D&D 4E looking to hear opinions on magic in 4e

[Lord Phoenix]

so i kinda dont like some the changes to the way magic works in 4e, like taking out some certain spells, making certain spells usable only during encounters, teleporting is now limited to combat and or short distances, and making magic items. i love the fact they took out the xp cost but now it seems im limited to what kind of items i can make. and lets not forget wands, no more 50 standard charges, now i can only use it once per encounter if id like to use my wand of fireball or even magic missile. so thats my view on it so far, willing to hear other peoples feedback so come what may!

 

[willows]

The 5e system is a lot more fun!

Energy nodes and fundamental force space allow magical characters to feel just as diverse as fighty guys, even though the dynamics of their powers are totally different.

I find that empowerment is more satisfying than 4e-style item creation.

That said, I think you might be seeing more diverse kinds of items in (a hypothetical) Adventurer's Vault 3... the core items are built to hew really tightly to the core action economy so that their effects are easier to design.

It helps to kind of abandon the idea that "magic is super awesome and if it's not magic it's lame" which seems to be sort of the overarching theme of prior editions. That's not true in 4e.

 

[Henry]

The goal was to make characters less reliant on their magic items, and to an extent they succeeded. People seem to rely on the magic's plusses, still, but it's better than relying on a "wizard in a stick" that seemed to be the hallmark of earlier editions. When your wizard can shoot small fireballs and magic missiles on his own all day long, he doesn't need a wand with 50 charges any more.

I'll freely admit, though, that magic items do need to be made more "special" again, and it looks like Mike Mearls agrees with me, and they are making some changes on magic item rarity and abilities with the Essentials stuff.

 

[Dragongrief]

teleporting is now limited to combat and or short distances

I'm thinking this idea is from a misinterpretation of the rules. Regardless of whether a power is At-Will, Encounter or Daily, the only time you can't use it outside of combat is if it requires an "enemy" to target (most Attack powers).

If your Eladrin is walking through the village and wants to Fey Step up to a building's roof - done. He just can't use it again for 5 minutes.

Longer ranged teleportation is available as early as 8th level with the Linked Portal ritual.

making magic items. i love the fact they took out the xp cost but now it seems im limited to what kind of items i can make. and lets not forget wands, no more 50 standard charges, now i can only use it once per encounter if id like to use my wand of fireball or even magic missile.

The XP cost was introduced in 3E, and I'm glad to see it go as well (2E gave you experience for making items).

Most of my thought on items echo Henry's - I'm using the Inherent Bonuses so I can custom make items for the characters and not worry about when they get them.

For your concern about how often wands can be used: the way I look at it is you only grab a wand if you can't use a specific power, or aren't sure how often you'll need it. If you're a combat Wizard, take the Magic Missile and Fireball powers. Leave the wand for the Bard or Swordmage in your group so they have extra versatility.

 

[Rampant]

The problem being that no matter how well you strike the balance you'll have people clamoring to remove the magic items and to make them more special (read: Important).

The +x weapon dates back since before I started playing (i started right after the original 3e psionics handbook came out), and part of me would be sad to see it go away entirely. At the same time I've seen the mayhem that can be caused by dependency, Remember what happened to 3.5 after the artificer came out?