The minuses of pluses, the pluses of minuses.

[Stalker0]

The big thing to remember that in 3e, the stat mods are the major part of the race. You play a dwarf for con, an elf for dex, etc. In 4e, races are getting racial powers and such, which gives them a wider ground.

For example, you might think: "Man, that +2 to wisdom is nice, I'll play an elf cleric." But then go, "Then again, that dwarven toughness is really nice, and I would like to play a tank type cleric, so maybe I'll go with that. Of course, I could always use an extra feat, so humans are still good.)

 

[TwoSix]

Well, I guess there is a point there, that now you can run a dwarf sorceror or some other combo without starting off nerfed. But won't that just transition into 'why play a suboptimal dwarf cleric (assuming no Wis bonus) when I can play an elf cleric with a +2 Wis?'

Perception. It feels different choosing between a +2 and +0, rather than a +0 and a -2. When you choose a -2, you feel as if you're actively harming your character build, whereas not choosing a +2 simply feels as if you're selecting between various benefits. And as a person who never played an elf in 3e simply because of the Con penalty, it does matter.