Elder-Basilisk
First Post
From what I've seen, cleric, followed by druid, rogue, and barbarian will probably see the least significant changes as far as play goes.
Fighter may not see many changes but the changes to the haste and shield spells will make a very dramatic difference in how they play. Multiclass fighters often relied upon the shield spell for armor class. From the sounds of it, that will no longer be a viable option. Most fighters with a defensive focus made use of Haste from their party wizard, boots, or potion in order to boost their armor class from "decent-please don't power attack me" to "excellent." Since the Dragon Magazine Haste is useless for defense, defensive fighters (sword and shield--focus on armor class) are no longer likely to be viable past level 6 or so.
Wizard probably will see very few changes but the changes to their spell list is dramatic. According to Dragon, Shield is joining Blur in the dustbin of spells that would still be weak if they were one level lower. Haste seems to be following suit too--especially for wizards who won't be able to cast extra spells with it. To make matters worse, despite all the talk of making Quicken spell useful, the changes will actually make Quicken Spell almost entirely useless by removing two of the three spells that were far and away the most useful spells to quicken: Shield, Haste, and Magic Missile.
For paladins, see the fighter entry--note that this will hurt them even more because Paladins favor defensive builds more than fighters. (Generally not having high enough dex scores to fit finesse fighter molds).
We know that bard, ranger, sorceror (if nothing else b/c of the spell list), and monk are changing significantly.
Rogues are getting Trap sense and a few other changes. But it doesn't seem likely to change how they're played. Changes to the tumble skill may make a difference here too.
Druids may get some changes but none of the listed changes seem to dramatically effect the druid. They'll still have shapeshifting, devastating animal companions, and combine the spellcasting roles of a wizard and cleric--possibly even more so if spells like Waterball and the energy substituted Meteor Swarm from MotW make it into the revised book.
Barbarian may seem like an odd choice to say won't change because it appears that they will be changed a fair amount. They get DR earlier and the uncanny dodge progression may be changed. But none of that will change how a barbarian is played. Barbarians will just be better at what they do because of the new earlier DR. Also, the barbarian "all offense, no defense" style of fighting seems to be nearly the only viable melee fighting style if the rumored changes make it into the book.
Cleric, however, looks to be seeing the least amount of changes. There will be some changes to the spell list--most notably, Hold Person is being nerfed into near uselessness. But clerics aren't nearly as dependent upon Hold Person as wizards are on Shield and Haste. And Hold Person will still be an almost viable second level spell (although not even close to viable as a 3rd level wizard spell). The rumored changes to Harm will make clerics slightly less deadly. Even so, except for clerics who focussed on Hold Person and Harm there don't look to be tons of changes.
Fighter may not see many changes but the changes to the haste and shield spells will make a very dramatic difference in how they play. Multiclass fighters often relied upon the shield spell for armor class. From the sounds of it, that will no longer be a viable option. Most fighters with a defensive focus made use of Haste from their party wizard, boots, or potion in order to boost their armor class from "decent-please don't power attack me" to "excellent." Since the Dragon Magazine Haste is useless for defense, defensive fighters (sword and shield--focus on armor class) are no longer likely to be viable past level 6 or so.
Wizard probably will see very few changes but the changes to their spell list is dramatic. According to Dragon, Shield is joining Blur in the dustbin of spells that would still be weak if they were one level lower. Haste seems to be following suit too--especially for wizards who won't be able to cast extra spells with it. To make matters worse, despite all the talk of making Quicken spell useful, the changes will actually make Quicken Spell almost entirely useless by removing two of the three spells that were far and away the most useful spells to quicken: Shield, Haste, and Magic Missile.
For paladins, see the fighter entry--note that this will hurt them even more because Paladins favor defensive builds more than fighters. (Generally not having high enough dex scores to fit finesse fighter molds).
We know that bard, ranger, sorceror (if nothing else b/c of the spell list), and monk are changing significantly.
Rogues are getting Trap sense and a few other changes. But it doesn't seem likely to change how they're played. Changes to the tumble skill may make a difference here too.
Druids may get some changes but none of the listed changes seem to dramatically effect the druid. They'll still have shapeshifting, devastating animal companions, and combine the spellcasting roles of a wizard and cleric--possibly even more so if spells like Waterball and the energy substituted Meteor Swarm from MotW make it into the revised book.
Barbarian may seem like an odd choice to say won't change because it appears that they will be changed a fair amount. They get DR earlier and the uncanny dodge progression may be changed. But none of that will change how a barbarian is played. Barbarians will just be better at what they do because of the new earlier DR. Also, the barbarian "all offense, no defense" style of fighting seems to be nearly the only viable melee fighting style if the rumored changes make it into the book.
Cleric, however, looks to be seeing the least amount of changes. There will be some changes to the spell list--most notably, Hold Person is being nerfed into near uselessness. But clerics aren't nearly as dependent upon Hold Person as wizards are on Shield and Haste. And Hold Person will still be an almost viable second level spell (although not even close to viable as a 3rd level wizard spell). The rumored changes to Harm will make clerics slightly less deadly. Even so, except for clerics who focussed on Hold Person and Harm there don't look to be tons of changes.
