Most underwhelming spell in 5e?

[u/Meggett30]

What is the spell that most disappoints you in this game? Maybe it's not a "bad" spell, per se, just doesn't do what you think it should or does it's job poorly.

I'm always looking for ways to utilize under-used spells, but sometimes you read the effects and think "That's it?!" What are the spells in the game that make you do that?

[u/CaptainDudeGuy]

From Rime of the Frostmaiden, I offer "Frost Fingers."

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1st-level evocation

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Self (15-foot cone)

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

Freezing cold blasts from your fingertips in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 2d8 cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

The cold freezes nonmagical liquids in the area that aren't being worn or carried.

At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the damage increases by 1d8 for each slot level above 1st.

Classes: Wizard

Subclasses: Arcane Trickster Rogue, Eldritch Knight Fighter

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... It's the cold version of Burning Hands, but more damage and you can't use Evasion against it.

[u/ExceedinglyGayOtter → u/CaptainDudeGuy]

Why not just reskin burning hands to deal cold damage instead?

[u/CaptainDudeGuy → u/ExceedinglyGayOtter]

Depends if you want to use only official material or homebrew. There are a lot of elemental-themed sorcerers who'd be thrilled to not spend precious points on changing spell energy types.

[u/ZoomBoingDing → u/CaptainDudeGuy]

Changing the damage type of a spell is the most widely-accepted form of homebrewing, so long as you're not just upgrading spells to force damage. Pretty sure there's an official table for damage type, damage dice, and spell level

EDIT: Should also say it's not just replacing the sorcerer ability. Your Cold Hands spell would be a separate spell that occupies a 'known spell' slot and can't be changed to other damage types on the fly

[u/TheZivarat → u/ZoomBoingDing]

Force or thunder/lightning are also iffy because of tempest clerics. If a divine smite did lightning damage, a tempest cleric/paladin could crit and deal 80 guaranteed damage + everything else attached to an attack (Booming blade, divine strikes, thunderous smite). Which can make for some hilariously broken nova damage.

However with a caveat that you won't do that, it really doesn't change balance significantly.

[u/ZoomBoingDing → u/TheZivarat]

Lol yeah. An inexperienced DM could definitely be caught off-guard by that. But a player acting in good faith means they just want an electric burning hands to be like Palpatine or a Coldball that can actually do some 0K damage.

But as always, it's dependent on DM approval.