List of bugged spells

This list aims to catalogue spells which do not function as would be expected based on their tooltips, or which have other problems - or missing information - in their description, function, or location. This list is unlikely to be comprehensive as it is likely there are many issues with spells of which we are unaware.

As this list deals with problems that have a high likelihood of being changed in patches and hotfixes, it is likely that entries will be incorrect following an update.

All entries are currently correct as of Hotfix 33.

Spells

Name	Bugs
Arcane Critical	While the tooltip says Arcane Critical improves your critical hit threshold by 2, it actually only improves it by 1.
Banishing Smite	Banishing Smite (Ranged) cast at level 6 incorrectly spends a level 5 spell slot.
Banishment	Upcast versions of this spell gain the ability to target multiple creatures, but as the spell lacks the SpellFlag IgnorePreviouslyPickedEntities the same creature can be selected multiple times, requiring a saving throw for each time they were selected.
Bear's Endurance	The temporary hit points lack a StackPriority and as such are overridden by any other source of temporary hit points, even if the new source is of a lesser value.
Blade Barrier	The DC for this spell save does not function properly: The initial spell save DC for damage caused by casting and entering the wall is fixed at 15. The DC for starting a turn inside the wall is fixed at 3. The DC for starting a turn near the wall is fixed at 10.
Blight	This spell lacks an IsHarmful SpellFlags tag, and as such is able to target creatures affected by  Sanctuary. When cast at spell slot level 4 against a non-plant enemy that fails the saving throw, Blight incorrectly deals non-magical damage.
Blinding Smite	All spell slot versions of this action change attack animations in Honour mode due to an override in the code.
Blindness	Upcast versions of this spell gain the ability to target multiple creatures, but as the spell lacks the SpellFlag IgnorePreviouslyPickedEntities the same creature can be selected multiple times, requiring a saving throw for each time they are selected.
Blink	Despite purposely ignoring the functor which breaks Concentration, a StatusGroup error still breaks Concentration when vanishing. When vanishing into the Ethereal Plane, equipped items are temporarily disabled. This causes item technical statuses that include OnRemoveFunctors (such as those used by Markoheshkir) to trigger, removing any effects provided by those items.
Bone-shaking Thunder	The version of Destructive Wave granted by this condition still displays the individual variant spells ( Destructive Wave: Necrotic/ Destructive Wave: Radiant) as costing a  Level 5 Spell Slot. Though no actual spell slot cost is incurred by the caster, these variants will still activate effects which trigger when spending spell slots.
Booming Blade	Though it is not displayed in its description, Booming Blade can be cast while  Silenced. This cantrip is not correctly classified as a ⁠Thunder spell so it does not work with the following effects:  Bone-shaking Thunder  Destructive Wrath  Elemental Adept: Thunder  Heart of the Storm: Thunder  Necklace of Elemental Augmentation  Ring of Absolute Force  Prophecy: Thunderous Applause Some other elemental effects are implemented differently and work with the ⁠Thunder damage Booming Blade receives at level 5. These effects include:  Boots of Elemental Momentum  Gloves of Belligerent Skies  Hat of Storm Scion's Power  Ring of Elemental Infusion Due to an additional bug, these items do not work in Honour mode unless the weapon itself deals elemental damage (e.g. from  Elemental Weapon or any innate elemental damage bonus).
Boon of Servitude	The tooltip of the action incorrectly states Boon of Servitude heals for 2~83⁠⁠hit points, while that of the condition itself heals for 2~81⁠⁠hit points.
Brand the Weak	Brand the Weak does not display that it costs a Bonus Action on its spell container.
Branding Smite	Branding Smite cast with a  Level 4 Spell Slot incorrectly lists tooltip damage using the  Level 2 Spell Slot of the spell. The spell container for Branding Smite does not correctly display the current spell slot level for Warlocks. This spell lacks a restriction against targeting items, and due to the small radius and its target limit of 1 it is possible to target a creature but have  Branding Smite applied to an item within the radius.
Calm Emotions	Despite the description, there are no Humanoid-only targeting restrictions.
