Yep yep, and I know that people feel pretty strongly about it. But I have a feeling it does mean at least several more RL years of arguing that all of the sub-mechanics of one's own profession(s) are completely balanced (and of course the profession as a whole) and not OP at all, but THOSE guys, man, nerf plz. And even when you're REALLY trying to be fair-minded, the other sides will tend to feel that way (and also tend to assume that you are too). As well, even if you've played all of the circles, you will probably tend to view those professions as they were when you were playing them, and on, and on
From a "getting people to agree on common goals and see those common goals with a shared mental model (much less actually progress towards them)" it seems like an absolute nightmare. I know everyone who actually does testing can use all of the professions, but it doesn't seem to be enough.
That said, Iniar's post sometime back that broke things down into sub-categorized components impressed me as something that could be even further developed and allow the people who seriously test (and advocate) for changes to more formally break circles up into components so that you actually could make sure you're ultimately delivering the same capabilities, but in truly different ways. It's still a much more complicated problem than my sort-of-wish to just make everything the same, because it would require looking at how the components synthesize, exactly because you do want variety there, but having that kind of language and categorization (and semi-formalizing it, and quantifying and standardizing the lowest categories of sub-components as much as possible) could help people be more objective about the problem. It would also very likely make it easier to explain things to players who aren't the sort of people who test things on the beta server. God I hope this makes sense to someone (like, at least Iniar).
No game is ever totally balanced. And honestly, Imperian is actually pretty close. There are a few outliers here and there but really, things are in a better state than they've ever been.
A little bit of imbalance is good for the game, honestly. The important thing is just to roll it around so everybody gets a taste.
"On the battlefield I am a god. I love war. The steel, the smell, the corpses. I wish there were more. On the first day I drove the Northmen back alone at the ford. Alone! On the second I carried the bridge! Me! Yesterday I climbed the Heroes! I love war! I… I wish it wasn’t over."
Soooooo, game imbalances are like caravans full of bourbon? Why didn't someone tell me
Ha.
The shifting imbalances can be a decent way to give a faltering circle a boost. We've gotten some great fights with Magick lately, but let's be honest here: Magick right now is basically running on Eldreth's leadership and on Reave. And, sure, knight damage is OP in its current state but if you kick Reave out from under them right now they'll stop showing up to fights and I'd much rather fight the Legion of L3 Axes than not fight at all.
"On the battlefield I am a god. I love war. The steel, the smell, the corpses. I wish there were more. On the first day I drove the Northmen back alone at the ford. Alone! On the second I carried the bridge! Me! Yesterday I climbed the Heroes! I love war! I… I wish it wasn’t over."
Ah, okay. I'm glad you answered that. Hrm, that is a total judgment call based on being tuned into the game for a very long time. Wish there were a different way, but it's plausible that this really is what happens - i.e. that small imbalances reinvigorate factions.
Comments
"On the battlefield I am a god. I love war. The steel, the smell, the corpses. I wish there were more. On the first day I drove the Northmen back alone at the ford. Alone! On the second I carried the bridge! Me! Yesterday I climbed the Heroes! I love war! I… I wish it wasn’t over."
Ha.
The shifting imbalances can be a decent way to give a faltering circle a boost. We've gotten some great fights with Magick lately, but let's be honest here: Magick right now is basically running on Eldreth's leadership and on Reave. And, sure, knight damage is OP in its current state but if you kick Reave out from under them right now they'll stop showing up to fights and I'd much rather fight the Legion of L3 Axes than not fight at all.
"On the battlefield I am a god. I love war. The steel, the smell, the corpses. I wish there were more. On the first day I drove the Northmen back alone at the ford. Alone! On the second I carried the bridge! Me! Yesterday I climbed the Heroes! I love war! I… I wish it wasn’t over."