- In D&D 5e, classes have weapon proficiencies, weapons their class is good at using.
- Leaving combat to recharge skills is not applicable in this game because spells and special powers are resources which are consumed and do not auto-recharge if someone leaves combat no matter how long the stand around. And frankly speaking, worrying about someone cheesing the game that way is not worth worrying about, because that is only sabotaging their own fun.
- Permadeath is not even a thing in D&D. It's simply a matter of how much magic the party has access to. This is going to be a low level game, but Larian hasn't said how they'll handle death.
Looks like 5E screwd this game
5e is the current system, Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 used D&D, Wizards own Baldur's Gate, therefore they wanted this new game to use the current system. If that's a deal-breaker, then don't buy the game, but it is not changing.