Min/Max Boards

There's a voice in everyone's heads. <Wait!> it says. Then the brain that Proteon dumped back into the tube floats out through the solid wall. <I am alive, I am here!>

They wrap themselves in psionic power and forms a humanoid body, appearing as corporeal as the rest of the group. <My name is Tsu. I can shape ectoplasm into warriors, as well as attack people's minds directly. I can change my appearance and travel unseen through solid objects.>

They shake their head. <I apologize for not being ready earlier. I just hope I am not too late.>

4E does not appeal to optimizers. It removes a lot of mechanical depth from the game and excessively homogenizes the classes. Balanced power levels doesn't mean similar design and reduced mechanical depth for everyone.

Excuse me. I am an optimizer of long standing, and 4E appeals to me better than 3.5 does. Its character builder is leagues better in terms of having all the options laid out, the optimization floor is higher for everyone, while the ceiling is still ridiculous and amazing.

As for how PF does, I've played with it. It does nothing to ease the problems of 3.5 except in the most superficial way (more feats, somewhat better skill system). The only good parts of it were the reskins of 3.5 stuff by Dreamscarred Press.

I have to go against the tide and say that there's still a lot of life left in 4E.  I can see it going, either in this form or a modified one, all the way up to around 2016.  Heroes of the Feywild shows that they're still willing to experiment with things.  Berserker was an attempt at hybrid roles, while Skald gave an MBA-based character an array of encounters and dailies by making them all minor or off-actions.  I'm imagining a thief-type monk, with a number of ever-stronger encounter and daily move actions which enhance its attacks even more.  I'm imagining ranged defender auras, or "marking" an ally to protect him from any enemies attacking.

And if I can imagine these, WotC can imagine even more.  Could you have come up with the warblade, factotum, or dragonfire adept when 3.5 came out?