Light Domain Cleric 5e

When it comes to playing Dungeons and Dragons for the first time, clerics don’t usually seem like the most exciting pick. However, as fans of the game will know, a cleric can change the tide of many battles and is often held in high regard by their god. In addition to providing healing and support to other party members, clerics get access to some pretty powerful spells and abilities. 

As part of being a cleric, you’ll pick a domain subclass that dictates what kind of cleric you are and the abilities that you’ll have access to. It’s typically tied to your alignment and the kind of god your cleric worships, but you can of course just choose the one that most excites you! Being a Light Domain cleric inclines you towards healing, divine light, and protection. It’s great for good-aligned characters, particularly those worshipping Sun gods like Lathander. 

If you’re unsure whether or not a Light Domain cleric is right for you, check out the comparison table below!

Domain	Theme	Advantages	Disadvantages
Light	Radiance, fire, banishing darkness	High area-of-effect damage, highly effective against undead	Lack of healing spells, weak against fire-resistant foes
Life	Preservation, healing, support	Powerful healing spells and efficiency, reliable support	Lack of offensive spells, lower damage output, less versatile
Knowledge	Gaining wisdom, learning secrets	Divination magic, language learning, mind-reading	Not great in combat, doesn’t deal high direct damage
Nature	Plants, wilderness, animals	Spells affecting plants and animals, druid cantrips, heavy armour proficiency	Spell focus is limited to nature, dependent on specific abilities
Tempest	Thunder, storms, lightning	Powerful lightning and thunder damage, heavy armour proficiency, flight	Spell focus is limited to thunder and lightning, less versatile
Trickery	Deception, stealth, illusions	Powerful stealth skills and illusion spells, teleportation, deception bonuses	Lack of direct damage and combat power, lower damage
War	Combat, strength, strategy	Martial weapon and heavy armour proficiency, bonus attacks and attack bonuses	Lack of area-of-effect spells, less versatile, less utility out of combat

Light Domain Feats

Feats are abilities that you can grab as you level up, though you’ll gain some as part of your class. As a cleric, you gain different thematic feats depending on your domain. Light Domain clerics gain access to the following feats, starting from 1st level!

Spells – Starting Level 1

Choosing a Light Domain cleric grants you access to useful spells right from 1st level, focusing on fire and radiant spells – Including everybody’s favourite: Fireball!  

Cleric Level	Prepared Spells
1	Faerie Fire, Burning Hands
3	Scorching Ray, Flaming Sphere
5	Fireball, Daylight
7	Wall of Fire, Guardian of Faith
9	Flame Strike, Scrying

Like with other class spells, these are always prepared and do not count towards your total spells known.

Warding Flare – Level 1

Starting from 1st level, this is a great defensive reaction that imposes disadvantage on an attack roll against you. As long as your attacker isn’t immune to being blinded and can be seen within 30 feet, you can use your reaction to have them roll with disadvantage. You can use Warding Flare a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier and must use it before the attack hits or misses. Don’t worry if you run out of uses, it’ll reset after each long rest! 

Radiance of the Dawn – Level 2

Harnessing the raw power of the sun, you can use a Channel Divinity charge to banish darkness and deal radiant damage to enemies. From 2nd level, you can spend an action brandishing your holy symbol to dispel magical darkness within 30 feet. You’ll also deal 2d10 damage + your level to enemies within the same range, though they’ll take half damage upon a successful Constitution saving throw.

Improved Flare – Level 6

Once you reach 6th level, your Warding Flare can be used to defend allies as well, imposing disadvantage on attacks you can see within 30 feet. 

Potent Spellcasting – Level 8

At 8th level, your Wisdom modifier is added to the damage dealt with cleric cantrips, packing more of a punch with your free spell attacks!

Corona of Light – Level 17

Although quite a jump from your last Light Domain feat, Corona of Light is an incredibly powerful ability, which is certainly useful at higher levels. Using your action, you can create an aura of radiant sunlight around you that lasts for 1 minute. The aura emits bright light for 60 feet, and dim light for a further 30 feet. Any enemies in the aura have disadvantage on saving throws against fire or radiant spells. While it might not sound that useful on its own, Corona of Light is an excellent way to boost damage for spellcasters in your party, including yourself! 

Ability Scores for Light Domain Clerics

Like other spellcasters and cleric domains, Wisdom is definitely a key ability you want to buff. Your spell DC and damage can vary greatly depending on your Wisdom modifier. Essentially, the higher your Wisdom and modifier, the more difficult it will be for enemies to escape your spells, and the more damage they’ll take. Constitution or Dexterity are great to consider for a secondary buff to increase your survivability.

