D&D (2024) One D&D Survey Feedback: Weapon Mastery Spectacular; Warlock and Wizard Mixed Reactions

Jeremy Crawford discusses the results of the Packet 5 Survey:

• Weapon Mastery at 80% approval, and all options except for Flex scored similarly. Crawford says that Flex is mathematically one of the most powerful properties, but will need some attention because people didn't feel like it was. This feature is in the 2024 PHB for 6 Classes, guaranteed at this point.
• Barbarian scored well, particularly the individual features, average satisfaction of 80% for each feature. Beserker got 84% satisfaction, while the 2014 Beserker in the 2020 Big Class Survey got 29% satisfaction.
• Fighter received well, overall 75% satisfaction. Champion scored 54% in the Big Class Survey, but this new one got 74%.
• Sorcerer in the Big Class Survey got 60%, this UA Sorcerer got 72%. Lots of enthusiasm for the Metamagic revisions. Careful Spell got 92% satisfaction. Twin Spell was the exception, at 60%. Draconic Sorcerer got 73%, new Dragon Wings feature was not well received but will be fixed back to being on all the time by the return to 2014 Aubclass progression.
• Class specific Spell lists are back in UA 7 coming soon, the unified Spell lists are out.
• Warlock feedback reflected mixed feelings in the player base. Pact magic is coming back in next iteration. Next Warlock will be more like 2014, Mystic Arcanum will be a core feature, but will still see some adjustments based on feedback to allow for more frequent use of Spells. Eldritch Invocations were well received. Crawford felt it was a good test, because they learned what players felt. They found the idiosyncracy of the Warlock is exactly what people like about it, so theybare keeping it distinct. Next version will get even more Eldritch Invocation options.
• Wizard got a mixed reception. Biggest problem people had was wanting a Wizard specific Spell list, not a shared Arcane list that made the Wizard less distinct. Evoker well received.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

And therefore you can safely afford to be using your resources more freely.

Indeed, that’s a good use of those resources that would otherwise be going to waste.

Tomato, tomato. If you’ve routinely got leftover spells, you can afford to be using your spells more than you have been. Whether you call that “not overthinking” or “not wasting,” the message is the same: you’ve got spell slots to spare, you don’t need to be conserving them as much as you have been.

No I literally just mean not overthinking it. Don’t think or worry about how many you’ll have at the end of the day, or about not using enough slots. Neither matters at the end of the day.

All I worry about is the needs of the current situation, and cast accordingly. If I have half my slots left because I just didn’t need spells as

 

[tetrasodium]

It was not a good comparison, for the reasons I said it wasn’t a good comparison, and @DEFCON 1 ’s rebuttal was not compelling. Also, it is true that a spell slot not spent by the end of the adventuring day is a spell slot wasted. If you disagree with me on either or both of those points, then make a counter-argument instead of vaguely gesturing at… whatever you’re trying to gesture at, I still can’t really tell.

Except it's not just personal disagreement, your own "obviously" disagrees.

Those reasons you said are in significant conflict with the "obviously" you eventually admitted. People started pushing you on the conflict because it's such a foundational hurdle those reasons need to overcome before they matter.

 

[Remathilis]

I just want to say to everyone who wondered how they will fix pact magic resting, I told you it would be the a free recharge and I was right.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

And therefore you can safely afford to be using your resources more freely.

Indeed, that’s a good use of those resources that would otherwise be going to waste.

Tomato, tomato. If you’ve routinely got leftover spells, you can afford to be using your spells more than you have been. Whether you call that “not overthinking” or “not wasting,” the message is the same: you’ve got spell slots to spare, you don’t need to be conserving them as much as you have been.

This is not objectively true, as these subjective opinions are generally indicative of a playstyle of extreme resource management, which can be a valid option, but is by no means one that is clearly better than any other when adventuring in a sandbox environment.

I recognize this because as a neurodivergent resource manager, this is me in video games. I milk every renewable daily resource as much as I can if the video game mechanics make it safe to do so (like BG3). I had 1 long rest in my first 30 hours of my first playthrough. (I broke that habit when I realized that long rests were necessary for roleplay options.) This is not objectively true in a TTRPG where the DM is not limited to such structure in their storytelling. Sometimes there are random encounters or the DM sees opportunities to provide challenges when resources are low. A DM is not a limited, predictable program like a video game.

