Wall of Force is a 5th-level evocation spell for Wizards. You create an invisible wall within 120 feet for up to 10 minutes (concentration). It can be a flat surface of up to ten 10-by-10-foot panels, or a dome or sphere with a radius of up to 10 feet. Nothing can physically pass through it, it is immune to all damage, and Dispel Magic can't remove it. There is no saving throw. Disintegrate destroys it.
Wall of Force has no attack roll, no saving throw, and no hit points to grind down. It stays until your concentration ends, ten minutes pass, or someone casts Disintegrate. That gives it three main uses.
The cost is concentration on a 5th-level slot, and you can't attack or target spells through the wall either.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Level | 5 |
| School | Evocation |
| Casting Time | 1 action |
| Range | 120 feet |
| Components | V, S, M |
| Material | A pinch of powder made by crushing a clear gemstone |
| Duration | Up to 10 minutes |
| Concentration | Yes |
| Ritual | No |
| Save/Attack | None |
| Classes | Wizard |
| Metric | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Slot Efficiency | Excellent. One action can remove a boss or half an encounter for up to 10 minutes. |
| Action Economy | One action, no save, and nothing for the enemy to roll against. |
| Opportunity Cost | Concentration, and a 5th-level slot that could have been Banishment upcast or a damage spell. |
When worth the slot: Split encounters, a dangerous single enemy you want out of the fight, or protecting the party from a ranged volley.
Wall of Force has no higher-level effect in either edition. The size, duration, and properties are the same in a 9th-level slot.
Why it works: If the wall "cuts through a creature's space when it appears," you choose which side the creature ends up on. A creature fully inside the sphere's footprint is simply inside. Either way, there is no save. A Large creature's 10-foot space fits inside a 10-foot-radius sphere.
This avoids the mistake of: Casting Banishment or Hold Monster at a boss with a big save bonus and Legendary Resistance.
Why it works: Ten 10-foot panels can make a 100-foot-long wall 10 feet high, or a shorter, taller wall. Each panel has to touch another one. Draw the line so the dangerous half of the enemies is on the far side.
This avoids the mistake of: Fighting six enemies at once when you could fight three, then three.
Why it works: The wall can be "a horizontal or vertical barrier or at an angle," and it can be "free floating." A horizontal wall is a bridge over a chasm or a lid over a pit. A floating roof stops flyers from diving at the party.
This avoids the mistake of: Thinking it only blocks corridors.
Why it works: The wall "extends into the Ethereal Plane, blocking ethereal travel through the wall." A phase spider that shifts to the Ethereal Plane is still on the inside of the sphere. Spells that move a creature through the Ethereal Plane, such as Blink, run into the same barrier while the creature is ethereal.
This avoids the mistake of: Trapping a phase spider and assuming it will jaunt out.
Why it's bad: The text says it "can't be dispelled by Dispel Magic." Every slot spent on Dispel Magic here is wasted.
Do this instead: Use Disintegrate, break the caster's concentration, or wait out the 10 minutes.
Why it's bad: It is "immune to all damage." No amount of damage breaks it.
Do this instead: Go around it, over it, or after the caster.
Why it's bad: "Nothing can physically pass through the wall." Your party's arrows, swords, and thrown weapons stop at the wall too.
Do this instead: Use the time to kill everything else. Then drop the wall when your party is ready for the trapped creature.
Why it's bad: Disintegrate's general rule is that it destroys a Large or smaller "creation of magical force" outright and only "a 10-foot-cube portion" of a Huge or larger one. Wall of Force has its own, narrower line: "A disintegrate spell destroys the wall instantly, however." That sentence addresses exactly this pairing, so it is the more specific rule, and the 2024 SRD states that when a specific exception and a general rule disagree, "the exception wins." A Disintegrate that hits the wall removes all of it, panels and all.
Do this instead: Treat one Disintegrate as the end of the wall, whatever its shape.
These are the 2014 rules. The 2024 changes are in their own section below.
The 2024 version is nearly identical. It is still a 5th-level evocation spell for Wizards, with a 120-foot range and up to 10 minutes of concentration.
The 2024 rules glossary defines teleportation: you "disappear and reappear elsewhere instantly, without moving through the intervening space." Nothing passes through the wall, so under 2024 rules a creature can teleport out of a sphere to a space it can see, and the invisible wall doesn't block sight. Misty Step works, and so does the 2024 lich's Deathly Teleport.
The 2024 stat blocks also change who uses it. The 2024 lich no longer has Disintegrate, but its teleports make it a poor target for a sphere. The 2024 phase spider's Ethereal Jaunt is a bonus action that "teleports" it to the Ethereal Plane, and the wall still blocks ethereal travel through it.
It creates an invisible wall, dome, or sphere within 120 feet for up to 10 minutes (concentration). Nothing can physically pass through it. It is immune to all damage, Dispel Magic can't remove it, and Disintegrate destroys it.
No. If the wall appears through a creature's space, you choose which side it ends up on. There is nothing for the creature to roll.
Yes. The wall is invisible, so creatures on both sides can see each other.
No. The spell says it can't be dispelled by Dispel Magic. Disintegrate destroys the whole wall, and ending the caster's concentration ends it.
Yes. A sphere or dome with a radius of up to 10 feet around a creature traps it with no save. A Large creature fits easily. The trapped creature can't target you with spells through the wall, because targeting needs a clear path. In 2024 it can still teleport out to a space it can see.
In 2024, yes. The rules glossary says teleporting doesn't move you through the intervening space, so a creature can teleport to a space it can see on the other side. In 2014 the spell and the rules are silent, so it is a DM ruling, not rules text.
Up to ten 10-by-10-foot panels, each touching another, or a dome or sphere with a radius of up to 10 feet. In every shape it is 1/4 inch thick.
Wizards, in both the 2014 and 2024 rules.
Citations: SRD 5.1 (2014 rules), SRD 5.2.1 (2024 rules)
Includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
This page includes material from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2.1 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Loreify is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast.
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