Magic missile

A magic missile is a bolt of pure force cast as a spell from its caster's fingertips. The missile manifests itself as a silvery or purplish bolt of energy and while the spell is simple, it can be deadly to weaker opponents. Magic missile is so simple that it requires little concentration or preparation on the part of the wizard casting it. Magic missile can be cast over a distance of about 100 feet.

Before the Spellplague, magic missile was also cast by sorcerers and, like nearly all spells of the time, required careful preparation before its casting and a sorcerer or wizard could only cast the spell as many times as they had prepared it for the day before the memory of how to cast the spell fell from the mind of its caster. During this time, magic missile grew in power as its spellcaster did, so that more experienced wizards or sorcerers cast more bolts with a single spell than those with less training. This still holds true for very powerful wizards, who are able to cast a magic missile of twice the equivalent power of inexperienced mages, but the process is not as gradual as it once was.