatant power disperty by scaling weapons with levels? TBH I think it is very neat.
The primary use of True Strike is for ranged spells that require an attack roll. Arcane casters, after all, are really not known for their meele prowess. Think of it as taking out insurance to keep from wasting the attack roll spell. There is literally no other reason to ever use True Strike.
But there are no ranged attack roll spells for which True Strike is useful; Chaos Bolt and Chromatic Orb are worse than Magic Missile, Ice Knife does the AoE whether it hits or misses with its piddly 1d10, Ray of Sickness/Witch Bolt/Acid Arrow/Ray of Enfeeblement are terrible, and Scorching Ray is 3+ attack rolls (TS only gives advantage on the first).
Why would you use it for that, either? 5e fights are way faster than what would allow that to be worth it. Average combat encounter is over in about three rounds.
@@NephilmX Have to disagree with you on the chaos bolt and chromatic orb being worse than magic missile, sure they can miss but they do a lot more damage, especially the potential with chaos bolt if you get lucky. Edit: but True Strike is still terrible as it is without any homebrewing.
@@jasfoy773 Chromatic Orb is 3d8 ~ 13.5 damage, if it hits. Magic Missile is (1d4+1)*3 ~ 10.5, automatic. Enemy AC needs to be 11 or less for Chromatic Orb to have comparable output. Chaos Bolt fares only slightly little better with its 12.5% chance of a second attack, bringing up the enemy AC to 12 or below for it to be comparable. And higher deviation isn't a selling point.
@@NephilmX Higher deviation is more fun though. Also that one in a million with chaos bolt can be worth it, last Friday during a oneshot I hit three creatures with it, dealing (if I remember correctly) 47 total damage.
Times that True Strike should be used: 1. Before initiating combat, like when you've seen the enemy, but the enemy hasn't seen you. 2. When missing has a cost that outweighs the lost action, like when you're using some expensive enchanted ammunition or a high level spell slot. 3. To overcome disadvantage for attacks that require an unmodified d20 roll of 9 or more. 4. When using a weapon that cannot be used every round, such as a ballista that might take a round to reload. 5. When for whatever reason, you're unable to make an attack this turn but expect to be able to on the next turn. 6. When you're allowed as much time for the attack as you want, like an archery contest. 7. Whenever you want to do an arcane equivalent of cocking a gun. It was not made for the average attack. It was made for attacks whose price is more than the single action it takes to cast true strike. Use it for a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher, not a handgun, shotgun, assault rifle, or god forbid a machine gun. As for making it more useful, I as a DM would be willing to houserule that if the attack is a readied action, the duration can be extended for as long as that action is readied. Make it good for plans like "I cast true strike and I'll ready an action to shoot the prisoner if he moves."
And its this type reasoning is why true strike got buffed in campgeins I play where specific weaknesses n stuff are revelead and you as a player have to memorize where to strike if you fight this type of opnnenet over and over again. Thats how I turned a previous boss fight into a double crit wonder. :>
And quicken spell would be the only time this would come in handy, they could have made this so much better of a cantrip if they removed the sentence about the attack having to be on your next turn, would have changed a garbage cantrip into a Meh cantrip since then Eldrich knights could get a little bit of flavor use out of it (even though its still better to just attack twice)
@@GoblinUrNuts You're still giving up an attack round to do that. So either you attack both turns for 4 d20s rolled (no advantage on either, but potential to do damage four times), or you use True Strike turn 1 and on your second turn only roll 4 d20s (3 on the first attack, second attack doesn't benefit from advantage from True Strike, potential to do damage only twice) EDIT: assuming you're using the dual-wielding version of that build. Otherwise you're right that it's 2d20s without (but potential to damage twice) vs 3d20s with (potential to do damage once, but with approx 5-7% increased chance of critting (depending on if you can crit on a 19)) In that case my money is on the 2 attacks still beating the weighted average damage compared to the 3d20s, but I haven't done the math.
@N I'm back with some math for you, if you care: Assuming you're using a pair d6 weapons, have a stat mod of 5, and are attacking someone with AC 15, making four attacks across 2 turns (no advantage) comes out to a weighted average of 18.7 damage. By comparison, casting True Strike on your turn, and not losing concentration, so you can hit with Elven Accuracy on the first attack, gives you a weighted average at the end of the second turn at 13.324814 damage. So True Strike, EVEN WITH Elven Accuracy, just cost you approx. 5.4 damage. For funzies, I ran the calculation with an AC of 20, because high-AC favors the advantage from extra crit chance, and the results are you only lose approx. 1.6 damage. But you're still *losing* damage, in the long run.
I actually have a few homebrew suggestions for making True Strike good. 1) you can make it a first level spell and reduce casting time to a bonus action 2) you can make it a +2 to your next attack, and keep all the restrictions, but count it as a crit if your actual roll is an 18 or higher 3) you can change the target to yourself, remove concentration, and change the effect to advantage on your next attack roll, or disadvantage on saves against your next spell on your next turn only
Here’s my rework for True Strike: Its effects last for 1d4+1 turns, as long as the target is within range and you don’t lose consciousness, you have advantage against the target.
@@gormauslander ah true I forgot about the save, you’re totally right. I still think it would be reasonable for a cantrip, maybe a bit overpowered. What if there was a wis save or something to “trick” the true strike into divining the wrong place to hit or something? (So just add a save to it)
@@MotorcycleWrites I don't know if that makes sense narratively, but anything is possible. What we did in our game was we made it so you can cast this cantrip as a reaction on a successful attack. This way, you have to already be able to hit them to use it, but you still get your attack this turn because it comes after. You also can't cast shield or take opportunity attacks because it spends that reaction. The biggest thing I think you want to avoid in buffing this spell is that is a scenario where someone gets advantage on every attack forever because they use this every turn, so my solution isn't great either. Other spells that give advantage are capped by being spells that take slots
Since True Strike works on any attack roll, not just weapon attacks, it could potentially be useful if you’re casting a leveled spell that requires an attack roll (like Vampiric Touch or Scorching Ray) and you really don’t want to miss and waste your spell slot But there’s still a lot of potential for failure even in that one very specific scenario True Strike can suck eggs
I'm rewatching after release of Baldurs Gate 3, and am still of the opinion that 3.5 did this spell bettter than 5th. 1st level slot for +20 to hit on next attack. Led to more interesting uses of the spell plus more novelty overal of what one could accomplish
Awww yeah, true strike! Such a great spell. I mean, I'm only familiar with the Pathfinder version, but I'm sure it's just as great in D&D 5e. Oh... ... oh no. I am so sorry. You all deserve better.
I know this is an old video, but maybe I can provide some insight for someone: I've found that True Strike can be alright on spellcasters with a decently sized handful of spell attacks, because spell slots are a limited resource (especially for half-casters, multiclass spellcasters, or really any character with a not-so-great casting modifier). Any character with a "one spell per rest"-type feat (i.e. Aberrant Dragonmark) also only get one chance to cast their spell, so it can be pretty strong in those cases... Especially if you're a sorcerer with Quickened Spell. For example, I have this Genasi Draconic Bloodline sorcerer with 20 CON and 15 CHA- legacy Genasi, so CON is the casting ability for my racial spells- and I took Aberrant Dragonmark at level 4, which also uses CON as a casting ability, to learn Witch Bolt. I then swapped one of my cantrips for True Strike. The idea was that I can use Quickened Spell to cast True Strike as a bonus action, then make use of my whopping +7 CON Save to keep concentration until next turn, and cast Witch Bolt on the next one. I would utilize Quickened Spell to cast other spells as bonus actions while maintaining my Witch Bolt damage, since you have to use your action on it every round or it ends. I also decided to swap Twinned Spell for Seeking Spell just in case I still manage to miss, somehow. I... Actually have yet to utilize this strategy, but it seems pretty sound. Since then, I've leveled up once, and took a level in Hexblade Warlock. Hexblade's Curse granting crits on 19 or 20 has some very interesting synergy with this setup and I can't wait to make use of it.
