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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MrMyth" data-source="post: 5423643" data-attributes="member: 61155">Just to clarify, that's why I made my comparisons to the numbers you had already used. My point there was mainly that the more optimized a character becomes, the less useful Magic Missile is for them. (And, partly tied to that, the same goes in general as a character goes up in level.)  Except, again, none of your examples actually show a situation in which Magic Missile is truly better than most other At-Wills.  I understand the logic you are offering - if an enemy is already bloodied and is close to death, the guarantee of finishing him off makes MM the best choice. But an enemy being exactly at or below 7 or 8 hp is a pretty small range, even at low levels. I'm not sure I'm sold on the suggestion that you have an enemy precisely at that point in one in every three rounds. You've claimed that is your experience, and that's fair enough; I'm nonetheless not ready to call that typical. Armchair aside, I've certainly played and run in tons of games - even without Magic Missile being present, it is usually noticeable when an enemy hovers in single digit hp, and it certainly hasn't been as common in my games as it has been in yours.  I think there will be times when that is the case, sure. But there will be plenty of other times when an enemy is at 11 hp, and another At-Will would be the better option.   It's that 'every time' that is really where my disagreement lies. Sure, there is a hypothetical example where your allies start of combat by dropping a foe to single digit hp, and MM is a great thing to have on hand, rather than casting a spell that misses and wastes your action. But there is also the hypothetical scenario where your MM then leaves him with a few hp left, and was also a wasted action. The idea that 1/3 of the times, you've got lingering enemies precisely in the right range - and that you always have an excellent sense for that, and can use something else if they are a few hp higher - just doesn't mesh with how I've usually seen things play out.  And, honestly? I'd rarely expect to see a wizard breaking out MM on round 1 - if you've got one injured enemy and several other foes, now is probably when you should be breaking out your multi-target powers.  My claim isn't that Magic Missile is bad, remember. My disagreement was with your claim that MM is so good that a wizard who isn't using it 1 out of every 3 rounds is playing badly. And I really haven't seen any examples thus far to back up that claim.  Again, Magic Missile is especially useful in the right scenarios. Just... not the ones you've really mentioned. For less optimized characters, it is on par with most other At-Wills. It is a useful tool to have on hand in the right situations.  But something that every good wizard should be casting 1/3 of the time? Not even remotely.</blockquote>

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