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Message: <blockquote data-quote="evilbob" data-source="post: 9455060" data-attributes="member: 9789">This is why I tried to show a more reasonable example, as opposed to throwing around your entire stable of top-level spells with an oddly multi-classed character. I agree that compared to other top-tier evocation AOE spells vs. multiple targets, I think CME may not turn out too extreme in actual play. But where it completely blows away other spells is in single-target damage with spells that have a ton of attacks.Edit: Dangit, I just cannot remember that this spell is self-only!! Somehow that just doesn't make sense in my brain for an AOE spell. Let me update:Here's an 11th level wizard casting CME as a 6th level spell and then MM as a 5th level spell on a later round:CME adds +6d8 per attack. MM at 5th does 7 attacks, for +42d8. Total 7d4+7+42d8 = 255.5 avg damage.To put this in perspective, casting fireball as a 6th level spell is 11d6, or an average 49.5 damage (with a save for half). It's AOE, so ideally you get 2 or 3 targets - we'll say 3 targets for ~150 damage. That's still far less than the ~255 average damage from the 5th level magic missile (that cannot miss) empowered by CME, and which you can distribute damage much more evenly and effectively.Granted, this combo takes two spells, and the wizard could just cast fireball twice (once at 5th and once at 6th), and if they both hit at least 3 targets that's ~285 damage instead of 255 - which makes CME seem pretty reasonable compared to large AOEs that hit many targets. But bit AOEs are tactically situational, requiring targets to scale, and still doing a low(er) max to each individual target. The CME+MM combo does 255 avg damage to anywhere from 1 to 8 targets, and needs no situational targeting to reach maximum potential. It's not so much that the potential damage upper total is comparable, it's that you can do all of it to a single target. Even 6th level disintegrate only hits for an average of 85 damage (10d6+40) against a single target (and that target can save for zero damage). I don't think anything else can combo for such a tremendous single-target hit at that level.</blockquote>

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