Here's the thing, I could see this being useful in a situation where you want to have a better chance at hitting with a single shot spell attack. Say you only have one spell slot left and NEED that ray of enfeeblement to hit. True Strike gives you advantage on it. Most high level spells don't require a roll but if you use Crown of Stars (from xanathar's) you can have advantage on each 4d12 bonus action ranged spell attack for 7 rounds at the cost of a 7th level spell slot and using your action for a Cantrip. So I'd say it's at least not entirely useless....but almost.
a friend of mine had a rogue archer with true strike, and the DM considered true strike like an (automatic nat 20) so it was a critical hit but he mostly used it to snipe enemies who where at very long distance, or have something giving them some cover. The most Badass thing he made with the spell was shoot an arrow between a crowd of people and hit the assasin we where chasing.
thats a decent idea. although at that level you're probably better off casting greater invisibility since 4d12 damage is basically cantrip level damage...which is fine if its in conjuntion with other uses of your action, but using your action to deal cantrip damage when you could instead just cast an attack cantrip isn't all teh efficient. so instead you cast greater invis then you can spam firebolt and your star attacks. (yes, i understand that this is less efficient because it uses a 4th level spell slot too, my point is its still generally a better idea).
i would like to add that in all my builds i keep true strike to use as a distraction, not as a actual combat cantrip.... true strike is perfect to allow you to trow a stone from a crowd in the head of the guard that you need to bypass True strike i never a combat spell though NEVER
What about using true strike to troll the GM? You cast true strike on what he thinks you're going to attack, so he might (slight metagame) use it's movement to move it out of your range, only for you to go "I wasn't aiming for that" and strike at what you really meant. Altho, at that point it's an anti-metagaming tactic, so it has limited usefulness, but it's good to keep that kind of thinking on hand for when it's needed.
My first wizard had this cantrip; same awe and interest that the narrator had. When I used it, the DM gave me a concerned look and straight up told me to pick a different cantrip on the spot (not a new one to cast, but a new one for my free cantrip list). The other players thought it was funny at first, but upon realizing I had picked it unironically, expressed their pity. Of course, this didn't sit well with me-being a new player and my fear of being patronized over my character build coming true, I sulked and had my character hide whenever combat came up to be as useless as possible. A few years later, having completed one campaign as a DM and currently playing two different campaigns as a player, I see this and realize the DM was being very, very nice.
Paul; that just delays it by one turn. Cast True strike on turn one; start turn two with a BA attack at advantage, then cast True strike again to be used next turn; though sill not actually as effective as using your action to cast a damaging cantrip instead. But might be useful if you want to stay hidden and let the Spiritual Weapon do all the work, and you don't have any damage cantrips that wouldn't reveal your position.
This is actually a great idea. Doesn't make it OP when you try to land a Plane Shift (which I hope was the designers' intended use of the cantrip), but it can actually be useful for a martial class or for lower level spells like Scorching Ray.
Turns out the Warlock _meant_ to hit the couch, because the upholstery was awful. Warlock: "Say something hideous and horrible jumps out at you. Something so disgusting it simply must die..." Coach: * Sits in the room * Warlock: "Oh...so tacky! I can't...look...directly at it!"
it has more potential for a crit fishing fighter with Elven accuracy. But that would require taking Magic Initiate Feat. But you can always just be a Samurai
@@lostbutfreesoul The idea is that the Elven Accuracy feat lets you roll 3 dice instead of 2 when you have advantage, which technically gives you better odds for a crit than just attacking twice.
Irony is, the poisoned status (I forget if all poison causes it) causes Disadvantage on attack rolls.
So even if concentration wasn't broken and your health above 0, you would have been right back where you started. One round later.
The treatment of True Strike in 5e saddens me.
One fix might be that the target also gets disadvantage on attacks against you? Might fix it a tiny bit.
@@Bozemoto oh my gosh. That's perfect!
The normal fix of switching to a bonus action or reaction makes it ridiculously spammable, such that it's stupid not to have it.
Your solution is a good midpoint that works with the theme of predicting enemy movements and weaknesses.
@@carsonrush3352 But doesnt make sense considering the intent of the spell. To strike true.
@@TheGruspastej you can't strike true if you're getting struck in the teeth. Also, with all of this attention you're giving to one opponent, you'd think you could avoid their attacks with some self-preservation.
@@Bozemoto Make it so you can cast it on others at range and it would be serviceable even with the concentration requirement. Remove the concentration requirement on top of that and it's not half bad anymore. It'd be a useful buff spell for sorcerers to cast after quickening something else at the very least.
"I could've killed him, but instead I wasted a turn fantasizing about hitting him and I got wrecked" I think thats my favorite line from the show
isn't that dnd in a nutshell tho xD
This reminds of the phrase: “STOP TRYING TO HIT THEM AND JUST HIT THEM!”
"Most people can't kill someone in a single hit anyways."
"I respec'd my sorcerer into somewhat of a nuker."
Still not *one* hit.
*most*, not all
Doesn't that, ironically, make your own sorcerer squishy themselves, because glass cannon?
@@ManoredRed yes, but you can't get hit if everything is dead
@@serencefrostbite3362 Good point.
“Time to die, Skorponae” I don’t know why I love this so much
This is a story about how a man April Fooled his own build by accident with a damn near joke of a spell.
what if true strike granted _all_ attackers advantage on the target while you maintained concentration?
@@CycloneSP It would be pretty ok then. Cast it at max range, maintain your distance for 1 round, everyone dog piles, overall not bad. However, one could argue that then it's too powerful for a cantrip. To them I would say "Faerie Fire". Another easy way to make true strike worth while would be to make it a bonus action while still following the rest of the spell.
Blood mists Or to simply double any attacks made that round with a name like true strike that's kind of what you envision
True strike is best when used before a fight, not after.
@@Blood_Mysts why would you say faerie fire?
Everyone was talking about true strike but he says "My blade ward ready" meaning he had both Blade ward and true strike in the same horrible build.
And jump. And was using featherfall in combat. It was a very bad build, which is a shame since melee caster hybrids can be really busted.
And he used a quarterstaff. So he needed Charisma for casting, Dex for AC, Strength for attacking, and Con for not dying. That's one hell of stretching your stats thin
I took blade ward with my first character. Thankfully the DM let me re-spec before level 5 (there's actually some verbiage in one of the handbooks about allowing people to do that before locking them in, if memory serves). As a sorcerer, it only really helped me if I quickened a spell and then blade warded with main action, so the cost was nuts to effectively use the cantrip. Haha
Blade Ward isn't the worst cantrip as it's an ok way to reduce damage if you need to run through an enemy range and eat an opportunity attack, True Strike is only good for eldritch knights
@@TheSilverPhoenix100 So instead of doing a you know disengage action, just use a cantrip slot.
It makes me laugh that on his head band says dragon in draconic
would be funnier if it said "headband"
It should have said "darastrix" which is dragon in draconic, but that might've been too long of a word.
How exactly can you read it?
the Draconic alphabet is in the PHB
*"I am of the Dragon Clan!"*
Sooo... that means what? How did you get your draconic qualities?
*"... I do Dragon!"*
Some tweaks have emerged over and over in the comments this would be my advice on those takes:
*Make it a bonus action*
This would mean advantage every attack which makes it way too good for a cantrip.
*Make it a touch spell so you could give it to others*
This sounds good, a kind of remote help spell, then at least you get to see the result same round.
*Everyone gets advantage against that target for the round*
I think Faerie fire probably does this better?
*Let it give a flat bonus*
I'd say bless and bardic inspiration already do this.
*Auto-hit next attack*
Seems intensely powerful I'd say if you do this it'd have to eat a higher level spell slot.
3rd level?
*it also makes the targeted*
*opponent have disadvantage*
*against you*
Oooh that's clever, I definitely like that more.
I went the auto-hit route but made it so that on the turn it's cast, you must make a successful spell attack against the target. On a hit, the next attack you make within the round will auto-hit. I also increased the range to 60 feet. That way it's useful for ambushes, stacks with advantage, lets you attack with your spellcasting ability, and can be readied on a turn you aren't able to get as close as you want to the target. Plus I like the flavor of the attack roll you make to cast the spell being almost like a glimpse into the future of what you're about to do, and checking to see if you mess up.
I've heard the bonus action change and also agree that would be to much.
Consider this however, as a reaction. So if you get hit you use your reaction to point your finger (somatic) toward the target, like the monkey from family guy. Still requires concentration so you have to choose to use it or another concentration spell as well as having that reaction cost for getting advantage next turn.
Although it says target and not creature so objects would be an issue with the reaction cast, perhaps objects could be bonus? Or just apply only the reaction to only creatures.
