Bo’s Balancing Act (Part 2): Tank vs. Healer vs. DPS
July 8, 2008 – 1:24 pmBo is back with another balancing act and this time he’s teetering on the edge of class-balance insanity!
One of the largest and most vocal problems MMO’s have always faced is the concept of class balance. No one enjoys playing a game where they feel useless because another class is simply better at their “job” then them. How would you feel if they hired a new guy at the office with a brain twice the size of yours and an extra arm? No matter what you do, you will not be able to match his speed and proficiency. It’s not about how much effort you put in or how well you know your role or even the mechanics of how things work in the office. You are simply inferior. Now there is no-one in your office trying to make everything nice and happy. In fact, I’m sure many corporations would grow workers with enlarged brains and extra apendages if they could get away with it. However, in the happy world of MMO’s we do have people dedicated to making the environment fun, friendly and exciting: the development team.
Here is the major problem as I see it. A vast amount of players are completely ignorant of specific class mechanics beyond their own class or even overall game mechanics. These also tend to be the most vocal. Add in the existence of “trolls”, people who are basically just attempting to start a fight over a specific subject, and human nature and you have the equivalent of a bomb scare. Many people don’t know WHY a class needs to be nerfed (beyond what someone breifly told them or they read it on a site/forum) or they assume because their class has a problem with them they must be completely overpowered. The first part is just ignorance then second part is a misconception. Now we come to everyone’s favorite term: rock-paper-scissors.
Rock-paper-scissors is a system of class balance just like the little kids game. One type of class beats another class. That class beats a different class and so on. Why do developers use a “rock-paper-scissors” system, even though there are massive amounts of players who despise this system? Well, that’s kind of simple. Class-level balance is impossible. Get over it and move on. What I mean by class-level balance is balancing every class so that they are all equal. Sorry, this won’t happen. Its impossible without making the classes too similar and completely doing away with the concept of class roles.
What developers generally try to accomplish is a system-level balance. The entire system as a whole is what needs to be balanced, not the individual classes. There are too many situations to even begin to balance the game at the class-level, 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, 3 vs 3, Group vs Group, Raid vs Raid, Zone vs Zone, PvP, PvE and each one has to be looked at while considering talents/specialization and gear. In World of Warcraft and given class can actually be played 3 distinctly different ways. In Age of Conan, there are two different ways for each class. Warhammer Online is offering three. In World of Warcraft for example, if you want to PvE you will probably have to be one spec. If you want to PvP you’re going to most likely have to switch to a different spec to be really effective. In Age of Conan, your specialization changes depending on if your soloing or if your doing large group battles. Certain abilities that were awesome by yourself seem to lose their luster in a large scale battle. However, certain things you couldn’t use by yourself because they were too incredible. Too many variables are present once you add in player skill for these types of games to ever be balanced at the class level.
Back to system-level balance. This means that the system as a whole is balanced. Think of it as the surface of the ocean and your player-base is a cruise ship in the middle of it. What you would like is a nice calm ocean so the players can enjoy their Mojitos. However, when an imbalance occurs a wave is produced. This wave has a crest, the imbalance, and a valley, the parties effected by it. As long as the wave isn’t massive, it’s not really going to upset the ship as a whole although it might spill a few drinks or at worse pitch a few people into the sea. Now sadly this is where the metaphor breaks down because this is where the difference between player base and development team comes into play. In a balanced system there would be another wave that effects the party that was the crest of the first wave. In other words, if class A is imbalanced and effecting classes B-D. Then there should be a class E that is imbalanced and effecting at a minimum class A. This pulls the previous imbalance back into line and gives the impression of a calm ocean surface with no waves. The second wave cancels out the first because it hamstrings the imbalanced party. For a WoW example, lots of people in PvP gripe about warlocks. However, show a warlock a decent rogue and watch how much they gripe. This is the precise place this metaphor breaks down. One party, the development team and anyone viewing this system subjectivel,y will view the ocean as calm. While the player base (those in the valleys) or those viewing it subjectively only notice a typhoon breaking out. To them the waves don’t cancel each other out because they are not the other imbalance that effects the imbalance effecting them (whoo!). In other words, what does a mage care if a rogue can render a warlock worthless if there isn’t one around but there is a warlock destroying the mage?
