Does spell sniper affect Eldritch blast?

Does spell sniper affect Eldritch Blast?

In the world of Dungeons and Dragons, knowing whether a particular spell or technique affects another can be the difference between victory and defeat. One such question often asked is whether the feat ‘Spell Sniper’ affects ‘Eldritch Blast’ – a powerful spell shot by Warlocks. Today, we’ll delve deeper into this topic and see what the answer is.

Does Spell Sniper work with Eldritch Blast?

According to the SRD (System Reference Document), Spell Sniper states:
"The number you need to roll a critical hit, while attacking with a spell, is reduced by 1." This implies that Spell Sniper only affects traditional spell attacks, not missile spells like Eldritch Blast.

Raw Eldritch Blast Damage

Eldritch Blast is a potent spell that deals force damage to a target. Unmodified, it deals half the caster’s spell scaling damage (e.g. 1d10/2d10/2d10 etc.). According to the 5e SRD, the total damage dealt by Eldritch Blast is:

Adding the Spell Sniper feat gives us:

As observed, the damage output barely changes when using Spell Sniper with Eldritch Blast due to the reduced critical threshold.

Other Considerations

When considering Spell Sniper with Eldritch Blast:

• Critical Hits and Critical Failures: There is no change in crit range or crit failure likelihood.
• Range Reduction: Eldritch Blast never has a range reduction.

Conclusion

In essence, Spell Sniper does affect Eldritch Blast, not by changing the damage calculations, but by reducing the critical hit threshold. Effectively, Spell Sniper converts a critical hit into an opportunity for a higher damage range. For Warlocks considering the Spell Sniper feat and Eldritch Blast, don’t be deterred: the benefits of Spell Sniper still apply, albeit tangentially.

Additional Note

Eldritch Speer, a different magical item, can increase spell range, but this interaction and its implications are outside the scope of this article and will be discussed in detail in a future article or FAQ.

References & Resources

• 5e SRD: Basic Rules
• 5e SRD: Compendium
• Community-created content (Reddit comments, etc.)

Recommended Reading

• Cantrips: A listing of 20 most Powerful D&D Cantrips, Ranked
• Spell Sniper: A Complete Guide to the Spell Sniper Feat
• Eldritch Blast: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Eldritch Blast in combat