I understand they want it to cost you something for getting advantage but an entire action is just a waste but i feel your reaction and concentration would work, if to much, then keep as the reaction but change it from a cantrip to a lvl 1 slot.
I do like that idea of that persons next attack against you has disadvantage.
the last option sounds good! make a new, rare spell. don't call it True Strike, but perhaps something related. The Strike of the Ancients or something. Some ninja cult has this mildly good secret.
I don't think advantage is that great of a bonus. A lot of low level class benefits seem to give advantage on rolls. Getting to roll 2 dice instead of one still means you could roll poorly on both. You could just miss instead of critically miss
I miss the 3rd ed version :( a cool spell at lower levels, but really powerful at the higher level while also being easy to forget. A simple solution like "speak friend and enter" that brought a caster back their fundamentals.
"The warlock whiffed an eldritch blast into a dusty couch" still gets me every time
As a warlock player, I felt that.
My entire Warlock experience in one sentence.
@@andrewjohnson6716 Me: "I roll Eldritch Blast!" *rolls an 8*
DM: "That misses."
Me: "... Well that's my turn, I guess."
MY DARK GOD COMMANDS [that dusty couch] BE DESTROYED
Ah, so True Strike in itself is the April Fool's prank. Expertly done.
He didn't know today was April fools
@@trod146
It was the will of the universe.
True Strike is terrible for lower level PCs, better for higher... Depending on the campaign.
@@MrXemrox Even for higher-level PCs, it's only good if you have one-use melee attack ability that you absolutely don't want to miss.
Glad you agree
Pretty sad you only got 2 likes
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All they needed to do was say your next attack has advantage, instead of your next round. Then sorcs could quicken this and get some actual use out of it.
Or the spell could be a bonus action in the first place.
@@maxmoore5857 it would be too OP in that case
Probably a pretty good homebrew way to fix it. I imagine plenty of DMs have run it that way.
couldn't they also cast a quickened spell and then cast true strike as a bonus action to get advantage next round? that would be the only situation I could see in which its useful.
@@pennyrq9454 Unfortunately, that still has the weakness of "if something unexpected happens before your next turn (target gone, you suddenly need to do something other than attack, you lose concentration, etc.), the spell is wasted." So it's better than True Strike alone in that you avoid the Lose a Turn drawback, but still not ideal.
I picked True Strike unironically on my 5e Sorceror. I regret nothing. I've also never used it even once.
Actually that's a lie. I did use True Strike once for dramatic effect. I pointed at the BBEG while muttering True Strike's arcane words, preparing for the fight that was obviously about to start...
...Then the gigantic evil Vampire Tree our party was inside of decided to switch teams. It sent out vines that lept out from the walls, restrained the BBEG and instantly sucked the life out of him.
At the same time, the tree "offered" its strength to our party's naive Druid, who gladly accepted help from the good and pure tree spirit in her head. The tree possessed our Druid's body and with expressed it's pleasure at having a truly powerful host for the first time.
Our next session is gonna be interesting.
@@SpaghettiViking1 that sounds like an epic finale!
~pushes up glasses~ Uhhh, True Strike doesn't have a verbal component. It has no arcane words, but instead just gestures (Somatic). Now maybe your dm house ruled for a handicapped limbless sorcerer the ability to cast with words instead? Or you added them for..... FLAVOR! ~Audience gasp track~ Strickly inefficient complication of action for the sense of ROLEPLAY ~Guffa~ @@SpaghettiViking1
@@SpaghettiViking1 Oh man, what happened next?
I feel like it /could/ be worth a metamagic bonus acti-nope you could just turn point into spell and cast something better nevermind.
Sorcerers do get a lot of cantrips so at least that’s not a problem
I cast True Strike sometimes.
Generally when I’m going over imaginary arguments in my head while taking a shower.
"True Strike 's A GOOD CANTRIP
and other hilarious jokes to tell your self"
Video title: TRUE STRIKE!
Me: There's no way he's going to be able to find a way to convince me it's worth using.
Three Minutes and forty-six seconds later: Pretty accurate, yeah.
Archem I mean as a Ranger it would be handy since my deal is setting up traps, and ambushes, but it’s use would have to be via magic item.
As a gloom-stalker if I cast it with my action, and it was paired with zephyr strike just before the fight starts. Then I could get advantage on two of my three attacks and if the last one misses I can just roll another attack due to stalker’s fury, and that’s kinda neat.
Plus if I multi-class into fighter, and Grab arcane Archer I can turn the missed shot into a hit on another target. Giving me two additional attacks or double advantage depending on the dm’s ruling. (Missing allows you to use both abilities at once since they activate the same way or you can try one, and then the other if they both fail.) after that I can use my action surge to make a final attack for a possible 6 total attacks in my opening round
So in this incredibly Niche build true strike can be powerful for an opening round. But this requires at-least 11 levels in ranger, and 7 in fighter
Honestly I watched a couple videos on true strike, and everyone says its actually useless.
So I did some brainstorming. What situations can it ever be useful?
And yeah sneak-attack seems to be one use.
Alternatively I was thinking about monsters that deal damage to you whenever you attack or whenever you miss. So hitting twice would be worse than hitting once with advantage. I remember a troll thingy in a Critical Role episode that had an acidic splash whenever it was being hit that almost killed half the party bc they were in melee range.
Outside that, it seems wasteful to use it.
I personally imagine something like True Strike would be handy if you can't reach your intended target this round. Basically "storing" your attack roll to make the roll you'll get to make next round more likely to succeed.
Make a high elf fighter, use racial trait to pic up true strike. Go champion archetype and take the elven accuracy feat. Give yourself advantage with true strike then roll 3 d20 to hit, a 19 or a 20 crits. It's a pretty specific circumstance but could be a killer build.
@@davidbodor1762 By playing 3.5 or Pathfinder and use it to set up extremely powerful touch attacks, mostly. Want that +20 to hit after all. It's just comically bad in 5e.
just fireball
Just Fireball
JUST FIREBALL
*JUST FIREBALL*
i got it.
*JUST FIREBALL*
*_JUST FIREBALL_*
My God! We called him a madman but he was right alka long!
Welcome to a crap guide to- *_FIREBALL_*
Ture stirke is the definition of "if you think during combat, you're gonna get hit and die"
OYE, BASHEW! Stop daydreaming and HIT the darn thing already!
He spent a round imagining a character imagining itself hitting a scorpion, instead of imagining a character attacking a scorpion. (I think I need pen and paper just to make sure I wrote this sentence correctly)
But my chuuni sharigan! I MUST USE IT!
too late.
I always felt that true strike would only be good with a high level spell you don't want to miss
then cast hold person before the other spell?
@@Nickthedoggo Hold Person would spend a second level spell slot minimum and your action. In order for this strategy to work, the target would have to fail both two wisdom saving throws, once on the caster's turn and a second time on the target's turn, and the caster would also still need to hold concentration on the spell. This would only work on humanoids, as the spell describes. It's not a bad idea, especially if you have two casters in the party, as it has additional utility outside of this strategy, but still, it's a strategy that requires many things to go right, much like True Strike, but costs more resources.
@@melliel2957 fair
@@melliel2957 get a dog , It only cost some gold , It gives advantage AND doesnt need concentration
@@6mechreb6 okay but say it gets killed before your turn? Also I think you can quicken true strike.
I still remember when in earlier editions True Strike was a 1st level spell and just gave +20 on an attack.
Same here, great combo with Disintegrate which used to be a ranged touch attack instead of a Dex save.
"The warlock whiffed an Eldritch Blast into a dusty couch"
*My sides*
how did he miss?
Hello fellow lesbian pony enjoyer
New player here
You've saved me from making a terrible mistake building my mage.
Thank you, zee!
He is our lord and saviour, praise be.
9 months late but welcome to the community :')
you are a pussy if you don’t use bad spells and just do what youtubers tell you. do not put your faith in these people
@@JadeHarleyCoffeeMug You can have fun with "bad" spells. Optimization can be fun, but sometimes you wanna use Poison Spray or Toll the Dead instead of Eldritch Blast.
True Strike though? Terrible spell. Not even worth considering for a joke one-shot character.
Chungus Khan its basically a debuff with how garbage it is
I modify it in my campaigns so that true strike, in addition to it's base effect, also reveals the remaining HP of the target as well as it's vulnerabilities and resistances.
