Yeah I used short rests extensively in my first proper playthrough as a Bard. But a lot of interesting character moments are tied to long rests and as a result i missed some nice content by spacing my long rests out as much as I could. Now I would rather long rest to clear the queue of story beats that rack up and see all the things, to the point where I frequently long rest having never taken a short rest.

Weird forgetfulness? You go 20+ years without speaking a language and you lose fluency. I used to be able to speak German and French in my childhood. I'm 34 and have forgotten the bulk of it. It's realistic to lose fluency if you never practice the language.

Yeah, can't exactly hand wave his dex build as a side effect of his petrification when narratively he's alluded to still being a utter slab of beef and is introduced PUNCHING HIS WAY OUT OF A MIMIC BEFORE YEETING IT BY THE TONGUE.

Yes the languages of classes have changed a lot, so we too must evolve with them. Refer to him as a ranger in universe all you want; he ranges far and wide as a warrior. But mechanically he's a barbarian. Personally respec him into wild heart because it tracks with the ability to speak to animals and has a rangery vibe so the lore is respected.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the assertion that Oathbreaker and Death Domain required an update in the new DMG. If anything, any potential update to their inclusion in the 2024 ruleset should be in an accessible player orientated supplement, and not tucked away in a book aimed at dungeon mastering.

Also saying you can't be an evil alignment even though the new PHB outlines all possible player alignments with the caveat of "the typical game assumes you aren't evil, check with your dungeon master before making evil characters" simply because certain subclasses aren't available is kinda lamenting the lack of somewhat two dimensional card carrying villainy. An Illusionist Wizard, a zealot Barbarian, a battlemaster fighter, a light domain cleric, etc. All of those concepts are open to interpretation. An illusionist could be a scheming underhanded criminal who uses magic to cover his tracks. A zealot could be a violent warrior in service to a barbaric god of violence and carnage. A battlemaster could be an amoral sociopath that loves killing and works as a mercenary because it is how they can get their kicks legally. A light domain cleric could be a pyromaniac inquisitor in service to Asmodeus. Any Paladin could be considered evil, even devotion. Tweak the tenets of the oath's wording, change the average expectation of what they swear their oath to. A vengeance paladin that swears vengeance against the forces of light, an ancients paladin who swears sevice to the darker aspect of the winter court of fae, a devotion paladin who is devoted to being the perfect professional mercenary and will carry out their employer's whims to the letter, a glory paladin that is hyper fixated on fighting the strongest to the point where they will fight ANYONE strong regardless of alignment... All the classes and subclasses are open to interpretation, with the only limit being the imagination.

You say there's no evidence he has trained his mind. I say look at how he perfected his golden form. Through image training and meditation, whilst rendered unable to move in hell. He maintained concentration through the teddy bear parade that grates on his nerves, shut out all distractions and fixed his energy consumption problem through sheer force of will, not stamina training. Showing that he has learned to perfect his forma before charging off. He rushed off to face Goku after 4 months of training in resurrection of f, not ironing out his flaws. Here? He showed 10 years worth of patience and dedicated training. Do not expect Black Frieza to have the same stamina flaw. I wouldn't be surprised if he has unlocked more transformations beyond this new form.