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<blockquote data-quote="nameless" data-source="post: 1599488" data-attributes="member: 1543">I think this is said fairly often, but really not true. Sure, it has no save, but 5d6 does about 17 damage on average. At 7th level, that is the same as a non-critical hit from a barbarian. That is to say, a wizard's most powerful offense should probably have some upside compared to a single hit from the tank... otherwise why bother? The tank isn't running out of swings anytime soon. Against rogues, a wizard is much better off with Evard's Black Tentacles to grapple, or some mind-affecting spell (Phantasmal Killer, Suggestion, or Hold Person come to mind).It does damage over a full round, which is nice to disrupt spellcasters, but there are plenty of ways to disrupt spellcasters, and a lot that are lower level do just as good a job.Doing hit point damage is important to beat the tanks, but it's usually better to impair the fighter-types, since they fight just as well at 100 hp as at 1 hp.My point is this: yeah, Ice Storm does some stuff that can be useful. But it doesn't fill any niche, nor is it versatile enough to just be thrown out willy-nilly. Spell slots are valuable commodities, wasting a level 4 spell when a level 2 spell will do (especially when level 4 spells are the heavy-hitters) can really screw a wizard over.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="nameless, post: 1599488, member: 1543"] I think this is said fairly often, but really not true. Sure, it has no save, but 5d6 does about 17 damage on average. At 7th level, that is the same as a non-critical hit from a barbarian. That is to say, a wizard's most powerful offense should probably have some upside compared to a single hit from the tank... otherwise why bother? The tank isn't running out of swings anytime soon. Against rogues, a wizard is much better off with Evard's Black Tentacles to grapple, or some mind-affecting spell (Phantasmal Killer, Suggestion, or Hold Person come to mind). It does damage over a full round, which is nice to disrupt spellcasters, but there are plenty of ways to disrupt spellcasters, and a lot that are lower level do just as good a job. Doing hit point damage is important to beat the tanks, but it's usually better to impair the fighter-types, since they fight just as well at 100 hp as at 1 hp. My point is this: yeah, Ice Storm does some stuff that can be useful. But it doesn't fill any niche, nor is it versatile enough to just be thrown out willy-nilly. Spell slots are valuable commodities, wasting a level 4 spell when a level 2 spell will do (especially when level 4 spells are the heavy-hitters) can really screw a wizard over. [/QUOTE]

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