D&D 5E Player satisfaction survey

[schnee]

Cite?

The research stuff?

It came up fairly early in this film series, I forget which episode. IIRC it was a bit of a throw-away when they were talking about satisfaction for the Fighter and Druid. Paraphrasing: 'We read forums a lot and they don't match our research, which surprised us.'

Mike Mearls and Rodney Thompson | DigiPen's Student Senate Speaker Series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJqQQ2r7O2w

I think the whole thing is worth a watch. They're really open about their process.

--

The 'full of dour, argumentative sourpusses?'

Here's a great example

 

[schnee]

Nope. You are counting "mostly satisfied" because it sounds positive as a whole, but it still implies that they want or "need" changes.

Yes, 'mostly satisfied' is an illusion, because 'mostly' really isn't 'mostly', it means 'not very much at all'.

In other words, everyone who's ever house-ruled D&D has NOT BEEN SATISFIED. Because reasons.

I am counting only players who are satisfied with things as they are, instead of thinking how they could or "should" be.

"I am counting only people who see it as perfect. Anyone who notices any flaws at all doesn't count."

 

[Ovinomancer]

The research stuff?

It came up fairly early in this film series, I forget which episode. IIRC it was a bit of a throw-away when they were talking about satisfaction for the Fighter and Druid. Paraphrasing: 'We read forums a lot and they don't match our research, which surprised us.'

Mike Mearls and Rodney Thompson | DigiPen's Student Senate Speaker Series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJqQQ2r7O2w

I think the whole thing is worth a watch. They're really open about their process.

--

The 'full of dour, argumentative sourpusses?'

Here's a great example

Heh, again, I was too subtle....

 

[Wulffolk]

I really don't know how to vote on this poll. On one hand I think that 5e is the best version of the game yet. On the other hand, after decades of playing and modifying RPGs, I simply can't enjoy D&D without heavily house-ruling it. By the time I finish house-ruling I am playing a game that is so different to what is written that I might as well consider it my own game and change the name.

So, while 5e is the best edition in my opinion, I enjoy it less than I did the early editions (back when I played by RAW).

 

[gyor]

My only tweek, a proper FRCG.

 

[Harzel]

I also have one new player that comes from Pathfinder that find most classes lacking because he could do ''so many more cool things with his old PF character'', but in the end he always gets in line with my DM's call.

Maybe this is stating the obvious, but does that player understand that he can attempt something cool even if there isn't a rule for it?

 

[Li Shenron]

The reason for that, IMO, is because it exists. Only the most extreme fans of any edition are 100% positive on every aspect of a game.



But it IS positive on the whole, it just isn't perfect for them. The way you are portraying the answers is like saying that almost everything is "unsatisfactory". Olympic performance of less than straight 10's because they could have tweaked the landing; unsatisfactory. Games rated 9 on BGG; unsatisfactory. Kid gets 99% on a test; unsatisfactory.

I am loving 5e, I love almost all the classes and don't hate any of them, yet I don't think they are perfect. It doesn't mean I won't be happy playing them RAW, it just means they aren't perfect for me RAW, as in every other RPG I have ever played.

Sure, but this is about the rules of the game, not the story or the adventures or the scenes (social/exploration/combat) and their outcome.

Your examples of olympic performance or test results are comparable to complaining that the story or some encounter could have been better (and also by the way to the DM complaining that the players are playing poorly). Being unsatisfied by the rules is more similar to someone always complaining that the test rules (not the content i.e. questions, and not the performance i.e. results) or the olympic rules should be changed. Which sometimes they are, but the point is that normally people focus on the content instead of always complaining about the rules.

But again, the point of the poll is to see if in practice once you are gaming at the table, most of the unsatisfied feelings go away. I don't know if my own players secretly spend nights on forums complaining about the rules or claiming that the game is "broken"... but when we play they don't do that, if they complain about something it's about the content of my games (like a story that's too cheap, or an encounter that's too hard).

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Maybe this is stating the obvious, but does that player understand that he can attempt something cool even if there isn't a rule for it?

Well, he's a new 5e player (new potential boyfriend of one of the player) so I often just say: ''Dont ask ''if'', just describe, I'll call the roll as I see fit''. I think he's just used to have a system that dont rely much on player imagination, instead having a rule for each slight variation of a theme or action. He does have a hard time figuring out how to make a character concept if there's not one one class option called the name he's looking for. He's already complaining about being restricted by character options, even though I allow mostly everything . I think he had a heart attack when I told him about the rate of publication of new PC options this edition.

 

[Ath'kethin]

I absolutely love 5e. I will stand by it as the single most perfect version of D&D that has ever existed.

And if anybody follows my posts on this forum at all, they know that I throw out half the Player's Handbook when I run it.

So where do I fit in this poll? This ideology?

Because a big thing I like about 5e is that the DM changing and throwing stuff out is in the rules front and center again, not decried as sacrelige like it was in 3e and 4e. I love the system overall, though I freely change things up (we use INT modifiers for Initiative, I jettisoned every full caster in the game except the Warlock because they're all too same-y and don't for the campaign style I like to run, I award and hand out next to no magic items, etc).

So I would call myself "fully satisfied" with 5e, though the OP would clearly argue that I hate it.

 

[Dualazi]

Ok this is a serious survey, even if the poll options sound semi-serious at best I don't mean to mock [MENTION=15700]Sacrosanct[/MENTION] 's nice polls on classes... but given how the MAJORITY of people are responding to those polls saying they are NOT satisfied with the classes as-written, I seriously want to know if this is only in the permanently unsatisfied gamer's minds, or if this attitude results in requesting changes to how your DMs runs the game.

So the survey is mostly meant for DMs. Only answer from direct experience i.e. what YOUR players want and ask from you, before claiming they are themselves satisfied by the game.

I am asking this because if I trust the answers to those polls to be genuine, then I must be living on a different planet (or plane). My players NEVER asked me to change the game rules or character material. At most, they asked me to shift the adventures focus or playstyle, but that's another thing. But as soon as I come to the forums, I find nothing but people unsatisfied by something and wanting to change it or claiming that "it doesn't work".

My group is pretty happy with the game as a whole, but they still definitely have asked for changes all the same. One character in particular has found that neither EK or bladesinger really scratch his fighter/mage itch quite right, and prior to the rework of the ranger I received negative comments about it as well. Hell, even one of my paladin players has commented that being able to trigger a smite after you know you've hit is potentially undesirable, though we have yet to change that rule at present.

Others have mentioned that not being 100% satisfied isn't a ringing condemnation, and that's the position I typically hold. I wish things were better, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily bad. I'm also one of those tiresome sorts who nitpicks things that I like, which probably serves to make it seem like my viewpoint is more negative than it actually is. I doubt there's a single class I wouldn't change at least something on, but that doesn't mean there aren't those that hit the mark in most respects.