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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7007983" data-attributes="member: 996">Not true.  Some months into the playtest we got some L&Ls going into the concepts of classes, and one that kinda-sorta committed to starting with just the classes that had been in at least one past-edition PH1.After launch, there was something about wanting to do sub-classes more than full classes.But there have been two full classes in UA, so far - one of them a second take on concept that was first tried as a sub-class, but wasn't adequate as such.From the band-aid cleric of the classic game on, it's always been needed.  4e minimized that need with healing surges, short rests, & second wind, even as it expanded and formalized the role to 'Leader.' 5e has abandoned roles as a formal concept used as a basis for a class concept, but that's all.  The range of contributions PCs can make, and the need for a goodly selection of them in the party, is the same as it's always been.  And, with HD representing far less healing than surges, and second wind being both less healing and fighter only /and/ assumed 'days' being longer, 5e has a greater need of party healers than 4e had for a party leader.There are multiple full casters (Cleric, Druid, Bard) that happen to provide support contributions, and one half-caster (Paladin) that can give them run for their money.  The caster version of the Ranger falls behind those primary alternatives, and wouldn't be adequate by itself.  The existing non-caster options for support don't even approach what the Ranger can do.In a high-magic style of play, that's all fine, all those options will be readily available and appropriate, the party can have several of them.  But that's not the only style of play there is, and supporting more styles really was a design goal from the word Go with this edition (w/in the first few L&Ls following the announcement of the playtest).The mechanical niche is non-caster support, and it's wide open.  The 'leader of men' heroic archetype is pervasive, you'll find far more of them in genre than you will D&D-style Clerics, or (to use the UA full-class precedent alluded to above) Artificers.  Nor was it the only thing you could do with a 4e Warlord - and a 5e warlord needn't be held back by Source & Role considerations.The PDK dips an armored toe into the design space we're talking about, at best.  The BM is barely a demo model of what could be done with maneuvers.  There's parsecs of design space out there for non-caster classes & sub-classes.  It's arcane casters that were packed into the available design space like occult sardines. The EK has far more wizard-like ability than the PDK has Warlord-like ability, but we have not only the EK and Wizard, but the AT, Sorcerer, & Warlock, all overlapping and filling in corners of the arcane-caster design space, even just in the PH.  And UA's already brought us yet another arcane full class.</blockquote>

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