D&D 5e HEro Lab is best.

[dafrca]

I had the opportunity to play with WotC's new program and I wanted to cry. Why they didn't just make an agreement with Lone Wolf. The new program is super clunky, stupid in execution, and no where near as user friendly as Hero Lab.

Thank You for making a program worth using.

 

[MNBlockHead]

Hero Lab with the Community-Created content is still better for 5e, but they do have the backing of Twitch and lots of developers to work out the kinks. One thing to keep in mind is that DnD Beyond's beta is currently being developed with a "mobile first" philosophy. Why you are seeing is the mobile verison, expanded to the computer. It is not the final PC view.

They are also going to integrate DnD Beyond into Twitch for streaming and online games.

At-table support is coming but is not their first priority.

For now, I find a hero lab printed sheet to be the best at table character sheet.

 

[CNYGamer]

I do agree that Hero Lab is a solid product. I have quite a bit of money tied up in it. However, given that there is no formal licensing agreement with Wizards of the Coast, I think that Hero Lab is a substandard product for D&D 5th edition; it is a compromise. That is no fault of the talented HL developers and the many dedicated community volunteers. It's just an artifact of being forced to jam a square product peg into a round licensing hole.

 

[ShadowChemosh]

I had the opportunity to play with WotC's new program and I wanted to cry. Why they didn't just make an agreement with Lone Wolf. The new program is super clunky, stupid in execution, and no where near as user friendly as Hero Lab.

Thank You for making a program worth using.

Typical WotC.

 

[CNYGamer]

I definitely don't mind the UI in D&D Beyond, and as has already been said, it is particularly well suited for mobile devices. But there is a pause while data is accessed when you make a choice during character creation, which causes the screen to gray out and a little spinning working symbol to appear. It is only for a second, but it gets old. I wonder if they will optimize the communication between the server and front end to get rid of that.

 

[Toblakai]

Typical WotC.

Yes, they are not the good company they used to be.

 

[MNBlockHead]

I definitely don't mind the UI in D&D Beyond, and as has already been said, it is particularly well suited for mobile devices. But there is a pause while data is accessed when you make a choice during character creation, which causes the screen to gray out and a little spinning working symbol to appear. It is only for a second, but it gets old. I wonder if they will optimize the communication between the server and front end to get rid of that.

Worse, often it hangs on that spinning circle. I am waiting for other beta testers to help iron the kinks out. Right not, I've been frustrated too many times with lost work.

But I don't want to dump on Twitch or WoTC, I actually very bullish on DnD Beyond. This is a very different situation than the Morningstar debacle.

I would hope that the license with DnD Beyond and the various VTTs would mean that there is hope for an official license for Hero Lab. Even if I subscribe to DnD Beyond, I would still use Hero Lab for my homebrew campaign world because of its integration with RealmWorks.

I see DnD Beyond being useful for a quick one-off adventure, where you can use it to quickly build a character, including giving a few preferences and having it randomize the rest. DnD Beyond will be nice for players, especially those new to the game that need a lot of handholding. But as a DM, I don't find the character builder that compelling without a tactical console and other in-game DM tools.

If I subscribe to DnD Beyond, it would be mostly for the universal search of all licensed content.