Having a high Constitution grants you more health (HP), keeping you alive longer while you help your friends with the same! Similarly, higher Dexterity means a higher armour class (AC), making it harder for enemies to hit you. As a cleric who can deal high damage as well as massive amounts of healing and defence, you’re an important member of the party, and survivability is key, especially if there’s no one to heal you.

However, while these can be good strategic choices, the beauty of Dungeons and Dragons is freedom and roleplay. If your character is particularly charismatic or relies on talking their way out of (or into) a situation, Charisma is of course a great stat to focus on. You could also focus on Strength if you want to rely less on spellcasting and be able to pack a punch physically, too. Feats like Weapon Master are great to take if you’re buffing strength, so that you can deal damage with stronger weapons than your default Simple Weapon proficiency.

Lineages for Light Domain Clerics

Your choice of lineage or backstory affects your character’s abilities, but it may be more important to you to focus on roleplay elements. For example, you might want to be a Tiefling for story purposes, or to grab the Charisma bonus! You might also choose lineages that have more Strength or Charisma to suit your roleplaying. Depending on the theme, playstyle, and character you’re going for, you can pick whatever lineage you like. 

If you’re looking to maximize Light Domain cleric abilities, it’s a good idea to focus on a lineage that increases relevant skills. Firbolg is often a popular cleric choice as they come with a +2 to Wisdom and are thematically connected to natural healing. Similarly, Hill Dwarves are great for extra durability as they come with a +2 to Constitution and +1 to Wisdom in addition to extra HP. 

Feats for Light Domain Clerics

War Caster

War Caster is easily one of the best feats to take since Light Domain clerics rely heavily on concentration, such as with Flaming Sphere and Wall of Fire. War Caster gives you advantage on concentration saving throws and allows you to cast spells as an opportunity attack. Additionally, you can perform spells with somatic components (hand movements) while holding a weapon or shield in your hands. Taking the Resilient (Constitution) feat is a good alternative to War Caster if you’d rather take proficiency on Constitution saving throws and a +1 to your ability. 

Elemental Adept (Fire)

As a Light Domain cleric, many of your spells are fire-based, making fire-resistant enemies your biggest weakness. Taking this feat overcomes that weakness, as your spells will ignore an enemy’s fire resistance to deal full damage. You’ll also treat any 1 on damage dice as a 2, dealing that little bit extra power. 

Other Feats to Consider

Alert

Alert is a great feat for plenty of classes but it can be really useful as a Light Domain cleric to position your AoE spells or hinder stronger enemies. Alert gives you a +5 to initiative rolls and immunity to being surprised. Additionally, invisible attackers won’t gain advantage over you. The most useful element is the initiative bonus, so that you can get your spells in early and position yourself away from damage.

Spell Sniper

Spell Sniper doubles the reach of ranged spell attacks like Scorching Ray and ignores cover unless enemies are fully covered. It also gives you an additional attack cantrip, adding to your repertoire.

Weapons for Light Domain Clerics

The kind of weapon that’s best for you depends on the playstyle you’re going for, especially if you take feats like Weapon Master to gain access to stronger weapons. Generally, you’re looking for light and simple weapons to be used in a pinch, since Light Domain clerics will primarily focus on spellcasting.

Mace

The mace is a typical choice for clerics as it’s a great simple weapon that deals 1d6 bludgeoning damage. Thematically, it’s usually a good option for clerics with decent strength and is a handy one-handed weapon to use alongside a shield.

Light Crossbow

Like any other class, it’s helpful to keep a ranged weapon around, especially as you never know when you might need it! With default cleric proficiencies, a light crossbow deals 1d8 piercing damage, making it a pretty decent weapon to use from a safe distance.

Quarterstaff

Although it might seem a bit cliché for a spellcaster, quarterstaffs are a versatile weapon that deals 1d8 bludgeoning damage when wielded two-handed. That makes it a little stronger than a mace, and is often on-brand with a cleric depending on your playstyle.

Final Thoughts: Light Domain 5e

Light Domain clerics are arguably the most typical depiction of a cleric and what you think of when you picture one. However, that’s for good reason! They might not be as focused on healing as other clerics, but their damage output is very strong in comparison. If you’re looking to play a particularly pious or good-aligned cleric, Light is a perfect Domain choice. Still, you can always think creatively and suit the Light Domain to your playstyle, especially if you’re after powerful AoE spells.