Transformer
Explorer
I must say, I'm with the people who can't see how the playtest is anything more like 3e than it is like 4e. It has 4e-style 1st level hitpoints. It has reworked healing surges. It has 4e-style monster XP. It's making a genuine effort to be balanced across all levels. It's false and alarmist, plain and simple, to say that this playtest "effectively disregard the contributions of 4th Edition."
The most distinctive thing about 4e is the power system, and specifically the varied combat options given to every class and not just spellcasters. The thing is, we haven't seen the 4e-style fighter yet, because there isn't one on the first playtest. It's sheer nonsense to conclude that you won't be able to play a 4e-style fighter (or rogue or barbarian), especially when WotC has explicitly said that you will be able to play a 4e-style fighter.
Now, if you want to drive the message home to Wizards that the 4e-style fighter, when it comes, had better be good, and had better be balanced, and had better be as interesting as the wizard, by all means do that. But don't presume that it won't be at this stage in the game. There's no evidence for that.
I can think of only a few things about 4e that I would say were unequivocally good and should be brought back, but which are not in the playtest. First, 4e monster stat blocks are a must. Second, 4e's in-combat action economy was excellent and should return; or at least, minor actions should return.
But seriously, this self-righteous "Wizards clearly hates 4e and wants to sweep it and its fans under the rug now!" meme has got to stop. It is obviously, factually untrue. And I say this as a person who liked 4e more than any previous edition.
The most distinctive thing about 4e is the power system, and specifically the varied combat options given to every class and not just spellcasters. The thing is, we haven't seen the 4e-style fighter yet, because there isn't one on the first playtest. It's sheer nonsense to conclude that you won't be able to play a 4e-style fighter (or rogue or barbarian), especially when WotC has explicitly said that you will be able to play a 4e-style fighter.
Now, if you want to drive the message home to Wizards that the 4e-style fighter, when it comes, had better be good, and had better be balanced, and had better be as interesting as the wizard, by all means do that. But don't presume that it won't be at this stage in the game. There's no evidence for that.
I can think of only a few things about 4e that I would say were unequivocally good and should be brought back, but which are not in the playtest. First, 4e monster stat blocks are a must. Second, 4e's in-combat action economy was excellent and should return; or at least, minor actions should return.
But seriously, this self-righteous "Wizards clearly hates 4e and wants to sweep it and its fans under the rug now!" meme has got to stop. It is obviously, factually untrue. And I say this as a person who liked 4e more than any previous edition.