Li Shenron
Legend
I think the 5e DMG is not well-conceived, but that has been also the case in past editions (with some notable exception... there is a specific DMG that now escapes me but which is often mentioned as a very well made one).
Most importantly, there is always too little room in the DMGs dedicated to how to run the game. In the 5e DMG that chapter is about 30 pages, about 10% of the book. While 5e is rules-light compared to previous editions, there is a lot that could be written about managing practical situations at the table in different playstyles. The sections on exploration and social interaction are painfully short. What bothers me particularly, is that while some parts of the DMG do offer variants to suit the game to your playstyle, other parts are too rigid prescriptions (the worst offender for me was the example on using passive perception for finding secret doors) which kind of dictates the DM how to run certain aspects of the game in a way that will force a particular playstyle aspect. This is not good advice.
Conversely, there is way too much of the book dedicated on things that do not teach you to DM the game well. As much as I love planar adventures, I would have left the description of the multiverse out of the book, and the room for running the game would have almost doubled. Magic items also take up almost 1/3 of the DMG, but here's a problem of where else to include them... sadly, I think they are possibly the main reason why people have the DMG.
Finally, I also find certain parts of the DMG to be so basic as to be insulting, such as how to track monsters HP in battle, or how to roleplay. This is very inconsistent in tone with other parts of the book which are very technical.
Most importantly, there is always too little room in the DMGs dedicated to how to run the game. In the 5e DMG that chapter is about 30 pages, about 10% of the book. While 5e is rules-light compared to previous editions, there is a lot that could be written about managing practical situations at the table in different playstyles. The sections on exploration and social interaction are painfully short. What bothers me particularly, is that while some parts of the DMG do offer variants to suit the game to your playstyle, other parts are too rigid prescriptions (the worst offender for me was the example on using passive perception for finding secret doors) which kind of dictates the DM how to run certain aspects of the game in a way that will force a particular playstyle aspect. This is not good advice.
Conversely, there is way too much of the book dedicated on things that do not teach you to DM the game well. As much as I love planar adventures, I would have left the description of the multiverse out of the book, and the room for running the game would have almost doubled. Magic items also take up almost 1/3 of the DMG, but here's a problem of where else to include them... sadly, I think they are possibly the main reason why people have the DMG.
Finally, I also find certain parts of the DMG to be so basic as to be insulting, such as how to track monsters HP in battle, or how to roleplay. This is very inconsistent in tone with other parts of the book which are very technical.