Like I said, I only speak for myself. I'm probably the worst person to talk to about that. I create, manipulate, and manage systems as a lifestyle. People go at different paces. The only mystery to me is the homebrew and how well they stick to lore.
You can get a leg up if you look at the source material and it's expansions if you want. Then cross reference to your hearts content.
I never said your guide was a waste. My point was that you are too early for me to chime in. To evaluate a system you need all the pieces and they need to function as intended.
I don't know who "we" is? Do you mean your team?
I can say if you want a better understanding you might have to drop the dpr focus. The best classes are the classes that gain utility not normally native. Like for example a Paladin Oath of Vengeance can have absurd burst, but what really helps is misty step, haste, and relentless avenger as well as vow of enmity. Typically the class with more reliable advantage is best for melee which is usually reckless attack, precision strike, and vow of enmity.
The way larian has it set up now with free advantage will mean Barbarians and fighters rule melee and its a matter of who gets both pole arm master and great weapon master at certain levels against a specific AC range. Great weapon master is buffed due to ac on early enemies being nerfed but once ac gets higher its almost useless outside the two classes I mentioned in more situations than I'd like. So early is easy but without team planning and utility both will be slaughtered later. Can't do damage if you are dead.
Most of that is not in the game yet so I don't like talking about it. Don't even bother with spells till fireball is in. It's strong more so from when you get it than raw power. It's more complicated than that though. Just giving a rough idea.
My point is dpr is not even close to end all be all. Utility is king would be what I'd expect but don't know for sure till larian shows more. With Mindflayers, demons/devils, and story locks you can't dump mental stats as much. You could go evil for tadpole cheat codes, but that's not my style. The hag shows why mind control can really suck the fun right out.
Phb has been out a long time. The math has been done enough for me. I just need a full view of the homebrew.
