Someone should probably mention to them that BattleAxes should be Versatile, just like the Bastard sword. And they still didn't fix the weapon weights! I'm going to hound Wotc/Mearls until they fix weapon weights, it's one little thing but bugs quite a few people and is trivial to fix.
-Agree with others here that a core class feature of the paladin, especially the "cavalier" being his mount, gets it at level 8. Maybe let your mount start off weaker but at least get it at level 1. You should get something at level 1 related to your class title. Seems kind of cheap to not at least give a bonus to charging or something.
-Weapon mastery is essentially a damage reroll? Isn't that a little OP? Esp for DW types. I see tons of specialties including that feat, which IMO is a good reason to remove it (feat tax?). Just grant it to fighters and barbarians and rangers at different levels. I don't want to chose between something fun and something good but boring, like previous editions' Weapon Focus + Weapon Expertise. I'm all in favour of removing weapon favoritism and especially baked-in bonuses into races (proficiency is fine), but at least make it so there are some variants in the magic items, or even allow some racial-based masterwork versions like they had in other editions and packets. E.g. Dwarven WarAxe, should be an expensive but mundane d10/d12 versatile weapon, but cost > 1k gp. (why not, it's the equivalent of past editions masterworks weapons, that only provide +1 damage but not +1 to hit as well)
-Why no Dwarven Thrower battle axes? What if I don't like Warhammers?
-Barbarian rage, I don't like only giving damage bonus on one attack. If you whiff? It sucks. Just make it a flat +2 on melee damage, instead of a +3 on only one attack per round. It's an annoying limitation that gets worse as you level and get more attacks.
+Also agree with other posters here, that dual wielding is missing a classic config (why no battle ax + hand ax, or longsword + short sword combo? It's either light/light or normal/normal with a feat). The default should be normal/light without training. You trade your offhand shield for a bit of extra damage with a light weapon, then if you want to upgrade, it's the cost of a feat. Then again, if you want light + light then upgrade to normal/normal, all of a sudden the feat seems really good. But I don't see why there's a prerequisite to gain superior two-weapon fighting at level 9, what if you want to keep using your dual scimitars because you've found magic ones, but you want your offhand damage?
- I used to be a fan of double weapons, but now I agree they're cheesy and especially since they confer no real benefit over two light weapons and no extra training (indeed, TWF feat doesn't benefit you at all with a double weapon, and it's a pre-req for the level 9 upgrade, i.e. a feat tax), should just be removed from the core game and added in in a later splat book. Get the core stuff right, then add more once its released, so that the system and game designers have time to adjust and iron out the kinks. An "Ultimate Combat" book should be the place to add all those fancy weapons. E.g. I'd say "double weapons" should be whatever has two ends or even two sided (such as a double-bladed battle axe), or just remove that entirely. I don't see why it's easier hitting two creatures with a double-axe vs a double-bladed axe, both being used two-handed. Or even a bastard sword. Basically, I'd be okay with TWF being only useable with two physically separate weapons, to mimic the left/right arms being independent. A double-sword would be more defensive, or give bonuses to maneuvers like whirlwind attack, or maybe only grand its extra attack when fighting multiple opponents.
I like that they are focusing on the core of the game with simple rules, and I look forward to playing DDN with my friends, even if we have to house rule a whole bunch of stuff.
