I’d torrent the eBook versions and read through them. If you like the system, find a Meetup of people who play in your area and try it out. If you enjoy playing, THEN buy the books.

4th edition sucks. We play 3.5 and d20 modern, although one game is in edition 5 and it’s pretty good.

I’ve only perused it briefly, but what little I’ve seen gave me the impression that 5E is a bit of a return to D&D/AD&D’s roots. I’ve heard some compare it to 3E, and I can see enough parallels that I won’t refute that. However, it’s also more streamlined without being “dumbed down”. Some have said it’s the most newb-friendly edition so far, and compared to previous editions, 5E is simpler from the mechanics standpoint.

I personally would not buy it simply because I prefer more open character design than the class/level system of D&D allows, but that is a personal opinion that should not be used to judge the actual merits of 5E. Since you seem to like class/level systems more than I do, 5E may be more desirable for you than it is for me. It’s definitely worth considering if you liked 2E or 3E… though possibly a little too simple if you liked 1E most.

WotC does have a couple of free PDFs that give enough of a look at the system to get a feel for it and how it compares to previous editions. Maybe reading them will help you decide without the hassles and risks of torrenting. It’s hard finding a good torrent; so many are crap quality.

Quickstart Players Handbook
Quickstart DM’s Guide

Forgive me if this comes across as rude, it isn’t meant to be, but I’ve always thought of D&D (and other table-top RPGs) as being social activities. You need a group of people to play them. I’ve been under the impression that you’re a near total recluse who doesn’t really socialize with anyone and that you don’t really leave your apartment unless you have to. Do you actually have people to play these RPGs with?

@Darth_Algar Good point, and part of the reason I haven;t run a campaign in a while. The joys of working night shift….

@Darth_Algar D&D is how I used to socialize. I also read 3rd edition for fun.

I have no one to play with.

But are you willing to take the steps to find folks to play with? Most cities of decent size usually have at least a few groups of people who gather regularly to play D&D or other tabletop RPGs. Such groups are often in search of other new people to join up and play. Try looking around localized sites (such as Craigslist), or in local papers to see if anyone’s looking. Or try running an ad on these sites/papers yourself to look for folks to play with. Or, better yet, there’s a place you can go to, a cafe catering to board game/RPG players right there in your town: https://www.facebook.com/victorypointboardgamecafe

If that fails, there are other ways to run a tabletop game.

I just bought the players handbook for $55 . I will read it later.

They got rid of the wish and miracle spells.