Chain Lightning	This spell lacks an IsHarmful SpellFlags tag, and as such is able to target creatures affected by  Sanctuary.
Cloudkill	If upcast to level 6, Cloudkill creates an invisible cloud due to the surface lacking an attached particle effect. NPCs will not automatically leave this cloud, as its surface ID is missing from character PathInfluence. The cloud lasts for 10 turns starting from the last time it was recast instead of starting from the initial cast. This often leads to a situation where the caster no longer has the ability to recast Cloudkill, but both the Concentration effect and the cloud persist for longer than they would otherwise be expected to.
Conjure Barrage: Melee Weapon	Since this attack does not involve an attack roll, it does not benefit from certain bonus damage sources which check the attack roll type despite listing the additional damage on the tooltip. These include:  Arcane Synergy  Great Weapon Master: All In  Hunter's Mark  Prepare  Wrath
Conjure Barrage: Ranged Weapon	Since this attack does not involve an attack roll, it does not benefit from certain bonus damage sources which check the attack roll type despite listing the additional damage on the tooltip. These include:  Arcane Synergy Gloves of Archery  Hunter's Mark  Sharpshooter: All In Titanstring Bow
Conjure Shadow Lantern Wraith	The ingame tooltip states 'The target must be a Medium or Small corpse,' but a corpse is not required. The spell conjures a  Shadow from within the lantern.
Counterspell	Arcane Ward can only be fed up to 3 charges, regardless of spell Level used, due to how an additional hidden Counterspell is cast based on success/failure.
Crusader's Mantle	Crusader's Mantle also affects neutral creatures, not just allied characters.
Danse Macabre	The tooltip incorrectly states it costs a  Level 5 Spell Slot.
Daylight	Although exposing Duergar, Drow and other NPCs to either variant of this spell does trigger  Sunlight Sensitivity, it will not show any status effect for the player to see (e.g., as a passive or condition on their character sheets, if examined), yet one can check the combat logs to see the effects of  Disadvantage being applied. Although the in-game description of the enchant item variant lists a 20-turn limit, if applied to a character, the effect will be applied to their held main-hand weapon until long rest and will persist even if the caster is no longer in the active party.
Daylight: Enchant Item	Although the in-game descriptions of both this spell and the spell container list a 20-turn limit for this variant, if applied to a character, the effect will be applied to their held main-hand weapon until long rest and will persist even if the caster is no longer in the active party. Although exposing Duergar, Drow and other NPCs to light within range from this spell does trigger  Sunlight Sensitivity, it will not show any status effect for the player to see (e.g., as a passive or condition on their character sheets, if examined), yet one can check the combat logs to see the effects of  Disadvantage being applied. This spell cannot be cast on a non-allied creature due to a coding mistake, which would otherwise have required them to make a  Dexterity saving throw with DC equal to the caster's spell save DC to avoid the effect.
Daylight: Sphere	Although exposing Duergar, Drow and other NPCs to light within radius from spell does trigger  Sunlight Sensitivity, it will not show any status effect for the player to see (e.g., as a passive or condition on their character sheets, if examined), yet one can check the combat logs to see the effects of  Disadvantage being applied.
Death Ward	Death Ward uses  Survival Instinct as a Parent condition, and as such inherits the Action point restoration it possesses. This can be exploited by a character casting Death Ward on themselves, allowing them to continuously regenerate Action points so long as they are able to both down themselves and recast Death Ward multiple times per turn.
Destructive Wave	This spell is classified as a ⁠Radiant or ⁠Necrotic spell depending on the variant rather than a ⁠Thunder spell. This means it will not work with Tempest Domain's  Destructive Wrath or  Bone-shaking Thunder's bonus damage.
Detect Thoughts	Despite the tooltip saying this spell uses either Intelligence or Wisdom, only the creature’s Intelligence is used, even if its Wisdom is higher; this is likely an oversight.
