D&D (2024) They butchered the warlock in the new packet

[Neonchameleon]

Ironically, that might actually have worked out if they had kept Pact Magic, but to the half-caster warlock your high level slots are too valuable to use on upcasting hex.

I'm convinced whoever made that change to Hex and whoever ripped out pact magic to replace it with half-magic simply didn't talk to each other (or if they did didn't realise what they were doing)

 

[Charlaquin]

Ironically, that might actually have worked out if they had kept Pact Magic, but to the half-caster warlock your high level slots are too valuable to use on upcasting hex.

One more reason to switch back to pact magic

 

[Remathilis]

I'm convinced whoever made that change to Hex and whoever ripped out pact magic to replace it with half-magic simply didn't talk to each other (or if they did didn't realise what they were doing)

It could be that they fixed problem A and problem B separately, but didn't see how A affected B. That's kinda what the playtest is for.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

It could be that they fixed problem A and problem B separately, but didn't see how A affected B. That's kinda what the playtest is for.

It doesn't fill me with confidenc that WotC's designers who work on this all day fail to spot obvious issues before publishing the playtest. Playtesting should be for uncovering the kind of issues that aren't apparent from a white room analysis.

 

[Remathilis]

It doesn't fill me with confidenc that WotC's designers who work on this all day fail to spot obvious issues before publishing the playtest. Playtesting should be for uncovering the kind of issues that aren't apparent from a white room analysis.

WotC has been using playtests to get vibes from the community, not to edit manuscripts. For example, I'm sure they were less concerned about if the stat block math on druids was balanced as much as if the community would accept generic stat blocks for wild shape.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

WotC has been using playtests to get vibes from the community, not to edit manuscripts. For example, I'm sure they were less concerned about if the stat block math on druids was balanced as much as if the community would accept generic stat blocks for wild shape.

Indeed. That's no excuse for publishing unedited manuscripts though, it just ends up generating a lot of noise that obscures what people actually think about the proposed features.

 

[Neonchameleon]

WotC has been using playtests to get vibes from the community, not to edit manuscripts. For example, I'm sure they were less concerned about if the stat block math on druids was balanced as much as if the community would accept generic stat blocks for wild shape.

But when you half-ass it the response you are seeing might be to the underlying idea or the way you half-assed it.

For example the community response to generic statblocks was "Hell no". But there was the seed of an idea in there - generic statblocks with selectable abilities. What would the community response have been to that? Who knows? WotC sure doesn't. The response wasn't to the balancing, it was that the version of wild shape we were presented with conceptually just doesn't work.

Hex is another good example. Hex as a part of Pact Magic would have been fine. But anyone who's playtested only has this half-assed Hex as a part of half-casting to respond to. The Hex we have conceptually doesn't work in the context it's presented. Not weak, simply not working.

 

[Undrave]

sure, but I do not see a need for one class to have 2 spells per short rest and the other 6 per long, that just arbitrarily restricts the first one and gains nothing, plus puts it on a different schedule, so nothing but downsides.

You can resource manage your 6 spells by not using them all up in the first encounter instead of the game hand-feeding you two each

What it gains is that you can’t just magic your way out of issues by going Nova.

All Spellcasters should just be like the Warlock: None of this ‘slots of different levels’ nonsense and upcasting consideration. Just a few 'slots' with a thematic ability to recharge them a few times per day and your level is what gates you from spell levels and those spells automatically upcast based on your level or prof bonus or whatever.

Then, make more utility spells into rituals and lean into the system more.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

What it gains is that you can’t just magic your way out of issues by going Nova.

All Spellcasters should just be like the Warlock: None of this ‘slots of different levels’ nonsense and upcasting consideration. Just a few 'slots' with a thematic ability to recharge them a few times per day and your level is what gates you from spell levels and those spells automatically upcast based on your level or prof bonus or whatever.

Then, make more utility spells into rituals and lean into the system more.

No thanks. I like D&D magic and larger pools of resources that recharge after a long rest. The players choose when they want to alpha, or risk pushing on, or take some non-combat time, where combat/encounters aren't the refresh rate.

 

[Vael]

WotC has been using playtests to get vibes from the community, not to edit manuscripts. For example, I'm sure they were less concerned about if the stat block math on druids was balanced as much as if the community would accept generic stat blocks for wild shape.

And, to be fair to them, they've been very up front about that. Power Level has been at the front of each UA stating: The character options you read here might be more or less powerful than options in the 2014 Player's Handbook. If a design survives playtesting, we adjust its power to the desirable level before publication. This means an option could be more or less powerful in its final form.