Talk:Mass Disintegrate (5e Spell)

Damage (outdated -- damage is now 48)

Notably, the average damage for this spell is 65, slightly higher than the suggested 57 for an 8th-level, multiple-target, halved-on-save spell. This is intentional, and is offset by it having a very short range for an 8th-level spell - shorter than even Disintegrate, its 6th-level counterpart. It is only available for Sorcerers and Wizards, who almost never should be within 30 feet of an enemy strong enough to use an 8th-level spell slot against. As such, this is not a spell that you actively try to use, but rather one that is kept in your back pocket for an emergency or hail mary.

The suggested damage for a multiple-target halved-on-save 8th-level spell is 45. 57 is for multi-target spells for which a successful save means the target takes no damage. This spell is quite frankly ridiculously powerful compared to others of its level. It is absolutely 9th-level material, even with the nerf. The range is nigh inconsequential to this calculation - it's just as powerful in a 30-foot cone as it is in a 60-foot cone, because it still amounts to a massive area of massive damage with one of the strongest additional effects in the entire game. --Nuke The Earth (talk) 22:21, 8 March 2022 (MST)

I appreciate the constructive criticism, but I would rather you just stick a "needs balancing" template on it than actively make huge changes to someone else's homebrew.

I would direct your attention to this page, and advise that you read it in its entirety, paying particular attention to the highlighted section. This wiki is a community project, and all content on said wiki is owned, not by any one user, but by the wiki itself. Other people can and will make changes to pages you have made, and if said changes improve the page, there is no reason on this earth to dispute them.
Furthermore, it is my belief that this spell, while extremely useful and indeed powerful, becomes quite frankly underwhelming if the damage is nerfed too much. At that point, it becomes strictly worse than just casting a normal disintegrate, as the strongest effect is by far the actual disintegration component, which only activates upon dealing enough damage to kill a creature. I do not know why you insist on making this spell 8th level instead of allowing it to exist at its original power as a 9th-level spell, but in my opinion doing so is an extreme disservice to the entire concept. --Nuke The Earth (talk) 23:46, 8 March 2022 (MST)

There is very little reason for these classes to use any damage spell at 9th level that isn't Meteor Swarm. Even with the proposed buffs for 9th level, Meteor Swarm has twice the damage, over 5 times the surface area, and nearly 100 times the range, and it goes right over walls of force. If your intent is specifically to hinder resurrection, you can simply cast Disintegrate on the corpse. Making this spell require a 9th level slot would relegate it to obscurity.

This is not true. Meteor storm cannot be used in multiple places, namely indoors or underground, and 40ft radius for each hit makes it sometimes impossible to use, due to possible friendly fire. And while it is the most damaging spell, damage is not everything that matters. Spells should have level appropirate to their power as well as functionality and usability. Disintegrate is 6th level spell, so you could use it to delete st best 6 targets, while this one does not have such strict limitation. And sometimes, in rare cases you cannot wait for your targets to drop to 0 hit points to then use the disintegrate. Besides, "fixing" the effects of meteor storm(only damage), your enemies would expend only some form of healing, while fixing desintegration at very least requires a 9th level spell, which is way more costly for your opponents to deal with. So the point of this spell being better as a 9th level still stands, rather firmly I would say.--Cezaryx (talk) 01:46, 10 March 2022 (MST)