Giving martial characters crazy abilities like evasion makes sense when you realize the wizard can start warping reality at the same level.

Past Jacob: "Saving throws are dumb."
Post-baby Jacob: *is currently making con saves everyday to not die of exhaustion.*

I see that Jacob had to make a constitution saving throw to deal with past Jacob choices lol

I like how at 7th level a wizard can banish a creature into another dimension or see a week into the future but past Jacob got mad the character that uses their agility and cunning to dodge attacks can dodge attacks

This is a very noble video. It’s great to not only see you publicly changing your mind about something (which many people are annoyed by even when it’s about a game lol), but even joking about the old video as if it’s a different person on screen. Awesome stuff ✌🏻

Step 1: Choose to play an elemental monk
Step 2: Flavor evasion as bending the elements around them
Step 3: Profit

I’m glad you’re finally doing a take down on XP to Level 3, I hate that guy, Jacob is a superior YouTuber.

As a DM who has been playing with a Rogue who is now 14th level...

I love his evasion. He's so cocky about it and smug. It makes every wisdom save that I subject him to (fairly sparingly, I like to let him enjoy his evasion) so much better. The panic feeds me.

Evasion is honestly fine. This is around the same level where Clerics get almost 1/10 odds of getting their god to blast monsters into atoms or Wizards get encounter-ending spells like Wall of Force.

Additional point on the Intellect Devourer situation: 5e isn't exactly optimized for the players to retreat from encounters, and that's rarely ever the first option players consider.

In fantasy you don't have to move outside of a fireball to avoid the damage.  It's easy to explain how you avoid the damage and stay in the radius.  You shield yourself with your cloak.  You hold up a shield.  The ability creates a psychic forcefield (soul knife?).  5E asks us to suspend our disbelief in physics far more than the evasion ability.

When it comes to Evasion letting you "backflip out of a Fireball's radius", I've always pictured it being that the character with Evasion quickly weaves through all of the tiny pockets where there are gaps in the flames. Plus, having a character who has spider-sense level of awareness to be able to BACKFLIP 30 feet in the air to dodge an explosion is fucking badass! It can be annoying to deal with as a DM, bit god damn is it cool as a player.

I dont see Evasion as being too crazy:

"As the Fireball erupts from the center of your group, you see your party bracing for impact. Instinctively, you jump to the ground prone as the flames bypass over you. You jump back up, the worst of it over, though the air rippling with the heat of a light sauna."

I think there's definitely ways to justify taking no damage as long as you remember damage is metaphorical.

14:39
I could be wrong, but I believe this was actually the intent when saving throws were first introduced.
In classic editions (1e or basic or I forget which one), poisons and spells and dragonbreath just straight-up killed you.
No save. No chance. Dead. Didn't wanna be dead? Shouldn'a drank that poison. Should'a been more careful about traps. Shouldn'a pissed off that dragon and/or wizard.
Saving throws were literally introduced as a "last chance" mechanic, essentially "you dun fucked up, the only thing can save you now is sheer dumb luck, better hope the dice gods are in your favour".

Content creators allowing their opinions to evolve, change, and who aren't afraid to admit that and even challange their old views publicly, is awesome and something that helps our community better itself.

If ”uncanny dodge” and ”evasion” swapped names then i think that people would go: ”Okay but HOW do you dodge the fireball?” way less because its implied in the name that something wierd is happening during the dodge

I just want to say: The telegraphing system doesn't even make sense for any AOE spells, because it would make those spells effectively useless. "Oh no, the wizard is going to cast fireball in this area on their next turn. Better run those 20 ft to get out of its radius. Well, now I'm safe and the wizard wasted a 3rd level spell slot. HURRAY!"

How our dm balances our lvl 16-20+ level characters is the story just gets bigger. And he mixes new and old stat blocks for more challenge. And relies on the "if my players can do it so can my enemies" idea. Doesn't feel like we steamroll everything or just get rekt everytime. I think adding more content and rules to 5e makes it refreshed enough for that "not fun over level 10" problem

I've noticed that many D&D enthusiasts run into walls when the narrative in the story doesn't fit with the game mechanics.  This breaks their suspension of disbelief and ruins the fun.

I have also felt this, and I have a solution.  Instead of changing the game mechanics, change the narrative.

High-level Fighters and Rogues (and some Monks) can have no magic features, yet do things that are physically impossible without magic.

Give them magic, narratively, implicitly.  Give them a magic that is simpler, more primitive, and more foundational to the universe than spells.  The only change to the game is acknowledging that "non-magical" classes are accessing powers inherent to the Material Plane itself.

A high-level Fighter can literally survive falling from space at terminal velocity.  Let them.  Fighters access the magic that holds together matter.  They can survive dozens of mortal wounds, they can fend off monsters that weigh thousands of pounds more than they do, and they can swing a weapon 8 times in three seconds.

Rogues are able to perceive and manipulate the infinitely small lines of force that link all things.  How can a simple dagger or arrow hurt a Dragon?  The sneak attack damage comes from the Rogue's ability to transfer kinetic energy from their weapon through a line of force in their enemy.  The force of "Pounds Per Square Inch" goes exponential when applied to a molecular line, passing straight through the enemy's whole body.  The hydrostatic pressure wave of that damage ruptures the interior of the Dragon.

Fighters can tank a mace, lighting bolt, or acid spray to the face and be just fine.  They are full of the energy that holds the Material Plane together.  Their bodies won't break until it runs out.

Rogues can dodge explosions of any size because they can momentarily slip around a line of force that both binds and separates dimensions.  The Rogue has no limited number of uses for its class mechanics.  Why is that?  They have the metaphysical precision to touch the Material Plane's magical lines of force, and tug on them, requiring no more effort than swinging a sword.

The one thing that I think people want when they complain about Evasion is an explanation on how they avoid it. No one talks about the Shield Master feat, and it has a near identical effect to Evasion.