Summary
Though it is too early to judge with certainty, playtest material suggests the upcoming 2024 revisedDungeons & Dragonsrulebooks willcreate a divide between martial characters and spellcasters that is not present in the current rules. VeteranDnDplayers recall a 3e perception among fans that martial classes, like Fighter and Barbarian, did not provide a viable contribution when compared to full spellcasters, like Clerics and Wizards. The4e system corrected this with its unified power progression and distinct class roles. The 2014 5ePlayer’s Handbookclasses lean closer to 3e in their design, but martial classes could contribute.
Put simply, spellcasting classes are as powerful as the spells they have access to, while martial classes are as powerful as the Feats they have access to.
System-savvy players quickly recognized thatDnD’s Hand Crossbows and Polearm weaponshad Feat support, offering bonus action attacks through Crossbow Expert and Polearm Master. Similarly, the Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master Feats gave characters an option to reduce their attack accuracy by 5 in exchange for adding 10 to their damage when attacking with these weapon types.Feat synergy gave martial classes clear options for delivering unparalleled ranged or melee damage. The Archery Fighting Style helped offset the accuracy penalty for ranged weapon specialists, while the Barbarian’s Reckless Attack gave Advantage, mitigating the reduced accuracy of Great Weapon Master.
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3e D&D’s Divide Between Martials & Casters Is Back
The 2014 Rules Saw Relative Parity Between Martial Classes And Spellcasters
While provenbuilds like aDnDPolearm Barbarianlack the versatility of spellcasters, or the utility outside of combat afforded to Rogues, it islargely inarguable that they are valuable to adventuring parties. Death is the best status effect, and being able to chew through large monster HP totals in a short period of time means less rounds the party must weather counter attacks. Tighter limits to accessing very high-level spells, along with the Concentration mechanic, helped reign in spellcasters, adding up to a relatively balanced edition.Martial characters might be less interesting to play, but their contributions are undeniable.
Thanks to simple sources of Advantage like Reckless Attack and Faerie Fire, 2014 martial classes were able to make the most of Great Weapon Master and Sharpshooter without suffering many misses from the accuracy penalty.
Certainchanges toDnDWizards are divisive, as the 2024Player’s Handbookmay remove the various subclasses associated with each school of magic from the core rules, but notably,the power of spells has not been diminished, based on playtest material. Put simply, spellcasting classes are as powerful as the spells they have access to, while martial classes are as powerful as the Feats they have access to. The Paladin could generate damage through Smite. They could just as easily combine Great Weapon Master with a subclass like Vengeance or Devotion that offers increased accuracy, consistently negating the accuracy penalty.
A few players perceive the2024D&DPHB buffing martial classes, but this surface-level analysis fails to compare the impact the revised Feats have on martial classes. The 2014 Monk class could never excel at damage, compared to other martials, but theMonk offered a unique utility in its ability to deliver multiple Stunning Strikes each turn. The 2024 Monk is limited to one Stunning Strike per turn,removing its sole viable contribution. The 2024 Paladin is limited to one Smite per turn, reducing its damage capabilities. The only martial class that seems to truly benefit is the Rogue.
Rogues Benefit, But D&D Fighters & Barbarians Lose Out
Weapon Masteries Offer Negligible Benefits, Only Added Complexity
TheDungeons & Dragonsskill mastery buildsof the 2014 5e rules generally leveraged the Rogue class for its multiple Expertise skills and its now-iconic Reliable Talent feature. Rogues typically offer mediocre damage in combat butexcellent utility outside of battle, thanks to their ability to optimize skill checks. Playtest materials suggest the 2024 Rogue may receive Reliable Talent four levels earlier,which is a genuinely nice touch. Unfortunately, other iconic classes like Fighter and Barbarian lose their niche of massive damage numbers. A few select subclasses may keep pace with the 2014 PHB martials, but those are rare exceptions.
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It remains to be seen whethernew players enjoy 2024D&Drules, or if they will lean towards the more established 2014 rules. If the 2024DnDmanuals become the ones readily available in bookstores and online retailers, it is likely they will be thecommon entry point for newcomers to the tabletop RPG hobby. Veteran players, or even those who were highly familiar with 2014 5e, will be able to compare the disparity between caster and martial classes, and will likely lean towards full casting classes like Cleric and Wizard. Theredesigned martial classes are bad for new players.
The only Weapon Mastery shown in playtest material that is universally helpful to martial characters, and not difficult to remember for new players, is the Graze option, which provides an effect identical to 4eDnD’s “damage on a miss” mechanics.
Simpler archetypes like a Fighter are enticing for new players, quite often. The much-toutedWeapon Mastery system of 2024DnDis the worst replacement for raw damagewhere new players are concerned. For the most part, these weapon masteries offer negligible benefits, and just give new players more minutiae to track and potentially forget,slowing down combat and adding little to it. This means it is not easier fornew players to learn 2024DnD, and there is more likelihood they will play a “trap build,” an inadequate character build that offers no real contribution, souring them on the game.
Archers Are No Longer Damage-Dealers In 2024 D&D
Heavy Melee Weapon Users Also Suffer Due To Greatly Weakened Feats
It is technically not too late for Wizards of the Coast to course correct, but it is unlikely the 2024PHBwill significantly deviate from what playtests suggest. Thenew Sharpshooter feat lacks any function to add damage, and the new Great Weapon Master only adds damage to a single attack per turn, weakening all classes with Extra Attack, andsignificantly impacting Fighters, a class that gains up to four attacks per Attack Action. Barbarians gain an alternate use of Reckless Attack that forgoes Advantage for additional damage, yielding results close to a 2014 Barbarian, but only at higher levels.
Playtest materials show that a Barbarian can forego Advantage from Reckless Attack to gain +1d10 bonus damage, and at higher levels, +2d10. On average, this +2d10 works out nearly identically to 2014DnD’s Great Weapon Master paired with Advantage.
Instead of worrying aboutdivisive 2024D&Dcharacter sheet changes, fansshould be more concerned about a return to the 3e era’s schism between martial and spellcasting classes. This makes the game less approachable for new players, turning roughly half of the game’s classes into “trap builds,” including some ofDnD’s most iconic archetypes.Spellcasters already had reality-warping power and unmatched versatility. Weakening feats like Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master, and features like Stunning Strike and Smite, without reducing the power of spells, creates an edition ofDungeons & Dragonswhere swords and bows are entirely obsolete, ruining game balance.
