deganawida
Legend
And "easily switch weapons" is a little bit of a misnomer; if you play with Proficiency, you might be waiting 2-3 levels to get the ability to use a new weapon, and if you chose to specialize in a poor weapon for whatever reason, you have to rely on the largesse of the DM if you want to change your mind, as the rules don't allow you to do so.
Just wanted to touch on this a bit, as I was re-reading my PoD copy of the ugly PHB (the revised version). I must have glossed over it all those years ago when I was a teen and first reading the rules, but you make a good point there, that WPs are an entirely optional rule in the core books. It's one that I thought was the way the game was played, but isn't baked in to the base game. I now think that this is super cool that they aren't required and will remove them moving forward.
Why do I think it's cool that WPs are optional?
First, it speeds up play, which is a grand thing in my opinion. Some people like getting into the nitty-gritty of combat. I'm not one of them any longer, as I tire of combats that take over an hour to resolve.
Second, since all 2e classes with levels higher than 1 are assumed to be fully trained, it makes more sense to me that classes would be proficient with arms and armor allowed by their class. 3e brought that assumption back.
Third, the power level is reduced. This closes the gap between Warrior group classes and Priest/Rogue group classes, which have middling THAC0. Warriors top out at 2 attacks per round, and everyone else at 1. Suddenly, clerics, druids, thieves, and bards can present more of a threat in melee combat.
Anyway, just some thoughts that I had.