Best 2nd Circle Spells in Tales of the Valiant

Introduction

Your first 2nd-circle slots ask for a clear job: mobility, control, defense, damage, or utility that keeps the party moving. Start with the source list your class can use, then choose the spell that fills a gap your group actually has.

Concentration is the first practical check. You cannot concentrate on two spells at once, so choose one concentration spell you expect to cast often and avoid over-preparing options that compete for the same slot. A non-concentration spell can be easier to prepare alongside that default, but a concentration spell is still worth the slot when its effect suits the adventure.

Casting time and higher-circle use are the next checks. A bonus-action spell changes a turn differently from an action spell, and a spell that improves at a higher circle can remain a useful part of a later-level preparation plan. Compare those costs before assuming a higher rating makes a spell right for every build.

The Old Margreve, Labyrinth Worldbook, and Player's Guide 2 broaden the choices with travel, pursuit, disruption, defense, and build-focused tools. Their entries are labeled below. Confirm which supplemental books your GM allows before building around one of them.

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How to Use This Guide

Ratings reflect the value of each spell across a typical ToV campaign, considering both combat and exploration contexts. Class-specific commentary is in the Best Picks by Class section.

• ● Red — Bad. Avoid this option.
• ● Orange — Situational. Useful in the right campaign or build.
• ● Green — Good. A reliable choice you won't regret.
• ● Blue — Fantastic. A top-tier option that defines strong play.

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2nd Circle Spells by Source List

Arcane Spell List

Available to: Bard, Sorcerer, Theurge, Wizard

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Divine Spell List

Available to: Cleric, Paladin, Theurge

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Primordial Spell List

Available to: Druid, Ranger

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Wyrd Spell List

Available to: Warlock, Witch

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Best Old Margreve 2nd Circle Picks

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Best Labyrinth Worldbook 2nd Circle Picks

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Best Player's Guide 2 2nd Circle Picks

Player's Guide 2 adds 2nd-circle options with clear build hooks. The strongest picks either avoid concentration, protect the party, or give martials better payoff windows. Label them as (Player's Guide 2) and check reprints such as Magnetize and Vengeful Smite against the books your table already allows.

For build support, pair Deadly Weapon (Player's Guide 2) and Perceive Vulnerability (Player's Guide 2) with the Martial Talents Guide and Technical Talents Guide. Those spells get much better when the party has actual crit, sneak-attack, thrown-weapon, or weapon-damage payoffs.

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Top 2nd Circle Spells

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Best 2nd Circle Picks by Class

Bard: You're on the Arcane list with one cross-list pick. At 2nd circle, Misty Step is non-negotiable: a bonus-action teleport that rescues you from every bad position and costs no concentration. Mirror Image is the best second pick: three free defensive layers without touching your concentration slot. If you took Suggestion at 1st, skip it here and consider Hold for battlefield control that lets your martial allies auto-crit. From Labyrinth Worldbook, Glitter Dust and Destructive Resonance are the best practical adds: one answers invisible enemies, the other buys escape turns by stripping reactions. From Player's Guide 2, Deadly Weapon (Player's Guide 2) is the Bard's best martial support spell when the party has a Fighter, Rogue, or Paladin worth enabling, while Portal Jaunt (Player's Guide 2 ritual) and Read Object (Player's Guide 2 ritual) are excellent intrigue picks.

Cleric: Your 2nd circle is one of the strongest in the game. Spiritual Weapon is mandatory: bonus-action force damage with no concentration that runs all fight long. Clerics should pick up Silence for the anti-caster nuclear option, and Aid if your party regularly runs short on HP. Hold is the single best CC option at this level and pairs devastatingly with any ally who hits in melee. Player's Guide 2 adds Shadow Guardians (Player's Guide 2) for formation defense, Star Bolt (Player's Guide 2) for radiant offense, and Deadly Weapon (Player's Guide 2) when your best contribution is making the martial crit more often.

Theurge: Theurge gets the best part of this circle because Arcane and Divine both matter. Start with Misty Step or Mirror Image for survival, then add Spiritual Weapon, Aid, Silence, or Hold from Divine depending on party need. Player's Guide 2 gives Theurge clean direct options: Deadly Weapon (Player's Guide 2) for martial support, Shadow Guardians (Player's Guide 2) for formation defense, Star Bolt (Player's Guide 2) for radiant pressure, and Portal Jaunt (Player's Guide 2 ritual) / Read Object (Player's Guide 2 ritual) for investigation play. See the ToV Theurge Spell Guide.

