Random thought about spellcrafting and balance

[chretien]

Ok so spellcrafting was pretty poorly implemented. Before Mythic added a bunch of new things to cap and new abilities for items to give, it was too easy to get a perfect template. Even now cookie cutter templates are pretty much standard. Give or take a few points, one template looks pretty similar to another template for the same class/spec - they may use different items to get there but the overall bonuses are pretty much the same.

So I was thinking. Would it be better for game balance and character diversity if there were no limits to bonuses at all? This way a template would necessarily be a compromise, you could always be better in some aspect of your character but only at the expense of something else.

There would of course have to be some balances, some kind of diminishing returns where stats over a certain level or +skills of more than a certain amount didn't count for as much as lower values, rather than a linear relationship between bonus and effectiveness. Possibly also some inviolable hard caps on actions such as casting time, melee swing speed or maximum resists however if you wanted to play a character with, say 700 strength, and you were prepared to sacrifice everything else to get it, should the game let you?

 

[Funkybunny]

they have to save that for the next expansion! :kissit:

 

[Xplo]

Zzang with 700str and 50 qui +30% weapon dmg ~~

 

[Danya]

All casters running with 25% resist pierce and 25% damage... ok. You'd get 2 shotted every time.

 

[cemi0]

Ok so spellcrafting was pretty poorly implemented. Before Mythic added a bunch of new things to cap and new abilities for items to give, it was too easy to get a perfect template. Even now cookie cutter templates are pretty much standard. Give or take a few points, one template looks pretty similar to another template for the same class/spec - they may use different items to get there but the overall bonuses are pretty much the same.

So I was thinking. Would it be better for game balance and character diversity if there were no limits to bonuses at all? This way a template would necessarily be a compromise, you could always be better in some aspect of your character but only at the expense of something else.

There would of course have to be some balances, some kind of diminishing returns where stats over a certain level or +skills of more than a certain amount didn't count for as much as lower values, rather than a linear relationship between bonus and effectiveness. Possibly also some inviolable hard caps on actions such as casting time, melee swing speed or maximum resists however if you wanted to play a character with, say 700 strength, and you were prepared to sacrifice everything else to get it, should the game let you?

Hmm... No.

 

[Nax]

yeah i like that idé...

 

[- English -]

It is a good idea in a way, but there will have to be limits , Also, different classes need different stats, so casters need int/dex in alb (and con if they dont wnana die easily ), where as scouts need qu, dex, con, str etc - if you know what i mean. I maybe wrong about the stats the class need, but im trying to show you my point.

 

[Comos]

ehm, no thx.

 

[Sarnat]

It would just make every melee class there get all the str gear possible to do insane damage. Casters would get int and dex etc etc.

 

[Aithe]

You want 1500 damage bolts with a 1.3 sec cast time flinged at you? no thanks :|

 

[Azathrim]

Heheh, the casuals scream for diversity and think that they then can specialise to stand a chance against the power players. They see they have a hard time capping everything and think the power gamers caps and thus doesn't have to make choises ... or have diversity.

The power players knows they cannot cap everything with the current system. They also know what is important to cap and get the most out of it ... min/max'ing. No matter how you change the system, you can always minimize the effort to get the maximum out of it. Always.

Afterall, that is the difference between a casual and a power player.

 

[chretien]

Heheh, the casuals scream for diversity and think that they then can specialise to stand a chance against the power players. They see they have a hard time capping everything and think the power gamers caps and thus doesn't have to make choises ... or have diversity.

The power players knows they cannot cap everything with the current system. They also know what is important to cap and get the most out of it ... min/max'ing. No matter how you change the system, you can always minimize the effort to get the maximum out of it. Always.

Afterall, that is the difference between a casual and a power player.

It's not about 'casuals vs power players'. For the record I don't consider myself a 'casual' as I spend a lot of time each week playing. I don't consider myself a 'power player' either but if I want something in game then I don't object to putting in the time to get it.
I know it's not possible to cap everything either - even for 'power players', however most templates I have seen, cap the things most people consider essential for that class and try to get close to the rest. This is what I meant when I said most templates were much the same.

To the people who pointed out that people would be running around with insane primary stats and overbalancing things, take note of the part of my first post where I mentioned diminishing returns. Points in a stat over say 350 count for less than points below that, points over 400 count for even less and so on. That way, yes you could have 700 str and your melee damage would be higher than someone with 350 str but it wouldn't be double and you'd have sacrificed a lot of other things (survivability) to get there. I also mentioned that some things probably should stay capped - casting times and melee swing speed for example.

 

[Thornar]

You want 1500 damage bolts with a 1.3 sec cast time flinged at you? no thanks :|

Um isn't that already implemented?