Magic Missile can be one of the best blast spells in Dnd 5e! - Advanced guide to Magic Missile
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- Опубликовано: 2 июн 2022
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Video Error: I say dpr and show dpr for everything when it's actually average damage, I went pretty much autopilot in everything by mistake. I didn't notice it until upload and someone pointed it out. Sorry for being dumb.
I also want to give a shout out to Tabletop builds because they recently made an article on the Hexvoker build!
tabletopbuilds.com/hexvoker-s...
The Video is Sponsored by Only Crits: www.onlycrits.com/gatortactics
Please check them out and if you like what you see, use the coupon code Gator for 15% discount!
What's the difference when you can cast one Magic Missile per round?
I mean, the spell can only be used once per round and always hits, so its average damage is its DPR.
@@demi-femme4821 Kobold also mentioned spells like shatter which aren’t guaranteed full-damage hits
How is this comment from 11 days ago if the video just came out!?
@@chloebehnke6167 I once used Shatter to 1-hit a clockwork dragon.
Party on a 'Hard mode' campaign: starts making death saving throws
The DM who wasn't kidding: so anyways, I started blasting.
This is how I died recently.
I went unconcious.
DM: The Hag casts Magic Missile on you. You loose Death Save.
Me: Nah mate, I'm gon.
DM: Wait What?
Me: 3 darts - 3 failed Deah Saves. Yup, I'm gone :D
DM: ... ohshit... :D
@@DemoBytom Did that to a Paladin a year ago. Hag made a threat to try and halt combat. Party didn't listen so she finished off the Paladin.
I was playing in a campaign that the DM warned us was gonna be pretty difficult and one of the newer guys to DnD put himself in a pretty bad spot and got jumped by a cultist and a hellhound. Went down and the hellhound started eating him, we eventually won that fight and no one else died (but we were all low) but new guy had to roll up a new character, I think he was a sorcerer and switched the Cleric (looking back he mighta done that to have access to a ton of radiant damage and healing).
I’ve seen most DMs rule that magic Missile counts as 1 source of damage when multiple shots from a single casting target 1 creature (usually with roles reversed when we’re fighting enemies the DM has make death save, to stop us from finishing them off with a single magic missile)
At the end of our campaign there was an epic battle and in order to close portals we had to hit them a number of times (damage for each hit did not matter, purely the number of times hit.) I cast magic missile and closed one portal instantly, and soon enough we realized since it's guaranteed hits , the range is great, and the fact I could split up the darts to use them efficiently, I quickly spent nearly every round after that smashing portals as soon as possible. Upcasting the spell even was useful since all we were concerned about was the number of darts, and I was pretty frequently able to close multiple portals in one turn, giving my team time to focus on the enemies that spawned from them. I felt great.
Its become one of the signature spells of my arcana cleric. I've dumped 5th level spells into magic missiles to guarantee a key creature goes down.
Raw hits only creatures. Can’t harm objects. This is a major part of the lore as it is supposed to move through armour and all instructions to magically hit its target. In earlier editions it explicitly stated this now it just says ‘hits a creature of your choice’.
So unless you homebrew to change it it actually ONLY hits creatures.
This is also true for lots of damaging cantrips including; sacred flame, acid splash, thunderclap,toll the dead,eldritch blast, etc.btw.
In fact firebolt is one of the only ones RAW that can target anything!
Feel free to homebrew I do in my campaigns I just feel people should know How it says it works.
So as long as the GM is willing to change how all these spells work it’s fine; but everyone should know it’s homebrew for ‘this campaign’ and build and play their characters accordingly.
@@valasafantastic1055 It was... uh... hitting the creatures *in* the portal and the magic interacting with the portal destabilized it! Or something? idk there's probably a way to make it work
@@valasafantastic1055 this was a game that happened, not an idea they were positing. Obviously not strict RAW game.
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In my head canon mages got fed up with their concentration getting interrupted by Magic Missiles so they developed Shield to counter that inconvenience. The +5 AC was just a positive side effect.
According to lore, Magic Missiles, Shield and Mage Armor were created or comissioned by the same mage. Although unlikely, that COULD be a possibility :P
@@Synavis this mage was the first optimizer
Hilarious 😂 I love this idea
@@Synavis "Yeah remember that magic missile spell I talked to you about? Hurts like a bitch, I want countermeasures"
@@Synavis Well, they are all force effects, so it's plausible.
"Just say you have amnesia. Then the DM has to think of things."
As a DM, this is a level of optimization that goes TOO FAR!
Yeah, that line made me twitch just a bit. lol
Ironically though. This can lead to very good storytelling in some cases.
Every player I've had who said "I have amnesia", has regretted it. If you put your backstory in my hands, you will always be actively hunted by AT LEAST 1 faction, have offended several NPCs in the past, and owe several people money.
And all players have died a gruesome death (if they are lucky) as a result of their backstory.
Mind you all my players also said that the story was awesome and I didn't force them into a bad place, they just learned that "amnesia" for me is license to make their character a tragic character
@@TheJPKaram I'm suddenly thinking about the protagonist from Disco Elysium. lol
@@WhatKindOfNameNow Lol yeah - this is exactly the reason I love it when players give me agency over parts of their backstory through something like amnesia. From it comes the most wack shit, make you a horrible person and such in the past, and legit force you to face the horrible things you've done much like Harry/Ambrosius from Disco Elysium, or the Nameless One in Planescape: The Torment
One time my little halfling wizard was grappled by a giant spider and so the DM said that I had disadvantage on attack rolls. I looked at him and said, " Do I" as I cast Magic Missile.
I can practically feel the tiny sass from that character.
Well, yes you do. You would have had disadvantage on magic missile too if it didn't specify 'guaranteed hits'.
