Is spell dmg worth at high levels?

[PhantomSoul]

Can we not do this?

These spells are useful for damaging single targets. It doesn't matter what you call them.

It is nonetheless interesting (revealing?) that both of the counterexamples that first came to mind in defense of single-target damage spells fit into the separate (sub)type rather than being "canonical" single-target damage spells.

(I almost added that they're Bonus Action spells, but Crown of Madness costs an Action when you Cast it [not when you deal the damage], although it does also have a long enough Duration that it may be cast before the combat occurs.)

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Edit to update after edit:

The fact that Magic Missile can split does not somehow make it worse at dealing single target damage.

It does give them noteworthy versatility, though. It may be possible to only target a single creature (without the damage reduction that accompanies unambiguous AoEs, I assume -- which here is an important assumption), but it's not only possible to do that, and that means the spell selection buys you more options for how you use it. (And that these are the next spells to come to mind...)

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Edit to add my opinion, rather than just responding: I think high-level damage spells can have their place, but barring really rare circumstances I pretty much wouldn't ever use them. Those slots typically just have more interesting and potent uses to me. At higher levels those "spare" low-level slots might get used for single-target pure-damage spells... but even then, I'd normally only prepare/know ones that have something beyond single-target damage to offer (like being optionally multi-target or opening up action economy options [even better without concentration], not-so-coincidentally!).