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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7962467" data-attributes="member: 20564">Thank you for your measured and reasonable tone, I will try to match it. I think we got a bit adversarial.That's not quite the points I was making.  Let me try to be clear.1. Characters take more Actions during encounters over the course of a 6-8 encounter day than during a 1-3 encounter day. If in both cases spell slots are expended by the end of the day, that means in the 6-8 encounter day more Actions were filled with Cantrips, which (baring class feature boosts like the warlock) have less effect than on-level and near-level spells.Averaging in a lesser effect means that the average effect per Action is less for a caster during a long day.Casters having a variable effect per day means that their balance relative to primary at-will classes change based on the number of encounters per day.2. Spell slots and the actions to cast them can be (not are) more efficient in larger encounters.2a. A long lasting spell that lasts for 8 rounds will have more total effect than one that lasts for 4. That's more likely in harder encounters as they tend to run longer.2b. If encounter deadliness is increased via more foes, area of effect can do more total damage/affect more foes per casting, while at-will actions are single target.2c. If encounter deadliness is increased via more powerful foes, due to the nature of creatures in 5e having 2-3 bad saves the proper spell selection can make more powerful foes just as easy to effect as weaker foes. So the same spell slot can action deny/debuff/or otherwise impair a more powerful creature. At-wills usually target HPs via AC, both of which usually increase with a more powerful creature so they don't have an outsized effect.Taken together, this means that starting from the baseline of a spell slot having the same effect regardless of encounter deadliness, we can see that there are cases when a slot can be even more effective. This can, when it takes place, further increase the effect per Action for casters in ways that the primary at-wills usually do not match.  (They can - for example a grappler build can go after a more powerful but physically weak/clumsy foe.  But that's not "business as usual" for most groups.)One great point you brought up I didn't address is short rests. I've seen them all over the place from after every encounter to once in about 12 encounters (just two weeks ago - we were against the clock).When modelling is hard because of all of the factors, we can go to original source. Play a few high encounter days with your normal players. Do 6-8 encounters between long rests with two short rests about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way through. Tell them ahead of time so they aren't blindsided as that would put a spin on it. I mention a few, because the first might have lessons learned that will impact how they play in future ones. See if there is more cantrip usage. See how the at-will characters feel.(Note: Some things that may impact this.  If you are playing Tier 4 or higher Tier 3, spell slots may be so plentiful that cantrips aren't used as much.  Also, check if your players actually have a good mix of primary at-will and primary long-rest.  In one group I play in the DM does 1-2 encounters in a regular day, and most of the player tend to play something that can nova in order to survive the high deadliness, so that group doesn't have a mix.)</blockquote>

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