@@reson8 Casting spell not considered as attack action if people who said it are right
@@skell6134 A character can do many things with their action, and according to the players' handbook (pages 192 and 202) most spells take an action to cast. If the spell you cast has the potential to cause harm (ie: the target has to take a saving throw) then it's an attack. There is no 'attack action' but you can attack by using your action.
@@reson8 Ye,i just saying that some people think that spells casting cant be considered as attack
Quick note: Empowered Evocation reads "you can add your Intelligence modifier to **one** damage roll of any wizard evocation spell you cast." This only buffs the Magic Missile spell if you roll once for the damage for all darts. If you're rolling multiple times, they are counted as multiple damage rolls for a single spell, and you can only add your Intelligence modifier to one of those rolls.
Make sure your DM allows you to roll once for the damage for all Magic Missile darts before you go for Empowered Evocation.
Good advice in general, but it is RAW that you roll only once so it's not unreasonable to expect them to allow it unless they previously ruled against it.
@@DivusMagus at least it's good for finishing downed
@@DivusMagus good thing magic missile can be upcast and force is the least resisted damage type of all for higher level creatures.
@@BeaDSM You are technically correct (the best kind of correct) - but I think it's good general advice that "If a key portion of your build relies on your DM having the same rule interpretation as you, maybe buy them a beer and discuss it beforehand - just in case".
@@DivusMagus looking from damage value A to B on average will very much give other spells an edge at higher level, you are correct. But you have to look at the whole picture, by level 11 your encounter chance for creatures resistant or immune to many of the damage types becomes far more lively. In edition many of those creatures gain excellent stats or abilities that benefit them to avoiding spells that have a DC save tied to them. Cantrips are a bigger risk than magic missile as their damage is all or nothing.
Baring magical items, at level 11 the highest your save DC can be is 17, and the to hit would be +9, both are equally impressive numbers but there are still dice rolls attached to see if the attack succeeds or fails. Which is to say nothing of the fact that by level 11 you are far more likely to encounter creatures with Legendary Risistances. As stated by someone before, magic missile is a good chip damage spell and it also doesn't require you to have additional feats to cast of in a situation that forces you within 5 feet of any hostile entity.
Unless an opponent has shield, or one of the few items that also gain the immunity to magic missiles, that spell will always hit and deal damage.
The feat 'mage slayer' is a great counter mage option to stack with magic missile. The second point of mage slayer gives disadvantage to the enemy spellcaster's concentration checks, when you deal damage to them. No restrictions on range or how that damage needs to be delivered.
The problem is that many creatures that used spells now have spell like abilitys so mage slayer got a big nerf recently
I would say that is DM discretion. The feat is introduced like this: "You have practiced techniques useful in melee combat against spellcasters, gaining the following benefits:", which indicates that all of the following benefits only work while in melee with the caster.
@@fendelphi That's really just flavor-text. Sure, it applies to the first and third bullet which specifically only mentions applying if you're within 5 feet of the caster. If the disadvantage on concentration was supposed to be limited to damage from melee attacks, it would specify that like other features that specify melee attacks. If the second bullet was supposed to only apply to melee situations, it would have said so like the other two bullets specifically do.
@@Ryo_Hakuron It is only flavour to the same degree as Mounted Combatant or Ritual Caster descriptions are "flavour". It adds circumstance to how to use the feat(must be mounted on the mount and not incapacitated, must be holding the ritual book in hand, when engaging casters in melee). Your DM can always rule that all forms of damage counts, but then it works both ways(enemy mage or ranged villain with Mage Slayer will mess up your party's concentration).
If the "flavour" was to not be restricted to melee, it would simply have said "You have practiced techniques useful in combat against spellcasters". But melee was specified, so a lot of DMs would rule it as such.
@@fendelphi And, as I said, if the second bullet was intended to be restricted to melee, it would have specified that as the other two bullet points did. The fact it specifically does not state melee attacks, means it applies to all sources of damage that you cause, both ranged, melee, or save-based.
Same reason why Crossbow Expert and Gunner extend some of their benefits to all ranged attacks and not just specific weapons. Mounted Combatant, as you stated, specifies when you get the benefits. Mage Slayer's benefits are not written the same way. They are purposely written so each bullet has its own separate conditions or trigger.
Mage Slayer is niche and weak enough as is, especially with the newer spell-like abilities that are coming out.
Magic Missile can also be incredibly useful against charm effects that are repeated when the target takes damage. You can split your shots to hit the barbarian and fighter that failed their saves to give them another roll, and toss the last one at the enemy.
I would not have thought of that! Nice.
This is exactly how our Wizard countered half the party being stupefied by hypnotic pattern, since it ends when you take damage
I actually have done this but instead of doing it to force a saving throw I hit the barbarian to allow them to stay in rage since they had missed their last attack and the enemies were all making attacks on the parties dumbass rogue who despite claiming to be the most experienced player ran straight at the bandits and stabbed one of them before they could finish telling us to empty our pockets. This player had a habit of throwing himself on the frontlines and staying right in front of them despite having the mobile feat and would then blame the rest of us when he dropped because we apparently weren't holding our weight. Eventually our cleric decided she wouldn't heal him anymore because he was always an ass.
@@blackwingdragonmasta If you miss an attack you have still "attacked." This lets you keep rage. You shouldn't have needed that.
@@dylanmcloughlin2187 that's not how rage even works.
Wand of Magic Missile is my go-to magic item in any campaign. I love having a stockpile of them to the point that it's become a meme of me always having a gatling gun made out of 6 Wands of Magic Missile.
Goblin:Hey what's that?