Disguise Self	The player character (selected) and their disguised companions, standing together in camp. If a companion is disguised while at camp, they will remain where they were last placed when another companion or player character is selected, rather than automatically moving back to their tent, until they are moved again or a long rest is taken. This can be useful when seeking to apply conditions or spells with a limited radius, such as  Aid. Disguise Self disables effects which require the Brand of the Absolute to trigger, such as  Gloves of Power. As of Patch 5, Hotfix 17, it is possible to give the caster racial equipment bonuses for longer than intended by using the  Mask of the Shapeshifter, taking the mask off, and long resting without removing the disguise. On waking up, the disguise is gone, but the racial bonuses on the equipment still affect the character. This only works for racial equipment bonuses, not racial dialogue options. If the player character is disguised as a githyanki when talking to  Shadowheart for the first time on the beach at the start of Act One they are awarded an extra 30 xp. While disguised, hirelings cannot be spoken with.
Dispel Evil And Good	Despite the description, this ability lacks any function versus Aberrations.
Dispel Evil And Good: Break Enchantment	This spell removes  Frightened only, rather than any effect from the Frightened status group.
Disrobing Blinkstep	Sorcerers are able to twin-cast disrobing blinkstep which allows them to select two teleportation positions. It is unclear if this has any effect, but it appears as though the caster only teleports to the second position.
Dominate Person	The level 10 Enchantment Wizard feature  Split Enchantment allows targeting 2 humanoids with this spell, but only dominates one - even with failed saves - as the second instance of domination ends the effect of the first.
Drunken Inhale	The tooltip says that targets still take half damage on a successful save, but they actually take (2d8)/2Poison damage which is a quarter of the normal damage.
Elemental Retort	Silence does not prevent Lorroakan from casting this spell despite technically requiring a verbal component.
Enhance Ability	When selected as a bonus to an ability check in dialogue, this spell may be[Needs Verification] cast at the highest available level; up-casting has no effect.
Enlarge	Despite not being mentioned in the condition description, unarmed attacks, but not those made while transformed by Wild Shape, are affected by Enlarge.
Enlarge (Duergar)	Despite not being mentioned in the description, unarmed attacks, but not those made while transformed by Wild Shape, are affected by Enlarge.
Ensnaring Strike (Ranged)	When upcast to level 4, Ensnaring Strike (Ranged) erroneously costs an  Action +  Level 4 Spell Slot on use and a  Bonus Action +  Level 1 Spell Slot on hit.
Expeditious Retreat	Expeditious Retreat lacks the second-level of Dash-stacking functionality found on other Dash abilities. Expeditious Retreat lacks the Dash SpellCategory, and will not trigger passives found on items such as  Linebreaker Boots or  The Speedy Lightfeet. The subsequently granted  Dash (bonus action) correctly triggers these passives.
Find Familiar	There are many bugs associated with familiars, with many of them not getting proper bonuses to attacks or damage based on their attributes, and some of them not requiring attack rolls for their basic attacks at all.[Needs Verification]
Find Familiar: Boo
Flame Blade	Attacks made with Flame Blades summoned by Mephistopheles Tieflings count as weapon/melee weapon attacks for purposes of passives/conditions which check for them, while attacks made with Flame Blades summoned via the Druid class spell count as melee spell attacks, similar to spells such as  Shocking Grasp and  Vampiric Touch. Having the hireling Danton cast this spell, immediately recalling his soul, and hiring him again creates a permanent Flame Blade that can be wielded by any other party member. This version of the blade performs up to (5d6 + Strength modifier) Fire damage and is the only Scimitar without the finesse property.
Flaming Sphere	The DC for both Ram attack and Ablaze is always calculated using the caster's Wisdom modifier, even for wizards.
Flesh to Gold	Despite the description stating the effect lasts 'until the spell ends,' petrification from this spell is indeed permanent until the target is cured by  Basilisk Oil or a spell such as  Greater Restoration. Flesh to Gold incorrectly uses the icon from Flesh to Stone, which it uses as a parent spell. Despite requiring Concentration to cast, Flesh to Gold's concentration immediately ends once the target has progressed to Flesh to Gold: Stage 2 and is no longer required afterwards. Through use of a khn function named HasFleshToSToneCheck(), Flesh to Stone and Flesh to Gold should be uncastable on a target which is already afflicted with either of these two spells. However, this function only includes checks for the Flesh to Stone conditions, and as such Flesh to Stone is castable on a creature already afflicted with Flesh to Gold.
