D&D Made The Martial-Caster Divide Absolutely Worse

screenrant.com:

Now that the new 2024 is out, DMs and players are evaluating the various shifts to the game’s balance and rule changes, but one thing is clear – martial characters are, broadly speaking, weaker than ever, relative to full spellcasting classes. There are a few exceptions, like high-level Fighters and Barbarian who rely on two-handed heavy weapons, and certain Rogue builds. In all other cases, martial characters contribute less than ever in. The loss of the 2014 5e Sharpshooter's “” feature is the most significant change, elevating spellcasters’ combat superiority.

The martial-caster divide was a concept that emerged from the analysis of 3e. This was not present in the 4e system, and the 2014 5e rules minimized this divide, but it has returned in full force with the 2024 revisions.

Other baffling rule changes also muddy the waters. 2014 s ranged Fighter-Rogue multiclass characters could deliver devastating damage from up to 120 feet by pairing Crossbow Expert with Sharpshooter, and single-classed Fighters were even more damaging at higher levels, especially on rounds where they would apply Action Surge. The new Crossbow Expert feat stretches credibility, as it no longer requires a free hand to reload crossbows, and it converts a Bonus Action attack that could trigger while wielding a single-hand crossbow to one that requires two-weapon fighting. Hand crossbow builds require more magic weapons to function as they formerly did.

The 2024 fixed Beastmaster Rangers to a degree, but the class as a whole suffers due to the lessened damage from ranged martial weapons. In the 2014 rules, Sharpshooter allowed a ranged weapon user to take -5 to hit to add +10 to damage. The Archery Fighting Style provided a +2 to hit, which helped offset this penalty, and spells like Faerie Fire provided reliable sources of Advantage. Sharpshooter has lost this “” feature and ranged characters now suffer for it. Most spells work at range. High damage-dealing martial characters using ranged