Quote Originally Posted by Felhammer View Post
Here's WotC's problem:

On the one hand they have a vociferous community of players that scream bloody murder about how Fighters can't have Daily Powers or possess magical-like powers ala the Tome of Battle or 4th Edition because they aren't realistic, explainable or "right." One the other hand, WotC has another equally vociferous community that screams about balance between classes and how every class should have magical-like powers because that's "easier to balance."

WotC literally cannot please these two groups at the same time because, while both want a fun game, they are going about it in opposite manners. The best WotC can do is try to manage both sides' expectations. Right now that means Fighters do not get powers ala 4E or ToB but they do gain "light powers" like Action Surge and Second Wind. The Fighter also gets more attacks and a better attack bonus, which helps differentiate him from the other melee classes AND helps bring his power level up.

This concept also holds true with the Wizard but that class is slightly easier to manage because there are more knobs WotC can twist without setting off warning bells in the community.
There's so very much more you can do with 'light' abilities than WotC is willing to try.