Cure Wounds vs Healing Word
Touch and a bonus action — these are the cleric and bard staple heals at opposite ends of the action economy.
Cure Wounds
- Level
- 1
- School
- Abjuration
- Casting Time
- Action
- Range
- Touch
- Components
- V, S
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Concentration
- No
- Ritual
- No
- Classes
- Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger
A creature you touch regains a number of Hit Points equal to 2d8 plus your spellcasting ability modifier.
Full entry →Healing Word
- Level
- 1
- School
- Evocation
- Casting Time
- Bonus Action
- Range
- 60 feet
- Components
- V
- Duration
- Instantaneous
- Concentration
- No
- Ritual
- No
- Classes
- Bard, Cleric, Druid
A creature of your choice that you can see within range regains Hit Points equal to 2d4 plus your spellcasting ability modifier.
Full entry →Which one should you pick?
- Pick Cure Wounds: Pick Cure Wounds when you have the action to spare and the patient is already adjacent (1d8 per slot level beats 1d4 per slot level on raw mean).
- Pick Healing Word: Pick Healing Word when the patient is dropped at 30+ feet away — bonus action and range turn a TPC into a TPK averted.
- Tiebreaker: On a downed PC, Healing Word almost always wins: 1 HP stands them up and you still get your action.