Just one dart?

[BestPlayer]

I was wondering why there is no longer rate of fire in dungeons and dragons. It used to be in past editions that some missile weapons allowed you to fire/throw more than one projectile in a round. I liked this as it made up for the low damage die of some of the smaller missile weapons like darts and shriukens. It also allowed a long bow to be fired twice in a round, and that had a 1d8 damage, but it still made using these smaller weapons feasible, now there doesn't seem to be any reason to use any but the highest damage missile weapons. Any thoughts or explanations? Would it break the game to allow some missile weapons to be be thrown/fired multiple times in a round?

[Vaz]

Extra Attack?

[Naanomi]

I don't see the need. In 2e days, classes had different to-hit progressions and only a few classes got more than one attack a round. Your bonuses to damage were not very impressive in most cases either. It is a very different system now, and almost all weapons have at least some use for some character class

[Laserlight]

now there doesn't seem to be any reason to use any but the highest damage missile weapons.

You might want a 1H missile weapon, eg if you're using a shield, holding onto a rope, etc. Your DM might rule that bows have problems or are unusable in rain or other damp conditions. You might want a concealable weapon.

[BestPlayer]

Here is a related question. If you have a missile weapon in each hand can you throw one with each hand using the twf rules?

[sir_argo]

Here is a related question. If you have a missile weapon in each hand can you throw one with each hand using the twf rules?

Well, TWF only works with melee weapons. You said a missile weapon in each hand (I'll assume that means a ranged weapon). So the answer to your question is, no. However, you can throw some melee weapons, such as a dagger, javelin, light hammer, etc. Those you can throw one from each hand (it explicitly says that in the PHB).

So dart in each hand, no. Dagger in each hand, yes.

[Mellack]

As Argo said, you cannot throw a dart with each hand but you can use daggers with TWF. Darts do have their own advantage though. Being a ranged weapon allows you to draw as part of the attack, so you can easily draw as many as attacks you have, which can be up to 8 for an action surging fighter. You are limited in how many you can draw with the thrown melee weapons. So that is an advantage for darts that others do not have.

[Sigreid]

Also, check with your DM. RAW you can only throw the weapon in hand, use your free object interaction to draw a second and throw it for 2 attacks. Some of us house rule letting you draw and throw a thrown weapon for each of your extra attacks. If a level 20 fighter wants to throw 4 darts/daggers/axes/spears/javelins on his turn, I can't think of a good reason to stop him.

[Gryndle]

Its alla bout Action Economy and what can be done with those weapons. If I remember correctly, in 1st/2nd Ed you could throw three darts per round, regardless of your level. Using this, the rogue now has three chances of getting his sneak attack, with no investment in feats, MC or any other shenanigans.
Also consider, Ranger w/Hunter's Prey, Warlock W Hex, Battlemaster Fighter, and I'm sure the list continues once you get the optimizers on board.

Rate of Fire was a neat concept. As much as I hate to admit it, so was 3.X idea of different weapons having different Crit chance/crit multipliers. But neither of those ideas mesh well with the 5E weapons, action economy and series of abilities they would interact with.

[Zejety]

Well, TWF only works with melee weapons. You said a missile weapon in each hand (I'll assume that means a ranged weapon). So the answer to your question is, no. However, you can throw some melee weapons, such as a dagger, javelin, light hammer, etc. Those you can throw one from each hand (it explicitly says that in the PHB).

So dart in each hand, no. Dagger in each hand, yes.

You can also use two pre-loaded light crossbows with the Crossbow Expert feat, although you will be unable to reload them without a free hand by RAW (and Sage Advice ruling).

[JackPhoenix]

As Argo said, you cannot throw a dart with each hand but you can use daggers with TWF. Darts do have their own advantage though. Being a ranged weapon allows you to draw as part of the attack, so you can easily draw as many as attacks you have, which can be up to 8 for an action surging fighter. You are limited in how many you can draw with the thrown melee weapons. So that is an advantage for darts that others do not have.

RAW, that's not true. You can draw ammunition as part of the attack, but dart is still a weapon, not ammunition. It doesn't matter if it's melee or ranged weapon

[Grod_The_Giant]

I was wondering why there is no longer rate of fire in dungeons and dragons.
Simplicity. The game is much easier to learn and keep track of if you don't have special weapon rules everywhere, being newbie-friendly was a major design goal for 5e.

As for darts... they're simple weapons; they're meant to be inferior to longbows. Their "balance" compared to other simple weapons is in their price and weight-- they're not as strong as a crossbow or shortbow, but they're heck of a lot cheaper. It would definitely break the game to allow some missile weapons to shoot more often than others, due to the way damage riders like stat-to-damage and Hex type spells work.