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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 3812639" data-attributes="member: 15999">In the past, there were 3 game-balance mechanics applied to wizards relative to fighters.  These were not bugs -- they were design principles that made playing a magic-user a very different kind of challenge than playing a fighter.1) Wizards started off weak but could eventually become very powerful (the delayed-gratification balance)2) Magic was very effective but limited, whereas strength could be used as often as needed (the resource management balance)3) Wizards needed more XP to advance than fighters didI liked all of these.  The removal of #3 was necessary to allow for 3E's elegant and useful multiclassing.  #1 and #2 were watered down somewhat in 3E; in 4E, #1 looks to be completely gone and #2 nearly gone.  All classes equally useful at all levels, and all classes having a very similar resource management paradigm.It's an enormous challenge to make non-magic characters balanced with high-level casters in terms of power and -- especially -- versatility.  This simply was not an issue before.  A high-level caster WAS more powerful than a high-level fighter, and he had earned the right to be by working his way up through the difficult lower levels.  I don't know if the 4E approach is going to work.  I imagine they'll have to seriously nerf high-level casters to make this happen.</blockquote>