*man flying with Flight of the valkyrie playing and a mage hand, holding Wand Of magic missle*
For a campaign who's theme was 'magitech' back in 3.5, I had a nations advanced weapon described as:
"Imagine a staff of magic missile. Now picture eight of them arranged around a central vein. That vein is the Channel Staff* into which casters pour their energy or a mage vault** empties. As your assistant cranks the handle, the staves rotate and the user picks out targets. The more targets you can keep in mind, the more efficient it will be. The outer housing around the staves should keep anything from getting jammed this time."
It was quite literally a magic missile Gatling weapon, and it's effect on the 'test' horde of goblins was suitably chilling for the players. In large part because they assumed it would work like a gun, you know, with attack rolls, or a spell with saves. Instead it just cranked out Magic Missile spells, and each time it 'fired' if you didn't set the limiter, it was one level of spell higher, until it worked up fully and emptied it's supply (or basically any mage fueling it) in a round or two.
I had an awful lot of fun describing the sheer carnage they produced when they used it. The single Goblin Shaman left behind, protected by the humble Shield spell was too traumatized to even act and they put it out of it's misery. Think of a scene out of the worst of Passchendaele or Verdun. 'Corpses like leaves in autumn, blood turning the earth to ruddy mud and a sickening silence only broken by a pleading little voice you can't understand.' or something to that effect.
* Channel Wands were an outgrowth of Eternal Wands, and led to Channel Staves. Throw lower levels of magic spells in, it his a threshold, get a specific bigger spell back out. The implications of this for warfare and industry were wild and frightening even without...
** Mage Vaults are essentially magical capacitors/batteries and allow you to de-facto store spell slots/spells a day or even cantrips (at horrible exchange rate) up as magical energy to pour into something else. Trying to empty a Mage Vault into a person was always a disaster, but it made magic portable, storing significant Lumins*** with little loss per day.
*** Lumins were the unit of measurement for magic, 1 Lumin was enough magic for a Light spell, hence the name.
Similarly to the rule with concentration, this also applies to death saving throws. A downed target with a first level Magic Missile is a guaranteed death.
Not true. Death saving throws don't care about separate sources like concentration saving throws do. The missiles are simultaneous, so it's one damage instance.
@@derekstein6193 That's not how it works, you can rule it like that, but it is completely illogical. "Whenever you take damage while you are concentrating on a spell, you must make a Constitution saving throw."
And
"If you take damage from multiple sources, such as an arrow and a dragon’s breath, you make a separate saving throw for each source of damage."
Magic Missile hits all darts simultaneously, therefore it counts as a single source of damage. You don't roll a separate throw for every teeth of a trident, or a monk that punched you with both arms at the same time, you count it as a single hit. For something to count as different sources they need to happen in intervals, not at the exact same fraction of a second.
@@CharroArgentino Crawford made this line of thinking possible by trying to tell people Magic Missile provokes a seperate concentration check for each dart that strikes a target.
@@derekstein6193 Side note there is a difference between Magic Missiles bolts hitting "simultaneously" as in, magically ordained rules defined they hit as one instance. And two attacks proc at the same time, those two attacks are different instances since even though they have the same proc they technically speaking happen at different time intervals.
A close approximation is that with a flame sword, technically speaking the fire and the sword deal damage separately but they are counted as once instance since of course they do. Though technically with the line of thinking you are having with magic missile flame swords and other magical additional damage should also proc multiple concentration saves which is not the worst idea.
@@SuperParkourio 3 magic missile bolts are logically the same as someone being hit by a trident. Three wounds three different points. They both happen instantaneously. It is one damage roll, one spell. Plus imo it's illogical/unfair that a 1st level magic missile instantly kills someone but a fireball that is much more powerful centered on a downed character does not. I can understand the concentration part but i would not count it like that for death saving throws especially because this is a DM only "advantage" since (as it should be) most monsters and some npcs don't use death saves and so this only affects players (and in a way that isn't even fun or logical. You really think a downed lvl 12 fighter that survived dragons would instantly die by one cast of magic missile by a minion enemy mage? I know this situation is not really common but c'monn)
I have done this with a Scribe Wizard instead. I can target specific weaknesses by switching elements from force to whatever they are weak to. Like we fought something weak against fire and I just doubled my magic missile damage.
EDIT: The biggest enemy of magic missile pew pew wizard is the flameskull. They have the shield spell, and are immune to fire (no firebolt and fireball for you), also resist the common elements.
The problem is that not many 5e monsters are actually vulnerable to anything. Its common to have 1 or 2 resistances or immunities, but this edition didn't include many vulnerabilities at all.
Force is objectively the strongest damage type if you don't know what you're going to be fighting. There is little reason to switch off it. And Evocation wizards make the magic missiles do more damage.
I am currently running a Scribes Nerd with Elemental Adept: Cold (not optimal I know, but it makes sense for flavor reasons) and she is a MENACE. Guaranteed 9 damage at 2nd level, no save, no AC. I *love* consistency.
I still remember the day I killed a mid boss with a magic surge magic missile while I was casting magic missile as a sorcerer.
It was glorious
Nothing I didn't know for once! I feel like I'm starting to be a real rules lawyer now.
Sarcasm aside, I love how informative and thorough this video was. This is an excellent resource for players and DMs alike to explore this spell's mechanics, as it's been around for a very long time and has quite the history throughout various editions, which can of course lead to edition bleed where people misremember rules from an edition they're not currently playing.
Nice thing about using magic missile against monsters with shield is that those same casters will probably have counterspell. So you can burn their reaction with one spell or the other, and have somebody else hit them with an even bigger spell
Oooh damn, nice teamwork
In which case two levels of fighter for action surge could def help
rarely optimal@@Obsi399
Magic missile is great when you need guaranteed damage.
Ir when you need to do the most damage. Nuclear Wizard, baby!
