D&D General Mike Mearls says control spells are ruining 5th Edition

[Minigiant]

4e is level 3-10 stretched out only if you are going by numbers.

By effects, it's D&D levels 3-45. Except a lot of it is "gold based". In 4e, gold is power because gold fuels rituals. The more gold you had, the more you can punch reality.

Thats why the combat numbers didn't grow too much barring to hit and Defenses. You can't spend gold during combat normally.

4e actually made dungeoneering make sense. You delved to get the gold to beat your foes with. The BBEG was just a evil guy too rich for your poor behind to kill yet.

 

[Zardnaar]

4e is level 3-10 stretched out only if you are going by numbers.

By effects, it's D&D levels 3-45. Except a lot of it is "gold based". In 4e, gold is power because gold fuels rituals. The more gold you had, the more you can punch reality.

Thats why the combat numbers didn't grow too much barring to hit and Defenses. You can't spend gold during combat normally.

4e actually made dungeoneering make sense. You delved to get the gold to beat your foes with. The BBEG was just a evil guy too rich for your poor behind to kill yet.

Red Ferrari with 19 painted on side. Red Toyota with 19 painted on the side.

Theyre both cars, Red and have a 19 on the side. Not exactly the same comparison.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

4E wasn't really high level play. It was level 3-10 stretched over 30 levels with some minor bits bolted on. May as well make a 10 level game instead.

Except that it was still high level play. That's part of the problem here. Folks reject certain things as being "not high level play" when they demonstrably are.

As pemerton said, the difference between low and high level is communicated through increasing severity, heightened stakes (it's expected that each character is going to be rolling death saves at least once per day!), access to powerful ritual spells, and adventuring through more inherently dangerous places (like the Elemental Chaos or Astral Sea). Those are real differences.

And if your barometer is set by what spellcasters can do...maybe just maybe consider that 7th level spells and above are part of the problem with D&D.