When will D&D 5e be published?

[ggroy]

There are many things about 4E that I don't like, but at this point I'm more disappointed in what I see as the wasted potential of 4E than "hating" on it. I see bad math (can't hit the monsters very often so they stick around forever), bad monster design (buckets of hit points, while being insubstantial, regenerating, with an aura that damages and prevents use of healing surges as just one example), and bad encounter design (too much difficult terrain, chokepoints, etc.) as endemic of the system. I think much of this could have been avoided with judicious playtesting, which appears to have not been used sufficiently. It seems that the designers and adventure writers as so concerned with combat not being too "swingy" that they made sure it will last way too long, which creates frustrating, grindy combats that you just want to be over with after beating on a single creature for an hour and it's still up.

Was this from a particular WotC (or 3PP) 4E module?

Or was it something the DM created?

 

[thecasualoblivion]

There are many things about 4E that I don't like, but at this point I'm more disappointed in what I see as the wasted potential of 4E than "hating" on it. I see bad math (can't hit the monsters very often so they stick around forever), bad monster design (buckets of hit points, while being insubstantial, regenerating, with an aura that damages and prevents use of healing surges as just one example), and bad encounter design (too much difficult terrain, chokepoints, etc.) as endemic of the system. I think much of this could have been avoided with judicious playtesting, which appears to have not been used sufficiently. It seems that the designers and adventure writers as so concerned with combat not being too "swingy" that they made sure it will last way too long, which creates frustrating, grindy combats that you just want to be over with after beating on a single creature for an hour and it's still up.

Your gaming group must suck at the character creation/tactical side of the game then.

Admin here. I'm betting you could have phrased that a little less insultingly. Please do so next time. ~ PCat

I'm running a level 21 game right now, and combat is if anything too short. PCs hit about 70% of the time, and an Elite with 400hp can be killed in a single round. I had to boost monster damage by 50% to keep things honest, as monsters were dying too fast to deplete party resources.

 

[EnochSeven]

I truly don't understand this mindset. You're a fan of the brand and the game doesn't matter?

I'm a fan of RPGs. I've been a fan of D&D. I left D&D in 2e but came back to it in 3rd. I have no interest in 4th. I might have an interest in 5e. I would never be naive enough to think I'm guaranteed to like future editions let alone that WotC will definitely get my money.

I can appreciate brand loyalty to a point. I've been a Coca-cola fan forever, but I still thought New Coke sucked.

I can't speak for the person you are quoting, but for myself, I like stuff that is new and exciting. I really like 4e, but whenever the next thing comes that's where the new energy is and I like that.

It's fun to keep up with the current stuff for me. I like to hear about new releases and keep up with discussions about what is working and what is not.

 

[weem]

I truly don't understand this mindset. You're a fan of the brand and the game doesn't matter?

I'm a fan of RPGs. I've been a fan of D&D. I left D&D in 2e but came back to it in 3rd. I have no interest in 4th. I might have an interest in 5e. I would never be naive enough to think I'm guaranteed to like future editions let alone that WotC will definitely get my money.

I never said I would be guaranteed to like future editions - so I will assume you are not calling me naive Spending my money on editions, even when I am not that into them, is my own choice and has nothing to do with being naive.

The point I was making is that, for example, if they made a new edition every year, I would probably buy each one. Maybe not every book, but certainly the first sets. If I were not that into it, my purchasing of that editions books would trail off (kind of). Hence, "they have my money regardless". Even if, for example, "5e" and then "6e" were not great (for me), and my purchasing trailed off in both of them, I would still be there to snatch up all the "8e" stuff upon release.

Perhaps I have more disposable income than most, or I am more willing to throw it into this stuff than most people, I don't know. I have many books, (from ALL editions) that I have never even used in a game at all. I have some that have not even been opened (some Spelljammer stuff comes to mind immediately). I enjoy buying the books, and I enjoy reading them (regardless of whether they get played or not). I can tell you now, I will not be playing Dark Sun - I have my own setting that I intend on using indefinitely - but, I will most certainly be buying Dark Sun books, even though I can tell you anything I might use from them I will be able to get from my DDI account.

As for Coke and Pepsi - I primarily drink Coke right now, but it changes every other year or so (I used to be a heavy Pepsi drinker, and before that, Coke only, etc).

Right now? I'm drinking a lot of Coke Zero

 

[AllisterH]

You know...with DDI, and the fact that 4e has incorporated new features into the character builder...how would we be able to tell what is a new edition?

 

[Dire Bare]

These types of threads make me chuckle. But. as a moth to the flame, I can't resist adding my 2 cents. It's all blind speculation of course, but I choose 2018, giving 4e a "lifespan" of about 10 years. The thing I think a lot of folks are missing here is that 4e is a success.

When the next edition arrives, it will not be a step backwards to an older edition. In either mechanics or fluff. And it won't be because WotC doesn't want to "save face" or admit mistakes, it will be because 4e is a success.

It's cool if you like or dislike the current version of the game, but all the dislike and wishful thinking in the world can't change that 4e is a success.

When 5e is eventually released, it might not even be called "5e", and it certainly won't be called "4.5e" . . . . but most likely it will be the 4e ruleset incorporating errata, the tweaks made during the run of the game, and maybe a few more larger tweaks to fix up some problems with the ruleset. But it won't be very different, and likely will be fully compatible with existing 4e material. I just can't see a 5e as different from 4e as 4e is different from previous editions.

But, it'll happen when it happens and then we can shift the edition wars into new territory. But it won't happen for a while, maybe not as far out as 2018, but certainly not for a while.

 

[Quantum]

The thing I think a lot of folks are missing here is that 4e is a success.

So was 3e.

 

[Wik]

So was 3e.

Yyup. And 3e lasted a good eight+ years. Why 4e would only last 4 years (which is what some here are saying) is beyond me.

 

[Eridanis]

Your gaming group must suck at the character creation/tactical side of the game then.

So, to enjoy 4E you need to be an expert min/maxer, roleplaying be damned? I'll make a note of that.

(In other words, different groups can play the game different ways. Be careful of making fun of other people's playstyles.)

 

[Piratecat]

Annnnd.. here we go into the edition arguing again. Definitely not what I'd hoped to see.

No more 5e threads for a while, please.

Klunk.