Pathfinder 1, our OP please nerf rogue was possessed his AC was 44 and his saves were godly. Our fighter had to hit out the wazoo and nearly brought him down. There was a stupid argument about magic items counting as spells for proc'ing one of his features. I won that argument and survived, barely. He was gloating that their was nothing I could do to him. "I cast magic missile" "shit, I forgot he could do that." Magic Missile won the day at level 13.
Honestly I'm so glad pathfinder is behind me now.
Which is surprisingly often tbh
Well... yeah... and feather fall is great for when you're falling
Unless your DM puts Force Immunity on everything just to make an enemy harder...
If you're a goblin wizard, once per short rest you can use Fury of the Small and add your character level to the damage roll. Ultimate boss killer. At level 11 as described in this video, you're getting 2.5+1+5+4+11=23.5 *per dart*, so make that 5th level magic missile casting deal 164.5 on average and slay dragons to your hearts content.
Holy shit. This is so optimized. I love it. With this, I can destroy anything my DM throws at me. Thank you so much. 😁
Fury of the Small only adds to the total damage, not the damage roll. Read the feature closely.
Forcing a enemy to Take 3 concentration Checks guaranteed is relevenat at(edit: almost) all lvls of Play.
Many high CR spellcaster enemys have 1-2 insane high lvl spells that have concentration and Change the entire Fight. Almost guaranteeing it to instantly Stop that is massive
Edit: as Said in the comments only exception would be the very high lvls where spellcasters get sich high Bonus on concentration Checks that increasing the DC by dealing a huge amount of damage is better(Concentration Check DC = half the damage Dealed or 10 If less then 10)
So dealing 50 damage in 1 Punch gives the spellcaster a DC of 25 on the concentration
I would disagree its relevant at ALL levels. Eventually you run into stuff with a +9 con save or higher, plus dealing more damage might be of higher value since it might be more likely to break concentration.
Still agree its relevant for the VAST majority if the game, especially the levels people actually play at.
I think it depends on how your DM interprets the "each source" from the Concentration rules and the "simultaneously" from the spell description. Personally, I consider the damage from MM a single source since it's one spell where the missiles strike *simultaneously* instead of consecutively like the beams from Eldritch Blast or Scorching Ray. Therefore, since it's one source causing one instance of damage it causes ONE concentration check or failed Death saving throw, not three.
@@Siennarchist OK thats a Fair Point
At that Point you Want to Deal 20+ damage to increase the DC of the saving throw.
@@MethosJK9 He mentioned in the Video thats its 3 concentration Checks.
And i personally Rule it Like that to and i would assume so would Most Dms.
But yes some Dms May Rule it differently
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Best instance I had in casting Magic Missile was back in 3.5E. The DM had a naga hiding within a darkness spell area (we didn't know what the creature was before we initiated combat btw,) and it was taunting us and talking down at us. However, the DM made one very clear mistake: we could see through the dark area that the creature's eyes were glowing red. So I cast Magic Missile, and the DM said, "You can't see the creature. It's in a Darkness spell area." I replied, "But you also said I could see it's eyes glowing red. You can't take that back, and this spell has a 100% hit rate, and I'm aiming right between the eyes!" The DM looked flummoxed for a moment, and actually took a moment to look at the spell! After reading it for a moment and letting out a sigh, they relented when they released their mistake and said, "Ok, you got me. I said it, so I'll let it happen."
conversely I might use magic missile to get the arcane caster to use its reaction casting shield so it can't counterspell whatever the other casters in the party are going to do
the hexblade being them actually going totally insane and talking to their spellbook is why their power has gotten weird.
also. multi-magic missile wands wants me to make a neo like moment stacked with tons of missile wands, ray wands, and just emptying all these level 1/2 spell wands in one glorious scene dropping them and pulling out the next set as I go. it sounds amazing when you have this guy with an army of mooks, but you have teleporting spells and have made a ton of magic store friends. like say a warlock with teleportation circle and a very high charisma.
On the topic of magic items related to Magic Missile, Brooch of Shielding is an Uncommon wonderous item that gives resistance to Force damage and immunity to magic missile damage (requires attunement).
You're having way too much fun with these videos, I love it! XD
Also, as a DM you can execute the hell out of a downed PC with this spell. At lv1 it can provoke 3 failed death saves the player will be completely unable to counter. Whether you should do it is another thing entirely though, this is a trick for Lawful Evil DMs only!
it depends on how your DM interprets the "each source" from the Concentration rules and the "simultaneously" from the spell description. Personally, I consider the damage from MM a single source since it's one spell where the missiles strike *simultaneously* instead of consecutively like the beams from Eldritch Blast or Scorching Ray. Therefore, since it's one source causing one instance of damage it causes ONE concentration check or failed Death saving throw, not three.
@@MethosJK9 Nothing in SR and EB states that they strike consecutively/arent simultaneous. If anything fact their duration of Instantaneous implies that they should be ruled exactly the same as magic missile for each table.
@@ANDELE3025 they are separate attack roles, though, so they have a chance to miss, plus the guidance on interpreting spell effects states that if something is not mentioned in the spell description, the spell doesn't do it. MM explicitly states that the missiles hit simultaneously, no other spell does. Interpreting it otherwise seems reasonable, but it is not RAW.
@@MethosJK9 Except it does state that its simultaneous. The duration is instant.
And nowhere in the rules does it state that, by the logic of the video and that you are presenting as a hypothetical, a spell that can deal damage to multiple creatures is consecutive.
As such no, if you ignore the spell rules which also state MM isnt aoe thus 1 roll per dart, SR and EB are also aoe and simultaneous.
@@ANDELE3025 no EB and SR are NOT simultaneous or that would be in their descriptions. Spells don't do what their descriptions don't state, e.g. Create or Destroy Water can't be used to destroy all the water in a creature's body and cause damage/instant death. The fact that their durations are instantaneous just means they take place over the course of a turn and not simultaneously, hence the separate and consecutive attack rolls with subsequent separate damage rolls, or do you roll just once for damage for all rays or blasts?
