D&D General 50 Years. The Least Popular Class Is......

[tetrasodium]

Most groups I saw played 3.5 like 2E.

As late as 2014 I saw groups who weren't playing like what you're describing. Eg they weren't using wands of CLW. Mist groups only had core book maybe one or 2 more Randoms.

Ours was the only group even vaguely plugged in. There's a current group still playing 3.5 they allow phb+1.

I think a big reason 4E died was most groups were not playing online meta so 3.5 worked for them.

Druid was an exception. Least popular Class though. I saw a grand total of 2. One was OP other was fine.

That was my experience as well. I recall groups occasionally finding or being allowed to buy things like a wand of CLW (almost always found as loot or part of quest payment). I think that there was only one game that I participated in where the CRPG style waterfall of CLW wands & that was a very strange group including one player with a d20 modern PC & a second with a literal shadowrun PC beside some 3.5 PCs while 4e was new.

Also I didn't find THAC0 all that "confusing" as a middle schooler. I don't see one for ad&d2e, but it looks like the red box basic set of the age had an "ages 10 & up" on it... Perhaps falling on different sides of that line explains the differing experience with grok'ing THAC0.

 

[Zardnaar]

That was my experience as well. I recall groups occasionally finding or being allowed to buy things like a wand of CLW (almost always found as loot or part of quest payment). I think that there was only one game that I participated in where the CRPG style waterfall of CLW wands & that was a very strange group including one player with a d20 modern PC & a second with a literal shadowrun PC beside some 3.5 PCs while 4e was new.

Also I didn't find THAC0 all that "confusing" as a middle schooler. I don't see one for ad&d2e, but it looks like the red box basic set of the age had an "ages 10 & up" on it... Perhaps falling on different sides of that line explains the differing experience with grok'ing THAC0.

We used wands of clw. But didn't go down the online meta rabbit hole completely.

Never saw any group that did. And that was including a university roll playing club and tourneys.

I'm sure it happened I don't think it was the norm.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Wizards at levels people actually play at not so much.

It's a pretty big leap considering the level where they broke atmo was five.

 

[Zardnaar]

It's a pretty big leap considering the level where they broke atmo was five.

Debatable. What's so broken at level 5 specifically?

 

[tetrasodium]

Debatable. What's so broken at level 5 specifically?

That's what all the memes today say that the old days were like?

 

[Zardnaar]

That's what all the memes today say that the old days were like?

I remember broken wizards. Not level 5 ones though more higher level with prestige classes.

 

[Oofta]

I remember broken wizards. Not level 5 ones though more higher level with prestige classes.

Wizards were broken at higher levels, somewhere around 14 or 15. But not at level 5.

 

[Zardnaar]

Wizards were broken at higher levels, somewhere around 14 or 15. But not at level 5.

Yeah not much has changed.

I'm thinking if the mist broken stuff I can remember from 3E at levels peopke actually play. Some 3.0 stuff mostly prestige classes.

In 3.5 mostly level 6 Druids with natural spell and a bard I saw level 8.

Most of the online stuff was theory crafting. Cleric archer was good at 9 broken at 15. 3.0 version 3.5 required effort.

Level 9's getting up near where people play though then and now. Anything outside phb is DMs discretion as well. Start saying no to the worst offenders. That basically leaves the Druid and UA fixed that as well for the most part.

 

[Oofta]

Yeah not much has changed.

I'm thinking if the mist broken stuff I can remember from 3E at levels peopke actually play. Some 3.0 stuff mostly prestige classes.

In 3.5 mostly level 6 Druids with natural spell and a bard I saw level 8.

Most of the online stuff was theory crafting. Cleric archer was good at 9 broken at 15. 3.0 version 3.5 required effort.

Level 9's getting up near where people play though then and now. Anything outside phb is DMs discretion as well. Start saying no to the worst offenders. That basically leaves the Druid and UA fixed that as well for the most part.

I think the main issue with 3.5 was that if you knew what you were doing you could build characters that were far more effective than what casual players did. Even more so if your DM allowed some of the exploits. But even if my fighter was far more effective than most fighters, he was still a character with linear growth versus the exponential growth wizards and (to only a slightly lesser degree) clerics saw. At least in my experience.

Effectiveness will always vary of course, but (again, in my experience) 5E is far better balanced. Which may not mean much.

 

[Zardnaar]

I think the main issue with 3.5 was that if you knew what you were doing you could build characters that were far more effective than what casual players did. Even more so if your DM allowed some of the exploits. But even if my fighter was far more effective than most fighters, he was still a character with linear growth versus the exponential growth wizards and (to only a slightly lesser degree) clerics saw. At least in my experience.

Effectiveness will always vary of course, but (again, in my experience) 5E is far better balanced. Which may not mean much.

5E more balanced in terns of being easier to run.
It's more imbalanced at lower levels. 3.5 didnt have Eldritch blast in it's current form, action surge and easy metamagic. 5E is way better at level 1nd 2 for newbies, then 3.5 and 4E is terrible for it.

I may have been rereading 3.5 material recently.

One big thing playing OSR side by side with 5E. 5E characters are way more powerful while OSR has way better magic items. Indirectly different experiences in the exploration pillar.

If I played 3.5 again I would update my banned list.