You are not correct.
OD&D Magic Missiles were autohit, in red box, blue box, and in Rules Cyclopedia.
True: what about in the classic white box original ed. (Or the blue box Holmes ed.?)
Cover and Concealment only apply a -2 or -5 penalty to attack rolls for ranged powers. Magic Missile ignores it because while it is a ranged power, it never rolls to attack.
HOWEVER
Line of Effect is necessary between the wizard and the target. And if the target is invisible, the wizard still has to target the creature by square. This can be very difficult if the target is hidden, and trivial if the target is not.
There is the Line of Sight issue. Also, what are the
odds that the new MM may be affected by future updates/errata to further affect new MM based on line of sight issues? With the manner and style of past updates/errata (esp. with the free actions revision of recent), I would not be surprised.
I'm still not crazy about the change to MM because it's in the "spirit" of the previous ed. versions of the spell. If it were truly in the spirit of the older editions of the spell, then:
- it'd have multiple missiles based on caster level (it'd need to be every 5 levels & not every tier);
- be an encounter power (because magic missiles were never an unlimited option; you could fill out your 1st-level spell slots with them, but that's it);
- be thwarted completely by the Shield utility (which would need to last until the end of the encounter or be a sustain minor instead of being an immediate interrupt that lasts until the end of your next turn);
- be "absorbed" by the Brooch of Shielding (which itself would only lasy until X amount of points were absorbed); and
- be thwarted by any form of the Globe of Invulnerability.
The fact that a decent at-will power that had good damage, good range, and could serve as a basic ranged attack for the wizard has been revised so it'd appeal more to older players is not a wise decision, IMHO. As it is, older players who want to have a game like the older edition will merely play the older edition of the game (OSRIC, Pathfinder, etc.). There are older players who like racial level limits, seperate XP progression for classes, save or die effects, split-XP advancement for multiclass characters, dual-classing for humans, etc.
Also, though it is good to mop up the board of minions, not every fight has minions. The damage output of the new mm can easily be thwarted by resistances, regeneration, & other effects that non-minions could/would have.
And, in that regard, why should only wizards have a new MM-like at-will power? Shouldn't every other controller have a similar option, to clean up minions like the wizard now can with new MM?
I don't mind MM having a to-hit roll, since it means it can potentially crit & it does more damage than the older version. Honestly, the game uses dice at its foundation: chance is going to be a factor in it regardless.