Magic Missile says It hits simulatiously. So at one my tables we took it as the hits are at the same time count as the same source. But with an added bonus of 3- 5- to the DC of concentration on how many missiles fired at a target.(Up to 5 concentration breaking)
First off, I really wanna make it rain glow-y anger darts now.
Secondly, on the subject of flavor being free in the case of a Hexblade Warlock there's a bit of an archetype of sorts I've wanted to play with it for a while that I never got a chance to: The "Fallen" Hexblade. Not Fallen Hexblade Warlock, I want to go play the Hexblade themselves. The spirit of an ancient weapon that's been forcibly removed from their original weapon body into a newer more humanoid one. As a result the vast power that once empowered their own warlocks is now partially destroyed, leaving only an ember of power left to hopefully regain their former glory but with the new sense of free will their form provides them... also their previous warlocks might be a tad angry at them for being cut off so there's that conflict. lol
This reminds me of a character I plan to play at some point.
Half elf that woke up in the aftermath of a bloddy battle with their only belonging is their weapon (yes they did wake up naked and used the equipment in the battle to clothe themselves) and doesn't remember their past, their name nor why they are there. Turns out the character is actually the weapon that was given a humanoid body outside of their weapon self, conscience and magic power after they were bathed in the blood of countless slayed magic creatures.
Talk to the GM to get a cool backstory for the weapon like the gae bolg ("spear of pain" or "spear of sure death") or like the "grass cutter" from Japan or sun wukong pole or excalibur or another weapon to justify when learning about the name of said weapon and spoken outloud cause terror on the enemies
And yes I recomend a polearm for the Sentinel + Polearm master combo. Really sets the tone you are an unstoppable force and an unmovable object.
Another take: You are the hexblade, and the warlock is your uncommon, leveling item.
Edit: Or the humaoid is just a replaceable meat puppet, a comatose ambulatory marionette, and you (the weapon) are the puppeteer and the one with the warlock skills and spells.
@@MonkeyJedi99 I thought about that for a while and it's a very entertaining concept for some potential for some serious twist implications, but then I thought about how common anti magic fields can be in games and consequently how often your meat puppet would just slop onto the floor requiring you to be picked up again.
Thanks for the video, it was very informative, I will be adding the magic missile to my character's spell book
I was just given this by my DM, so excited!!
Listening while I work out in a commercial fitness and I must say this video has taken top 1 of your best and funniest videos. I'm going around laughing :D
Thanks
Nice, Informative, good sponsorship.
Cool video all around.
There's also the Shavarran Birch Focus, that adds +1 to a damage roll for a force spell.
Always a must have as an evocation wizard.
That bit about the Hexblade dip reminded me of my favourite way I took one. I took it after the DM gave out the first +1 weapon, and said that the weapon is my Patron. Did it with a Paladin and did the whole "you are destined to wield this sword, only you may have my power" thing. Very cliché, but it was fun because I got to build around Charisma and have my rp pay off when the DM asked for dice rolls. Flavour is the best bit of D&D, it's just a make-believe game with added math
Aw hell yeah more sponsors! Keep up the great work Kobold!
Loved your little skits kobold! Keep it up, you always make me laugh!
Also a good way to use magic missile is to hit an arcane caster with it, if they use shield you can then cast counterspell to shut it down. Yes this costs a 3rd level slot but it work automatically and takes their reaction away from them. This can leave them open to much stronger attacks from martials that could miss due to a shield or powerful spells that could be countered or halves with absorb elements. And even if you don’t use counterspell they have still used their reaction or take a chunk of damage. It can be a good control spell but in a different way.
I love the history of Magic Missile and Shield, from the old war-table days of 'missile' attacks and how to block them.
That they have kept the spirit through every edition to hit the table just makes me smile....
Should note, MMM doesn't give it's caster the shield spell, just a nonmagical +5 AC reaction.
And It's RAW to alter the spell list of the monsters per the MM/DMG.
I'd say that's a bad read of the mmm abilities. They are clearly meant to be the spells but written in a way to be easier to use for dms.
Forgive me, what is "MMM?" I've heard of "MoM" for Monsters of the Multiverse and I believe this is what you are talking about but having trouble finding the middle "M" in that name. So are you talking about a different book?
@@peterwhitcomb8315 mordenkainen presents monsters of the multiverse. MMM for short is the one I hear. or M3
@@CharalamposKoundourakis But not a incorrect read. Their abilities are inspired by the spells but RAW are not spells or have all the effects of the spell and sometimes aditional effects of the spell. Drow Favored Consort has a shield-like reaction, but than give it to a ally.
Magic Missile is such a fun spell especially when you theme it. I played a Bladesinger who was a bit of a con artist with street magic, I themed it as throwing cards. Or a Necro in my group themed it as finger bones
Crab Wizard: BUBBLES!
One of your most helpful videos
your sponsor segments consistently make me laugh. high praise for your skits with gator.
I did enjoy the part of this where you reminded people that flavour is free as hell and you can literally make anything up that you need
2 levels in Fighter is absolutely worth it at higher levels if going for a magic missile build.
Also if you are making a magic missile build, make sure to see if you can get Robe of Stars. 1d6 5th level magic missiles per day on a magic missile build is freaking awesome.
That is, if your DM gives you a robe of stars lol
Aah yes, I had a bladesinger/Eldritch Knight once who could fire off the ol' Macross Missile Massacre that way...
no it isnt
@@pandanielxd extra proficiencies and the ability to have a turn with ANY two Action spells once per short rest is nothing to sneeze at, bud.
it absolutely is when you're sacrificing so much for it@@kc2086
A ship battle I planned for my party ended quickly when I made the mistake of making the guys rowing and steering the enemy boats common bandits under half cover, when there was a sorcerer with magic missile in the party.
