D&D 2024: Did They Really Make martial classes Obsolete?!
The Great D&D Class Divide: Spellcasters Reign Supreme?
The new Dungeons & Dragons 2024 Player's Handbook is finally here and those changes are being debated. However, one change stands out more than the others. Martial classes? They're weaker than ever before (compared to spellcasters) ! Sure, some high-level Fighters and Barbarians using those massive, two-handed weapons, and some niche Rogue builds remain viable. However, for the vast majority, the situation feels incredibly uneven, almost as if many characters feel extremely outdated.
There were some issues initially before the recent changes to the rules; the famous 3e "martial-caster divide" (which did not appear in 4e, later reduced in the 2014 edition of 5e) is back, in all its frustrating glory. This completely changes the existing and established design of characters, some previously considered "meta" will probably never work at that level any longer; a completely unacceptable change given how some specific characters, like Monks and Paladins suddenly lack many of their signature features and capabilities. A massive downgrade across the board!
What Happened to Ranged Martial Characters? The Fall of Sharpshooter
Those ranged builds in the 2014 edition? Forget about it! A well-optimized Fighter-Rogue multiclass character (with the now-missing Sharpshooter feat and Crossbow Expert) could lay waste to enemies from a completely safe range of up to 120 feet! Those high-level Fighters? They dealt incredible damage – boosted further through Action Surge. The updated Crossbow Expert feat now seems bizarre. It’s utterly unrealistic! That feat lets you load crossbows without even using a hand (seriously?), switching that important Bonus Action attack (with a single-hand crossbow) to requiring two-weapon fighting instead. Suddenly using a hand crossbow requires magic items to be viable—what happened to game balance, folks?
Rangers got some improvements to their Beastmaster subclass—but the reduced damage makes most of those ranged builds severely ineffective; the “damage gamble” part of Sharpshooter (taking -5 to hit for a +10 to damage) is gone; causing even greater difficulties because some previously reliably available ways to offset the Sharpshooter penalty are entirely impossible to achieve! This renders some earlier game play approaches to completely optimize certain ranged builds no longer relevant, despite many aspects not necessarily receiving changes outside of what had happened in relation to other core character build design principles which completely impact the player's capabilities.
Paladins and Monks: Fallen from Grace
Paladins are in dire straits, folks! In the 2014 edition; Divine Smite wasn't a spell– but a crucial class ability and a powerful tool. Smite could activate from ANY attack! But that is not how it works now; that’s a completely game-changing shift that dramatically lowered the power capabilities! This completely changed several aspects about how Paladins could function. The new changes completely render many builds that were already common previously, utterly broken.
And Monks? They used to shine with multiple Stunning Strike attempts! They could limit opponent actions; crucial against enemies with high Constitution saves, those multiple save attempts compensated for many problems otherwise found during this game mode, especially at lower levels and when dealing with more frequent amounts of combat. Those higher damage dice? Totally negligible. None of that changed for stunning enemies. Now Stunning Strike is once per turn which remains better than that seriously limited Divine Smite version, but remains weaker compared to before the changes and a severe decrease of the previous Monk's effectiveness.
Melee Mayhem: Are Fighters and Barbarians Still Viable?
Melee Fighters and Barbarians may remain competitive–especially with high-level characters. This largely depends on individual gameplay approach. The updated Great Weapon Master feat adds Proficiency Bonus to damage, without that massive -5 to hit penalty (from its 2014 counterpart)! However, there’s another big limitation. This buff applies ONLY to the main Attack Action. This severely hinders how this ability could function in comparison, given how many existing features could only be employed outside of these specified turns or conditions. A severe disadvantage compared to other methods. Some may remain relevant but several will break entirely, especially as there is nothing gained for these specific builds that would otherwise compensate for that loss of many available tactics; even generating those tactical advantages from utilizing that "damage gamble" approach previously considered to be optimal for most classes relying heavily on attacks for damaging opponents and making opponents flee and evade. Reactions (like Opportunity Attacks) or Bonus Action attacks (from Polearm Master) are both out—making those various ways to optimize a certain character’s play style are not an option.
The Rogue Exception: A Martial Class that Remains Largely Intact
There’s one notable exception here and these specific reasons entirely explain this aspect; that famous Sneak Attack ability is why it remains viable. A common analysis is why some people see Dexterity as a ridiculously broken mechanic and why a nerf of Sharpshooter seems good. However, those analyses miss something truly essential. The problem isn’t simply that there’s excessive amounts of power but more that the sheer imbalance makes martial characters severely underpowered in most circumstances; not helping the argument. spellcasters received little damage aside from minor adjustments to "leveled spells." They're also way more powerful now. This completely highlights the unnecessary loss which had previously never existed. That was completely avoidable. The differences in terms of capabilities created by the current mechanics for different character classes becomes increasingly frustrating, showcasing how unbalanced things now seem to be in a lot of situations, where earlier versions might've worked fairly well despite several attempts to improve it before those latest versions were even available.
Conclusion: A Broken Balance That Needs Immediate Attention
Some people believe that there wasn’t that big a "divide" in the 2014 version – well-built martial characters dealt insane amounts of damage. However, that misses a vital point; Spellcasters had more versatility– outside of simple combat! Now that "divide"? It’s absolutely HUGE. The reduced Sharpshooter, weakened Paladin and Monk, and the limited melee options severely nerf martial classes – and makes many builds, utterly impossible to make as they are currently designed. A completely avoidable mistake, the impact is clear and evident throughout this entire revised version.