Druid: Moonbeam is the headline: sustained radiant damage on a moveable beam that scales better than almost any other 2nd-circle option. Druids should pair it with Spike Growth for the most powerful area-denial combination available at this circle. Pass Without Trace is worth a slot in any campaign with wilderness or stealth components: a party-wide +10 to Stealth is not a number, it's a new reality. Player's Guide 2 adds Grasping Earth (Player's Guide 2) as the cleanest new Druid spell because it restrains without eating your concentration, plus Animal Spy (Player's Guide 2 ritual) and Appease Local Spirits (Player's Guide 2 ritual) for travel-heavy play.

Paladin: Aid and Spiritual Weapon are your pillars. Aid extends the entire party's HP ceiling for 8 hours with no concentration, and Spiritual Weapon gives you bonus-action damage that doesn't interfere with your smite-powered attacks. Paladins can lean into Branding Smite against foes that use Invisibility, and Silence is worth a prepared slot any session where enemy casters are likely. Labyrinth Worldbook gives Paladins two real smite options: Luminous Smite is the team pick because it helps allies focus fire, while Vengeful Smite is the control pick when frightened meaningfully weakens the target. Player's Guide 2 makes Deadly Weapon (Player's Guide 2) and Shadow Guardians (Player's Guide 2) the standout Paladin adds: one improves your offense for an hour, the other protects the formation.

Ranger: Spike Growth is your best 2nd-circle spell. A 20-foot-radius zone of automatic piercing damage requiring no save to enter is exceptional for a class that can force movement and create choke points. Rangers who face armored enemies should strongly consider Heat Metal; Darkvision solves a common exploration gap. Pass Without Trace doubles as one of the best party utility spells in the entire game. Misdirect is the best Labyrinth Worldbook addition for Rangers who want more positional disruption. Magnetize is campaign-dependent, but it becomes excellent in ruins, workshops, prisons, armories, and metal-heavy dungeons. Player's Guide 2 adds Star Bolt (Player's Guide 2) for ranged radiant pressure and Lockjaw (Player's Guide 2) when you need anti-caster tech without dropping Silence on your own party.

Sorcerer: Scorching Ray is your bread and butter: three ranged spell attacks with no concentration that scale by adding a ray per slot. Sorcerers can twin it at lower levels for absurd nova output. Misty Step is mandatory for survivability, since your positioning often puts you in danger. Mirror Image covers you between steps. Hold is your best control option and becomes a melee-ally force multiplier when timed correctly.

Warlock: With Pact Magic giving you short-rest slot recovery, every slot you spend matters. Warlocks should anchor to Mirror Image (no concentration, strong defense), Misty Step (bonus action escape), and Silence (anti-caster nuclear). Suggestion is the best social tool in the Wyrd list and fits the Warlock's enchantment identity. Hold rounds out the combat core. Spiritual Weapon is the dark horse: bonus-action force damage that doesn't compete with your action is as good here as it is on the Cleric list. Labyrinth Worldbook favors melee Warlocks more than blast Warlocks: Luminous Smite, Vengeful Smite, and Corrupting Sheath all want you near the target. Destructive Resonance is the cleanest general Warlock pickup because reaction denial helps the whole party reposition. Player's Guide 2 is excellent for Wyrd casters: Spirit Ward (Player's Guide 2) protects your front line, Lesser Eyebite (Player's Guide 2) gives repeatable control, Shadow Guardians (Player's Guide 2) protects a formation, and Portal Jaunt (Player's Guide 2 ritual) is premium patron-intrigue utility.

Witch: Witch uses the same Wyrd table directly, but the priorities are more control-first than blast-first. Hold, Misty Step, Mirror Image, Silence, Suggestion, and Spiritual Weapon are all real Witch spells, not Warlock leftovers. Player's Guide 2 is especially good here: Spirit Ward (Player's Guide 2) protects a fragile line, Lesser Eyebite (Player's Guide 2) fits the Hex-and-control rhythm, Shadow Guardians (Player's Guide 2) defends the formation, and Portal Jaunt (Player's Guide 2 ritual) gives coven-grade intrusion utility. See the ToV Witch Spell Guide.

Wizard: You know more spells than any other class and can prepare widely. Wizards should lock in Misty Step and Mirror Image as permanent prepared spells: the former saves your life, the latter protects your concentration. Scorching Ray is your best no-concentration damage option. Web and Hold give you the two flavors of control: area denial and single-target lockdown. Shatter handles constructs and objects that resist physical damage. Player's Guide 2 mostly adds spellbook tools here: Portal Jaunt (Player's Guide 2 ritual), Read Object (Player's Guide 2 ritual), Enhance Familiar (Player's Guide 2 ritual), and Arcane Trap (Player's Guide 2 ritual) are not always-prepared spells, but they are exactly why Wizards own notebooks.