Great vid Kobold! Don’t forget you could go Goblin race for another damage bump thanks to Fury of the Small.
Speaking of Magic Missiles, I miss Greater Missile Storm from NWN, which was a 6th-level spell firing 1x 2d6 missile per caster level, capped at 20. Doesn't fit in the 5th ed exactly. I wonder if homebrewing MM's level-scaling to two extra missiles per spell level escalation instead of only one per would be too powerful.
I dont think it would be too powerful but arkane casters really dont need a buff
There is also a common magic iten named Imbued Wood Focus that can also add a +1 to one damage roll of a spell, as long as the damage is associated with the focus, and it can be force damage.
The ad at the end was hilarious
I took magic missile when I played my wizard, specifically because his whole thing was using magic against evil spellcasters. It's great at breaking concentration, since they have to roll a check for each dart. Also a good kill spell if you are doing PvP, because each dart is an automatic failed death saving throw (I know most ppl don't do pvp). Plus, being able to hurt a God at level 1 is fun. I guess with bounded accuracy, level makes less of a difference in landing a hit, but in previous editions magic missle could let you land hits on opponents you couldn't otherwise touch.
The spell counts all hits as simultaneous, so it's only one failed death saving throw because it's only one source/occurrence of damage.
no@@reson8
@FallenFromGlory Having re-read it, just because they all hit at the same time doesn't mean it's one hit. It's a bit like being on fire and bleeding at the same time.
wonderful, I'm glad my elaborate argument could convince you :D.@@reson8
I haven't fully watched the video yet, but I love the idea of Jim's magic missile with the new bugbear!
Wait... I just realised Eldritch Blast also has multiple damage instances, which means it also has the same effect as Magic Missile of forcing multiple Concentration Saves
Yeah, same with scorching ray.
yeah, but its several attack rolls and you dont get multiple blasts till level 5. Even then you need to get to level 11 before it's same amount of blasts as MM. Still really good for breaking concentration, and without spending any resources at that :D
@@FoziVideos I mean, it's a cantrip and not a spell, and even though you sell your soul for it (or get a feat) it doesn't use up valuable Spell Slots
I think it depends on how your DM interprets the "each source" from the Concentration rules and the "simultaneously" from the spell description. Personally, I consider the damage from MM a single source since it's one spell where the missiles strike *simultaneously* instead of consecutively like the beams from Eldritch Blast or Scorching Ray. Therefore, since it's one source causing one instance of damage it causes ONE concentration check or failed Death saving throw, not three.
@@MethosJK9 but it doesn't cause 1 instance of damage, it does multiple we just add up for convinience's sake
It's easier to just multiply the result of the die roll and use that single number than do what it actually does and apply each damage instance individually since it does the same damage
if you want a more thematic dip into hexblade, and youve planed for this build, you can in the back ground say youve been trying to make a magical staff, wand, rod, whatever, and once you reach the dip level, say youve managed to enchant it and something happened. eigther an eldrich force took your haphazard attempt and used it as a conduit, or you made a weird sentient item, ect.
Great video and a hilarious commercial!
I love that a 1 lvl dip into warlock is so useful for many classes, it fits so perfectly with the tempting pact that the class embodies
Artificers: make wands of magic missiles when you don't have any other projects going on. Also make a device that can use multiple wands with the same action.
Parties with Artificers in them: it is okay to give your Artificer money for them to make you wands of magic missile. At least enough to cover the cost.
General rule of thumb: don't use the last charge unless you really have to. Artificers get a discount on crafting common and uncommon items but it's still expensive.
Or become an Artificer with multiple wands strapped to your wrists, shoulders, sides etc. Each round you touch one and fire off 8 shots, 6 charges.
Or become a gun emplacement as members of your party run past, touch a wand and fire off 8 missiles with 6 charges.
You've snuck up on a large group of enemies, getting a suprise round. The party gathers around you and on the count of three each member touches a different wand on your armour. A Gundam style scene unfolds as 36-40 missiles find their targets before the party rushes in.
How do you feel about casting MM through the Artificer artillerist's Arcan cannon feature especially if you make it a spell storing item?
With Artillerist Artificer with Arcane Firearm, you can add 1d8 to your damage at level 5, it's a lot earlier than the 10th level evoker feature for nearly the same damage (4.5 instead of 5).
You can also add a +1 damage by using Replicate magic item to make a "Shavarran Birch Wand" (common Eberron item)
If you really wanted to go all in for Magic Missile, you could do 1 Hexblade/11 Evoker/5 Artillerist for the ultimate Magic Missile meme build and do (1d4+1+5+6+1d8+1)x3 damage with a first level magic missile for a total of 60 damage (20damage/missile). It's definitely not worth sacrificing the high level wizard spells but it's pretty fun.
I remember reading a Jeremy Crawford Tweet that said if you target the same creature with all the darts, you roll one d4 to determine the damage for each dart and then add the +1 damage bonus to the darts only once in total. As in, for a single target, you roll 1d4, multiply that by 3, then add 1 damage to the total damage, or (1d4)*3+1 vs one target. When you hit multiple targets with a separate dart you add the +1 bonus damage to each of the darts. As in, for three targets, you roll 1d4, multiply that by 3, then add 1 damage to each dart, or ((1d4)+1)*3 for each dart when shooting a dart at three different targets. And if dividing them among two targets, it'd be (1d4)*2+1 for one target, and 1d4+1 for the other target. But now I can't find it anymore and I'm thinking I'm somehow making it up?
