Originally Posted by Sharp

Except its not an edge case. I have finished the entire EA with a single character, not taking advantage of surfaces at all. I have also finished it with a party and the party only had to rest 3 times throughout the entire playthrough. And no, it wasn't because I ate stuff after every fight, its because for most fights you can either alpha strike enemies during a surprise round, giving them no chance at all to respond, or because there are plenty of environmental obstacles you can take advantage of to constrain enemies. The game does not force you to use surfaces at all, you can use them if you wish to. You are also not forced to rest after every encounter. If you can finish the EA with a single character, pretty much any party of 4 will also manage.


Powergaming is an edgecase. You have not beaten the game solo on either your first run, no savescumming or doing everything. This kind of meta stuff IS fun, yes. But it is not something you should take as an argument for balance. There are too many encounters that you cannot "see coming" or scout out to just do them solo without reloading a few times to make a strategy.


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Healing costs you a bonus action, which is very definitely not "just a bonus action." If you are a warlock or a ranger, consuming a heal is costing you 1d6 damage from reapplying hex or reapplying hunter's mark. If you are dual wielding, its costing you an additional hit. The overabundance of healing items does not negate the fact that there is a meaningful consideration to make. The correct solution there is very clearly to reduce the number of healing items, so there is a genuine risk of running out of them.


Hex and HM are not a thing you MUST do every round. You are always presenting specific situations, not things that are general. But balance has to work in general.