Fundamentally I agree with most of what the OP is saying.
I don't particularly mind the HP bloat in principle if it's balanced right, but right now it pretty much railroads you into using ranged attack roll type spells so you can benefit from the ubiquitous advantage. I just gave up on using Sacred Flame on Shadowheart because it never hits, even with a -1 DEX mod she was more useful with a crossbow. Secondly, it makes absolutely no sense for a goblin child to have more HP than your character, even at level 1. Adventurers are supposed to be exceptional examples of their race/class.
The spell UI/hotbar needs a serious overhaul. I've seen a couple of great suggestions on this forum already so i hope they go one of those routes to streamline it.
Also, they really need to improve the targeting on magic missile, it is supposed to auto hit as long as you can see your target, so losing a missile because there was a twig in the way is very irritating.
Finally, I know a lot of people see the Sapphire Spark as quite overpowered, and I agree it is very strong, but I think that is partly because right now we're limited to first and second level spells. As soon as you hit class level 5 and gain access to fireball or lightning bolt, and a second damage die on cantrips the wizard's core abilities will start to feel a lot stronger. I see the necklace as a thing that is a great helper for wizards in act 1 to make them feel more powerful, but later on it is going to become less and less relevant as you gain higher level spells and use your level 1 slots more for utility purposes like Mage Armor/Find Familiar. Another thing to consider is that you may find something much better for your neck slot later in the game, I'm not sure I would use that necklace over something like an amulet of health if they ever make one available.
