In Dungeons & Dragons, the most powerful of all class abilities available to players is 9th-level spells. These spells can save a party from defeat, or win a fight immediately. They can control the flow of time, influence the minds of even the most powerful of beings, and give you the ability to alter reality itself.
Most of the spells in this list are from the 5th edition, however, there will be a few entries from previous ones. Spells from earlier versions of D&D are easily convertible to 5th-edition rules, as the only changes likely to be required are to Saving Throws. Any spell from earlier editions will include the source material in which they are detailed, but most of these represent the most powerful, most fun, and most useful 9th-level spells in D&D 5e.
Updated on April 19, 2023, by Kristy Ambrose: By the time a spellcaster has reached 9th level, they have some impressive abilities to contribute to their party. In an RPG where death is often permanent, not many characters survive long enough to wield these kinds of abilities, and some of them can defy the power of the grave. Dungeon Masters have to get even more creative and ruthless when it comes to making an adventure to challenge a 9th-level character, and when you see how deadly some of these spells are, it's easy to understand why. The D&D universe has seen some changes since this list was first posted, so we've added some exciting new choices for the best 9th-level spells in 5e.
13 Power Word Kill
This spell is even more lethal than it already sounds, and it might even be too powerful for a mere 9th-level spell, making it one of the best you can get at this level. You don't even need to be within reach of the target to cast it. As long as the Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard can see the target, they can use Power Word Kill on them.
With a single word, this spell causes the target to die instantly as long as they have less than 100 hit points. If they have more, however, this spell has no effect, a slight edge that keeps this lethal incantation from being totally overpowered.
12 True Resurrection
True Resurrection allows the caster to bring a dead being back to life, provided they have only been dead for 200 years or less and did not die of old age. The being comes back to life at full hit points and is cured of all poisons, diseases, and curses. If the target had missing limbs they are fully restored, and beings that were undead are “cured” of the undead status.
This spell works even if a body is no longer present, but the target’s name must be known. This is on the bottom of the list due to the fact that many 5th-edition spells restore life to a deceased being, so although it's one of the 9th-level spells, it's got a lot of competition.
11 Weird
This spell is essentially a more powerful version of Phantasmal Killer. Instead of one target though, Weird affects all enemies in a 30’ radius at a range of 120’ from you. Targeted beings must make a Wisdom save or become frightened for the duration of the spell; which is one minute.
Every turn the affected beings must pass a wisdom save or take 4d10 points of psychic damage. The spell ends if the target passes a saving throw. Considering this is a 9th-level spell, the initial effect of being frightened should occur without a saving throw.
10 Prismatic Wall Or Sphere
This spell creates a shimmering multi-colored barrier that can be in the shape of a wall or sphere. You can name beings to be immune to the spell’s effects at the time of casting.
The barrier is composed of seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Each color causes a different effect on those who come into contact with the barrier.
Most of these colors cause 10d6 points of damage, but some cause effects such as being held or petrified. Each layer must be destroyed separately via a specific damage type. Spells that dispel magic do not affect the barrier.
9 Meteor Swarm
This is one of the most damaging spells available for spellcasters, so if a character is inclined to destruction this is one of the best 9th-level spells in 5e. Meteor Swarm allows you to call four meteors to fall from the sky to a designated location within a range of one mile.
The meteors’ impact zones are 40’ in radius and cannot overlap. Those caught in the impact zone take 20d6 fire and 20d6 bludgeoning damage; a passed dexterity save halves the damage received.
Any flammable materials not being worn or carried by beings in the impact zone are also set on fire. This spell was nerfed in the 5th edition, but it's still one of the most impressive. Previous editions allowed the meteors’ impact zone to overlap, creating even more havoc.
8 Mass Heal
This is the ultimate healing spell available and one of the best 9th-level abilities in the 5th edition. This spell allows you to heal up to 700 hit points of damage in total to any number of beings. The spell does not require touching the recipient of the healing, and has a range of 60’.
