What 4e does right

[jamorea]

The Power System. I didn't purchase Bo9S and I didn't really expect to like the 4E power system but I do. I hope they don't change it too much. It's elegant as is.
Monster Design.
Minions. I like how they're easy to kill but you can't just ignore them. It's a monster type I wish I had in my 1E days.
Class Balance. I don't necessarily care about class balance too much (I'm fine with 3.x/PF) but I have to admit things seem balanced. I can see the advantages.
DMG Page 42.

 

[frankthedm]

Gear sells for 1/5th in cash, if at all: Nobody want that orc's sword and you won't gain an extra level's worth of loot just because the grunts were supposed to have plate mail.

Steady hp progression: ditto. Just the steady part though.

Low level Minions: D&D needs huge amounts of schlubs. Though if four 1HP wonders are supposed to count as one normal foe, that mean designers needed to be careful about allowing at will, area effect, no avoidance, auto-damage.

Spoiler

They weren't; Fire seeds & warlock rod combo are just two i know of

.

Rituals:

• Lets other characters bear the burden of "Effects the party is assumed to have".
• Lets the world be more magical when a "non caster" can now do some of the 'spells' casters have done in the past.
• Takes non combat effects out of the combat round.
• Reduces feelings of entitlement and makes it much easier to limit magical effects for the campaign. No longer can a player claim they have been nerfed just because a spell was removed or changed because it is on "their Class spell list" .

 

[Stoat]

I like that monsters are more mechanically distinct from each other, particularly low-level humanoid types (kobolds, goblins, hobgoblins & orcs).

I like the idea of the feywild, although I'm not real keen on the name. The concept has a long mythological pedigree, and IMO has been kept in the "optional planar setup" ghetto for two long.

I like that Spelljammers are back.

 

[malraux]

DM prep time feels effective. There's a lot less fiddliness involved with prep time, so the ratio of prep time to game time is much better.

Similarly, running games is a bit better. Sure, you can always see how you could have done better, but its a lot harder to skip over a major fight changing power of a monster.

Third, within the different roles, classes are well balanced against each other wrt power. The fighter and the swordmage acomplish the same basic goals via different means, but I can't say that one is better than the other.

Fourth, across roles they are pretty well balanced for fun. All roles feel like a part of a team.

Finally, digital support in specific and support for the game in general. The character builder is awesome, and the rest of the online tools are about as good as they could be. In addition, even though there has been a proliferation of splats, there doesn't feel like an overload of information.

 

[Voadam]

Healing Surges. No longer so healing magic dependent.

At will and encounter powers.

General good class combat power balance.

Thematic class powers.

Making player roles an explicit character concept.

Skill list consolidation.

Fairly easy access to new skills.

Tieing trap skill to thievery instead of to rogues only.

Increased level 1 hp.

Flat hp increases instead of random.

Save Ends, 1 round, or encounter duration effects.

Save at the end of the round, so effects last at least a round.

Having all attacks be active attack rolls instead of unleashing magic the target actively saves against.

Ranger and Rogue special attack powers not being inapplicable to majority of opponents.

Monster Roles.

Monster mechanics designed for monster purposes.

Mostly Self Contained Monster Stat Blocks.

Monsters having a few thematic powers only.

Eliminating energy drain and permanent stat drain.

Guidelines for monster stat number ranges based on role and level.

 

[Tallifer]

I like that the rules officially endorse "refluffing" things. This way roleplaying and gaming need never clash: the player can have his "warforged" fighter or "kalashtar" paladin and the dungeon master can keep his humanocentric world.

I like the clean, consistent framework of the rules. I read the whole of the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Players' Handbook in a weekend and I easily understood the basic mechanics of the game enough that when I looked at the monster manual I could roughly see how certain monsters would interact with a party.

I like the tactically interesting and exciting encounters published in the modules. Great models for making my own.

I like everything else already mentioned above.

 

[RedBeardJim]

I love the Primal power source and everything associated with it. There's just something about the idea of the world itself waking up, flexing its muscles and telling the gods and primordials to pull their pants back up and go home that strikes a chord in me. It's like being in fifth grade again and reading about the Entmoot for the first time, the still silence and then the "Rah-hoom-rah!!!" as the Ents get angry. I think WoTC knocked the ball out of the park with it.

 

[BryonD]

I really very much like the 4E death and dying rule.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

I really very much like the 4E death and dying rule.

Me, too. I also like healing surges a lot. (I just wish there were a way to stay injured for longer than six hours.)

I've flat-out stolen 4E's DM-prep philosophy, for my 3.5/Pathfinder game.

 

[Scribble]

Me, too. I also like healing surges a lot. (I just wish there were a way to stay injured for longer than six hours.)

I've flat-out stolen 4E's DM-prep philosophy, for my 3.5/Pathfinder game.

you mean pre-built into the system?