I can see the pros and cons to both sides of this debate. A fairly simple compromise would be to have a system that calculated level on important NPCs to disuade zerging while having more predictable and static factors for "trash" mobs.... because there's no reason that an "organized" group of lvl 40 players shouldn't be able to eventually take down a single lvl 50 NPC (with enough effort and planning) unless it has special properties/abilities like a Boss or other named NPC. (A whole village of peasants with pitchforks and torches should be able to drive off a small pack of goblins).
When speaking about magic vs physical dmg, this is a balance factor that a player should be aware of when selecting a class during character creation - the risk vs reward is real and your choices matter (even though situations like this are unknown for several months to years depending on play time (and can be VERY discouraging to players that find out that they don't like their class after spending 6-10 months getting to a point where you start really learning your place in the gameworld)). If you don't like getting resisted, play a class that won't rely solely on spell damage or (like the EQ wiz) had specific spells that had lower resist checks (like the Lure line of spells) and frankly, at this time, the Wizard is looking again to be the only class to rely solely on offensive spells to perform their primary role in a group - so it would be a safe guess that they will have abilities to land their spells. Scaling in every MMO I have played has been that melee classes have a difficult start but become very powerful at endgame while caster classes start out powerful and continue to stay powerful but have limitations or situational use at end game... PRotF is shaping up to be the first MMO I've played that has a melee fall into the caster category in this respect with regard to the DL.
disposalist said:Another concept that I've bene thinking about that I'd like to put before the experienced folks here for comment is the mechanic often used in games where monsters above your level have 'aritifical' 'enhancements' to discourage you taking them on.
Often you find that something that is only one or two levels above yours is near impossible to hit or land a spell on and/or it does enormous damage to you. You level up once or twice with no training of abilities, no change of gear, but suddenly you can land hits and spells and you aren't getting pounded into the dirt and it's not due to your extra health points, they just aren't hitting as hard.
Something very odd has happened. The monster has become less effective because *you* have changed. I've leveled up and only changed my abilities in a very gradual way, but my relative power to that monster has swung wildly.
To me this always felt very weird and artificial. I know it stops things like zerging (many low level characters ganging up on a high level monster), but it just feels wrong to me. I'm not so sure that things like zerging were so bad that it needs this horribly artificial feeling mechanic to get around it.
What do you think?
Agreed, GW2, and ESO both do that and it kind of leaves a bad taste.