Paladin: why is Divine Smite not a spell like every other smite?
All the other smites, including bow smites and punch smites, work well now.
It adds a bit more action flexibility. As Sorcerers Apprentice said, it doesn't eat a bonus action. That means a paladin could - on one turn - BA activate Divine Sense, detect a threat, move to them, action attack and (free action) smite. That sounds like a turn a paladin player would want to have.
I think 5e favored ranged attack too much already without opening up Divine Smites to ranged attack. I totally like the idea of a ranged paladin being viable, but in a game where ranged attack not only gives you all the advantage of not having to be in danger or waste turns moving into combat, and also lets you grab a +2 to attack rolls fighting style, it's just too much. It should be harder to hit things with a ranged attack than a melee attack, not easier, both on game balance grounds and realism grounds (I mean yes, people bullseye targets, but think about how much more trivial it generally is to aim a melee weapon attack at the same bullseye).
So while I like there being a ranged Paladin option, I think without some tweaks a flood of Paladin-Rogues with longbows is on the horizon, and at some point the feel of the class gets undermined.
They
have said a few things recently about adding more weapon versatility, which may make a difference there. There's a quote in the Druid and Paladin packet saying:
UA2023-Druid and Paladin said:
DESIGN NOTE: WEAPON CHANGES
The upcoming article on Warrior classes will
introduce new weapon options. Those options will
differentiate weapons from each other more
clearly. For example, the Shortsword (Simple) and
the Scimitar (Martial) will have different roles to
play in the game.
If there were more variety and options in the use of melee weapons, it would make this a much better trade-off (while still making ranged paladins finally a thing). It's still a good point, though.
(On the subject of Fighters, this line from the "What is a Paladin" makes me really want to hope that they are reframing Fighters as something actually special in the world:
UA2023-Druid and Paladin said:
Fighters are rare enough among the ranks of a world’s armies, but even fewer people can claim the calling of a Paladin.
... Maybe?)
Why is no one talking about how INFLUENCE, the subsystem from the DMG, is in the core game now! It seems they're trying to make Actions for all the other ability scores too; essentially, WotC is trying to make mechanics and actions for social and exploration pillars in the core game, in simple English.
Isn't this what a lot of people have been asking for? I love it! And I've seen no talk about it!
Yeah, this is a real step forward. It's not too mechanical, either. The guidance on the new Search and Study actions is also a boon for a new DM. I recall that some of the expert classes also get things like "Search as a Bonus Action". This is just better design - it's still able to do everything the old, descriptive rules could (The have just put more formal language into what the old rules allowed you to do), but it's now easier to rule, more supportive to the GM and has mechanical presence that allows characters who should have mechanical advantages in that area to shine. Considering all the skills involved, imagine trying to say "You have Advantage when you take the Study action regarding stonework" (Although in writing this, I can't actually find a
good phrasing for the topic, which is annoying).