Well… sorry I never said the system was perfect. However, at the moment it is one of the few systems that actually “work” (by work I mean they are possible and effective since you’re still playing). I’ve seen countless concepts thrown around on forums and other places of discussion and alot of them sound good in theory. They are kind of like communism. Damn that sounds like a neat idea… too bad it can’t be implemented.
This has gotten long enough…
…for now.
Post your comments or any questions! Given enough response we might have to continue into Part 3.
We’re back again featuring another god of the Warhammer Fantasy setting. This time we’re looking into Khorne, and let me just say, you’d better buckle up, because we’re in for one hell of a ride. Let’s start out by explaining a little bit about who Khorne is. Khorne is the most violent and brutal god in the Warhammer setting, at least in my opinion. Ever heard the common phrases “Blood for the Blood God!” or “Skulls for the Skull Throne!”? According the Khorne, these are more than battle cries because he is the Blood God and Lord of Skulls (sitting atop a mighty mountain of skulls). These skulls come from his followers and enemies alike. It is also said that Khorne doesn’t care who’s blood flows, as long as it flows.
First, let’s take a look at exactly what Khorne has to offer you. As we saw with Tzeentch, he gifts many of his followers with various strange powers, sometimes warping them beyond their mental capacity. Good news! You wont have to turn into a hideous mutated freak to join Khorne, but chances are you’ll still lose your mind. Khorne Berserkers, as they’ve come to be called, often charge in head-first against enemies, not caring about their firepower or strength. They seek only to slaughter as many foes as they can before their skulls are added to Khorne’s mountain as well. Your suit comes in a stylish red, black, and brass color scheme and as a member of Khorne’s army, you will have to be the strongest of the strong. Are you ready to charge in at a moment’s notice, destroying anything and everything in your path? Is excessive violence your forte? Do you crave first-hand experience in dismembering someones body? Do you have a death wish? Chances are, Khorne is the god for you.
This pie chart represents the proportion of traffic sources to the site. As you can see, the majority of unique visitors come from referring sites. This really illustrates the importance of a strong network, and I want to thank all the sites who have linked to me these past several months! Without your support, the reach of this little blog wouldn’t extend very far at all! More on that later…
I have no doubt this month will be even bigger than the last and continue it’s skyward reach.
Ever wonder what life would be like if you lived in the Warhammer universe? Well for one it would probably be a lot more depressing, but that’s another segment. Similar to our world, there are many different “religions” in the Warhammer Fantasy setting, and if you’re just getting into it, how will you know which one is right for you? If you’re like me you’ve looked briefly over a few of them and you really just can’t tell the difference. They all have weird names, they probably smell bad, and have other qualities that you don’t look for in a deity. Yet, it is our duty to find and support a god or gods as close to our ideals/play-style/character choice as we can (editor’s note: got that, Atheists?!). Does this mean that if you chose Chaos you’re forced to follow Tzeentch? Well sort of, but remember it’s the thought that counts. Either way, finding out more about your patron god or the god of your enemies is something we can all stand to learn a little more about.
At this point I bet you’re thinking, “Why Tzeentch?” Everybody loves Tzeentch! He has his own marching army, several Champions at it’s helm, and he’s warping the Empire from the inside out. “I like being the underdog! Why should I pick him!” Well, the best thing about Tzeentch is whether you like him or not, you’re already worshiping him. If you reach level two, you just worshiped Tzeentch. If you decide to try something new for dinner tonight, you worshiped Tzeentch. If you shave the cat because you think it’s too hot for him in the summer, well sir, you just worshiped Tzeentch. You see, Tzeentch is the Lord of Change, no matter your affiliation, personal strength, or preference, if you ever change your routine even in the slightest, it is an affirmation of Tzeentch’s presence and ideals. Of course it’s human nature to change things up, and it’s also Tzeentch’s nature!
