poor rational for "updating" Magic Missile?

[Mythtify]

Caveat: I enjoy 4e, but do not play it as much as other games

I was looking through the July Update, and was frustrated by the reasoning behind the update of Magic Missile. The given reason:
"This update reflects an effort to retore the power to its classical form."

4e is 2 1/2 years along, and they decide they like the way that maigc missile used to be better than the way they designed it for 4e? That seems like a bogus reason to go changing the rules this far along. There wasn't any problem to be fixed with magic missile, they just wanted to go back to the old way. If this is an exceptable reason to change the rules, then pretty much anything goes.

Is, "we like it the old way" a good enough reason to change a rule that isn't "broken"? It seems to me that changing a rule "just because" can cause frustration with players.

 

[Nifft]

"Rationale".

Also: yeah, quite a few people are puzzled by this decision. MM wasn't broken, and the new version doesn't fix anything.

Perhaps they just now came up with a way to allow auto-damage that they felt wasn't breakable, but even so, they didn't need to take away the non-broken original version (which my Wizard was rather fond of using...)

Cheers, -- N

 

[Oldtimer]

Is, "we like it the old way" a good enough reason to change a rule that isn't "broken"?

Absolutely not! This is one of the most stupid moves WotC has made in 4e.

And "the classical form" of MM? That would be "a conjured missile equivalent to a magic arrow", i.e. +1 to hit and 1d6+1 damage. None of that newfangled AD&D stuff. Auto-hit? Bah!

 

[Scribble]

Yeah... lots of people are puzzled by that one.

I think the real reason might be that the auto-hit missile might play nicer with the new essentials class variant.

Maybe we'll know more on Friday when we see the (one of the?) build.

 

[Dungeoneer]

The 4e Magic Missile as it stood was fairly under-powered, in the sense that there were better things that people always took instead. Yet it is supposed to be one of THE iconic Wizard spells.

I think the change is definitely due to the essentials, which are among other things reaching out to old-school players who haven't made the leap to 4e. Giving them a Magic Missile that looks like the one they're familiar with isn't a bad idea. Giving everyone else a Magic Missile that they might actually choose is not a bad one either.

If you prefer the old Magic Missile you can certainly still use it.

 

[circadianwolf]

The 4e Magic Missile as it stood was fairly under-powered, in the sense that there were better things that people always took instead. Yet it is supposed to be one of THE iconic Wizard spells.

This is even more true than it was before, though. The new version is decent damage at heroic but pretty terrible at anything above (and of course doesn't have any controller effects).

 

[UngeheuerLich]

it kills a minion when needed... clear a path guaranteed... kill a near dead foe without chance of failure... this is a strng power in the right situation! I.e.: when you need a kill desperately!

 

[Piratecat]

I love it. I'm not so sure about changing it with errata, since it wasn't actually broken, but I (and my players) vastly prefer the new version.

 

[Dice4Hire]

My main problem with MM is it emphazizes thge whole "What is an attack" Does XXX add to damage all the time, or only when there is an actual damage roll" confusion.

Overall, I think it is a strong option, as auto damage can kill a badly wounded critter, or a minion, and as a RBA, the warlord cna help it be used miltiple times a turn.

 

[Nifft]

This is even more true than it was before, though. The new version is decent damage at heroic but pretty terrible at anything above (and of course doesn't have any controller effects).

Exactly. The old version had some uses, and I never regretted taking it (... albeit as a human who had access to two other at-wills).

The old version was a bit underpowered, but had its place, for example if your party lacked a dedicated ranged attacker, or if your party had a Leader who handed out a lot of (ranged) basic attacks.

Cheers, -- N