I've had the idea to do a similar thing for a magic item-Volo's Guide to Monsters. If you roll an Investigation check that beats the target's AC, you get to reveal either the target's remaining HP, one of their resistances, immunities, or weaknesses, their AC, spell slots, or maybe some other thing.
@@ob2kenobi388 yeah since making my original comment I've adjusted it to reveal one such piece of information about the target - not all of it lol.
@@ob2kenobi388that's actually a very creative idea. Mind if I steal it for my campaign.
@@tomm1222
Go ahead lol
@@ob2kenobi388thanks
You see you don't have the special anime ability of stretching a few moments over several 30 minute episodes.
I dunno, it is a nearly 4 minute video talking about a fight that lasted 6 seconds.
He's got anime protagonist potential.
Scarabswarm and HIS CHARACTER IS LITERALLY KAKASHI.
Well a 1 minute Fight lasts 1 hour (if you are lucky), So its getting there.
On the flip side multiple days of travel with out interruption can take 5 minutes (if you stretch it).
I like the idea of true strike giving your opponent disadvantage on hitting you while active, just because you’re already pulling out that mega-big brain analysis on them, and because it sucks currently
In pathfinder, trues strike is a level 1 spell but it gives you a +20 in the next attack roll, you don't need specify a target, you just have that bonus, and there's a rule that any bonus to hit it can be also aplied to combat maneuvers, so you can have a +20 to bull rush and sent an enemy to the moon or steal an item from them.
Clicks on notification at lighting speed. Hopes and prays its not a joke.
Edit: Turns out True Strike is the joke here
The Awesome Meg the only joke is true strike
I honestly forgot it was april fools
@@zeebashew Haha, its ok, I love your vids!
@@zeebashew Just roll with it, you totally meant to do this on April fools
@@zeebashew it was the best unintentional April Fools video ever.
I usually give my players "True Strike Weapons" that automatically cast true strike on an enemy when you hit them, making it so you have advantage next time you hit them
**Yoink**
neat Idea!
Flailmorpho hippity Hoppity your idea is now my property
Just call them weapons of guiding in reference to guiding bolt. When the spell hits, deals a handful of dice in radiant damage and next attack has advantage.
You know, I'd say that that is super busted and then I remember that you can get advantage so easily in 5e that it really isn't that big of a deal. Except for the rogue. That's pretty busted.
As a DM, I homebrewed ruled the True Strike cantrip to be a support role cantrip.
Instead of an action, it is a bonus action, and no longer requires concentration. However, you cannot target yourself with it. You can grant the bonus to a creature of your choice within range (30 ft.) against a creature you can see until the start of your next turn or until the bonus gets used.
(Bonus means the advantage)
A BG 3 mod had it as a bonus action but only usable once per combat. Which made it useful and versatile, but not busted.
That sounds like one of the abilities of the Mastermind Rogue, which also can give people advantage as a bonus action.
oh I like that way more than the other suggestions I've seen
That’s nice, but it obviates bards and the aforementioned rogue subclass, and to some degree familiars (though to a lesser extent since they stack). If it was a first level spell that did that (plus another effect like granting a bonus to damage or something) that’d be good, but a free bonus action to always give advantage? Even if it is still concentration that changes the power curve until you get to 5th level and have better stuff to concentrate on. Also see the spell silvery barbs (strixhaven) for a good example of this, a reaction first level spell that gives 1 enemy attack roll or save disadvantage (or even triple disadvantage) and 1 ally of your choice (including yourself) gets advantage on one attack save check etc.
Great episode. I like the strong editorial point of view.
True strike was soooo much better in 3.5. It was basically a free action and it provided +20 to attack. I loved playing a Bladesinger and using it on my final attack with a low bonus.
Yeah, but it was also a first level spell and had a limited number of castings.
@@nivmizzet2022 Having limited uses on something useful is better than having unlimited uses on something worthless.
Wasn't it a standart action to cast true strike or was there a feat or class that made it free action?
Sorry to burst your bubble, but true strike is a standard action in 3.5. And it's a 1st level spell. Granted it does give you a +20 so it's at least pretty much a guaranteed hit.
That's only once per day per 4 levels, though. And quickening a spell is usually very expensive.
I'm glad these animated spell books show that spells don't always work out the way you have planned.
Haven't watched the video yet but I bet this was uploaded on April 1st because True Strike is a joke
Yep. 5e True Strike is a joke.
can be decent if your using a scythe or any high crit damage weapon as a multiclass...or any melee multiclass otherwise..yes i agree
@@sylphsylph2118 Scythes are not in 5e, and what do you mean by high crit damage weapons
I just got out of a conversation with a thug during the conversation I casually truestriked (the only sign you used the spell is pointing at the target al components are somatic) them and then 6 seconds later attacked them. I did this twice the only other time this character used it was when I was sure they couldn't reach my next turn, and I only had one spell slot left and had discussed with the DM that if I had extra damage from the single target ray spell the extra damage could go into the monsters directly behind them, my level two warlock got a crit (10% chance) and killed all 4 remain bugbears. I am now level 3. The big upside I see is the casualness if you have a stealthy gambit against someone you can wait 6 seconds and then start your sneak attack they won't notice anything
He's already commented saying he didn't know today was April 1st
True Strike sounds like a buff you use just before you initiate combat.
Of course you already have advantage if you're attacking from surprise so...
Even all the old (3.5) high-level attack spells, like disintegrate and chain lightning, are now reflex saves. So it's not even good for "I need to make sure my 1/day attack that I can't just do twice in a row hits".
Also, pretty sure your familiar can use the help action every turn to give you advantage without needing to spend an action or use concentration for it.
@somadman Sounds you guys really ham it up in your game. Your team must be bringing home the bacon.
@@FuelDropforthewin Not in 5e you don't. Unless you mean 'From stealth' which is admittedly the main way of earning surprise.
Cobermite Maneuver.
I remember the days of 3.5 where true strike was amazing.
I remember one time we were trying to attack some boat for some reason, but the ranger and the rogue got captured trying to do some sneaky something (I was away at the time so I wasn't paying attention) when I got there, a battle on the shore began as the bat set sail, wisking our friends away. Apparently when he got captured he threw his OP magical bow into the bushes, I found it and being the wizard casted true strike shot a magical grappling arrow and yoinked the captain right off of the boat. Then me and the bard flew on board and beat everyone up. Fun times
I was wondering why he was complaining about +20 insight bonus and negation of all concealment rolls, but then I have realized that 5e happened.
@l-3176-l I was thinking the same thing. He said Cantrip and I thought "oh, He's playing _that_ instead. Yeah... True Strike bad."
But absolutely, positively fantastic in Pathfinder.
yeah, the 5e true strike is pretty terrible with a very limited usage. The 4e is way better because it was a bonus action and +20 to hit. So, you could still fail, but it was because the AC was extremely high, or you rolled a 1
when I played 3.5 with a havoc mage, it was the most fucking spell I had. I was a guish, fighter and wizard, and used with power attack, with +20 attack, put 10 power attack and increased +20 damage (double hand).
Playing some pathfinder and never took truestrike until I got bodied by some will’o wisps and actually read the description of the spell. So useful
True Strike is my favorite spell to use when I wanna be worthless.
baldur's gate 3 teached me the true use of this cantrip. So many fights where my rangers got nothing in range or line of sight but dont want to leave his advantage position. There I use True Strike and in the next round when the enemy did come closer I got advantage on the roll.
Thank you Bashew ,very cool!
“Huh... well, if Zee is going to argue in favor of the spell, I guess I should pay attention. Might just change me opinion.
...
Right, as you were then.”
Edit: 3 months later and guess what! I made an Arcane Trickster, telling my party before hand that I would take what is widely considered the worst cantrip in the game, and I’m now convinced that True Strike is included in the game exclusively for their use. Yes, I give away every other turn. But I also have a consistent damage output of ~19, and we’re level three, so that’s huge.
Basically, it really does have a use! I promise! Just, y’know, for EXACTLY one class archetype (or high elf assassins with true strike, which are probably an untapped source of power)
Tigercup I mean as a Ranger it would probably also be handy since my deal is setting up traps, and ambushes, but it’s use would have to be via a magic item
As a gloom-stalker if I cast it with my action, and it was paired with zephyr strike just before the fight starts. Then I could get advantage on two of my three attacks and if the last one misses I can just roll another attack due to stalker’s fury, and that’s kinda neat.
