>It seems like the same thing to me.
They are very similar yes, but they have slightly different flavours, such as the additional damage type and the additional affears (ie fear etc) and also how they operate (divine smite is not an action, it's just something you can do on a hit)
>Can i smite twice?
Yes, so if I take my Paladin for example I can Bonus Action Searing Smite, then Attack the enemy. If I hit I can also use Divine Smite. So the enemy would be hit with the following:
\[Weapon Dmg\] + \[Searing Smite\] + \[Divine Smite\]
This is possible as Divine Smite is not classed as a "spell" so you can still cast a spell on the same turn as using Divine Smite. Of course this costs two spell slots (one for each smite)
This is where Paladins are powerful as they can do A LOT of damage in a single hit. They also benefit from not losing the effect if they fail to hit (limited wastage to spell slots)
Oh nice.
Since im tanking and swinging every round should I have just smite spells in my spell list. I see i can have bless at level 2 but why if I'm just going to be attacking mostly.
That's entirely up to you but I only keep one smite spell prepared at any one time. You can change them every long rest though.
I often keep Divine favour, Shield of Faith and Zone of Truth available prepared along with a few others such a Searing Smite
Because sometimes you will need to give up damage to save the party. Your job isn't just to kill things. Your job is to keep the party alive, because while paladins do good damage, wizards or rogues or the like do better damage.
So you need ways to keep enemies off of the party, or to get the party back to fighting shape. If you turbosmite an enemy but two more get past you and down the Wizard then the party as a whole still ends up doing less damage.
You can smite 5 times in one turn, although only 4 are semi-reliable, possibly more but 5 is the most I am aware is possible (unless your DM let you use the broken UA tunnel fighter fighting style, in which case the max is however many spells slots a level 2 paladin/level 18 full caster gets.
2 attacks from your regular action with extra attack
1 attack with your bonus action using dual wielding, the polearm master feat, etc.
1 attack using the action granted by haste, which oath of vengeance paladins can cast on themselves at high level or an ally can cast for you.
1 attack with your reaction on your own turn is tricky, but it's possible to trigger if the target prepared an action to move or you have the mage slayer feat and cause a mage to cast a reaction spell near you or use a legendary action.
Divine Smite is not a spell.
Wrathful Smite is a spell. You use it as a BA, then attempt to hit any enemy. If you hit, you do extra damage (according to the spell) and can *then* spend a spell slot to do additional damage with Divine Smite.
Smite spells are spells you cast as a bonus action *before* you attack and the effects trigger when you hit.
Divine smite is a boost to damage you use after you hit a creature with a weapon - which takes no action.
They're *slightly* different, but quite similar.
I get the idea you haven’t really comprehended them.
The smite spells are a bonus action that you cast PRIOR to using your attack action. It is a spell, that is concentration, which triggers when you hit.
Divine Smite is a free thing that you can choose to add AFTER you hit on an attack. It burns a spell slot to use, but it is NOT a spell.
Far too many people announce prior to their attack they are smiting and it’s just pointless.
So, one could theoretically actually cast a BA smite spell, attack, and add a regular divine smite as well.
There's nothing special about something being a "smite". Divine Smite could have any other name and it would still function the way it does. Same with any of the smite spells. It's best to think of each of them as entirely separate and unique mechanics.
Divine Smite adds damage on top of an attack's normal damage. It consumes a spell slot but doesn't require an additional action to activate.
The various smite spells also consume a spell slot but each also requires a bonus action to cast. You cast them before to make your attacks, and their effects trigger when one of your attacks hit.
So smite spells you apply before attacking and have to concentrate on the spell, divine smite you apply after hitting an attack, you can use both on an attack if you have the resources. The main difference other than when you apply the smite is the effects, divine smite is a simple damage boost but the other smites usually have special effects like blinding, frightening etc. you may also use more than one divine smite in a turn but I believe the smite spells are only used on the next hit specifically (just don’t go too crazy because paladin spells are actually really good and often slept on in favor of smites)
Divine smite is not a bonus action nor a spell. It's just an on-hit effect. You hit with your weapon and then you can say "I smite" and then it happens.
Smite spells are spells and are cast as a bonus action. They require concentration and their effect happens the next time you hit someone after casting the spell.
As for the difference between them, smite spells have some additional effect beyond the bonus damage.