The healing effect is instantaneous and also cures any diseases, blindness, and deafness affecting a target. Mass Heal would be higher on this list if the spell could be used to cause damage to undead creatures, but unfortunately, it has no effect against them.
7 Astral Projection
Astral Projection doesn't actually transport you or your party, but your astral or spiritual forms, hence the name. The physical body left behind doesn't need any kind of sustenance and doesn't age, staying in suspended animation for as long as the spell lasts.
Your astral body is tethered to the physical realm by a silvery cord that helps you find your way back to your body. Severing this cord kills you instantly, something that the party needs to keep in mind.
6 Time Stop
Time Stop stops the flow of time for everyone except the for you for 1d4+1 turns. During this time, you can move and perform actions as normal, but any action that affects, or will affect, another being ends the spell. This causes the 5th edition Time Stop to be very underpowered compared to previous editions where you could cast damaging spells while it was active, having them take effect simultaneously and immediately when the flow of time resumed.
This allows you to only cast one spell that would affect someone else. This begs the question, why not just cast that spell instead of Time Stop?
5 Chain Contingency
The Contingency spell is available in the 5th edition, but for some reason, Wizards of the Coast did not include Chain Contingency. Instead of the one spell allowed to be stored by the Contingency spell, Chain Contingency allows up to three spells to be stored. These are released when the condition set during casting is met.
A player could set the spells Stoneskin, Fly, and Mirror Image to be cast if they are attacked. The spells can be set to take effect simultaneously, or one per round. The only limitation is that the stored spells can only affect you, meaning Fireball or similar damaging spells cannot be stored. This spell can be found in the Wizard’s Spell Compendium from the 2nd edition.
4 Sash Of Spells
This is one of the most useful spells available to a Wizard or Sorcerer if the DM allows it to be used. Sash of Spells creates a glowing sash that can store up to eight spells; which are placed in the sash during the eight turns following its creation. The spells can be of any level, and if two of the same spells are stored within the sash it creates a third use of the spell that does not count as one of the eight stored spells.
The spells can be discharged one at a time from the sash through silent will – concentration is not required. The sash lasts until all the spells have been used, and can be transferred to another character if desired. This spell can be found in the second edition book Volo’s Guide to All Things Magical.
3 Wish
This multi-purpose spell is one of the most powerful in Dungeons & Dragons. There is a list of effects that can be created by Wish without consequence. Examples given in the 5th edition Handbook include restoring to full hit points up to twenty beings, granting immunity to a single spell, and creating a nonmagical object of up to 25,000 gold pieces in value.
You can choose to make a specific wish not listed, but the DM is encouraged to try to follow the exact wording of the wish, so players need to be careful. For example, wishing someone to be dead might send you into the distant future where the target has been dead for some time.
2 Imprisonment
Imprisonment is one of D&D's best and most effective crowd-control spells for 5e. It's similar to Hold Person in that the target has to succeed in a saving throw and is held in place for the duration, but Imprisonment lasts until it's dispelled instead of a standard time of one minute, and doesn't require you to be lost in Concentration.
The name of this spell is no joke, and you can also choose several different types of confinement for your target. These include Burial, which places the target in a hollowed-out space beneath the earth, Slumber, which puts them to sleep, and Chaining, which manifests heavy metal links that prevent the target from moving.
1 Mantle
This spell creates a magical barrier about your body that provides certain protections and grants you special abilities. It begins as a 6th-level spell, but occupies the highest spell slot available; so a caster capable of memorizing 9th-level spells must use a spell slot of the same level. The base Mantle gives you control over the temperature of the barrier and is always under the effects of Feather Fall and Protection From Normal Missiles.
You can also cast one spell to maximum effect and has immunity to one specific spell you can cast. For every caster level above 12th level, the mantle becomes more powerful and this usually takes the form of adding a spell effect, like Levitate, increasing the number of boosted spells, and adding another spell to which the caster is immune. Mantle can be found in the second edition book Secrets of the Magister.