If you are a fan of Dungeons and Dragons and follow it regularly, then you have no doubt encountered the argument between the 2nd Edition Purists and the 4th Edition fans.
 
While I am coming to this argument kind of late, I would like to weigh in with my thoughts on the subject. While I have familiarity with all the versions of D&D, the 2nd and 4th Editions are the only ones I have played with pen and paper.
 
I enjoy both editions, but which one do I prefer?
 
Let’s start with 4th Edition. When 4th Edition came out, it caused quite the uproar among D&D fans. The 3rd Edition to 3.5 edition had already caused an uproar in itself. This was due partly to the rapidness of how they went from 3rd Edition to 3.5, and because of the massive changes including the addition of feats and how combat is carried out in the game with battle grids and such.
 
While I’ve been playing D&D computer games since the late 90’s, I’ve only come to the pen and paper version in the last few years. The first version I played was 4th Edition.
 
While 4th Edition is fun, it is also quite frustrating. The tactical and the strategy side of combat I feel shines in this edition. Battles have to be thought out many moves in advance, and you have to reserve your powers for the right moment. It reminds me of games like Final Fantasy Tactics and such, but it happens in a “board game” instead of a video game.
 
This highlight of the game also shows the negative side. There is A LOT going on in a 4th Edition battle. There are A LOT of pieces and cards. There are A LOT of annoying rules debates during combat.
 
Let’s start with the pieces. While you don’t need the power cards to play, if you do use them it adds to an already mess of a game. In 4th Edition you absolutely need a battle grid, something to represent monsters, and something to represent the heroes. This can make a confusing mess. Add in the battle cards, and it makes the mess bigger. Even if you have a big table, and are organized, there is just a lot going on in this game. Enough that, in my opinion, it can make quite the eyesore. It also greatly adds to the set-up time.
 
Next let’s move onto the powers in themselves. You have At-Will Powers, Daily Powers, Encounter Powers, and Utility Powers. While this system works great in the 4th Edition D&D Cooperative Adventure System games, in the actual RPG I feel it is a burden. Once you gained a few levels, you have a bunch of these powers. They can become quite difficult to manage, and it is easy to forget how many you have. This can lead to not playing a Power Card when you should have and possibly causing you to lose a fight.
 
Leveling-Up can be another pain. There is a lot to take into account. It seems you have to completely re-do your character sheet each time, instead of making edits to it, and this can take a big break from playing time.
 
Next on the list are constant rules arguments. Whenever I played this game, it seemed no matter who was playing, the rules issues always came up. A 4th Edition Dungeon Master really needs to be on his toes. These rule issues can also take awhile, which really messes up the flow of the game.
 
The main focal point of 4th Edition is the combat. While there is definitely RPGing in it, the stories aren’t the caliber of what was seen in previous editions. Whether that is done on purpose, I’m not sure. These are not the complete RPG adventures of the past. Since the RPG/Story aspect is not the strong point, then the combat must be in top form.
 
At its core, the combat system is PHENOMENAL. It is quite possibly the best throughout D&D. It suffers from so much though. All of the pieces on the table, having to constantly scrutinize and manage your powers, rules debates, constant character sheet checks, really make this excellent combat system burdensome, and time-consuming. Encounters take make longer than they should because of this, undermining the great combat, and making it annoying.
 
I played as a Dwarf Fighter until I leveled him up to 7. After this, I pretty much gave up on this style of 4th Edition. 4th Edition can be great, but I would rather enjoy it in the D&D Cooperative Adventure System Games, and Heroes of Neverwinter on Facebook.
 
Let’s talk about AD&D 2nd Edition. When I gave up on 4th Edition, I decided to give the 2nd Edition a spin. I wasn’t expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. While the combat is nowhere near as strong as 4th Edition, 2nd Edition doesn’t have the other weaknesses.
 
Let’s start with the rules of 2nd Edition. While the rules are complex, I don’t feel the rules are as hard or as frustrating as in 4th Edition. There is no annoying power cards, and nowhere near as many rules debates. The flow of the game is rarely interrupted.
 
Leveling up and character management is much easier as well, especially if you are a fighter or similar class. In most of the level-ups, except for magic users, you just level up HP. Every few levels, you level up weapon proficiencies. This is very easy, and not very time-consuming. While level-ups can suck if you only get one HP per level, you can change this with house rules. Leveling-up is not very complex, which can be a downer, but it is quick and painless. It doesn’t take away from the flow of the game.
 
Whether set-up is long or fast depends on the DM and the players. You can have a massive set-up, with tiles and miniatures, or you can just use character sheets, and scratch paper. This makes set-up faster, and greatly reduces the mess on the table.
 
Combat is nowhere near as strong as 4th Edition. It is much more straightforward, and while it takes strategy, not the level that is required in 4th Edition. It can still be ridiculously hard, so keep that in mind. In fact, some of the massive boss encounters can be much harder here than in 4th Edition. Still though, the combat system is weaker. I’m not huge into the story aspect, I’m a munchkin at heart, and I want to jump straight to the combat encounters. If you want a more complex story and RPG, then this is the edition for you.
 
Also while this is not extremely relevant to the argument, I must point out the fantastic fast-play games that were released for 2nd Edition. There were enough of them that you could make a well developed campaign out of them. They were also pretty darn good as well.
 
In closing, I have to go with 2nd Edition. It is just much more manageable to play, and nowhere near as annoying. This is a shame though because 4th Edition has so much going for it. 4th Edition’s strongest aspects end up turning into its greatest weaknesses.
 
I can definitely see why there is such a strong contingent of 2nd Edition Purists out there. It is the best version of D&D that I’ve experienced. Let’s see if Wizards of the Coast’s upcoming revised 2nd Edition or D&D Next, can resonate with the fans of this beloved game.