Plus if I multi-class into fighter, and Grab arcane Archer I can turn the missed shot into a hit on another target. Giving me two additional attacks or double advantage depending on the dm’s ruling. (Missing allows you to use both abilities at once since they activate the same way or you can try one, and then the other if they both fail.) after that I can use my action surge to make a final attack for a possible 6 total attacks in my opening attack round. If I did my math right.
So in this incredibly Niche build true strike can be powerful for an opening round. But this requires at-least 11 levels in ranger, and 7 in fighter
High elf fighter, take true strike as a cantrip and go champion martial archetype. Every level after 3 just multi class into rouge and take the Assassin archetype. At level 7 get elven accuracy from Xanathar's guide.
Now you can truestrike every other turn you crit on 19 and 20s, also yo get double advantage if you're making a dex based attack. You go from 1/20 chance of critical success to 1/10 because champion, to 1/5 because advantage, to 1/2.5 chance to crit with sneak attack damage every other turn because of elven accuracy.
I actually like in on my sorc, quicken spell means you can basically get 3 attacks at advantage if you're willing to quicken it and another spell.
@@aesheronanglvd3th309 Even if you quicken true strike, you still have to concentrate until next turn to get advantage and it's only on one attack that gets advantage.
@@vryafoat777 Oof... rereading, yeah, that's pretty much garbage. I could see some edge cases to quicken it and get advantage on the same turn, but it doesn't even grant it until next turn.
I can see his every move, in exactly 2.4 seconds, he will leap forward and cut off my head, WAIT, WHAT !?
A few ways to improve True Strike: 1. Make it function kind of like Hunters Mark, where you pick a target, and if the target is killed, you can swap targets, 2. Don't make it a concentration spell, 3. Make it last multiple rounds.
I think at that point, much like Hex, it’s just a level 1 spell instead of a cantrip.
Or you could make it to where the next attack coming for the little bastard, regardless of source, has advantage.
@@adamloga3788 kinda like guiding bolt without the damage.
4. Just make it a Bonus Action
ASquared right? Isnt it fine without the concentration?
Honestly I think if they'd made True Strike akin to Guidance or Resistance, giving you a d4 bonus to your next attack roll (or maybe attack rolls during your next turn) within the next minute as long as you hold concentration, that'd solve several of the issues with it. A stackable bonus that isn't target-limited works so much better than unstackable advantage against one opponent, and fits nicely as a cantrip-level counterpart to Bless. Rather than a minute of +1d4 to atks and saves, it's just a turn's worth, or even just one attack, of +1d4 to attacks.
As it is unless you're burning a high-level spell slot on a spell with one attack roll it's a total trap for new or mechanically-disinclined players.
An alternative hotfix is to make it a bonus action. Either of those works pretty well to fix the blighted thing. As is... it's just bad.
That's another possibility, though arguably a little too strong due to the action economy. It undercuts the spell as an investment for a set-up shot later and makes it more of a spammable self-buff that gives nigh-permanent 1st-atk-of-the-turn advantage, though the concentration requirement does a bit to curb its abuses there, and it's not much worse than Find Familiar in that regard. Definitely a simpler way of fixing it too.
@@ethanfeil9200 It also conflicts with other bonus-action spells and abilities. So it's not end-of-the-world levels of good.
But I can see how it would be problematic.
Overall I suppose which option is more balanced as a fix is based on the player and the build it's in.
1) I LOVE your animation style. 2) Your voice is perfect for what you do. Lots of range and variation. 3) Your game advice has never failed me yet. Thanks for doing this channel.
Coincidentally, today's the anniversary of the creation of True Strike in 5e. Make of this what you will.
Source?
@@georgehoyle8797 Source: April Fools.
@@KubinWielki You got him good!
You know I figured it was but the inner child still believed. Either way good job
True Strike is only useful for those attack spells that require an attack roll and _are the highest level spell you have,_ so you REALLY don't want to miss.
Even then, it's worse than it used to be.
Indeed there is also a spell economy, if your DM doesn't let you sleep it makes non-cantrip spells PRECIOUS.
@@MistxTube "It's only been 12 hours, you're not tired yet!"
I get tired after 12 hours awake in real life NOT doing anything, let alone fighting cloud giants! Tempted to homebrew a narcoleptic character so that, sure, I fall asleep in the middle of combat, _but at least I have spell slots_
In 3.5 when Truestrike made your roll a 20, I had come up with a monk/sorcerer concept I wanted to try out. Had to start in monk of course, once you "leave the path" you're banned. So my roleplay idea was that he would have 3 levels in monk and one in sorcerer, getting kicked out of the monastery after somebody finally figured out why he was so damn good at archery.
He was to be an "accidental sorcerer" not truly understanding what was happening to him or that he was casting spells not just concentrating really hard. Forget why, but I never did get to play that guy.
I just noticed that the band around his eye says "DRAGON" in draconic. Nice detail zee.
That's why true strike should give you an automatic success to hit and you only roll to see if you crit. They should really rename It because when I think of the phrasing "True Strike", I think your strike Is always true.
i think it should give not only advantage but also a small bonus to hit, perhaps your charisma bonus in this case.
That's the best change I have seen for it.
Maybe as a cantrip, it guarantees that your next single attack hits, but you can't roll for critical hits.
That should keep its power reasonable, but make for a more thematic and interesting cantrip. Basically you get a bit of free damage when you really need it.
I've always favored A.) making it a bonus action, B.) changing it to a 1st level spell, and C.) maybe making it last until the end of the caster's next round.
My idea was: just change it from a specific target to a general effect: You get advantage on your next attack roll. Then you can use it to get a jump start in combat when expecting an ambush having some time to prepare before a fight.
In my opinion the only change needed is casting as a bonus action, no more potential of optimization than other cantrips, the limiting factor of maintaining concentration until the next turn is immense considering the "floor to ceiling" range of potential outcomes.
Also I think it's good to reiterate the limits of 1 cantrip and 1 higher level spell cast per turn.
My center point of comparison is the battlemaster fighter subclass ability to Feint as a bonus action.
But I do concede that a high elf battlemaster fighter using dodge as an action, true strike as a bonus, and riposte as a reaction does seem like a lot, but only vs 1 target.
The way he animated pure distain and malice is beautiful
I saw somewhere else where someone was talking about True Strike, and they made a good point: True Strike is an EXCELLENT cantrip...for NPCs. You give this to a character who hits hard and is intimidating. First round of combat, Nar-Paul-Chos wields his greataxe menacingly, pointing at the party's rogue. "You." He states with confidence, his deep voice echoing inside his helmet.
You inform the party of the spell he just cast: Nar-Paul-CHos gets advantage on his next swing against Knives McStabby, UNLESS the party can break his concentration or ensure he can't get McStabby in range next turn. Now the fight gets interesting. Next round (assuming the party succeed), Narly casts it on the party tank (who is likely busy trying to lock the guy down), now the party is trying to seperate their own tank from the guy with the big axe.
True Strike (hide behind cover), then next round cast Chromatic Orb or a similar high damage spell slot requiring spell. Later, take Quicken Spell and cast True Strike as your Action and then Quicken Chromatic Orb as a Bonus Action.
As a Divine Soul Sorcerer you can swap out Chromatic Orb for Guiding Bolt and get a continuous chain of attacking with Advantage going on.
That would be cool. If True Strike didn't specifically say you gain advantage on your next turn.
@@WaLlAb33 Ask DM to omit that part of True Strike cause the damn thing is useless with it.
I tried using True Strike with my Rogue, and it worked great! (Until I realised that I was casting it for a bonus action... which was wrong.) Afterwards, the Cantrip was garbage, and the DM let me pick a new cantrip
Even casting it as a bonus action wouldn't do that much for you, because the shit icing on the shit cake is that the advantage comes into play on your next turn. A hypothetical BA cast of True Strike into an action attack on the same turn would have no benefit.
Horrible cantrip.
well, to be more fair than it really deserves, still getting your attack while you wait for it to finish would just make it regular, vestigial kind of bad, and not "actively weighing you down" bad
@Moon Debris um what? Where
True strike is specifically for low resource or low availability attacks, like if you got some plot device arrow you can’t miss, need to use a spell slot, or are ranged and want to get a sneak attack before alerting anyone.