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Synergies & Combos

Hold + Melee Ally Hold paralyzes a Medium humanoid on a failed WIS save. Paralyzed creatures are incapacitated and automatically crit for any attacker within 5 feet. This is not a combo. It's a mechanic that transforms a Wizard or Cleric into a melee ally's personal assist engine. Use Hold on the most dangerous target, then watch the Fighter land guaranteed critical hits. In rounds 2–4 of a boss fight, this swing is fight-ending.

Spike Growth + Thunderwave / Gust of Wind Spike Growth creates a 20-foot-radius zone of difficult terrain with automatic damage per 5 feet of movement. Forced movement into and through it doesn't care about movement speed; it's just distance traveled. Thunderwave pushes creatures 10 feet on a failed STR save. Drop Spike Growth across a corridor, push an enemy into it with Thunderwave, and watch them take 4d4 piercing before they even take their turn. Druid + Cleric or Druid + any Arcane caster unlocks this.

Pass Without Trace + Spike Growth Separate spells but same caster. Run Pass Without Trace during the approach, let the Ranger scout the enemy position, establish Spike Growth across a chokepoint before the enemy knows you're there, then ambush from a position of total control. This two-spell sequence converts a random encounter into a tactical ambush with area denial already in place, no initiative roll-off needed.

Spiritual Weapon + Silence Both require no concentration (Spiritual Weapon) or use your one concentration slot (Silence). A Cleric running both is dealing bonus-action force damage every round while simultaneously preventing all verbal-component spellcasting in a 20-foot radius. This combination shuts down enemy spellcasters completely, no counterspell needed, while maintaining your offensive output. Drop Silence on the enemy's most dangerous caster and let the weapon swing.

Bleating Call (The Old Margreve) + Spike Growth Bleating Call pulls failed targets toward a sound by the safest available route. Spike Growth punishes movement through an area with automatic damage. This is table-positioning dependent, but in wilderness ambushes it lets a Primordial caster turn curiosity into damage before the enemy understands the fight has started.

Instant Snare (The Old Margreve) + Pass Without Trace Pass Without Trace gets the party into position without leaving tracks. Instant Snare turns the retreat route, camp perimeter, or monster trail into a restrained-target trap. Together, they support the Ranger fantasy better than another direct damage spell: choose the ground, hide the party, and punish pursuit.

Glitter Dust (Labyrinth Worldbook) + Melee Focus Fire Glitter Dust does two jobs that matter in the same fight: it reveals invisible creatures and can blind creatures that fail the save. If a dangerous invisible enemy is trying to dictate the encounter, this turns the problem into a normal target and may also hand advantage to the party's melee attackers. It is not glamorous, but it solves a real table problem.

Misdirect (Labyrinth Worldbook) + Spike Growth Misdirect is unreliable by design, but every result is better when the battlefield punishes bad movement. Prone, speed 0, random movement, or reaction movement all become nastier when Spike Growth controls the ground. This is a Primordial caster's version of slapstick battlefield control: chaotic, but very expensive for enemies who fail the save.

Deadly Weapon (Player's Guide 2) + Martial Crit Builds Deadly Weapon lasts an hour and does not require concentration, which means the caster can enable the party's best weapon user and then go back to casting real control spells. It gets much better on characters using the Martial Talents Guide to stack weapon damage, extra attacks, or critical-hit payoffs.

Grasping Earth (Player's Guide 2) + Moonbeam Grasping Earth restrains without concentration. Moonbeam requires concentration. That is the whole combo: lock a target down with the spell that does not occupy your concentration, then spend the concentration slot on the radiant damage engine.

Lockjaw (Player's Guide 2) + Silence Silence shuts down a space. Lockjaw pressures one caster's speech without blanketing the battlefield. A party with both can choose between area denial and precision anti-caster disruption instead of treating every mage fight the same way.

Spirit Ward (Player's Guide 2) + Blade Warlock Spirit Ward gives temporary HP and weapon-damage resistance while the temp HP lasts. For a Warlock trying to stay close enough to use melee smites or protect an ally, this is the difference between "interesting concept" and "survives contact."

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Hot Takes

Hot Take: Scorching Ray is overrated, and Shatter is underrated. Everyone reaches for Scorching Ray when they want 2nd-circle damage, and it's good: three ranged spell attacks with no concentration is clean and reliable. But Shatter is a 10-foot radius thunder sphere that bypasses resistance to physical damage and destroys objects. Most constructs and crystalline creatures are specifically vulnerable to thunder. Shatter hits a cluster. Scorching Ray hits one target. In any encounter with grouping enemies, Shatter wins. The reason Scorching Ray gets the love is nova focus: it feels good to fire three attacks at a boss. Run the math over a four-round fight against three enemies: Shatter pays better.

