Greater Restoration 5e D&D Guide

Greater Restoration is a 5th-level spell belonging to the Artificer, Bard, Cleric, Druid, and Ranger spell lists.

Greater Restoration is similar to Remove Curse but has different effects that can be helpful when used correctly.

The Player’s Handbook states the following:

Greater Restoration 5e

5th-level Abjuration

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Components: V, S, M (some diamond dust worth at least 100 GP, which the spell will consume)

Duration: Instantaneous

Touching a target imbues them with positive energy, which undoes a debilitating effect.

Greater Restoration can also reduce the target’s exhaustion levels by one, or it can end one of the effects affecting the target mentioned below:

• One effect which charmed or petrified a given target
• One curse which includes the attunement a target has to a cursed magical item
• Any sort of reduction to one of the target’s many ability scores
• One effect which reduces the target’s maximum hit points

Classes Able To Use Greater Restoration

Traditionally the classes able to use Greater Restoration are Artificers, Bards, Clerics, Druids, and Rangers.

Subclasses like Eldritch Knights (Fighter) are of the subclasses able to unlock spells from any class as they level up. In turn, the College of Lore subclass belonging to the Bard is known as a jack-of-all-trades class in the D&D community.

Is Greater Restoration Good?

Greater Restoration is suitable and is worth it for supportive classes. Even though it might seem underwhelming, there are some excellent ways a player can use Greater Restoration if they want to.

Advantages of Greater Restoration

Multiple Ways of Use

Only a few spells have more than one use in Dungeons and Dragons. Most of the time, other benefits must be thought of individually or discovered while playing.

Greater Restoration, on the other hand, has this mechanic built into it. It tells the player exactly what it is capable of, and the rest is done by the player’s mind, depending on how experienced they are with D&D.

For Example: If you know the following enemies you will face having the chance to petrify someone, then you can get this spell ready to use it (the same goes for all the other ways Greater Restoration can be Used).

Exhaustion Cure

On longer journeys where food is scarce, being Exhausted can quickly kill a party member if they aren’t treated soon.

Exhaustion has six stages, where the first three are relatively mild; however, everything changes as soon as the fourth stage comes around.

The fourth stage has the targets Hit Points maximum halved, the fifth has their Speed reduced to zero, and the sixth will kill them.

Greater Restoration makes it so that a player’s Exhaustion level decreases by one, which is useful when a player gets to stages 4 or 5. It can keep the player going just enough to get cured completely.

Drawbacks of Greater Restoration

Low Range

Greater Restoration has a range of touch, which only affects its combat usability.

Mostly, players will be safe at a range of touch while resting or in a tavern as they heal from their wounds (unless the DM is evil, which can occasionally happen).

However, players must be cautious when using Greater Restoration in combat situations, as they never know when they will become the target of a spell or attack.

It is much more damaging for a party to lose their sole healer or support, as they have nobody to fall back on.

Requires a Material Component

Material components aren’t always bad to have as part of a spell; however, they become annoying or frustrating as materials get more expensive and rarer.

Greater Restoration needs 100 GP worth of diamond dust, which isn’t very difficult to get if you have the gold.

However, in the wild, away from a merchant or trader, the best players can hope for is a wandering Wizard.

Optimizing Greater Restoration

Greater Restoration is a spell players should be careful to waste if material components are scarce. Knowing when to use it is crucial for the spell’s purpose and for players to get the most out of it.

Great Against Undead

Undead are some of the most common creatures that deal out curses, so when facing them, be sure to have Greater Restoration ready.

Enemies like Liches have Paralyzing Touch, which Greater Restoration can instantly cure if cast on the affected target.

Greater Restoration can also counter other enemies causing petrification or abilities that halves HP.

Note: Before traveling to a location, the DM might hint at the enemies your party could face.

Clever players might pick up on this and start preparing spells to deal with the lingering threat.

Sell Cursed Magical Items

Greater Restoration comes with an effect that lets it cure attunements to cursed items.

Most beginners might not know this, but magical items sell exceptionally well in D&D, and there are easy ways to obtain them.

Players can usually find cursed magical items in caves, dungeons, and abandoned buildings, so go exploring.

Bring them to the party member with Greater Restoration and start restoring the weapons.

Players will be astounded to know how much profit they can make by actively doing this when they stop at towns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Greater Restoration or Lesser Restoration?

Greater Restoration doesn’t replace Lesser Restoration, as nothing is mentioned; however, there is no doubt that it offers more value.

So it would be partially correct to assume that Greater Restoration is just the bigger brother of Lesser Restoration.

Can Greater Restoration Cure Indefinite Madness?

Indefinite madness can be cured by a Greater Restoration spell or a more powerful spell.

Does Greater Restoration Fix Feeblemind?

Feeblemind can be ended if a player uses Greater Restoration or Heal on the affected target.

Final Thoughts

Greater Restoration is a versatile spell allowing parties to fight without worrying too much about most debilitating conditions.

However, its abundance of uses can also serve as a helpful spell out of combat to support burdened members and get a party out of financial ruin.

You only know what the limits of your character are once a Cleric is forced to use Greater Restoration on you!