The problem is that those things don’t really appear enough in attack rolls and matter enough to waste a turn on
@Moon Debris You can cast cantrips as a bonus action when they say you can cast them as a bonus action. Shillelagh for example does. True Strike doesn't (also, in that case you can cost them _only_ as a bonus action, unless they say you can use either but I don't think there's an official spell that works like that). The only way I can think of you could cast True Strike as a bonus action would be as a sorcerer using Quickened Spell... but then, what are you doing with your life?
So uh, who else is here after reading the new version of True Strike? Welcome home, Crossbow of Shame.
I think this is the first time I've seen a negative review of any magic on this channel. Honestly, you couldn't have picked a better spell to show that some spells are generally not worth it.
You obviously didn't watch the one where he railed against goodberry like a drunk uncle at Thanksgiving
@@roceb5009 I have seen the episode many tines. He actually makes the argument that the spell is too good and therefore needs to be nerfed so that people can't cheat a specific style of game with it. That is a far cry from saying this spell just kinda sucks. (Although he does mention that some builds want it in very specific situations)
Acid Splash ,_, The end statement was, "use it if it feels thematic to you"
@@cerberouse1 I get what you're saying, but in that episode he did praise the spell for its thematic capacity (similarly to the eldritch blast episode). There is a difference between a sub-par option for similar spells and a spell that actively makes your situation worse (most of the time). You can excuse choosing acid splash if the character is cool, it's HARD to justify taking truestrike.
"I think this is the first time I've seen a negative review of any magic on this channel."
His Eldritch Blast video has something to say about that.
It could be useful to land an attack for a high level spell where you only have one spell slot. In that situation you couldn’t just attack twice because you only have one spell slot. So it could be useful to higher level casters. Although, I do agree that it could use an upgrade.
very few high level spells require an attack roll, and as a high-level caster its almost always better to get two spells off. maybe to cast before combat would make sense, but there are better ways to try and guarantee a hit, like casting a CC spell such as power word stun or hold monster so that your really important attack hits. Or have your companions lock the target down for you.
@@Zombiesbum Inflict wounds is a a touch attack that requires a spell slot.
but most spells that use attack rolls are cantrips anyway. Besides, inflict wounds is only a 1st level spell (and clerics can't learn true strike). Just homebrew it so that true strike also gives the target disadvantage against you while you're concentrating on it
That basically just makes it a better Entropic Ward, which is a 6th level Warlock class feature. (Which i dont have a problem with, since Entrophic Ward is a really underpowered class feature to gain at 6th level)
At least you can learn other cantrips in that situation. I do kinda agree that entropic ward is underpowered but you have a really limited selection of cantrips as a warlock
That's why I either make True Strike a bonus action or use a reworked version of it that makes it one of those melee weapon attack cantrips like Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade, except the bonus d8's of damage gained at 5th, 11th, and 17th are of the same type as the weapon you use.
Idea for a buff -- True Strike also gives the target disadvantage on attack rolls against you, and you advantage on saving throws against their spells and effects.
That is problably the best suggestion i have seen so far
You still wasted a turn that could have instead been spent killing the enemy. Death is the strongest state of disadvantage
Joke aside though that's not a great buff. It's more like an enhanced dodge action at that point and the point of "true strike" is meant to be offensive.
Normal dodging already gives disadvantage to ALL incoming attacks and single target attack spells and advantage on dexterity saving throws. All you would be adding is advantage on all saving throws. And sure that's nice and all but advantage on fireball is still probably half damage and you did nothing to retaliate
How about being able to give the buff to someone within 30ft or touch. Basiclly a long-ish range help action.
Maybe along side the dodge buff.
TRUE STRIKE ISNT USELESS ANYMORE BABBYYYY LETS GOOOO ITS LIKE BOOMING BLADE BUT FOR RANGED ATTACKS!
You can actually use it with any non-magical attack.
@VoxAstra-qk4jz actually false, you need a weapon worth at least 1 copper piece. And both booming blade, and green flame blade, say they need a weapon worth at least one silver piece. At least last time I checked.
@mrinfinity5557 I don't think Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards are making unarmed strikes or using improvised weapons all that often, so *basically* all non-magical attacks.
@VoxAstra-qk4jz well the thing is, green flame blade and booming blade is still better for melee attacks. They get d8 dice instead of d6 dice. Hence why i say true strike is for ranged attacks, because it states any weapon attack rather than any melee attack
@@mrinfinity5557 I didn't consider those, as I don't have SCAG. Also, it looks like true strike does the most consistent single targets damage, because of booming blade only working if the creature you hit has to move. Though you could do that with something like Fear or the warlock invocation Repellent Blast on your next turn.
Actually, you could make a pretty good build with a fear inducing spell and the War Caster feat.
I sometimes come back to this vid. Not necessarily if I have a bad day, but if I want to get a laugh or a snort... it works very nice along with that metamagic vid.
This seems more like an ability that every character can have. Spend a turn to prepare and get advantage. Makes sense to me.
Same problem though. Why lose a turn so the next one can have 2 rolls when you could spend both turns attacking and roll twice anyway, but with more damage output if you succeed
@@gormauslander Oh, yeah, it's still mostly useless, but there might be occasional uses in some situations. Like maybe you need to hit really precisely because you can't risk hitting something else or something, idk.
@@ENCHANTMEN_ I think there are a lot of suggestions in these comments for homebrewing it to balance it out that I personally would go for.
For my sister's campaign, I put forward that it gives +2 for 6 rounds, and they get a save to break it every round, as well as being able to be broken with concentration disrupt.
While this is generally correct, the best (and in my opinion proper) use of True Strike is to cast before a spell that MUST HIT or be lost.
The best spells are usually ones that demand a save anyway.
can't use it on a spell - can only be used on attacks
@@pacattack2586 Uh. It's an attack. There are Melee and ranged "Spell attacks."
Some spells can be attacks. Whenever you make an attack roll it's always a weapon or spell attack and then Melee or ranged. If something only specifies "attack," it applies to anything.
@@TuariD Fair enough my bad - but there's still probably better ways about gaining advantage...
Simple way to fix true strike, make it a bonus action 1st level spell. This is how pathfinder solves it. Even better, add a caveat that this spell can be cast in tandem with a leveled spell, unlike other spells in 5e. And to incorporate a thing mentioned in Zee Bashew's post, you could heighten it to 3rd level and automatically hit with a spell. Heighten it to 9th and it automatically crits.
I was going to argue that True Strike might be useful for, say, an Eldritch Knight Fighter, but since it only has a range of 30 ft, it's really kinda crap.
I mean, if the range was doubled, you could at least justify it with, "yes, I'm sacrificing getting in range of the enemy this turn, but I wouldn't be able to hit them anyway, and this way I get advantage when I *do* get in range." Or, if it was a bonus action, you could cast it *then* make an attack.
Really feels like the WotC crew dropped the ball with this.
Just homebrew True Strike then. Problem solved.
Eldritch Knights can make an attack whenever they cast a cantrip, and at higher levels any spell.
There is an out-of-game way to make this spell somewhat useful. You can use it to confuse the GM regarding your intentions. Basically an anti-metagaming tactic.
It's all too easy to think that you're going to attack the thing you cast true strike on, but what if you don't?
Just cast true strike on something you don't intend to hit. The GM might take the bait, and play some defensive actions on that enemy. Then you actually attack something you meant to attack all along.
It's like a baseball pitcher looking at third base but then throwing out the guy on first because the guy on first thought he could steal a base.
It's all mind-games.
Or you could do it all on-the-table and homebrew something that makes it not garbage.
Quickened Spell - True Strike could be useful. That's about it though.
It should provide disadvantage on attacks against you from the targeted creature. At least that way it would be useful for dueling or a neat twin spell for sorcerers. Divination/clockwork/abjuration sorc is a really cool power fantasy and it would work great with this homebrew.
you got me going to the phb just to find out your headband just says "dragon" in draconic script
Thanks for making this video. Very entertaining and answered my question, too.
True Strike is a bad cantrip because it uses up one of your most valuable resources. Actions. Unless you are have an ability to attack with a bonus or reaction you are going to be attacking every other turn and that is a huge waste of the most limited resource in the game.
Funny enough, it's pretty awful even then because true strike doesn't take effect until the next turn even if you can attack the same turn after it's cast.
@@JH-io8wx I have not played 5th edition that much so I am not sure. Are there any monsters with special abilities that trigger when you miss an attack against them? That is the only situation I can think of where it is useful.
