[Blown out of proportion; it raises and flattens the curve for casters and is mainly a concern from levels 1-3 but that's pretty much just the tutorial. Also, the problem is the terrain not the cantrip itself which can be adjusted to be internally consistent with D&D rules as Stabbey and others have mentioned. Don't conflate the issues.
But it is a problem, and one could argue that it was a problem that was completely unnecessary. One could also argue that the problem continues past level 3 (up until lvl 5 at least) considering how many spells loose value because the utility of some of these cantrips. There is at least a strong argument to be made concerning the identity of some spells in D&D.
Thief still gets another bonus action and still maintains having the best mobility out of all the classes and options. Being undervalued doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing either, it's dependent on context. And yes, it completely alters the action economy and balances it with a bias towards something else. But that something else is most likely not intrinsically bad either. So shrug.
Changing core features of a class is problematic for several reasons. First of all, people like to recreate their favorite characters. Not just as an RP concept, but mechanically. Another ting to consider, is that new features require lots of testing and balancing. And one could again argue that it was unnecessary in this case. And changing a class identity, pushes the game further, if only slightly, away from being D&D. I would say that the classes are one of the core pillars of what makes D&D, D&D.
Martial classes are pretty much the same, they didn't touch GWM and will probably implement SS. You're most likely not going to be shoving or doing anything of those sorts from levels 5+ as the field becomes more and more lethal. What is interesting to see is how the disengage and jumps play out. Will it change the balance? Absolutely. Will it be worse, I dunno that's what EA is for and just like anything it takes iterations to improve.
Here you make some assumptions. Like shoving not being part of higher level play. I can see tons of situations where shoving something large down a steep cliff to get fall damage+prone+advange for ranged would be a good use for a bonus action, yes even at high level. Especially considering the maps so far. And you admit you don't know if it will be worse. So we come back to this: Why go the unbeaten path? Why create all this unnecessary work?
I would also argue that martials are changed for the worse with the implementation of facing. Your actions become close to scripted as a martial when you always slip around and hit. Positioning matters less than with for example flanking.
Also, most cRPGs do not follow the X encounters per rest guidelines and there is at least one DM treatise on what constitutes as an encounter. So CR is a wash for the most part since that is directly tied to the encounters per day thing. Also, you know that the existence of food and a large amount of potions may indicate more pressing matters other than the party has a chance of taking higher damage right? It may mean that they have to compensate for the fact that players may not even want to run a cleric in their party and if they do that the cleric is an EVVVVVVIL cleric who does nothing but deal pain.
You can also just sell those resources to gear up and clerics have more uses than just being healbots. Some of the most important things they do are providing advantage and other buffs.
You make a lot of assumptions here without knowing their constraints or their objectives.
I do not agree that CR is a wash. Most DM's do not follow the recommended adventure day anyways (What is it, like 8 encounters?). They view it more like a tag that shows how hard a monster is. But there are system you could put in place to get sort of a normal adventure day. Take Darkest Dungeon for example. You get a certain amount of rests for a delve. I am not a game designer, but giving players a certain amount of camping supplies or similar could create something like an adventure day. I am sure smarter heads than mine could come up with a nifty design solution.
And if they want to let players play groups that have no healing and still be at full health, I would suggest that Larian adds a game option to let everyone heal to full after each combat instead. I am a big proponent of game mode options in games.
