Something I noticed the other day when leafing through my D&D Essentials book was that flipping from the rogue to the cleric gave me power envy. I was looking at all the options that the wizard had available (at-will, encounter, and daily) and the options the rogue didn't have. Sure, I had my move action powers, but that wasn't the same as the rest of those nifty spells.
Oddly enough, I never had this problem in 3e. I was content with the rogue class because I had so many skills to choose. Even the fighter--with his lackluster "full attack, no skills, final destination"--did not make me envious of other characters' combat options. Yet here I was with a 4e book wanting more powers.
My thinking is that the powers format creates a desire for powers. When your primary options are powers, it creates an expectation for powers to exist. Thus, people want powers because the game centers on them.
Toss out that format, and I think people will be a lot happier with things.
Oddly enough, I never had this problem in 3e. I was content with the rogue class because I had so many skills to choose. Even the fighter--with his lackluster "full attack, no skills, final destination"--did not make me envious of other characters' combat options. Yet here I was with a 4e book wanting more powers.
My thinking is that the powers format creates a desire for powers. When your primary options are powers, it creates an expectation for powers to exist. Thus, people want powers because the game centers on them.
Toss out that format, and I think people will be a lot happier with things.