Is A Magic Missile Always Successful?

In the Fifth Edition of Dungeons and Dragons, magic missiles always hit their target(s) unerringly. This is true in all iterations except for the Fourth Edition pre-Essentials errata. Magic Missile is a first-level spell that deals force damage to one or more creatures within 120 feet. It is a guaranteed hit spell that deals force damage to up to three creatures.

The Magic Missile spell creates three glowing darts of magical force, each of which hits a creature of your choice within range. A dart deals 1d4+1 force damage to its target. The spell is instantaneous, so there’s no chance to move. In 5e, magic missiles do automatically “hit”, but this doesn’t do much as there are very few other effects that could trigger on a spell hit that doesn’t have an attack roll.

The only way to avoid Magic Missile is by casting Shield as a reaction. If you can see an enemy creature, then magic missile can hit the creature automatically because no attack roll or saving throw is mentioned. Magic Missile is just a magical projectile that always hits its target, such as a glowing ball, shot of energy, “the force”, or bubble.

In conclusion, Magic Missile is a guaranteed hit spell that deals force damage to up to three creatures. It is essential for sorcerers and wizards to understand how to use it, optimize it, and avoid common mistakes.


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Can you resist magic missile?

The Magic Missile is a 100-hit weapon that does not require a roll. Its damage output is reduced by half if the enemy possesses Force resistance and is fully effective against targets lacking such resistance. It should be noted that the game may contain content that is not appropriate for all age groups. This may include references to mature themes, nudity, and sexual content.

How do you stop magic missile?

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Does Magic Missile always hit BG3?

Darts are capable of striking targets on an individual basis, and the creation of supplementary darts is contingent upon the Spell Slot Level in question, with the additional darts being generated when the 2nd Level or a higher one is attained.

What are the rules for magic missiles?

Magic missiles are magical energy attacks that can only be targeted by a specific creature. They deal 1d4+1 points of force damage and generate a magical bolt. This spell is popular among wizards and low-level casters due to its auto-hit properties and ability to strike multiple targets at higher levels. The missile strikes unerringly, even in melee combat or with less than total cover or concealment. Inanimate objects are not damaged by the spell.

How many times do I roll for Magic Missile?

In this context, the Magic Missile is regarded as a discrete missile, rather than as a single, unified projectile. For each individual missile, a roll of 1d4+1 is required. This is due to the fact that they are distinct missiles that can be apportioned as required. The Magic Missile is not regarded as a single entity, but rather as a collection of discrete missiles.

Does magic missile roll to hit?

Magic Missile is a powerful tool in DnD games, often overlooked but essential for sorcerers and wizards. It is not flashy, doesn’t auto-kill or turn enemies into newts, and rarely wins fights on its own. The target must roll Concentration for each missile it strikes, as confirmed by Jeremy Crawford. It is not flashy or auto-killing, but it is better than other high-damage 1st-level spells.

What is the most powerful weapon in Baldur’s Gate 3?

The Sussur Greatsword, a two-handed sword in Baldur’s Gate 3, has high damage potential, generating 2-12 damage through a double roll. It also equips players with fundamental attack maneuvers, making it one of the most potent weapons in the game. The Great Sword, obtained in the Finish the Masterwork Weapon quest, ranks second only to the Everburn Blade in damage output. However, the weapon’s main feature, the “Silence” trait, nullifies an enemy’s spell-casting ability, making it overpowered for some players.

What item makes you immune to magic missile?

Wearing this brooch provides the wearer with resistance to force damage and immunity to damage from the magic missile spell.

What blocks magic missile?

The game does not include a saving throw, and only a small number of monsters are immune or resistant to force damage. It should be noted that spells designated as “shield” and “nightshield” are capable of effectively neutralizing the effects of a magic missile. One may encounter Lorna Wyrmtouched and Reelf Thurman in the Marketplace Bazaar and the Portable Hole, respectively.

Can magic missile be stopped?

The Shield spell is a relatively brief incantation that can be utilized to render the caster immune to the effects of magic missiles. It is an optimal selection for adventurers who utilize items such as scrolls, rods, or wands, as it solely employs Caster Level and can be deployed for the number of missiles and past spell resistance. Furthermore, it serves as a contingency measure for conventional spells, enabling casters to focus their attention on a single target, irrespective of the number of missiles that have been created.

How do you protect against magic missile?
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How do you protect against magic missile?

The shield is an invisible magical barrier that provides protection to the user, conferring a +5 bonus to the user’s armor class (AC) until the next turn, including against triggering attacks, and preventing damage from magic missiles. This may be attributed to the fact that JavaScript is either disabled or blocked by an extension.


📹 How STRONG Was Magic Missile?? – SYSTEM DIVING: EPISODE 1

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Is A Magic Missile Always Successful?
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13 comments

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  • Years ago, in a 3.5 campaign, I had a high level player determine the best damage output they could achieve was accomplished as follows: 1) Invest in numerous wands of magic missile. (Low level, easy purchase for a level 20 player). 2) Use summoning magic to call several low level, but high charism angels with use magic device as a trained skill. 3) Distribute wands. 4) Repeat every round until you have an army of swift flying angels peppering the enemy from a distance with magic missiles. 5) sound of DM beating his head on the table

  • I’m still learning PF2e, but in DnD5e, Magic Missile has a very important tactical use: breaking an enemy spellcaster’s concentration. They have to roll the check for each dart, so by upcasting, you can basically force them to keep rolling until they fail. Granted, I have mixed feelings about 5e’s concentration mechanic as a whole, but I appreciate that it adds a strategic element to 5e’s otherwise incredibly simplistic combat system. Also, just turning my wizard into a Gatling gun is fun for its own reasons, combat effectiveness be damned.

