Originally Posted by
Ravens_cry
Forgive this newbie, but why is balance so darn well important? I agree that every character should feel useful, contributing to the party. But Dungeons and Dragons is not primarily player verses player, but player's verses enviroment.
In PvP, balance is all important because the idea is to win by beating other players, and so skill of said player should be the only consideration. In PvE, winning is much fuzzier. There will be goals, but it will be a team effort. As long as each player is contributing to that goal, all is well in my view. There is no win condition. I agree 3.5 has issues with contribution balance, but too much of a obsession with balance, in my view, implies too much sameness.