D&D 5E Mike Mearls - Reddit AMA

[abirdcall]

1-4: Student (aka Apprentice, Page) - recognizable to local community (eg. school)
5-8: Professional (aka Journeyer, Squire, Adventurer) - recognizable to town
9-12: Expert (aka Master, Knight) - recognizable to region

13-16: Leader (aka Grandmaster, Noble) - recognizable to nation
17-20: Legend - recognizable to world or plane

21-24: Epic - recognizable to multiverse
25-28: Mythic

Tiers are actually defined.

1-4: threats to farmsteads/villages
5-10: threats to cities/kingdoms
11-16: threats to regions/continents
17-20: threats to world/multiverse

Level 17+ really is handling problems that threaten to destroy the multiverse.

 

[Stalker0]

I remember seeing that subclasses are at the top of the list of what players want, so that would be a reason as to why we're seeing more already. Not to mention, the ones we'll be seeing next month are ones that didn't make the cut for Xanathar's and they went back to the drawing board with.

The other thing is that subclasses are great for bounded accuracy. Subclasses don't "stack" like feats and magic items do...so they are easier to put out without affecting balance.

They are also a great way to stealth errata some of the weaker subclasses in the main book.

 

[Yaarel]

Tiers are actually defined.

1-4: threats to farmsteads/villages
5-10: threats to cities/kingdoms
11-16: threats to regions/continents
17-20: threats to world/multiverse

Heh, I know, but I think those ‘official’ tiers are wrong.

The Proficiency bonuses are more accurate. The ‘tiers of proficiency’ are as follows:

• 1-4
• 5-8
• 9-12 (!)
• 13-16
• 17-20

Notice that the 9-12 tier is mechanically more powerful than the 5-8 tier.



More importantly. Levels 5 thru 8 *FEEL* significantly different from levels 9-12. These two groupings of levels felt different in previous editions, and still do now in 5e.

And levels 13 thru 16 feel different again.

Level 17+ really is handling problems that threaten to destroy the multiverse.

Maybe so. But that is different from Levels 21+ ... and actually being that threat to the multiverse.

 

[Parmandur]

Heh, I know, but I think those ‘official’ tiers are wrong.

The Proficiency bonuses are more accurate. The ‘tiers of proficiency’ are as follows:

• 1-4
• 5-8
• 9-12 (!)
• 13-16
• 17-20

Notice that the 9-12 tier is mechanically more powerful than the 5-8 tier.



More importantly. Levels 5 thru 8 *FEEL* significantly different from levels 9-12. These two groupings of levels felt different in previous editions, and still do now in 5e.

And levels 13 thru 16 feel different again.





Maybe so. But that is different from Levels 21+ ... and actually being that threat to the multiverse.

But, there aren't any levels past 20: a level 20 PC is nigh a demigod, and already at the peak of epic play.

Sent from my [device_name] using EN World mobile app

 

[Charlaquin]

Heh, I know, but I think those ‘official’ tiers are wrong.

The Proficiency bonuses are more accurate. The ‘tiers of proficiency’ are as follows:

• 1-4
• 5-8
• 9-12 (!)
• 13-16
• 17-20

The Proficiency Bonus increases aren’t significant changes in the characters’ capabilities. The breaks in the official tiers are the levels where Extra Attacks are gained, casters get access to spells with a big power bump, exp progression slows down to give you more time to enjoy your new features. Proficiency Bonus is a small power increase within the tiers, but the tier breaks are definitely at 5, 11, and 16.

Notice that the 9-12 tier is mechanically more powerful than the 5-8 tier.

11 has a significantly larger mechanical power gap compared to 10 than 9 does to 8.

More importantly. Levels 5 thru 8 *FEEL* significantly different from levels 9-12. These two groupings of levels felt different in previous editions, and still do now in 5e.

And levels 13 thru 16 feel different again.

Feel is subjective and really has more to do with how your table plays than the design of the level progression curve.

Maybe so. But that is different from Levels 21+ ... and actually being that threat to the multiverse.

There’s no such thing as levels 21+ in 5th Edition.

 

[hejtmane]

They really only started talking about that beef sometime after we all figured out that Dual Wielding has some serious issues with both scaling and not triggering on special attack actions.

So we can assume that Bonus Actions are taking the heat for Dual Wielding being shoehorned into them. And in hindsight, they probably shouldn't have made any Bonus Action Attacks in the first place, but it's far to late for that consideration now. So again, Bonus Actions as a whole are getting dinged for attacking with them.

There is also that blurb about bonus actions not existing until something triggers them, which is an overly complicated explanation for what they intended bonus actions to do (just letting them exist all the time and not be usable until a trigger would have accomplished the same thing). But that has no practical effect on the rule mechanics, just people learning them.

Not sure why people act like it is a complicated mechanic compared to other d&d editions mechanics it is easy to understand. Two weapon fighting or dual wielding (which ever you want to call it) took it in the shorts and it has had kind of been popularized in anime and of course drizt in the D&D world and a lot of people like the concept which i think has caused the back lash.

Hence I house ruled mine to once per turn you can attack with the off hand; basically leveraging the mechanics we already see in ranger colossal slayer

 

[abirdcall]

Heh, I know, but I think those ‘official’ tiers are wrong.

You are severely underestimating PC power.

 

[Mistwell]

He's basically just trying to sell us on a glacial expansion rate as if that was a good thing...

Sent from my C6603 using EN World mobile app

It is a good thing in my opinion, and according to WOTC to the majority of consumers of the game, based on extensive sales and survey data. He's said outright, many times now, that people want it.

It's not what you want though. Which in itself is perfectly understandable.

 

[Parmandur]

It is a good thing in my opinion, and according to WOTC to the majority of consumers of the game, based on extensive sales and survey data. He's said outright, many times now, that people want it.

It's not what you want though. Which in itself is perfectly understandable.

Honestly, they haven't needed to "sell" the idea in a very long time: more just reiterate that it is, and it works.

Sent from my [device_name] using EN World mobile app

 

[mrpopstar]

I'm all for a solution that removes the bonus action.

Move, act, react, is all we need.



(So much simpler to teach and learn!)