Best Druid Spells By Level

I'm curious what people consider the best druid spells by level. I'm looking for official Paizo spells only, although they can be from the Core book, the Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Magic etc.

Here's what I'm asking for:

List your top one (1) spell per level. If it's from a Paizo hardcover other than the Core book, put APG, UM etc after the name.

Just list ONE spell per level

If you don't have one for a given level, leave it blank.

For instance (sample only, not my picks :)

1st Level: Entangle

2nd level: Barkskin

3rd level: Sleet Storm

4th level: Flame Strike

5th level: Fire Snake (APG)

6th level: Sirocco (APG)

7th level: Sunburst

8th level: Blood Mist (UM)

9th level: Storm of Vengeance

Lv0: Guidance
Lv1: Goodberry
Lv2: Flame Blade
Lv3: Call Lightning
Lv4: Flame Strike
Lv5: Awaken
Lv6: Iron Wood
Lv7: Creeping Doom
Lv8: Reverse Gravity
Lv9: Elemental Swarm

1st Level: Entangle (Cure Light Wounds close second)

2nd level: Barkskin

3rd level: Summon Nature's Ally III

4th level: SNA IV

etc. to 7th level: SNA VII. We never get beyond 14th level.

I currently have a 4th level Pathfinder Society Druid so I haven't gotten to all the high level spells yet, but here are my picks from personal experience and from my experience with other spellcasters in general...she is a casting-focused Druid with an animal companion, just to give you an idea of her build.

1: Produce Flame (targeting touch AC has saved us several times from high AC creatures)
2: Frigid Touch (UM) (touch AC again, good damage, inflicts Staggered condition and no save)
3: Greater Magic Fang
4: Strong Jaw (APG) (Flame Strike is up there too)
5: Threefold Aspect (APG)
6: Spellstaff

Past that I have not paid too much attention since PFS only goes to level 12.

detect magic
Entangle
restoration lesser or bark skin
sleet storm or SNA III
strong jaw
awaken
Sirocco
creeping doom
reverse gravity
Storm of Vengeance

Level 5 - SNA V: Summon a Cyclops which can auto-20 on any roll once per day. Including Bull Rush attempts.
Level 6 - Tar Pool is a pretty nice spell. Combo it with a Wall of Fire or Flamestrike.

My GM hates Stone Call, but I use it liberally. 2d6 to a whole bunch of foes, followed by a cleric with selective channeling. My favourite 2nd level spell, with Lesser Restoration a close second.

1st: Produce Flame, Great solid damage spell that you use for a long time
2nd: Barkskin, Either you or/and your animal companion will want this on.
3rd: Magic Fang Greater, This worth about 100,000 gold
4th: Air Walk, Superior Fly Spell
5th: Wall of Thorns, :D just try this one out
6th: Transport via Plants, Oh look druid teleport
7th: Creeping Doom, Army smasher. Can also be used with wall of thorns to eat people
8th: Earthquake, Collapse dungeons
9th: Shapechange, Oh look a class with decent BAB and strength gets access to Form of the Dragon III and a host of other forms. Yes please.

Well....
Level 1 - frost bite , a lot better than flame, it add effect fee no save.
Level 2/ bark skin or rime frost bite ( entangle, fatigue no save )
Another option is lock jaw, adding grab on some creature like earth elemental is great.
Level 3 greater magic fang
Lvl 4 strong jaw - almost game changer with hippo
Lvl 5 summon cyclop / even without augment summon the auto great axe crit with power attack is like a death spell no save ....
Another one is aspect if the wolf - extra trip action? Yes please.
Lvl 6 - summon dire tigers
Lvl 7 wind walk is amazing, heal as well.
Lvl 8 summon trex
Lvl 9 shapehange !!! No other spell

As someone who doesn't actually play a druid, but loves the wands...
1st Level: Longstrider!

Any newer spells worth adding here? I've been prepping commune with birds (1st), sickening entangle (2nd) and thorny entangle (3rd) daily with my urban druid. Just hit 7th, looking for my go to 4th level spell.

...and now I'm 10th level, any good new 5th level spells?

...and now I'm 10th level, any good new 5th level spells?

