The issue is Action Surge is just 5-9% more damage and Improved Critical is just 1 or 2 extra DPR.
That leaves little leeway to design if your baseline is the Champion Fighter.
Why would you feel bound to the lower end of the power band for the fighter when making a new class?
I’ve never seen complaints about the BM in terms of balance, so I use that as a baseline when I can.
Because both WOTC and 3PP designers both have a history of creating ultra powerful spells that hop into the roles of other classes which are balanced by the fact that they are so niche that preparing them is a significant cost.
Before preparing Jump or Longstrider or neither was serious internal discussion. Now it's just a 1 minute wait.
Okay, that’s a Fair argument for giving the feature a limiter like a couple times per long rest or only level 1 or 2 spells or you have to spend a spell slot to do it or something.
The fact that the design team can't seem to let the fighter gain on the wizard.
Okay so we come at the game from very different fundemental mindsets, is the issue.
Because the fighter got a small boost out of combat (yay) but they couldn't just leave it there, the wizard got a MASSIVE out of combat boost - so instead of closing any gaps it widened it.
It’s not like they went “well if we are improving the fighter, we must also improve the wizard!”
They’re just trying to make each class pop and showcase what sets it apart more.
Now, from a strict, did they make the fighter better out of combat? Yes they did, so that in itself is a good thing.
At least we agree on this.
Because it’s not even doing that, it’s leaning even more into ‘spells, the class’ by giving them access to all the rest of their unprepared list at the ‘cost’ of a few minutes, closer to a real play ‘quantum spell list’ of previously only white room theorising territory.
It does distinguish them more, by making them a little more focused and dependent on the spellbook.
I’d say “put that it needs a use limit on it in the survey” but I am resigned to seeing the feature disappear because people have very little nuance on stuff like this.
Which is too bad. It’s a good idea.
The poor are getting scraps and the powerful are being rocketed even higher.
Man don’t compare it to wealth stratification. Some of us have gone from comfortable to paycheck-to-paycheck without a change in pay over the last two years. It ain’t cute.