I am saying that - yes. This is a situation in which negative feedback from people in the short term would likely not change the course.Your saying that if the polling came back where a huge portion of the fanbase was against it, that WOTC would just keep it in "because"?
Like not only have we only seen one playtest document, we haven't even heard the survey feedback from that that playtest yet. We are 100% in the dark here, I wouldn't be surprised by anything at this point.
Aberrant Minds are an exception/outlier since they can output dramatically more Silvery Barbs than any other caster except maybe a Diviner. Their willingness to use the spell is going to be much higher than average.You're a 10th level Aberrant Mind Sorcerer.
No, SB is not a complete con. Buying a lottery ticket is stupid, because the odds are appallingly bad. Silvery Barbs doesn't have much chance of changing the outcome, but it's not as bad as buying a second lottery ticket, even with a huge discount.you are buying a lottery ticket.
I play one ... and rarely cast it. I selected it as an example because I am doing it right now.Aberrant Minds are an exception/outlier since they can output dramatically more Silvery Barbs than any other caster except maybe a Diviner. Their willingness to use the spell is going to be much higher than average.
The only time my bladesinger with this spell went down is when she cast it to uncrit a crit and subsequently got hit a bunch by several enemies. She might have survived all that if she had eaten the crit and used shield on one of the later hits.On Silvery Barbs:
You finish your turn. You're a 10th level Aberrant Mind Sorcerer and have this spell via your class feature. Enemies are going. The first thing that happens is a huge beater rolls a critical hit when attacking the cleric (with a lot of dice) . Do you cast this spell to negate the crit and perhaps the hit overall - or do you wait to see if you need your reaction for something else. What are the chances you'll want to cast a shield spell? Or use warcaster to cast a spell? Or counterspell?
Spellcasters have a lot of uses for reactions ... this is competing with a lot of good stuff.
The math here is way simpler than people are making it out to be. In fact, you don't really need math at all.
When you cast a "save or X" spell on a single target*, you are buying a lottery ticket. If you win, you get to hit the target with X; if you lose, you get nothing. The odds of winning depend on the save DC and the monster's bonus. For this lottery ticket, you pay a spell slot of whatever level plus an action.
If you lose, silvery barbs gives you the option to buy another ticket--same odds, same payoff--but the cost is a reaction and a 1st-level spell slot. Generally speaking, "reaction plus 1st-level spell slot" is a much lower price than "action plus N-level spell slot." And on top of that, you get to hand out advantage to an ally even if you lose! If the first lottery ticket was worth buying, then the second one is a steal. If the second one isn't worth buying, then the first was really stupid, and you need to get better at deciding when to use save-or-X spells.
Personally, I think silvery barbs is a no-brainer at any significant level. I was getting use out of it even at low levels. But that's based on my experience in my playgroup.