D&D: WotC Takes Aim At The Player’s Handbook Classes With New Survey
It seems that Wizards of the Coast is taking another look at the classes in the Player’s Handbook, according to a new survey. Check it out.
One of the driving forces behind the way 5th Edition has developed is the interaction between WotC and its fanbase. And we’re not just talking about the occasional dustup on Twitter (though those too have an effect). But In the dying days of TSR, one of the big causes of their ultimate demise was a disconnect between the designers and the community of players.
Without that community input, the game floundered. Which is why, when WotC releases a survey you can pretty regularly chart the course of how things are going. For example, earlier this year, WotC put out an Unearthed Arcana testing out a swath of experimental, and apparently controversial, subclasses for the upcoming D&D wizard school Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos.
In a followup survey, the playerbase responded pretty negatively to the idea of the classes, either citing poor execution or confusion about how the classes were supposed to be balanced–signifying to WotC that even though they don’t actually make any attempt to balance the classes internally against each other, the players want something that feels about even.
The subclasses were subsequently cut from the book, replaced instead with a swath of feats that will address some of the same ideas. But you can pretty clearly track the course from testing -> survey -> finalized design. The same goes with massive books like Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, which famously was previewed by a bunch of surveys named “Midway” that all indicated a bunch of subclasses were coming, or with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything‘s surveys on player race mechanics and starting ability scores.
All of which goes to say that it looks like WotC has plans for the core classes in a not-too-distant something. Whether this might take the form of an update to the Player’s Handbook, or is itself another book (like the long-awaited Player’s Handbook II, which has been in every edition since WotC took over D&D) remains to be seen. But what is interesting is that it’s not just subclasses either.
Take a look at the Barbarian class survey, pictured above. Core features–things that give the class its primary identity, like Rage or Unarmored Defense–are being looked at.
Does this mean bigger changes are in store than we thought? Time alone will tell.
Take the D&D Player’s Handbook Survey
Happy Adventuring!