Not really; Wall of Thorns is still where it is at. If you get an Ectoplasmic Metamagic Rod the spell is also hilarious for ghost and/or incorporeal busting. Enjoy having to make a DC 20 strength check to move 5 feet when you have a strength modifier of 0.

Explosion of Rot is amazing at 4th level though. It's pretty much the ultimate blast spell as it does untyped damage and has a good rider effect too. The only downsides are the fairly limited blast area and it being close range.

Explosion of Rot looks perfect for my Urban Druid newly inducted into the Shades of the Uskwood, especially since we are heading somewhere tonight where conjuration spells don't work and we are fighting demons with resistance to numerous energy attacks. Thanks!

Vine Strike form Melee Tactics Toolbox is really good if you wildshape into a form with multiple natural weapons, like deinonychus. Also great for your pouncing AC. The best part is the opponent has to roll reflex save for each succesfull attack or be entangled!

It depends. Melee fetal druids hace diffeeent needs and goals than caster type fruids

Awaken , make your own people.
Bane-ploymorph - save or die.
Death ward ia handy.
Summon as saurian is supreme.

Threefold aspect is nice

Cure critical is late... But at least its there.

Also, dazing stone call is great control.

I just summon a lot...
Forgot, with a trait a rime quicken frostbite is a killer

Dazing Call Lightning is decent for a 6th, good for a 5th, and insane for a 4th. Magical Lineage and Wayang Spellhunter really make a lot of difference.

Animal Growth is pretty good if you have an animal companion and the room to maneuver.

Scrying is either useless or mandatory depending on the campaign in my experience.

It depends. Melee fetal druids hace diffeeent needs and goals than caster type fruids

This is very true and a pouncing druid is going to want different spells from a vital striking druid. Additionally the same druid will want different spells at different levels. A level 3 druid might like produce flame in her first level slots, but a level 13 druid probably doesn't see much attraction in it anymore and is going to go for longstrider or maybe frostbite with it's lack of a caster level cap.

With the advantages the Saurian Shaman Archetypes gives it, Summon Natures Ally is a candidate at each level.

For a wildshaping druid, mostly focusing in multiattack (tipically with pouncing), good spells are things like
Lockjaw, Vine Strike, Thorn Body, Strongjaw, Greater magic Fang, Atavism (with animal soul), Threefolded aspect...

For casting druids, focused in controlling the battlefield ("anvil" archetypes)
Entangle, Frostfall, Sleet Storm (specially with another movement impairing spell, like Ash Storm or Ice Storm or Shifting Sands), lot of rimed spells (Rime Frostbite, Rime Frigid touch), Rock to mud, Reverse Gravity.

With standard action summons, you can't go wrong with Summon Nature Ally spam

Some of my favorite core spells. I tried to avoid spells that are good but ubiquitous (Greater Dispel, Heal, True Seeing).

1. Barkskin
2. Entangle
3. Plant Growth
4. Air Walk
5. Wall of Thorns
6. Liveoak
7. Fire Storm
8. Earthquake
9. Summon Nature's Ally IX

Dazing Call Lightning is decent for a 6th, good for a 5th, and insane for a 4th. Magical Lineage and Wayang Spellhunter really make a lot of difference.

Animal Growth is pretty good if you have an animal companion and the room to maneuver.

Scrying is either useless or mandatory depending on the campaign in my experience.

Interesting... I hadn't considered the fact that Magical Lineage and Wayang Spellhunter appear to stack. Dazing stone call as a third level spell would be pretty serious, too...

Fire Seeds Holly Bombs plus resist energy fire. When you really want to blow up those Stone Golems

Gregory Connolly wrote:

Dazing Call Lightning is decent for a 6th, good for a 5th, and insane for a 4th. Magical Lineage and Wayang Spellhunter really make a lot of difference.

Animal Growth is pretty good if you have an animal companion and the room to maneuver.

Scrying is either useless or mandatory depending on the campaign in my experience.

Interesting... I hadn't considered the fact that Magical Lineage and Wayang Spellhunter appear to stack. Dazing stone call as a third level spell would be pretty serious, too...

