I went with 4.
I know that's harsh, but I simply do not feel that the new version of 5E accomplished what it set out to do... or really even what exactly it is that it was trying to do.
Yes, the books look nice. I am not a fan of the new art style, but, objectively, I can take a step back and say that the technical aspects of the art itself are very well done. Even so, much like the rest of D&D 2024, it (subjectively) feels soulless and less inspiring. I went into 2024 being very excited. Now, I am not. I do not have a rational explanation for that. I can only say that, despite being visually and artistically an improvement in a technical sense, I enjoy the aesthetic less, and I find it less inspiring.
Moving ability score improvements to background is something that I find to be weird. Supposedly, this is an improvement or somehow more inclusive. I do not find this change to be neither an improvement nor something that makes anyone in my group feel more included. It comes across as change for the sake of change, and change that replaced old "problems" with new "problems."
Like I said already, I went into things being very excited. Now, I feel somehow less excited for D&D overall. I really thought that a revamped 5e coming out around an anniversary celebration would be the perfect thing for me. I am within a demographic that should be the target for what some of the 2024 design goals were. But all of it fell flat for me personally, and the previews of future products do not appeal to me.
Sure, there have been some improvements. Problematic spells and abilities were reworked, but it is debatable whether or not the provided "improvements" are overall improvements when you take in the grand sum of the game. I can look at some individual pieces and see things that were made better in isolation. However, I can also look at some that don't really seem to do much of anything at all. Much like with my art comments above, somehow the end product just feels less inspiring to me. Mechanically, there are some small improvements, but there are also places where things have regressed.
To be clear, the game is not bad. It is still mostly just 5e, but with changes tacked on that I do not feel accomplished what the stated goals of those changes were. So, with that in mind, I feel that 2024 is overall a downgrade for 5e. At this point, I would feel better with a 6th edition than continuing to buy into what is effectively WoTC's in-house Pathfinder-for-5e version of their own game.
D&D will remain the game that my group plays because that is the game we all know, but there is less enthusiasm for it going forward.
