When you break open any game that much they all break, why are people in this thread only doing it to Rifts? when a 1 legged half dead commoner with a club can manage to hit my demi-god fighter in dragon armor and shield 1 time out of 20 and still do damage when I'm taking a full defense action, why no outcry there?
Rifts is balanced by equipment, same way DnD is(though admitedly not to the same extent). Just because your vagabond doesn't start with anything MD doesn't mean they are forever unable to aquire MD equipment. And just because your SAMAS pilot starts with it doesn't mean they'll always have the cash or resources to keep it repaired (it is an apocalypse setting afterall). If a GM is only giving out awesome eqipment to the SAMAS pilots and glitterboys I wouldn't call that a system fault, same as if a DnD adventuring party only found awesome swords, shields and armor, and the wizard was still in a top hat and a twig at level 20.
As for the wooden dagger comment, why are magic items okay in DnD but not Rifts? If DnD rogue pulled out a magic dagger and attacked a stone golem I doubt the same outcry would be heard, but if a Rifts rogue type character pulls out a magic knife and does something similar now its bad and time to change game systems?
I like DnD more than Rifts, but in a comparative thread I don't understand why Rifts gets the microscopic lens of inconsistencies but those same problems get a pass in DnD
ENcounter balance is hard and will take a few attempts and while I do find that disagreeable a lot of systems don't have wealth by level and CR charts and our group has managed to do okay by those as well (shadowrun and burning wheel being anecdotal evidence)