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.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Maybe 5e truly IS evergreen; neither WotC nor the fan base want it to actually change

If there had been public play testing before 3e, we'd probably still have THAC0.

 

[Clint_L]

You have higher hopes than I do.

Weapon mastery aside, not a single new or radically different mechanic has survived. We've gotten a few new class features (cunning strike, or the new capstones), a few features that were buffed and a slim few that were nerfed (wild shape, at least until the survey reveals players want their buckets of temp HP and WotC caves).

Which is why I have no real expectations going forward that this isn't just making Tasha's style "optional class feature" and making them core, with a side portion of errata. Even if they DO try to iterate, the community will push them back to the 2014 version anyway.

Maybe 5e truly IS evergreen; neither WotC nor the fan base want it to actually change.

How many times does WotC have to emphasize that they are very happy with 5e and are not making major changes? It is noted that you disagree with that approach.

 

[DevL]

View attachment 292308
I'm still WONDERING how this variant of the D4 rolls. Better, terrible, some combination of the two?

I’ve got D4:s in the shape of D12:s with three sides per number. They roll very well.

Edit: These to be precise. All Available

 

[Weiley31]

I’ve got D4:s in the shape of D12:s with three sides per number. They roll very well.

I've seen that for D6's as well. Where did you get that one?

 

[DevL]

I've seen that for D6's as well. Where did you get that one?

DoubleSix dice. They call the D4:s TripleFour.

Doublesix Dice

Doublesix Dice are premium 12-sided D6 dice numbered 1-6 twice.

doublesixdice.com

 

[DEFCON 1]

How many times does WotC have to emphasize that they are very happy with 5e and are not making major changes? It is noted that you disagree with that approach.

People will keep trying to deny it on the hope against hope that they can convince enough other people to agree with them that things should change, and thus actually move the needle far enough for a change to happen.

But what those players oftentimes refuse to accept is that every player who wants change wants a different change... which means there will almost never be enough of a needle move for any one thing to advance 5E past the "evergreen" state that WotC has been saying all along they wanted the game to be.

Look at Short Rests-- large groups of players are saying they don't like the 1-Hour Short Rest... but none of them can agree on how they should be changed. 5-minutes, 10-minutes, 8-hours, removed completely... maybe you could get to 70% acceptance if you added everybody up on just changing the Short Rest from 1-hour... but we'll never see any one solution reach 70%. Which means it will just default back to 5E14.

 

[Horwath]

How many times does WotC have to emphasize that they are very happy with 5e and are not making major changes? It is noted that you disagree with that approach.

Then why change it at all?
If they publish PHB that is 95% same as 2014, who will buy it?
I might if my old breaks down, so I might as well buy the updated. But, aside of that? No reason.

 

[Undrave]

Reversion of magic because of the wizard fans didn't think wizards were special enough.

Typical D&D Pro-Wizard Fandom​

It's not Anti-Wizard hate.

It's that Wizards and Wizard fans dictate the trajectory of D&D design. And everything else suffers due to that.

Agreed, most frustrating aspect of any edition change. "But what about the WIZARD!" they always whine...

Now, while I think making the Warlock another boring daily slot guy was a bad idea and the spell list thing was just removing specificity for no reason, I'm not super happy on the motivation. Why did it need the WIZARD players complaining?

Why do we need Wizards again?

 

[Remathilis]

How many times does WotC have to emphasize that they are very happy with 5e and are not making major changes? It is noted that you disagree with that approach.

If WotC is happy, how do you explain packets 2 - 5? Those looked like major changes being suggested. Was WotC trolling us? Was it a giant "J/K, here's our real suggestions for minor changes"?

 

[Rushbolt]

So we have went through a year of playtesting, thousands of surveys, and massive amounts of results reviews at WotC to get.....weapon mastery, third level subclasses, and some feature changes that basically amount to errata? That's it? I agree with Remathilis that backtracking on almost all the major changes being explored seems confusing.
My major concern is that the corporate executives are once again strong-arming the designers to do what they feel is best for the future of D&D and the VTT instead of letting them make the changes the game needs to keep it popular. Handcuffing your people who have spent decades curating the game because you think you know better is just sheer arrogance.