I think flaming sphere works better than call lightning for this, as it takes a move action only. Ball lightning is even better (-4 to saves, multiple rolls) but your can't use wayang with it. So lvl 6-7

Dazing Call Lightning is decent for a 6th, good for a 5th, and insane for a 4th. Magical Lineage and Wayang Spellhunter really make a lot of difference.

Animal Growth is pretty good if you have an animal companion and the room to maneuver.

Scrying is either useless or mandatory depending on the campaign in my experience.

Call Lightning has an annoying 1 round cast time. If you want a persistent dazing spell effect then Dazing Aqueous Orb is a great battlefield sweeper spell. No use against undead or constructs but pretty much everything else is fair game.

Ice storm, rimed is super amazing for debuffing large groups.

Dazing flaming sphere/ ball lighting are great as well.

My saurian human shaman took :
Lvl 1:
Augument summon (and school focus).
Lvl3:
Rime spell (frost bite as main spell).
Lvl5:
natural spell (dm allow wild shape at lvl 4).
Lvl 7:
Planar wild shape (if malee hybrid) or dazing spell
Lvl 9: power attack free, quick wild shape
Lvl 11: divine interferance or dazing spell
Lvl 13: quicken spell, vital strike.

Gregory Connolly wrote:

Dazing Call Lightning is decent for a 6th, good for a 5th, and insane for a 4th. Magical Lineage and Wayang Spellhunter really make a lot of difference.

Animal Growth is pretty good if you have an animal companion and the room to maneuver.

Scrying is either useless or mandatory depending on the campaign in my experience.

Call Lightning has an annoying 1 round cast time. If you want a persistent dazing spell effect then Dazing Aqueous Orb is a great battlefield sweeper spell. No use against undead or constructs but pretty much everything else is fair game.

It has a one round cast time, but it lasts a while. You can cast it outside the door and have it running when you get in, and then call it down as a standard action even if grappled or threatened.

I find more problematic the standard action activation.
Flame sphere for example is mover action. You could cast another spell, and move your flame sphere, por make an attack (fir example with a grapple build, or a vital strike build) and then use move action to daze someone else.
Aquaous sphere also is good for this.

The call lightning advantage is that it doesn't have a limited movement rate like flaming sphere. You can hit an enemy anywhere in range and then hit another enemy anywhere else in range.

Call Lightning also works well if you wildshape into an Air Elemental to whirlwind.

So far for my mid level half-orc Druid:

1: Shillelagh!
2: Animal Aspect (ultimate I need this movement aid)
3: Call Lightning (most frequent natural spell - rain down while in bird/air elemental form)
4: Freedom of Movement

I can't do it. I know the rules say to list one, but I can't. Yell at me if you have to, I'm making two lists...I'm also avoiding the obvious ones that everyone else has already mentioned
0 = Create Water (Detect Magic already mentioned)
1 = Snowball (PotN)
2 = Tar Ball(UM) - No save or resistance -2 to DEX
3 = Mad Monkeys(UM) - Damaged, nauseated, deafened and disarmed all at the same time?? Yes please.
4 = Geyser (APG) - Use in a cave or indoors. They take fire damage, hit the celing and take falling damage, hit the floor and take falling damage. I like it (Air Geyser is a 3rd level I like too, same idea)
5 = Firesnake(APG)
6 = Live Oak
7 = Changestaff
8 = Reverse Gravity
9 = Elemental Swarm

0 = Enhanced Diplomacy (Taldor: EoG)
1 = Longstrider
2 = Wood Shape - This spell is so friggin' useful.
3 = Stone Shape - Like Wood Shape but generally even more useful.
4 = Freedom of Movement - Long Duration, and ultimate defense, a little situational, but don't leave home without it.
5 = Baleful Polymorph - This is just funny when it works.
6 = Ironwood (with Wood Shape)
7 = Transmute Metal to Wood (combine with Wood Shape or Warp Wood)
8 = Repel Metal or Stone
9 = Shapechange

3rd level is VERY hard for me: Greater Longstrider, Call Lightning, Greater Magic Fang, Meld into Stone, and Resist Energy, Communal are all amazing to me.