It says "every dart does 1d4+1" so is EVERY DART, so a single target get (1d4+1)*3
If you're ever in a pinch as a sorcerer, twin spell and upcast magic missle. One of my sorcerer friends twinned spelled Magic missiles at like... 5 or 6th level... twice. Glorious
I’ve used magic missle to force the caster to cast shield which I would then use counterspell on.
They were spamming shield anyways so may as well make them do it on my terms while I still knew I had a reaction against them since it was my turn and I was still active.
And they took the MM damage regardless.
I was burning through spell slots faster than they were, but the point was to let the other party members have a chance at actually hitting the jerk. It worked out. Went down before I ran out of slots. :)
I love to trick out this spell in past editions.
Pathfinder's psychic can make them cause ongoing damage and increase the damage die smidge.
4e I used Bladesinger, multiclassed into Swordmage to get the Malec-Keth Janissary and blackstaff apprentice theme so you can add an elemental d4 to the damage of it and cast it as a minor action. (Also loved that build because it could do frost cheese and participate in the Radiant Mafia builds at the same time)
I love me some Magic Missile. I really like the idea of a guaranteed homing spell. I think there should be more spells if not out right guaranteed maybe with an additional spell bonus modifier something like a +3 to hit when cast at level 3 for example. Not every spell just ones that have a moderate homing capacity or something. Could be cool, could work, could be broken.. won't know for sure till we try!
I'm surprised that Mage Slayer wasn't mentioned in this video, considering you can give enemy casters disadvantage on their concentration checks. Casting a 3rd level Magic Missle with the Mage Slayer feat requires the target to roll 5 con saves - 10 total dice with disadvantage - if they are holding concentration. I had an Arcana Cleric that shut down casters quite a bit with this method.
several people have pointed out that it is still a spell that, as long as you know it is being cast, can be interrupted as you are disrupting the words and such to speak the commands to activate it, the good news about being counterspelled when using a scroll is that you don't lose the scroll like you would a spell slot as the scroll isn't consumed until it is cast. this has been brought up on several videos that in raw, you can hear it, you can interrupt it, it just doesn't destroy the scroll making countering it rather pointless as the next turn it can just be recast again
That onlycrits skit was hilarious haha
The best thing about magic missile is that it is always useful -- whether you are in melee, the creature has resistance to your scorching ray, you don't have silver weapons for the werewolf, etc. you can always rely on it. It is also great as a readied spell, to take out concentration, against foes you don't know of their resistances, when opponents are hard to hit (cover), or when someone just has to die (such as they has a nasty effect coming and might save or miss with anything else you might have).
metamagic through multiclass or metamagic adept feat, lets you use the transmute metamagic to boost magic missile if you're fighting something that's got a vulnerability to a specific damage type, or if you need to do a specific damage type to a creature like blocking regeneration with fire/acid damage
My level 9 Wizard currently has two wands of magic missile which she gives to Tiny Servants on her shoulders to deal consistent damage round over round while keeping her action free. There have also been a couple times where I used the bard’s Magical Inspiration on an upcast Magic Missile for some serious instant damage against an enemy with high AC.
Shhhhhh! I've been planning to stock up on and empower a bunch of these wands for my homunculus to use, don't give away my strat!
My patron is a cricket in a metal container with a small hole in it, when opened it's just a dead cricket, but at night when it speaks I can hear my patron but the rest of the party hear a cricket singing in a tube.
Crawford doesn't know what the answer is because it was an oversight by lazy designers.
Good video.
Feel like it also just couldn't matter less. It's a d4. You want to roll a few of em, knock yourself out. No one's breaking the game with a couple extra d4 rolls.
I personally like rolling multiple dice, because it just seems too luck-dependent on a case-by-case basis. One casting could deal 6 damage, and the next could deal 15. Rolling multiple dice means you're more likely to roll numbers more toward the average.
@@sildinis the problem is the other interactions this interpretation causes like with the Evoker's Empowered Evocation ability that adds their INT modifier to *one* damage die roll for their evocation spells. And don't even get me started on the interaction with concentration checks or death saving throws.
As a DM I have an evil encounter designed which involves 50 level 3 divination wizards with magic missile, and one melee fluffy white rabbit.
50? What level are your players?
Yeah... i did that years ago. The tank whent down on the first round and the party got scared as hell when a lot of low level casters used MM on a rain of death.
Magic missile has saved my ass so many times. Never leave home without it
One thing I did that helped a lot with Magic Missile during a boss fight when we were Level 5 was combine it with Bestow Curse.
Cast Bestow Curse on the target through my familiar, choose the "While the target is cursed, your attacks and spells deal an extra 1d8 necrotic damage to the target." option. When from an average of 3.5 Damage per missile to 8 damage per missile.
Next turn I told the DM I was casting Magic Missile, and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head when I told him that the monster took 60 Damage (4+1+7 X 5), since in his mind a 3rd level magic missile only dealt like 18 Damage. He worriedly asked how many times I could do that. I assured him only once....but next turn it would be *rolled dice* (3+1+6 X 4) only 40 damage. And the turn after that it would be *rolled dice* (2+1+8 X4) 44 Damage.
On a completely unrelated note, the entire party got a breather turn right after because, for some unknown reason, the boss dropped everything to rush me down and try to kill me.
Scribes 2/ Full Caster Subclass that can add extra damage to certain damage types X.
Lovely way to blast with the RAW version of the spell.
Listening in the back round, getting ready for work. Hear "ah so you're asking me how do I want to do this" ded.
Hello! I have an optimization question for you:
I'm currently running a level 10 Vuman Rune Knight. Part of my character's background was that she forged her own weapon, a greatsword. Later down the line, it ended up becoming a +1 weapon with the ability to detect magic once per day, and I gained the ability to commune with the spirits of magic items.