@@Lilitha11 I don't think so. There might be a few legendary or liar actions that might do something similar. The closest ability I can think of is in the Berserker Barbarian archtype, which is Retaliation. It's a reaction that allows an attack right after being damaged, but no other abilities immediately come to mind. Someone else might know of one though.
True Strike in some editions (and Pathfinder) just gives you a plus 20 to hit. Kind of disappointing how it works in 5e.
So it works as a guaranteed hit instead.
@@octapusxft Well, in pathfinder some enemies have 40 or higher AC...so not quite.
It's also worth noting that in Pathfinder True Strike is a 1st level spell with limited uses, in 5e it's a cantrip you can use endlessly. I'd still rather have the level 1 version.
@@kevingriffith6011 Also true.
You could always houserule it that if you do True Strike in combat and hold concentration you get an automatic success. I mean, if you're dming. Don't try that in AL lol.
I’ll keep that in mind when making my settings
I make it so True Strike can be cast as a bonus action without concentration ONLY after hitting with an attack. Lets you chain attacks quite nicely if you "prove" you can hit them without it first. I find it makes melee sorcs fairly viable despite their fragility
I knew where this was going. True strike is booty
"... Is booty"... Excellent.
It's really only good before the battle has started, like no initiative has been rolled and you're trying to ambush the opponent. During a battle however it's utter trash.
Booty is one of the highest sources of good in the world. True Strike is raw garbage. As is a lot of things in 5th Edition, because the devs are paranoid about anything being too fun and always underbalance for fear of overbalance.
@@supercalifragic1551 They weren't scared of over balancing, they were worried about unbalancing the game. Unfortunately, they heavily nuked the shit out of several spells in an attempt to make magic classes as a whole less over powered.
more like what comes out of booty
This is why I prefer the True Strike in Pathfinder instead. Flat +20 on your next attack roll. No nonsense, super useful on a sniper build.
So, amusing tidbit, this cantrip has a use in BG3. It's concentration, and so if you have the Awakened perk, you can use it to do 6d6 free psychic damage a turn with Concentrated Blast.
i mean yea, but can't you just use resistance or guidance instead..? i mean... i guess not every class has access to concentration cantripa
Zee Bashew is no match for mighty Scorpones. (Read is as Strong Bad for best effect)
BTW Zee Bashew would you ever do video about how Starfinder handles the caster/combatant power disperty by scaling weapons with levels? TBH I think it is very neat.
"The Scorpones" sounds like a particularly nasty mafia family.
@@vaspeter2600 You're not wrong.
Hold on there..... Mr Bashew is doing quite well at, you could say, "coaching us" through spells. He's been da' Coach Zee ALL ALONG!
"Instead, I spent a turn FANTASIZING about hitting it"
I recently discovered your channel. It rocks. Awesome animations and content.
The primary use of True Strike is for ranged spells that require an attack roll. Arcane casters, after all, are really not known for their meele prowess. Think of it as taking out insurance to keep from wasting the attack roll spell.
There is literally no other reason to ever use True Strike.
But there are no ranged attack roll spells for which True Strike is useful; Chaos Bolt and Chromatic Orb are worse than Magic Missile, Ice Knife does the AoE whether it hits or misses with its piddly 1d10, Ray of Sickness/Witch Bolt/Acid Arrow/Ray of Enfeeblement are terrible, and Scorching Ray is 3+ attack rolls (TS only gives advantage on the first).
Why would you use it for that, either? 5e fights are way faster than what would allow that to be worth it. Average combat encounter is over in about three rounds.
@@NephilmX Have to disagree with you on the chaos bolt and chromatic orb being worse than magic missile, sure they can miss but they do a lot more damage, especially the potential with chaos bolt if you get lucky.
Edit: but True Strike is still terrible as it is without any homebrewing.
@@jasfoy773 Chromatic Orb is 3d8 ~ 13.5 damage, if it hits. Magic Missile is (1d4+1)*3 ~ 10.5, automatic.
Enemy AC needs to be 11 or less for Chromatic Orb to have comparable output. Chaos Bolt fares only slightly little better with its 12.5% chance of a second attack, bringing up the enemy AC to 12 or below for it to be comparable.
And higher deviation isn't a selling point.
@@NephilmX Higher deviation is more fun though. Also that one in a million with chaos bolt can be worth it, last Friday during a oneshot I hit three creatures with it, dealing (if I remember correctly) 47 total damage.
Times that True Strike should be used:
1. Before initiating combat, like when you've seen the enemy, but the enemy hasn't seen you.
2. When missing has a cost that outweighs the lost action, like when you're using some expensive enchanted ammunition or a high level spell slot.
3. To overcome disadvantage for attacks that require an unmodified d20 roll of 9 or more.
4. When using a weapon that cannot be used every round, such as a ballista that might take a round to reload.
5. When for whatever reason, you're unable to make an attack this turn but expect to be able to on the next turn.
6. When you're allowed as much time for the attack as you want, like an archery contest.
7. Whenever you want to do an arcane equivalent of cocking a gun.
It was not made for the average attack. It was made for attacks whose price is more than the single action it takes to cast true strike. Use it for a sniper rifle or a rocket launcher, not a handgun, shotgun, assault rifle, or god forbid a machine gun.
As for making it more useful, I as a DM would be willing to houserule that if the attack is a readied action, the duration can be extended for as long as that action is readied. Make it good for plans like "I cast true strike and I'll ready an action to shoot the prisoner if he moves."
And its this type reasoning is why true strike got buffed in campgeins I play where specific weaknesses n stuff are revelead and you as a player have to memorize where to strike if you fight this type of opnnenet over and over again. Thats how I turned a previous boss fight into a double crit wonder. :>
My homebrew true strike lasts a minute, works for two attacks, and then gives you three dice for your advantage like that one feat elves get.
Keen strike with quicken spell metamagic trumps true strike every time
Swinging a sword as a wizard trumps True Strike every time :P
And quicken spell would be the only time this would come in handy, they could have made this so much better of a cantrip if they removed the sentence about the attack having to be on your next turn, would have changed a garbage cantrip into a Meh cantrip since then Eldrich knights could get a little bit of flavor use out of it (even though its still better to just attack twice)
TheBoundFenrir especially if you know Booming/Green Flame Blade
@@GoblinUrNuts You're still giving up an attack round to do that. So either you attack both turns for 4 d20s rolled (no advantage on either, but potential to do damage four times), or you use True Strike turn 1 and on your second turn only roll 4 d20s (3 on the first attack, second attack doesn't benefit from advantage from True Strike, potential to do damage only twice)
EDIT: assuming you're using the dual-wielding version of that build. Otherwise you're right that it's 2d20s without (but potential to damage twice) vs 3d20s with (potential to do damage once, but with approx 5-7% increased chance of critting (depending on if you can crit on a 19)) In that case my money is on the 2 attacks still beating the weighted average damage compared to the 3d20s, but I haven't done the math.
@N I'm back with some math for you, if you care: Assuming you're using a pair d6 weapons, have a stat mod of 5, and are attacking someone with AC 15, making four attacks across 2 turns (no advantage) comes out to a weighted average of 18.7 damage. By comparison, casting True Strike on your turn, and not losing concentration, so you can hit with Elven Accuracy on the first attack, gives you a weighted average at the end of the second turn at 13.324814 damage. So True Strike, EVEN WITH Elven Accuracy, just cost you approx. 5.4 damage.
For funzies, I ran the calculation with an AC of 20, because high-AC favors the advantage from extra crit chance, and the results are you only lose approx. 1.6 damage. But you're still *losing* damage, in the long run.
I actually have a few homebrew suggestions for making True Strike good.
1) you can make it a first level spell and reduce casting time to a bonus action
2) you can make it a +2 to your next attack, and keep all the restrictions, but count it as a crit if your actual roll is an 18 or higher
3) you can change the target to yourself, remove concentration, and change the effect to advantage on your next attack roll, or disadvantage on saves against your next spell on your next turn only
Here’s my rework for True Strike:
Its effects last for 1d4+1 turns, as long as the target is within range and you don’t lose consciousness, you have advantage against the target.
