Problem is, this is literally EXACTLY the argument around Barrelmancy. And there are clearly two sides with irreconcilable opinions where forcing it either on or off is going to alienate a significant portion of potential players. Demanding removal of such features because you personally don't find them immersive or fun is not a solution any profit-concerned developer should give any time or thought to.
But the company can't guess what I'm feeling, I as a customer have the right to tell her, and I can't guess what's best for everyone either, I just say what I think is best and you say what you say think better, and so the company can decide what to do with it.
Bear in mind that Early Access has no difficulty settings implemented. Also bear in mind that there is NO WAY the game will launch with no difficulty settings. What Larian are doing (admittedly without really explaining a lot) is getting things to a state where sliders and toggles provide maximum player agency for minimal development. Don't like shared inventory - turn it off. Don't like Barrelmancy - set carry limits to 3kg per Strength point instead of 6kg. Don't like Advantage on high ground - turn it off.
The problem with having "on" and "off" options for everything is that novice players won't know how they're setting up the game. Also, what would be the default setting? This sounds like an official game full of mods that make the game unbalanced. Imagine dark souls with infinite life option.
And that is how it should be. I'd wager even the most die hard DnD fan would get a *little* bit of fun and enjoyment out of nuking the Goblin Camp encounter with 500 barrels once for a laugh. Having to negotiate an entire playthrough mindful of every shot/AoE to avoid using a mechanic they view as illegitimate is not something they are going to feel good about.
And if I wanted some crazy fun, I would download mods for that, it's not like I expected that in the base game. And as a D&D fan, I'd rather spend 99999 hours in a complex and tense fight than use Barrelmancy.