  • You are wrong in regards to the range of magic missile in 1ed(AD&D). On page 39 of the PHB (the idol cover) it reads “Thus most ranges are shown as inches by means of the symbol “, i.e. l”, etc. Outdoors, 1″ equals 10 yards. Indoors 1″ equals 10 feet.” Therefore at 1st level the maximum range for a magic missile cast by a 1st level magic user is 70 feet indoors or 70 yards (210 feet) outdoors. Not seven feet.

  • Ahem 🙂 @2:50 You might want to redo this article as you have mixed up the characters ” (inch) with ‘ (feet). AD&D Magic Missile has a 6 inch range, that’s what 6″ means. Since 1″ (inch) means 10 feet (in AD&D), Magic Missile has a base range of 60 feet. I’ll now watch the rest of the article 🙂 EDIT: Actually AD&D uses 1″ = 10 feet in Dungeons. For outdoors, 1″ = 30 feet (10 yards)

  • So, in the two games I’ve played for an extended duration I’ve played only a monk and a bard (5e) so I’ve never actually had a chance to play a class that can effectively use magic missile. Maybe when I get to play the sorcerer… nah chaos bolt is too fun. I don’t hate any classes but wizards are pretty low on my play priority list. I do want to burn a 9th level triple action pf2e one sometime though lol

  • Magic missile is a spell I have issues with. When in 3.5 they showed rules of how to create spells magic missile literally broke those rules. The lack of roll to hit and auto damage, especially as force damage puts this spell as a very useful. In pf2 this spell still is very useful. While the numbers are higher the lack of to hit roll and save puts it at far to consistent damage

  • I only watch our spellcaster in the group and not use spells myself but I think, the 3 actions-MM isn’t so bad compared with other spells i nterms of “you can do nothing else” as he often sits there and wonders either what to do with his “left over” Action. But he likes to use the spell… either as 1-Action or full out 3-Action and maybe even buffed with a magic item to add just another 1-action-cast for free.

  • 5:30 you said hit points, its actually hit dice. Which for most monsters is a rolled D8 per HD. But for dragons, thats based on their age. An adult black dragon (age 6) would have, in the 1e ad&d (which is the one shown on screen), 5 hit points per hit dice, for a total of 40 hit points. So, you would need to roll max on all 8 dice to 1hit kill an adult black dragon, which shouldnt even be a challenge for a 15th level party, an ancient gold dragon (twice the hit dice) should be somewhat challenging at that level.

  • Good article and I’m looking forward to this series. In regards to the pathfinder version of the spell you didn’t discuss the significance of the last part. Applying all damage at once for purposes of weakness/resistances can be a very big deal in 2e. I also think it’s worth mentioning in comparison to other spells the difference between hitting automatically verses spells that have an effect even when they miss.

  • Not sure if it was a homebrewed one, but in 3.5 there was a prestige class for magic missile users. It raised the cap for the numbers of magic missiles and let magic missiles ignore the shield spell.(in 3.5 the shield spell would block magic missiles). It had a few other bonuses I can’t remember. But there was a character build called the “magic missile stormer” at home we called it “magic missile minigun mage”,. It was a warmage who had prepared magic missile mixed in with a lot of metamagic feats, like quicken, repeat and twin. So in the first round he would shoot 28 magic missiles. In the second round 56. due to diverse damage bonuses that would be 56d4+119 force damage 🙂

  • in 3.5 dragon compendium has the force missile mage, which increases it to 7 missiles, and essentially got rid of the shield issue. add in arcane thesis and twin split ray maximized empowered fell drain magic missile (a level 9 spell, less if you fit in incantrix to reduce it) and can do like 200+ without missing, ignoring worrying about shield…not exactly the best use of resources, but funny lol

  • In 5e magic missile scales amazingly. This is bacause you only roll the damage once and thats the damage each missile does, so any ability that adds damage to a spell adds it to that one roll, but then all those missiles do that extra damage. Evo Wizard adds int to spell damage? Thats pretty meh on scorching ray where only one of the three hits can get +int damage, but on magic missile that’s potentially 30+ extra damage. Theres lots of spell bonuses and abilites that would only be added once to a spells damage, but with magic missile it works for ever missile because of the rule that you roll once for damage. Level 5 magic missile mean 7 missiles and seven times any of those bonuses

  • magic missile is a weak spell for a low level spell caster at Ad&d (2e) and 3.5 because you got to little spell slot of that level, and you may pack Mage Armor and Shield to survive… on Ad&d (2e) you will got 1 spell at level 1… so you will use that spell in Mage Armor because you can’t use armor with out have X% chance (minimum 15%) of lose the spell… and in 3.5 you got more slot but they are still to few to spend on a instantaneus effect…. (by lvl 5 you got to lvl 3 spell and got more lvl 1 spell to use so will became a really good spell)… in other hand in 3.5 you will got a lot more of spell slot than 5e or pathfinder 2e and if you got about 15 on your spell castin ability you will have even more spell due your high score….. in 5e you got a max of 4 spell lot of lvl 1 and with a wizard in 3.5 you will got a base max slot of 4 plus what ever your int give you… and a sorcerer will have 5 plus what ever their char will give you… Im playing a sorcerer lvl 6 in 3.5 (and just with a 20 on charisma) have 8 spell slot of lvl 1… doble the amount of 5e and pathfinder 2e maximun at level 4 (when you gain your 6 slot from the class)…

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