4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons is better designed and more fun to play than 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons.
I know this, even though I have not yet played 5e.
When 4e was published, I found the rules interesting enough to spend time learning them.
I have attempted several times to do the same with 5e, but the rules just do not have the draw. I quickly find myself both bored and annoyed.
Also, Forgotten Realms is bleah. The Nentir Vale is where adventure happens.
But, 5e is extremely popular.
The only possible explanation is that 5e is the game designed for the barely-sentient passengers on the “Axiom” (before WALL-E arrived and woke them up).
4e was designed for people who can think for themselves.
Furthermore, anyone playing D&D “theater of the mind style” is doing it wrong. They are playing “let’s pretend” with dice. Without a map, there is no dungeon. Go back and read OD&D. The DM was expected to draw up a minimum of six maps, and populate it with monsters and treasures. AND THEN! One player was expected to draw those maps, based on the DM’s descriptions.
“But,” one may argue, as his lower lip quivers, “the battles didn’t have to use the map; they could still be resolved using TotM!”
Let me explain something to you: shut up.
No, 4th Edition is superior in every way to 5th Edition, except for maybe being popular with certain personages who don’t bathe or read books.
Greymerry Faire 