"D&D itself has changed" and become "far more of a mainstream hobby." Doesn't this imply that Larian, if they want to make a mainstream game, should follow D&D 5e rules? They should keep 5e purity because the rules of 5e have allowed it to become popular?
If D&D is more mainstream, then those who are arguing for BG3 to follow 5e rules are not "niche."
My argument there was following on with the comment about forums. The more "mainstream" D&D player, the player that found D&D within the past 5-10 years, is not the type of person who is making arguments here. In fact (and I loathe generalizations, so please forgive me, but I will make a few here), they are likely the type of person who does enjoy flashy effects and not following the rules of D&D very closely. They are not playing the game because of the ruleset itself, rather they are using it as a springboard for their own creative license.
The feedback you see given on these forums, is not from these types of players, it is largely from the type of player who has been (as they will tell you) playing D&D for the past 20-30 years and has very deeply entrenched and "hardcore" views.
