Maybe I wasn't using it creatively enough. I remember shape wood being handy to get through doors and stuff, building fortifications. It really shined in mass combat situations but I rarely remember it being overpowered or a 'go-to' spell.

It was a powerful utility spell, that would be almost on part with Stone Shape. I could see a homebrew one, exactly like Stone Shape (replacing wood for stone) at one level lower. There are hundreds of spells that didn't make it into 5E from earlier editions, and Shape Wood and Warp Wood are pretty niche spells. I doubt they'll ever receive an official version. A friend of mine got Elminster's Guide to Magic, which is a 3PP that updated a lot of older spells into 5E (the balance on a few spells is questionable, however). "Stone shape is pretty Strong"

I can't really see the power of a 4th level slot being used to shape 5 feet of stone. There are much better spells at that level. It's situational, at best. And, in 3.5, I don't recall using it in combat ever. But maybe it's because I saw it more of a utility spell. Now that I look at it, you could really reshape the battlefield in a cave or similar circumstance. But that would have been easily solved by making it a ritual or giving it a 1 or 10 minute casting time instead of reducing the area affected. At 4th level, I feel it should have more of an impact.

You're not being creative enough then. In Ghost of Dragonspear Castle (a playtest adventure released with 5E), we used Stone Shape to close a portal to Hell, by creating a wall 1/16" from the portal. It took 4 castings to completely cover it (10x10), but it prevented us from having to close it the main way (human sacrifice). Any door in a dungeon can be sealed shut by raising up a section of stone to create a wedge (yes, the door can be broken down... it's not perfect).

The only major complaint I have with it, is that it's not a ritual. I'm sure, however, that would have busted it beyond recognition (especially for construction).

As far as hallow being a religious spell, druids are based on the Celtic version of a cleric. Religious leaders of an entire culture. Are they supposed to be something different in 5e? Are you just supposed to play a Nature Cleric? What's the point of a druid, then, if they are removing the flavour that made the class what it is?

The classes in 5E are (sadly) different in fluff than prior editions. The paladin is by far the most unrecognizable (any alignment, and no god required), but the Druid has been changed quite a bit as well. The druid is now basically a shaman class dedicated to the power of nature; any resemblance to the Celtic druids is coincidental. These fluff changes have been reflected in the crunch of the game, since 5E doesn't divorce them the way 4E did.

I suppose it's easy to just add Hallow to their list. But then you have to have a conversation with your DM. Which rubs me the wrong way.

You may not be super happy with 5E then, because unlike the last 2 editions of the game, it is DM driven. The DM can add, remove, or change anything they like (or don't like) with impunity (so long as they still have players willing to play in the game). People who love RAW will have a harder time with this, since the game also deliberately leaves gaps for the DM to fill in with rulings (stealth). The biggest advantage of this is that 5E is meant to be house-ruled and home-brewed as much as desired, so that adding, changing, or removing things usually helps the game, rather than hurt it.

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