D&D 5E (2014) Is Point Buy Balanced?

[ECMO3]

But it did point out a certain .... unfairness, and made for a helluva time planning encounters.

dice are random. There is always going to be unfairness if you are rolling.

 

[ECMO3]

What I find more of a nuisance - as in, tougher to deal with as DM - is the inevitable hit point imbalance that comes with higher levels. A high-con warrior type who gets to 10th-ish level is likely to have double or triple or even quadruple the hit points of the party's squishier members at the same level (regardless whether hit points are rolled or fixed), meaning something that does enough damage to seriously threaten the tank is going to wipe out the squishies without a second thought.

IME as both a DM and as a player, the players with a high AC and ways of imposing disadvantage are WAY more durable in play than PCs who rely on higher hit points.

There are enemies that can wipe out the "squishies" with AOEs but there are more enemies that will quickly drain the guys who rely on high hit points.