A few people have said things along the lines of "this is pandering for min-maxers/munchkins" or some other claim like that. This post is meant to debunk that.
First, has WotC ever said anything along the lines of "Okay, Powergamers! Throw your money right at us! This book as everything you need to crap on your DM's game by being unbeatable because now you get the ungodly ability to give yourself a +2 to ANY freaking ability score instead of being restricted by the stupid race you chose before! The game now is only specifically designed for you, and screw everyone that has an undying hatred of anyone who has a higher DPR than 13!"
Seriously, what the heck? Even if this was "pandering" to the "Munchkins" why in the world is that a bad thing. Some people like playing differently than your playstyle. Also, this is an optional rule, so freaking ignore it if you don't like the system! You're the DM, this changes absolutely nothing for those who choose to not use this system.
Second, this isn't pandering. Letting other people play a certain way that they prefer is not pandering, because pandering denotes that one playstyle is less than anyone else's. This is incorrect. No one plays D&D wrong unless their table isn't having fun because of the playstyle. If a group likes being murderhobos that work together to destroy every creature in the multiverse, that is not a wrong way to play D&D if they're all having fun. Also, besides the fact that you're wrong, the fact that you're so vehemently wrong about this leads you to start offending others by saying that the way we're playing is incorrect. Freaking play how you want, and ignore everyone else's tables if they're having fun.
Replace the word "pandering" with "making official optional rules," please. Sure, we could homebrew before, but that wasn't supported on sites like D&D Beyond, or in Adventurer's League, or any tables that reject all homebrew rules.
Third, we're not minmaxers because we want to at least be good at what our class is supposed to do. Wizards are supposed to cast spells, Barbarians are supposed to attack with strength. Sure, a halfling will never be as good a barbarian as a half-orc with these changes, and I personally am okay with that. They can still dual wield longswords or something like that, and still can be fun, decent characters.
Call the group of people who want these changes "people who like playing the game differently".
So, finally, the correct way to talk about this change is "Wizards of the Coast is making official rules for people who like playing the game differently."
I never played any previous editions of D&D, and I don't know what traumatic experiences you older folks had playing 3e or whatever edition scarred you into your deep hatred of powergamers. I know that I like making powerful characters, because D&D is supposed to be a game where the characters are the heroes that save the world. I also like numbers and math, so that helps me play in the way that I like.
Please be more respectful to people who actually enjoy playing the game and are excited for the new change, because it allows us to play a certain way. I like playing strong characters, and I like picking races that don't punish me for playing a different way than the race is intended. My playstyle isn't wrong just because you personally don't like that way of playing.