Flesh to Stone	Despite the description stating the effect is 'temporary,' petrification from this spell is indeed permanent until the target is cured by Basilisk Oil or a spell such as  Greater Restoration. Through use of a khn function named HasFleshToSToneCheck(), Flesh to Stone and  Flesh to Gold should not be castable on a target which is already afflicted with either of these two spells. However, this function only includes checks for the Flesh to Stone conditions, and as such Flesh to Stone can be cast on a creature already afflicted with Flesh to Gold.
Forced Teleportation Forced Teleportation	The tooltip of this spell erroneously states that it deals 3d8⁠⁠Necrotic damage, but it has no associated attack or damage roll. It only serves to mark Astarion as a target during the ritual, after which he is trapped and teleported to his ritual circle.
Freedom of Movement	Despite the description, there is no function which allows an affected creature to spend 1.5 m / 5 ft of Movement to free itself from any effects. Ineffective against  Maimed.
Ghoulish Touch	Contrary to the tooltip, elves and undead can be paralysed.
Githyanki Psionics: Jump	This spell has a Ritual tag on the tooltip despite being usable only once per Long Rest.
Glyph of Warding: Cold	If cast on a wet surface, the DC to avoid  Prone from the  Ice surface created by this spell is based of the entity which created the wet surface instead of the caster. If a druid casts  Create Water and a wizard casts  Glyph of Warding: Cold, the DC to avoid Ice's Prone will be: 8 + druid INT modifier + druid proficiency + druid equipment bonus, instead of 8 + wizard INT Modifier + wizard proficiency + wizard equipment bonus. This formula only works if the water first had contact with the enemies (e.g., casting Create Water on top of NPCs), if cast/thrown to the ground and then frozen by this spell, the Prone DC will have a default value of 12.
Grant Flight	Upcast versions of this spell gain the ability to target multiple creatures, but as the spell lacks the SpellFlag IgnorePreviouslyPickedEntities the same creature can be selected multiple times for no additional effect.
Grave Repulsion	The tooltip incorrectly states targets are pushed back 15 m / 50 ft instead of 8 m / 27 ft.
Hail of Thorns	Since the primary roll of this ability is not a weapon attack roll, it does not benefit from certain bonus damage sources which check the attack roll type despite listing the additional damage on the tooltip. These include:  Arcane Synergy  Gloves of Archery  Hunter's Mark  Sharpshooter: All In  Titanstring Bow
Harm	On a failed saving throw, Harm reduces the target's maximum hit points by 14d6 but does not actually inflict any Necrotic damage. This means that it does not trigger damage riders or other effects which require a damage source. Further, the effective damage dealt (through the reduction in maximum hit points) is reduced by the amount of hit points the target was already missing, potentially to zero. On a successful saving throw, Harm deals 14d6 / 2Necrotic damage as expected.
Heat Metal	Due to a coding error, the condition which provides Disadvantage to the target (applied after a successful saving throw) is removed if another unrelated condition is removed from the target. This particular bug only affects the level 2 version of this spell. Due to a coding error, the condition which provides Disadvantage to the target is not automatically removed if the Heat Metal spell is ended early. This particular bug affects all levels of this spell. Heat Metal cast at level 4 deals only 2d8⁠⁠Fire, and its tooltip does not display the damage which Reapply Heat Metal deals. It additionally lacks several other functors found in other levels of this spell. Reapply Heat Metal cast at level 4 correctly deals 4d8⁠⁠Fire. Reapply Heat Metal cast at levels 5 and 6 incorrectly displays its tooltip damage as the level 3 version.
