The DnD Wall of Force 5e spell does exactly what it says on the tin. It creates an invisible, impenetrable wall, a force field that can keep monsters and malicious magic a safe distance away. Want to trap your enemies in a sphere of force? Need to shield the party when fire rains down from the heavens? Wall of Force has you covered.
Any child on a school playground will tell you a force field is the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card in a game of make-believe. However, D&D is a make-believe game with rules, dammit – which means there’s plenty of maths and science to consider if you want to use Wall of Force 5e effectively.
Below you’ll find all the important info on Wall of Force. This includes what you need to cast it, as well as which classes get VIP access to big-invisible-wall-building (spoilers: it’s not the Barbarian).
Here are all the key details about the DnD Wall of Force 5e spell:
Wall of Force 5e features
| Level | Fifth |
| Casting time | One action |
| Duration | 10 minutes (with concentration) |
| Range / Area | 120ft |
| Attack / Save | None |
| School | Evocation |
How to cast Wall of Force 5e
While your average cantrip needs little more than a magic word to cast, Wall of Force is one of those 5e spells that needs verbal, somatic, and material components. This means you’ll need your magic words (verbal) and your magic gestures (somatic), as well as a pinch of powder made from a clear, crushed gemstone.
There’s one other thing you’ll need to cast Wall of Force – concentration. There are several instances that can break your concentration (and ruin your Wall of Force):
- Casting a new spell that requires concentration
- Becoming distracted by your environment (usually decided by your DM)
- Failing a Constitution saving throw when you take damage
- Dying or falling unconscious
Of course, several of these factors can be avoided if you happen to be standing behind the Wall of Force you’ve cast – a lot harder to take damage there.
When cast, Wall of Force creates an invisible wall at a chosen point within range. The wall can be horizontal, vertical, or at a more unconventional angle of your choice. For example, you can create a big dome that covers a chosen area – this still counts as a wall. If flat, your wall is made up of 10 different, 10ft-by-10ft panels. If it manifests as a sphere or a dome, the wall has a maximum radius of 10ft. The wall will always be ¼ inch thick.
That’s the physics side of Wall of Force – now let’s talk about its magical effects. Nothing can pass through it (not even things in the Ethereal Plane), and it’s immune to all forms of damage. Anyone who’s in the wall’s space when it appears is pushed to one side – a side of your choice, so it can be a good way to shield your enemies and shove off your foes. Dispel Magic doesn’t work on the wall, but Disintegrate does.
Who can cast Wall of Force 5e
Of all the DnD classes, only one can learn Wall of Force without taking on a specific subclass or late-stage class feature – the Wizard. However, donning a pointy hat and picking up a spellbook isn’t your only option.
An Oath of Redemption Paladin can learn Wall of Force, but they have to wait until level 17 rather than level five. There are two subclass options for Artificers who want to learn the spell – the Artillerist and the Armourer – but these subclasses also have to wait until level 17 to get their grubby mitts on the spell.
Then there’s the Bard. This class can dip its toe into many spell pools thanks to Magical Secrets, a trait that lets Bards learn spells from other classes’ spell lists at 10th, 14th, and 18th level.
Many Bards can learn spells from outside their spell list even earlier by choosing the College of Lore subclass, but this doesn’t apply with Wall of Force. College of Lore Bards can learn non-Bard spells from level six, but they actually need to be able to cast those spells – and Bards can’t cast fifth-level spells until level nine.
That level-nine limit isn’t exclusive to Bards, of course. But the Wizard is still the only class that can actually cast Wall of Force at that level – so if you’re determined to get force field magic down on your character sheet ASAP, the Wizard is still the way to go.