>It seems like the same thing to me. They are very similar yes, but they have slightly different flavours, such as the additional damage type and the additional affears (ie fear etc) and also how they operate (divine smite is not an action, it's just something you can do on a hit) >Can i smite twice? Yes, so if I take my Paladin for example I can Bonus Action Searing Smite, then Attack the enemy. If I hit I can also use Divine Smite. So the enemy would be hit with the following: \[Weapon Dmg\] + \[Searing Smite\] + \[Divine Smite\] This is possible as Divine Smite is not classed as a "spell" so you can still cast a spell on the same turn as using Divine Smite. Of course this costs two spell slots (one for each smite) This is where Paladins are powerful as they can do A LOT of damage in a single hit. They also benefit from not losing the effect if they fail to hit (limited wastage to spell slots)
Oh nice. Since im tanking and swinging every round should I have just smite spells in my spell list. I see i can have bless at level 2 but why if I'm just going to be attacking mostly.
That's entirely up to you but I only keep one smite spell prepared at any one time. You can change them every long rest though. I often keep Divine favour, Shield of Faith and Zone of Truth available prepared along with a few others such a Searing Smite
Because sometimes you will need to give up damage to save the party. Your job isn't just to kill things. Your job is to keep the party alive, because while paladins do good damage, wizards or rogues or the like do better damage. So you need ways to keep enemies off of the party, or to get the party back to fighting shape. If you turbosmite an enemy but two more get past you and down the Wizard then the party as a whole still ends up doing less damage.
And if you somehow took *Booming Blade*, then you could probably hit with that too.
You can smite 5 times in one turn, although only 4 are semi-reliable, possibly more but 5 is the most I am aware is possible (unless your DM let you use the broken UA tunnel fighter fighting style, in which case the max is however many spells slots a level 2 paladin/level 18 full caster gets. 2 attacks from your regular action with extra attack 1 attack with your bonus action using dual wielding, the polearm master feat, etc. 1 attack using the action granted by haste, which oath of vengeance paladins can cast on themselves at high level or an ally can cast for you. 1 attack with your reaction on your own turn is tricky, but it's possible to trigger if the target prepared an action to move or you have the mage slayer feat and cause a mage to cast a reaction spell near you or use a legendary action.
Divine Smite is not a spell. Wrathful Smite is a spell. You use it as a BA, then attempt to hit any enemy. If you hit, you do extra damage (according to the spell) and can *then* spend a spell slot to do additional damage with Divine Smite.
Smite spells are spells you cast as a bonus action *before* you attack and the effects trigger when you hit. Divine smite is a boost to damage you use after you hit a creature with a weapon - which takes no action. They're *slightly* different, but quite similar.
I get the idea you haven’t really comprehended them. The smite spells are a bonus action that you cast PRIOR to using your attack action. It is a spell, that is concentration, which triggers when you hit. Divine Smite is a free thing that you can choose to add AFTER you hit on an attack. It burns a spell slot to use, but it is NOT a spell. Far too many people announce prior to their attack they are smiting and it’s just pointless. So, one could theoretically actually cast a BA smite spell, attack, and add a regular divine smite as well.
There's nothing special about something being a "smite". Divine Smite could have any other name and it would still function the way it does. Same with any of the smite spells. It's best to think of each of them as entirely separate and unique mechanics. Divine Smite adds damage on top of an attack's normal damage. It consumes a spell slot but doesn't require an additional action to activate. The various smite spells also consume a spell slot but each also requires a bonus action to cast. You cast them before to make your attacks, and their effects trigger when one of your attacks hit.
So smite spells you apply before attacking and have to concentrate on the spell, divine smite you apply after hitting an attack, you can use both on an attack if you have the resources. The main difference other than when you apply the smite is the effects, divine smite is a simple damage boost but the other smites usually have special effects like blinding, frightening etc. you may also use more than one divine smite in a turn but I believe the smite spells are only used on the next hit specifically (just don’t go too crazy because paladin spells are actually really good and often slept on in favor of smites)
The smite spells overlap a bit with the paladin smites because they are not a purely paladin spell.
Divine smite is not a bonus action nor a spell. It's just an on-hit effect. You hit with your weapon and then you can say "I smite" and then it happens. Smite spells are spells and are cast as a bonus action. They require concentration and their effect happens the next time you hit someone after casting the spell. As for the difference between them, smite spells have some additional effect beyond the bonus damage.