Hellflame Cleave	Despite the tooltip saying that Hellfire ignores resistances and immunities, it does not. Since this attack does not involve an attack roll, it does not benefit from certain bonus damage sources which check the attack roll type despite listing the additional damage on the tooltip. These include:  Arcane Synergy  Great Weapon Master: All In  Hunter's Mark  Prepare  Wrath
Hex	If a creature has Hex applied, and lands a Critical Hit against the caster that triggers any "on hit / damage" abilities to damage the hexed creature, the damage of  Hex is doubled along with the regular damage. For example, a Goblin Warlock casts  Armour of Agathys on themselves, and then  Hex5⁠⁠Cold damage from Armour of Agathys in the process. This triggers Hexto deal an additional 1d6⁠⁠Necrotic to Lae'zel, which is then (erroneously) doubled to 2d6⁠⁠Necrotic due to the Critical Hit.
Hold Monster	Upcast versions of this spell gain the ability to target multiple creatures, but as the spell lacks the SpellFlag IgnorePreviouslyPickedEntities the same creature can be selected multiple times, requiring a saving throw for each time they were selected.
Hunger of Hadar	The spell mistakenly uses a fixed DC 12 Spell Save instead of the caster's, although this only affects the 2d6Acid damage, as the rest of the spell's effects do not require a saving throw.
Insect Plague	Despite not dealing any ⁠Poison damage, this spell is tagged as a poison DamageType. When first cast on an enemy, the combat log displays the enemy as making two separate saving throw rolls. After the initial cast, subsequent turns of Insect Plague use the Constitution modifier of the caster, not the spellcasting modifier, in order to determine Difficulty Class.
Keeper's Fee	Despite what is shown by the in-game tooltip, it does not inflict  Cursed: Strength.
Lightning Arrow	The hit chance shown in the preview when targeting the spell is for the saving throw rather than the attack roll. The attack roll is not shown in the combat log. If failing this roll, there is no indication of why the primary 4d8Lightning damage was not applied.
Luminous Arrow	When receiving this ability via Starry Form, this spell is not properly granted with Wisdom as its spellcasting modifier, and instead uses the spellcasting modifier of the most recently acquired spellcasting class. Luminous Arrow is flagged as a Spell rather than an Attack, and as such is subject to being  Counterspelled.
Lunar Bulwark	Although Selûne's Protection associated with the  Moon Devotion Robe should be activated by  Lunar Bulwark, it is not; the wearer must instead have the regular version of  Mage Armour cast on them for its radiant damage to function.
Mage Hand	Mage Hand has  Opportunity Attack but cannot use it as it lacks a  Reaction.
Moonbeam	Despite being an Evocation spell, Moonbeam does not interact with  Sculpt Spells.
Moonmote	The spell tooltip states that this aura applies only to melee attacks while the condition tooltip states that this aura applies to "attacks". In actuality, it applies to weapon and unarmed attacks, but does not apply to any spells which are also attacks.
Otiluke's Freezing Sphere (Launch)	This variant of the spell lacks the spell flags which would prevent it from being used when  Silenced.
Produce Flame	The damage on the tooltip for Produce Flame is not marked correctly for the increases at level 5 and 10. The tooltip for the throwing action,  Produce Flame: Hurl, is marked correctly, and the damage scales correctly. The version of this Cantrip granted to Asmodeus tieflings uses the character's Wisdom modifier to hurl the flame, rather than Charisma as stated in the  Produce Flame: Hurl tooltip.
Produce Flame: Hurl	The version of this cantrip granted by the Asmodeus tiefling subrace uses the character's Wisdom modifier to hurl the flame, rather than Charisma, like all other racial spells granted to tieflings. For clerics, the tooltip for Produce Flame does not correctly show the damage increases at levels 5 and 10. The tooltip for the throwing action, Produce Flame: Hurl, is marked correctly, and the damage scales correctly.
Protection from Evil and Good	Immunity is not provided against  Charm. The immunity to frightened and possession is against any source, not just the listed creature types.
Protection from Missiles	The in-game tooltip on  Cindersnap Reflexes incorrectly says the target is only protected against the next ranged attack. They will be protected by all ranged attacks while the spell is active. Attacks from off-hand Hand Crossbows are not affected by Protection from Missiles.
