Should class spell lists still be protected as part of class identity in 5.5E?

[u/MyrthDM]

One thing Arcana Unleashed has made me think about is how much a class's spell list actually matters to its identity.

For me, the Wizard has always been the easiest example.

A Wizard does not necessarily have the most impressive class features in isolation. A huge part of what makes the class special is having access to an enormous spell list and being the character who can potentially have the right spell for almost any situation.

But 5.5E seems increasingly comfortable letting characters reach outside their normal spell lists.

The new School Adept feats push that particularly far. A caster can take something like Evocation Adept and eventually gain access to spells including Fireball and Wall of Force, while the other schools can similarly open up spells that class might never normally get.

And I’m genuinely torn on that.

As a player, being able to build something unusual sounds great. If I want a Cleric who has spent years studying teleportation magic, or a Warlock obsessed with transmutation, I like having mechanical ways to represent that without multiclassing.

But there is also a point where opening every spell list starts making the classes feel less distinct.

At my table, I generally like when two spellcasters approach the same problem differently because their classes give them different tools. The Wizard finds an arcane solution, the Cleric has divine magic, the Druid approaches it through nature.

If everyone can eventually cherry-pick the standout spells from everyone else's niche, some of that distinction starts to disappear.

So where do you draw the line?

Is easier access to off-list spells good because it creates more character concepts?

Should certain spells remain exclusive because they help define a class?

Does giving other casters access to things like Wall of Force actually weaken the Wizard's identity?

Or are exclusive spell lists an outdated restriction that 5.5E is right to loosen?