Game balance is about the core mechanics in the game, and how they're balanced with all aspect of the game.
Just quoting what is pertinent to my reply. This is the gist of it, isn’t it?...
You literally have to hamstring yourself to attempt to play this game using 5e rules. If players have to police themselves to maintain some form of balance in the game, that’s not player options. That’s just bad game design.
Let's not forget how even if you didn't want to use the tools/cheese/mechanics, the player is punished. The biggest problem is the cheese isn't optional. If you don't go for high ground advantage... you get low ground disadvantage. If you don't go for backstab + shove, the goblins will.
