Arcane Bolt v. Magic Missile

[zorlag]

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Naah, Color Spray is still useful at higher levels, it just doesn't rock. Stunning people in cone shaped area is still useful, especially if you are specialized in Illusion spells (rare thing, I know).

Z.

 

[Ferret]

If you take it against 2 people one with reflex save and one that fails.

5d6+5=35+17=52
5d4+5=25+25=50

If both fail then you have 35vs50, or 70vs 50

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I don't know about that. I've seen lots of high level casters using magic missile and glitterdust. (Those are still the primary offensive spells of my Living Greyhawk character (Ftr 2/Wiz 6/Spellsword 2); other high level casters I know of regularly use web at higher levels). I've also seen those same high level characters use Sleep (some of them were sorcerors) to bypass weak encounters without killing NPCs we wanted alive. (For instance, a guard at a door we had to get past or a bunch of moonrats carrying a beggar into the sewers).

The truth is, whether Wiz or Sor, most casters don't fiddle much with their low-level spells once they are more powerful. Atleast, not that I've seen.

IMC, we have a Sor8 who started w/ Sleep. He used this to great effect for several levels. WILL saves tend to be wimpy among CR1 grunts. He ruled low-level combat, even moreso than the Barbarian.

 

[Norfleet]

Magic Missile is life. It's probably one of the few 1st level spells you'd actually still USE on a regular basis.

Arcane Bolt, on the other hand, allows a saving throw, a major strike against it, as it automatically cuts its damage in half outright, because enemies never fail saving throws, and against enemies with evasion or improved evasion, it's beyond useless.

MM, however, is the ongoing plague of the reflex-enhanced, right up there with Acid Arrow, which will inflict a total of 14d4 in painful acid burning at max, which also has no save. No save is good.

 

[diaglo]

make sure you have a high Dex and/or weapon focus(ray) if you take arcane bolt at low level.

 

[JoeBlank]

Thanks to all for the helpful advice. I've decided on Magic Missile. I might have gone with Arcane Bolt if it was a Fort save, but the evasion factor with Reflex saves was just too much of a risk.

diaglo, the high Dex would not have mattered as AB is not a ranged touch attack. It is in all ways identical to MM except in the amount of damage and allowing the save, i.e. it automatically hits just like MM.

If anyone wants to see the results of their advice, the character can be found in diaglo's Rogues Gallery thread for Olgar Shiverstone's game, which I am joining.
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39052

 

[Ravellion]

You are aware of the Lesser Orb spells in Tome and Blood, which deal 1d8 elemental damage, fort half, Ranged Touch Attack?

 

[Lord Rasputin]

Wasn't arcane bolt the spell Wizards used in 3e playtests as a magic missile replacement, being as magic missile was too powerful?

If this is so, this is a hint as to which spell is better.

 

[Spatzimaus]

If this is so, this is a hint as to which spell is better.

As several people noted earlier, it's not necessarily about which is "better", it's about which is more appealing to the player. Arcane Bolt will do slightly more damage on average at low level (when less than half of the targets make a save) than MM will, and slightly less damage at high level (when more than half save), so it's not really a question of balance.

MM is just consistent, which is something magic rarely has going for it, so it's appealing to keep around long after it stops being your main damage source. Even at high level, someone with MM knows that they can tag the target for 15-20 points of damage, with only SR and the Shield spell to worry about. No messing around with attack rolls, saving throws, elemental resistances, DR, whatever. It's the perfect fallback spell (and a great spell to Quicken).

 

[maddman75]

I do recall one of the playtesters saying this was a possible replacement for Magic Missile (Piratecat IIRC). The problem wasn't the power level, but having to roll all those reflex saves every time you cast it.