I want to lean into this more and pick up a few levels of Hexblade, but my friends suggested I pick up Fey Touched instead. What's the best play here?
My feats are Heavy Armor master, Great Weapon Master, Tough, and Prodigy (Athletics).
Remember that one of the assimar subraces adds their level(i think its their level) in radiant damage to spells they cast or attacks they make when their wings are out. It makes magic missile do absurd damage
“…or just say ‘I have amnesia’ and make your DM figure it out…” lol. Sincerely, a DM.
I would like to add that if you are using RAW and you have a Bard in your party using Magical Inspiration you can add the bardic inspiration die to the damage of magic missile, and that is another 3.5 avarge at lvl 2, when bards get magical inspiration .
changing the spell list for npcs stat blocks is in the DMG so rules as written an archmage has whatever spells it wants but the same number per spell level
If I was making the hexblade dip character, I would have the flavor be that he made the pact before he learned magic. He started becoming a wizard in order to try to circumvent his pact, he doesn't want to owe his patron any more than he already does.
For some context, the rules about hitting multiple creatures at once are written with AoEs in mind. While there's nothing wrong with rolling once for _magic missile's_ every missile, a slavish reading of the RAW interpreting it as you are would actually allow for some pretty amazing cheese where you target one creature with more than one missile, then spread the others around to hit multiple creatures. You roll once for all of them, and so you'd roll the nd4 for the one creature, and apply that summed roll to all of the creatures (including those that only got 1 missile each).
This obviously isn't intended, but I don't think it's any less intended than "roll once for all of the missiles." When _magic missile_ was written, it certainly was written with the intent that it work like earlier editions, where you roll for each missile.
Again, though, if you want to roll just one die and multiply it, you're fine within the RAW to do so. You're getting a MUCH swingier spell, and I think that's probably not desirable, but it's not broken.
Nah, both the damage to multiple targets and the spell aoe rules are clear.
Kobold and others are just willfully ignoring RAW, the spell rules AND THE SPELLS VERY TEXT.
Spell states "A dart deals 1d4+1 damage to ITS TARGET." A single instance of damage with one target certainly doesnt sound like multiple targets nor like AOE.
in specific conditions spreading magic missile can be good if you need to bait enemy casters to shield. Can be useful if someone needs to cast something else while in counterspell range.
What sort of NPC wizard would bother wasting their reaction to prevent one MM dart?
@@tomm35 one whos concentrating? doesnt need to be a single dart either if youre upcasting
"Flavor is free", but your DM is the chef of this kitchen. If they say "no Hexblade stick", you don't get Hexblade.
This is going to be a long indea, but can you tell us what summon spell is the best tactical one? I'm playing a celestial warlock and I don't know how to use the undead/aberrations properly.
Con is pretty much secondary stat for every caster due to their low hit dice and requirement to maintain concentration spells.
My current character is a hexadin who's patron is "The Stick". The primordial first-used-as-a-weapon stick who is the granddaddy of all weapons. (Grandmama is "The Rock")🤺
I hope gator feels better soon.
What if you put levels into sorc or get the metamagic feat for twin cast?
I’m now going to make a character that exclusively casts magic missile and Eldritch Blast (which they think is just a weird version of magic missile). They will have no other spells.
Would sorcerer quickened spell work for an additional cast if it? With an action surge that's like 3 casts
Druid with Harvest Scythe: “This is where the fun begins.”
If each of the darts hit simultaneously and you multiply a single damage dice, why do you need to make a concentration check for each dart?
A one level dip into warlock on a primarily wizard character is something I have thought about too. My idea was the "wizard" didn't have something neccessary to become a wizard and so made a pact to gain it. Which in turn makes the wizard really twitchy when talk about pacts in general come up. Especially because he may be a little afraid his patron could rob him of all the hard work he has put in since he made the pact. He hides it with his pack tome, pretending it is just an ordinary spellbook.
Bam, just like that you have a perfectly reasonable way to justify a wizard who has a warlock dip. This is why roleplay is awesome, yeah? It is how you make your character concept work and come alive
Another take on it is to say they tried to be an artificer once... and only that once. When something digs the full story out you admit that you made a magical item, just one, and it was intelligent. Only after a long, exhausting debate did you manage to bargain it into working for and with you (exclusively) for life, with the understanding that once you die it's duty to you as it's creator is done and it can do what it likes from there. You absolutely don't want to let it interact with anyone else, ever. (Maybe it's embarrassing in one way or another, maybe it's the inverse of your own moral/ethical alignment, maybe you are legitimately scared it has a soul. Etc.) You stopped trying to become an artificer for a very good reason thank you!
If you use the feature vital sacrifice from taldorei i guess adds a 1d6 for every missile
I'm also a big fan of the way it ignores legendary resistances. As a caster I'm definitely looking to cast area shutdown or AoE but the few times the opportunity to single target a creature after that is usually against the big bad with a few legendary resistances. Even without the evocation bonus the automatic damage of magic missile tends to be just as attractive as a single target nuke you expect to be resisted.
The existence of Shield can lead to some clever plays, if you bait out a shield then the party’s other caster and go ahead and not worry about counterspell. Magic missile can even bait out multiple reactions that way.
In an extremely homebrewed game, the DM gave us all weird blood magic abilities(his own blood magic stuff) and the wizard is able to add their int mod to the damage at only level 4, and the DM ruled that it adds to each magic missile so each one does 1d4+1+5 force(which can even get changed to necrotic)
Also good for burning Shielders spell slots, for as long as that lasts.
Magic missile is one of those spells that I'd be fine with spending a feat to get a rider with it.
You could also take one in sorcerer and you know. Quicken/ twinned/ transmute for that juicy extra dmg
In BG3, magic missile build with evoc wizard is amazing.