Discussion:What are the differences between 4e and 3.5?

My friends don't like 4e and I'm too new to tell the difference between 3.5 and 4e. Help?

  Hooper   talk    contribs    email   20:19, 6 October 2009 (MDT)

The mass amount of differences between fourth edition and revised third edition are hard to list in such a simple way. Can you be more specific?

Name Violation 01:31, 7 October 2009 (MDT)

its like the difference between Super mario bros and Super mario bros 2. they might have some recognizable aspects, but they are totally different game. different rules, mechanics, ect

James 11:36, October 12, 2009

The biggest difference in 4 and 3.5 is that 4 sucks and 3.5 rules. end of story.

jintoya

ive had a rather brief look at 4e and i think im just biased due to being a dm of 3.5 for years but is there anything better about 4e than 3.5? i cant make heads or tails of it myself

1) All the classes are roughly the same power level, so you won't have one player outshining the rest, and they level up in a smoother fashion. 2) The mechanics are controlled in such a way that you can't end up with a Pun-Pun. 3) Better survival rate at low levels. 4) Players can always do something - for example, Wizards always have some spells they can cast, rather than just shooting their Burning Hands then hiding in the corner for the rest of the day. 5) Multiple same-level 4e minions make for a better large-scale fight than multiple low-level 3.5e mooks. 6) It took me a long time to "get" 4e after playing 3e for so long. I understood it once I realized the philosophical differences. 3.5e takes a "simluationist" approach, whereas 4e uses the "rules of drama". If you imagine 4e trying to capture what's happening in a TV show or a swords-and-sorcery film, rather than real-life. I watched Power Rangers (accidentally) once a few years ago and found myself saying "they've just used a daily power" and "those are minions". Marasmusine (talk) 02:26, 13 February 2013 (MST)

Salasay Δ 12:53, 17 February 2013 (MST)

4.0 is designed to play like a video game, with every class having special attacks that they declare (e.g. smite evil) that act as major parts of the classes. In 3.5e, combat is essentially "I smack the orc. Because of X, I smack it better". To use video game terms, 3.5e is based around auto-attacking, and adding special effects to whatever you are doing. In 4.0, you still have auto-attacking as an important mechanic, but it is more focused of special attacks and abilities that you can use over and over, not just once per day.

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