Psionic Suggestion: Halt	This spell appears to wrongly copy  Command: Grovel instead of  Command: Halt.
Heat Metal: Reapply Damage	Due to a khn scripting error, Heat Metal: Reapply can never cause an enemy to drop their weapon and will always apply Disadvantage.
Sanctuary	Enemies affected by Sanctuary can still be targeted with  Blight,  Chain Lightning, and  Thorn Whip due to these spells lacking the IsHarmful spell flag. Conversely, a large number of enemy actions (for example,  Sharp Rock) can target player characters that are affected by Sanctuary for the same reason.
Seeming	Due to a coding error, if Masc Githyanki or Masc Dwarf are randomly chosen it will cause the spell to fail.
Shield (spell)	Due to a scripting error, this spell does not grant charges of  Arcane Ward. Due to an incomplete list of spell checks, Shield will not reduce the damage of Magic Missiles from  Illithid Arcanist for the rest of the turn after Shield was used as a reaction.
Slow	Normally, the targets of Slow must be distinct, but when upcast to level 4, and only level 4, targets can be selected multiple times. For example, two enemies can be targeted three times each forcing them to make three separate saving throws to avoid being slowed. This is due to the level 4 upcasted version lacking the IgnorePreviouslyPickedEntities flag. When cast via scroll, Slow requires 6 targets; as enemies cannot be selected twice, and allies are not targetable, this scroll might be difficult to use after the first round. See Slowed (Condition)#Bugs.
Spike Growth	The level 4 version of this spell incorrectly uses a level 3 spell slot.
Spirit Guardians	When upcast to spell slot level 4, the description status tooltip for the Necrotic damage variant incorrectly links to the Radiant damage variant, and vice versa. When upcast to spell slot level 5 or 6, the description status tooltips for both the Necrotic and Radiant damage variants incorrectly link to the spell slot level 3 variants.
Thorn Whip	This spell lacks an IsHarmful SpellFlags tag, and as such is able to target creatures affected by  Sanctuary.
Thunderous Smite	The  Level 1 Spell Slot version of this action changes attack animations in Honour mode due to an override in the code. Due to a coding error, characters receive two  Level 2 Spell Slot versions of this action in Honour mode, one of which has the DRS changes while the other does not.
Toll the Dead	The description of this cantrip's functionality on damage is arguably misleading. The coding for this spell tests if the target's HP are less than or equal to 99%, rather than 100%. Therefore, against targets with large HP pools, Toll the Dead may still deal only d8s of damage (not increasing to d12s) if such opponents are merely barely wounded.
True Strike	Though not displayed in its description, True Strike can be cast while  Silenced.
Vampiric Touch	The  Level 4 Spell Slot,  Level 5 Spell Slot, and  Level 6 Spell Slot versions of the recastable spell lack PowerLevel entries which leads to these spell versions appearing on the UI to be the  Level 3 Spell Slot version, most notably when using a controller. However, these spell versions do cast at the correct level.
Vicious Mockery	Vicious Mockery is removed on any "attack" made by the target, which includes virtually any attack or spell which targets another creature (including allies), that does not need to include an Attack Roll.
Wall of Fire	The spell save DC for damage received when ending a turn inside the wall is fixed at 10. The upcast description does not reference fire damage, and merely states the spell deals "an additional 1d8 per level." Concentration is not broken when the wall duration ends after 10 turns, creating a permanent source of Concentration for  Strange Conduit Ring.
Wall of Thorns	The in-game tooltip says the duration is 1 turn, but this is incorrect: it can last until Long Rest. Spell save DC for Wall of Thorns is currently fixed at 3, and Entangling vines is at 12. (checked in Hotfix #29). Movement speed is halved instead of quartered.
Warding Bond	If the target party member is in  Wild Shape and has the  Tavern Brawler feat, damage shared to the caster will be increased according to the Tavern Brawler bonus, resulting in high extra damage taken for the caster. Warding Bond places a passive on the caster which, among other text, states that the spell ends if "...you and the target become separated by more than ." Despite the lack of a stated distance, no such mechanic exists.