There is a difference between "you may be able afford to use your resources more freely" and "if you have any spell slots left over, you're wasting resources" and are therefore are doing it wrong. Now using hindsight, you can certainly get a feel for if you can use more slots in an adventuring day on average, but unless your DM is very predictable and sets specific adventure expectations, I don't see how that correlates into a claim that if you don't use your spell slots you are doing it wrong, by wasting your potential. That advice sounds like it comes from controlling parent, boss, or backseat driver. It's not a discussion about game design or anything, rather it is telling an individual that their choices or preferences in how they play are wrong.

I'm curious. How often have your casters spent all their slots and then the camp was attacked by a nocturnal owlbear on the hunt? Does stuff like that not happen? Because I and other DMs I play with often roll for random encounters, or plan encounters if the party's actions have led to them being sought in the night.

 

[Charlaquin]

Except it's not just personal disagreement, your own "obviously" disagrees.

Those reasons you said are in significant conflict with the "obviously" you eventually admitted. People started pushing you on the conflict because it's such a foundational hurdle those reasons need to overcome before they matter.

There’s no conflict at all. It is both true that you can’t go back in time to cast spells in previous encounters, and true that if you still have spell slots by the end of an adventuring day, those spell slots have gone to waste.

 

[Charlaquin]

There is a difference between "you may be able afford to use your resources more freely" and "if you have any spell slots left over, you're wasting resources"

Only a semantic one.

and are therefore are doing it wrong.

Woah, woah, woah! When did I say you’re doing it wrong if you let spell slots go to waste???

Now using hindsight, you can certainly get a feel for if you can use more slots in an adventuring day on average, but unless your DM is very predictable and sets specific adventure expectations, I don't see how that correlates into a claim that if you don't use your spell slots you are doing it wrong, by wasting your potential.

I didn’t claim you’re doing it wrong. I only claimed that they are wasted, which is true.

That advice sounds like it comes from controlling parent, boss, or backseat driver. It's not a discussion about game design or anything, rather it is telling an individual that their choices or preferences in how they play are wrong.

It is absolutely not telling anyone any such thing! Play however you like, there is no right or wrong way to manage your spell slots.

I'm curious. How often have your casters spent all their slots and then the camp was attacked by a nocturnal owlbear on the hunt? Does stuff like that not happen? Because I and other DMs I play with often roll for random encounters, or plan encounters if the party's actions have led to them being sought in the night.

I mean, in my experience it’s pretty rare that the whole party is completely out of spell slots when they take a long rest. Everyone will tend to be pretty low, and some members might be out, but usually not all of them. Even if they are, it’s usually quite possible to get through a random encounter just on cantrips and other at-will and short rest resources. Moreover, if the party is in a situation where being attacked in the middle of a long rest seems a likely possibility (e.g. they’re in a location full of wandering monsters or being pursued by foes with murderous intent), then efficiency if resource use may take a back seat to safety of resource use. As I said earlier, balancing efficiency vs safety is the core challenge of resource management gameplay.

 

[Charlaquin]

No I literally just mean not overthinking it. Don’t think or worry about how many you’ll have at the end of the day, or about not using enough slots. Neither matters at the end of the day.

All I worry about is the needs of the current situation, and cast accordingly. If I have half my slots left because I just didn’t need spells as

If you only consider the needs of the current situation when deciding whether or not to use spell slots, you’re liable to run out long before needing to rest.

 

[nevin]

It was not a good comparison, for the reasons I said it wasn’t a good comparison, and @DEFCON 1 ’s rebuttal was not compelling. Also, it is true that a spell slot not spent by the end of the adventuring day is a spell slot wasted. If you disagree with me on either or both of those points, then make a counter-argument instead of vaguely gesturing at… whatever you’re trying to gesture at, I still can’t really tell.

Since the players don't always know what they'll be doing or encountering and the Wizard is the ultimate utility class it stands to reason that anytime the wizard doesn't know what they'll be facing they'll make choices that will simply not be useful. Nothing about the wizard class was built around the assumption that resources are meant to be spent 100 percent every game day. does that mean if a rogue doesn't use all thier abilities they were wasted? Strange and largely ineffective way of measuring utility and effectiveness of a class. People aren't cars that you can just put gas in and drive 200 miles. Any unexpected events or plot turns can make a wizard's choices for the day completely useless. That's not a resource issue.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm not going to take any side in the current back and forth, but merely point out that this dialectic is precisely where the resource management game for casters lies.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

If you only consider the needs of the current situation when deciding whether or not to use spell slots, you’re liable to run out long before needing to rest.

In theory only, IME.

Spamming spells like they’ll never run out isn’t using spells based on the needs of the situation. Those are two entirely separate behaviors.