Hot Take: Pass Without Trace is one of the five best spells in the game, and most Druids don't treat it that way. The discourse around 2nd circle spells focuses on Moonbeam for good reason: sustained radiant damage is excellent. But Pass Without Trace does something Moonbeam can't: it changes the game before combat begins. A +10 to Stealth for the entire party means you choose when every fight starts. You pick the terrain. You set the ambush. You skip the encounters you'd lose. Moonbeam wins a fight; Pass Without Trace lets you choose which fights to have.

Hot Take: Mirror Image should be on every Sorcerer, Theurge, Warlock, and Witch prepared list, full stop. The community treats Mirror Image as a defensive fallback, something you cast when you're scared. This is backwards. Cast Mirror Image on turn one of every dangerous fight, before you need it. Three illusory duplicates require no concentration and absorb hits automatically. You're not spending a slot to recover from damage; you're spending a slot to prevent damage across an entire combat. The spells that keep you alive are worth more than the spells that deal damage, because dead casters deal zero damage. Mirror Image is better than Blur, better than Shield in most fights, and uses no concentration. It belongs in your default rotation.

Hot Take: Nip at the Heels (The Old Margreve) is better than it looks because it does not use concentration. Disadvantage on attack rolls is not rare, but getting it while still concentrating on Web, Hold, Moonbeam, Pass Without Trace, or Spike Growth is the point. It will not define every fight, and flyers make it worse, but on grounded brutes it is exactly the kind of secondary debuff that wins action economy quietly.

Hot Take: Mark Prey (The Old Margreve) is a Ranger spell first and a Wizard spellbook spell second. Advantage on your own attacks is good, but the concentration cost is brutal for full casters. Rangers, Battle Mages, and attack-roll cantrip builds get the cleanest combat value; prepared Wizards should mostly value it as a pursuit and anti-invisibility tool.

Hot Take: Glitter Dust (Labyrinth Worldbook) is the Labyrinth 2nd-circle spell most likely to matter at a normal table. Anti-invisibility plus blind control is not flashy, but invisible enemies show up often enough that the party needs an answer before the fight starts falling apart.

Hot Take: Luminous Smite (Labyrinth Worldbook) is the better team spell; Vengeful Smite (Labyrinth Worldbook) is the better selfish control spell. Advantage for the whole party usually wins when the target needs to die now, while frightened is better when the target is a melee threat you want to contain.

Hot Take: Magnetize (Labyrinth Worldbook) is either dead text or encounter-breaking. If the map has chains, gates, armor, keys, weapons, cages, bridges, or machinery, it stops being cute and starts becoming the spell that rewrites the scene.

Hot Take: Maddening Whispers (Labyrinth Worldbook) looks like a combat lockdown spell, but it is often better as a capture, interrogation, or extraction tool. Damage breaks it, and bonus-action upkeep is expensive, so treat it as precision control rather than a default fight opener.

Hot Take: Deadly Weapon (Player's Guide 2) is the quiet martial-caster handshake this circle needed. It is not flashy, and it does not win the fight by itself, but one hour of expanded crit range with no concentration is exactly how a support caster makes a Fighter, Paladin, or Rogue feel like the main character.

Hot Take: Grasping Earth (Player's Guide 2) is better than several louder control spells because it does not ask for your concentration. At 2nd circle, "good control that stacks with your best concentration spell" is often stronger than "great control that replaces it."

Hot Take: Star Bolt (Player's Guide 2) is not just a radiant Scorching Ray. The blind and outline riders mean it supports the next attacker instead of only padding your damage line. That makes it a real Divine and Primordial team spell.

Hot Take: Portal Jaunt (Player's Guide 2 ritual) is the most dangerous PG2 ritual because it attacks adventure structure instead of hit points. Locked doors, barred exits, prison corridors, manor security, and "you cannot get there from here" all become negotiable when the party can plan around doorways.

Hot Take: Lesser Eyebite (Player's Guide 2) is the Wyrd spell that most cleanly says "Witch or Warlock." It is repeatable, creepy, save-based, and oppressive when the fight lasts long enough. It also rewards Wyrd casters for doing something more interesting than spending every action on the same blast.

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Final Notes

At 2nd circle, make each prepared spell serve one concrete job. A mobility spell is an escape route, a ward protects a plan, control changes where enemies can stand, and a ritual can solve a problem before initiative begins.

Pick one concentration spell you expect to use often, then add choices that do not constantly displace it. That does not make every non-concentration spell better; it makes the cost of your default plan visible.

Supplemental books add narrower tools for particular campaigns and party builds. Use their labels, check table permission, and choose them when their specific job matters more than a broad core-list option.

For class-specific breakdowns of the full spell slate, see the Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Sorcerer, Theurge, Warlock, Witch, and Wizard guides.

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For the class and circle index, return to the Tales of the Valiant Spell Guides.

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