My issue with 4e when it first arrived, and an issue that has endured, is that it felt too stiff. So what do I mean by that?
First of, let me point out that I'm find with playing 4e these days, I just appreciate it for what it is, rather than wishing it would be different in some regards.
4e feels like a tabletop version of an MMORPG. When I play a MMORPG, or any computer-based RPG really, I'm fine with "once per battle" abilities because it's a coded game. Having encounter powers in a tabletop game feels a bit strange, especially outside of structured combat.
I most notably felt this while playing a Storm Sorcerer and trying to use an encounter power to help the townsfolk put out a large fire. I blew a lot of it out with a fierce gust of wind and then... then I couldn't do that for a while. Which is fine. Except it's not based on uses per day, or time spent recharging or anything. As is, it doesn't matter if putting out the fire takes half an hour or five hours, it's still the same scene and encounter so I can only use it once as written. Let's say the character is in a combat situation that lasts a long time. For whatever reason, you're nearing round 20+. Maybe you had to chase 'em for a while, maybe there was a stage 2 boss fight, who knows. Regardless, you've used your encounter power and you're out until next time.
Then after this boss fight, you have two short encounters with a total time of less than the boss fight, yet in that span of time you could use it twice. Feels weird.
Sure, you can have a DM that allows you to take a short rest to refresh the power and then use it again out-of-combat, but it feels clunky and that's technically a houserule since you're not supposed to take a short rest within the same encounter/scene. So the practical issues can be solved, but it still pulls me out of any immersion I've managed to scrounge together and it bluntly reminds me that it's a codified game.
See, practically speaking 1/encounter is convenient, but it feels weird from an in-universe perspective. I'm at heart a Watsonian thinker when it comes to making sure things make sense, more so than a Doylist.
Another thing is that DnD wears its tabletop skirmish ancestry on its sleeve for all to see, but 4e was very blatant about it. I'm not playing DnD to have sophisticated social mechanics, but I felt 4e was closer to a tabletop game than a tabletop RPG at times when reading the books.
Now, there are a few things 4e does better than both 3.5 and 5e IMO.
It's the most balanced as far as different classes remaining relevant. The "Magic Is Best" syndrome is the most mitigated in this edition and I like that. That's its biggest strength compared to 3.5 by far.
It's biggest strength compared to 5e is something completely different, namely that you have stuff to spend your money on. 5e have sloppy magic item rules with generalized costs and honestly it's a bother trying to spend treasure to acquire more or better gear via gold, because the system isn't interested in that. It basically goes "We assume there's no ways to buy items outside of a few basic ones, but if you want to do it differently, here's the bare skeleton of something. You do the work.". Heck, the internet had to reverse-engineer a Wealth-by-level table to give DM's any help in trying to figure out what's appropriate for characters above level 1.
Compared to 4e, where it's very clear how you can spend gold on stuff, given that almost all items come in at least 2 versions, one being better and more expensive.
First of, let me point out that I'm find with playing 4e these days, I just appreciate it for what it is, rather than wishing it would be different in some regards.
4e feels like a tabletop version of an MMORPG. When I play a MMORPG, or any computer-based RPG really, I'm fine with "once per battle" abilities because it's a coded game. Having encounter powers in a tabletop game feels a bit strange, especially outside of structured combat.
I most notably felt this while playing a Storm Sorcerer and trying to use an encounter power to help the townsfolk put out a large fire. I blew a lot of it out with a fierce gust of wind and then... then I couldn't do that for a while. Which is fine. Except it's not based on uses per day, or time spent recharging or anything. As is, it doesn't matter if putting out the fire takes half an hour or five hours, it's still the same scene and encounter so I can only use it once as written. Let's say the character is in a combat situation that lasts a long time. For whatever reason, you're nearing round 20+. Maybe you had to chase 'em for a while, maybe there was a stage 2 boss fight, who knows. Regardless, you've used your encounter power and you're out until next time.
Then after this boss fight, you have two short encounters with a total time of less than the boss fight, yet in that span of time you could use it twice. Feels weird.
Sure, you can have a DM that allows you to take a short rest to refresh the power and then use it again out-of-combat, but it feels clunky and that's technically a houserule since you're not supposed to take a short rest within the same encounter/scene. So the practical issues can be solved, but it still pulls me out of any immersion I've managed to scrounge together and it bluntly reminds me that it's a codified game.
See, practically speaking 1/encounter is convenient, but it feels weird from an in-universe perspective. I'm at heart a Watsonian thinker when it comes to making sure things make sense, more so than a Doylist.
Another thing is that DnD wears its tabletop skirmish ancestry on its sleeve for all to see, but 4e was very blatant about it. I'm not playing DnD to have sophisticated social mechanics, but I felt 4e was closer to a tabletop game than a tabletop RPG at times when reading the books.
Now, there are a few things 4e does better than both 3.5 and 5e IMO.
It's the most balanced as far as different classes remaining relevant. The "Magic Is Best" syndrome is the most mitigated in this edition and I like that. That's its biggest strength compared to 3.5 by far.
It's biggest strength compared to 5e is something completely different, namely that you have stuff to spend your money on. 5e have sloppy magic item rules with generalized costs and honestly it's a bother trying to spend treasure to acquire more or better gear via gold, because the system isn't interested in that. It basically goes "We assume there's no ways to buy items outside of a few basic ones, but if you want to do it differently, here's the bare skeleton of something. You do the work.". Heck, the internet had to reverse-engineer a Wealth-by-level table to give DM's any help in trying to figure out what's appropriate for characters above level 1.
Compared to 4e, where it's very clear how you can spend gold on stuff, given that almost all items come in at least 2 versions, one being better and more expensive.