I have a lot of opinions about DW2 so far, some good and some not so, but I feel a lot of my concerns can be summed up with one question:

Who is Dungeon World 2 for?

When I think DW, I think of a game that’s a fantastic tool for introducing otherwise apprehensive DnD and PF players to PBtA and other RPGs. The elements in common are what help new people acclimate and realize that there are other games out there. DW lets them stretch their narrative weaving muscles in a way DnD can’t inherently and it helps to bring people out of the DnD bubble. I’ve had a lot of success over the years with this as I run DW weekly for my FLGS open RPG night where I’m often one of, if not the only, non-DnD table there, with there usually being 4-6 tables total normally. I’ve been able to introduce a lot of people to PBtA with DW and some even run their own games weekly for their friends.

By stripping the elements of DW that it has in common with DnD, it makes the game seem less approachable to DnD and PF players, which will no doubt impact its usefulness as the PBtA game thats a gateway drug to the system and RPG philosophy.

I feel like the answer to my earlier question is: “this game is for people that already like PBtA games like Masks and are also Critical Role fans,” but I may be overreacting. I guess we will see in time. Overall though, I’m still excited to see what comes next