That seems like a lot for a cantrip
@@gormauslander it’s like a less useful faerie fire that only you benefit from, and faerie fire is first level
@@MotorcycleWrites that one allows a dex save, and at first level your spellcast mod isnt going to be hard to beat
@@gormauslander ah true I forgot about the save, you’re totally right. I still think it would be reasonable for a cantrip, maybe a bit overpowered. What if there was a wis save or something to “trick” the true strike into divining the wrong place to hit or something? (So just add a save to it)
@@MotorcycleWrites I don't know if that makes sense narratively, but anything is possible. What we did in our game was we made it so you can cast this cantrip as a reaction on a successful attack. This way, you have to already be able to hit them to use it, but you still get your attack this turn because it comes after. You also can't cast shield or take opportunity attacks because it spends that reaction.
The biggest thing I think you want to avoid in buffing this spell is that is a scenario where someone gets advantage on every attack forever because they use this every turn, so my solution isn't great either. Other spells that give advantage are capped by being spells that take slots
Since True Strike works on any attack roll, not just weapon attacks, it could potentially be useful if you’re casting a leveled spell that requires an attack roll (like Vampiric Touch or Scorching Ray) and you really don’t want to miss and waste your spell slot
But there’s still a lot of potential for failure even in that one very specific scenario
True Strike can suck eggs
I'm rewatching after release of Baldurs Gate 3, and am still of the opinion that 3.5 did this spell bettter than 5th. 1st level slot for +20 to hit on next attack. Led to more interesting uses of the spell plus more novelty overal of what one could accomplish
"Just pick up fireball" --> JoCat approves >:D
I think he said "Fire Bolt" which is makes more sense as a replacement since it's a cantrip.
@@urzaz ONLY FIREBALL!
The joke of it is, that fireball possibly does have the power to oneshot enemies regardless
@@lexsmithee652 JUST FIREBALL
@@rhyzvanic3660 lol fireball has the potential to one-shot ENCOUNTERS
Awww yeah, true strike! Such a great spell. I mean, I'm only familiar with the Pathfinder version, but I'm sure it's just as great in D&D 5e. Oh...
... oh no. I am so sorry. You all deserve better.
I know this is an old video, but maybe I can provide some insight for someone:
I've found that True Strike can be alright on spellcasters with a decently sized handful of spell attacks, because spell slots are a limited resource (especially for half-casters, multiclass spellcasters, or really any character with a not-so-great casting modifier). Any character with a "one spell per rest"-type feat (i.e. Aberrant Dragonmark) also only get one chance to cast their spell, so it can be pretty strong in those cases... Especially if you're a sorcerer with Quickened Spell.
For example, I have this Genasi Draconic Bloodline sorcerer with 20 CON and 15 CHA- legacy Genasi, so CON is the casting ability for my racial spells- and I took Aberrant Dragonmark at level 4, which also uses CON as a casting ability, to learn Witch Bolt. I then swapped one of my cantrips for True Strike.
The idea was that I can use Quickened Spell to cast True Strike as a bonus action, then make use of my whopping +7 CON Save to keep concentration until next turn, and cast Witch Bolt on the next one. I would utilize Quickened Spell to cast other spells as bonus actions while maintaining my Witch Bolt damage, since you have to use your action on it every round or it ends. I also decided to swap Twinned Spell for Seeking Spell just in case I still manage to miss, somehow.
I... Actually have yet to utilize this strategy, but it seems pretty sound.
Since then, I've leveled up once, and took a level in Hexblade Warlock. Hexblade's Curse granting crits on 19 or 20 has some very interesting synergy with this setup and I can't wait to make use of it.
Here's the thing, I could see this being useful in a situation where you want to have a better chance at hitting with a single shot spell attack.
Say you only have one spell slot left and NEED that ray of enfeeblement to hit. True Strike gives you advantage on it.
Most high level spells don't require a roll but if you use Crown of Stars (from xanathar's) you can have advantage on each 4d12 bonus action ranged spell attack for 7 rounds at the cost of a 7th level spell slot and using your action for a Cantrip.
So I'd say it's at least not entirely useless....but almost.
a friend of mine had a rogue archer with true strike, and the DM considered true strike like an (automatic nat 20) so it was a critical hit but he mostly used it to snipe enemies who where at very long distance, or have something giving them some cover.
The most Badass thing he made with the spell was shoot an arrow between a crowd of people and hit the assasin we where chasing.
thats a decent idea. although at that level you're probably better off casting greater invisibility since 4d12 damage is basically cantrip level damage...which is fine if its in conjuntion with other uses of your action, but using your action to deal cantrip damage when you could instead just cast an attack cantrip isn't all teh efficient.
so instead you cast greater invis then you can spam firebolt and your star attacks. (yes, i understand that this is less efficient because it uses a 4th level spell slot too, my point is its still generally a better idea).
So, it's good for warlocks with their sorely limited slots, and not much else.
Why are you using Ray of Enfeeblement to begin with? That spell sucks.
i would like to add that in all my builds i keep true strike to use as a distraction, not as a actual combat cantrip.... true strike is perfect to allow you to trow a stone from a crowd in the head of the guard that you need to bypass
True strike i never a combat spell though NEVER
What about using true strike to troll the GM? You cast true strike on what he thinks you're going to attack, so he might (slight metagame) use it's movement to move it out of your range, only for you to go "I wasn't aiming for that" and strike at what you really meant.
Altho, at that point it's an anti-metagaming tactic, so it has limited usefulness, but it's good to keep that kind of thinking on hand for when it's needed.
My first wizard had this cantrip; same awe and interest that the narrator had. When I used it, the DM gave me a concerned look and straight up told me to pick a different cantrip on the spot (not a new one to cast, but a new one for my free cantrip list). The other players thought it was funny at first, but upon realizing I had picked it unironically, expressed their pity. Of course, this didn't sit well with me-being a new player and my fear of being patronized over my character build coming true, I sulked and had my character hide whenever combat came up to be as useless as possible.
A few years later, having completed one campaign as a DM and currently playing two different campaigns as a player, I see this and realize the DM was being very, very nice.
The only two spells I have seen work with True Strike:
Spiritual Weapon & Crown of Stars
They attack on the Bonus Action of the same turn! Good catch.
If only it didn't say "on your next turn you gain advantage"
Paul; that just delays it by one turn. Cast True strike on turn one; start turn two with a BA attack at advantage, then cast True strike again to be used next turn; though sill not actually as effective as using your action to cast a damaging cantrip instead. But might be useful if you want to stay hidden and let the Spiritual Weapon do all the work, and you don't have any damage cantrips that wouldn't reveal your position.
Louder for those in the back.
True Strike is one of those things left in the game that sounds good on paper but its application is questionable
+20 on you next attack (2A, 3, 3.5, Pathfinder); this is why I don't play 5E.
True Strike is almost as bad as the Rock Gnome's Tinker ability.
@@GoblinUrNuts It isn't even that great for crits, because if you just attack twice you have the same chance to crit.
@@knowlessman Tinker is one of my favorite roleplaying abilities!
I'm glad this is a dated video now that true strike is actually usable
Simple fix: True Strike gives advantage on all attack rolls next turn, rather than your first. Boom, suddenly good with the likes of scorching ray.
This is actually a great idea. Doesn't make it OP when you try to land a Plane Shift (which I hope was the designers' intended use of the cantrip), but it can actually be useful for a martial class or for lower level spells like Scorching Ray.
_Take that you dusty couch_
Warlock, no!! The couch was innocent!!!
"For this, I sold my soul to an eldritch horror from beyond time and space?"
The couch could have been a mimic. Better safe than sorry!
Turns out the Warlock _meant_ to hit the couch, because the upholstery was awful.
Warlock: "Say something hideous and horrible jumps out at you. Something so disgusting it simply must die..."
Coach: * Sits in the room *
Warlock: "Oh...so tacky! I can't...look...directly at it!"
I just can't get over how cool that the goblin guy looks he's just amazing
It’s a half-dragon guy not a goblin, though it’s an easy mistake to make
Oh ok then, thanks.
it has more potential for a crit fishing fighter with Elven accuracy. But that would require taking Magic Initiate Feat. But you can always just be a Samurai
Wouldn't need to take Magic Initiate. High Elves get a free cantrip.
Alas, doesn't work with crit fishing for the same reason it simply doesn't work:
Consumes an action you could have fished for crits with....
@@lostbutfreesoul The idea is that the Elven Accuracy feat lets you roll 3 dice instead of 2 when you have advantage, which technically gives you better odds for a crit than just attacking twice.