For a lot of these spells, some lack of utility comes from their lack of implementation in 3-D space. They're simply surfaces in BG3. Meaning, if units wanted to bunny-hop out of them, they'd need to bunny-hop through difficult terrain. Not that fixing this would fix these spells, as Larian's fundamental design seeks to make them less useful at every turn. They all seem a casualty of making the Strength attribute 'more useful' and Larian's love of fire and explosions.
