02-21-2012, 07:01 PM
I disagree with your assessment that class-based is inherently bad and skill-based is the only way to make a balanced game.
UO and Darkfall (and SWG, and ...) both proved that skill-based character development is just as stupid in the context of balance as anything else. The ONLY viable "class" in UO was a Plate-Wearing-Crossbow-Wielding-Ebolter. You could not play a "Warrior", because every Plate-Wearing-Crossbow-Wielding-Ebolter would hand you your ass 100% of the time. You could not play a "Mage", because every Plate-Wearing-Crossbow-Wielding-Ebolter would hand you your ass 100% of the time. Ebolt wasn't even a high level spell. It was like rank 4 out of an 8 rank spell system. But the implementation of the skills in the game made it completely retarded to ever specialize up to rank 8 spells. Everyone stopped at Ebolt (The big heal was also rank 4) and ran around in full platemail and a Heavy Crossbow.
Go watch youtube movies about Darkfall. Count how many people are 2-handed-Sword-Wielding-Bow-Shooting-Fireball-Casters. Hmm, 1, 2, 3, 4, 64879... I guess just all of them.
It's not that skill based is better than class based. They both can suck just as much as each other if the time isn't put into thinking them through properly.
I agree that too-many-useless-buttons is probably a contributor. The developer then has to spend effort to balance and tweak every single skill.
UO and Darkfall (and SWG, and ...) both proved that skill-based character development is just as stupid in the context of balance as anything else. The ONLY viable "class" in UO was a Plate-Wearing-Crossbow-Wielding-Ebolter. You could not play a "Warrior", because every Plate-Wearing-Crossbow-Wielding-Ebolter would hand you your ass 100% of the time. You could not play a "Mage", because every Plate-Wearing-Crossbow-Wielding-Ebolter would hand you your ass 100% of the time. Ebolt wasn't even a high level spell. It was like rank 4 out of an 8 rank spell system. But the implementation of the skills in the game made it completely retarded to ever specialize up to rank 8 spells. Everyone stopped at Ebolt (The big heal was also rank 4) and ran around in full platemail and a Heavy Crossbow.
Go watch youtube movies about Darkfall. Count how many people are 2-handed-Sword-Wielding-Bow-Shooting-Fireball-Casters. Hmm, 1, 2, 3, 4, 64879... I guess just all of them.
It's not that skill based is better than class based. They both can suck just as much as each other if the time isn't put into thinking them through properly.
I agree that too-many-useless-buttons is probably a contributor. The developer then has to spend effort to balance and tweak every single skill.