Best in slot gear is an inevitability regardless of how obvious it is labeled. It doesn't matter if situations demand different gear, there will always be an optimal setup for a desired result.
If gear has stats, the battle's already lost. No matter how much "differentiation" you include, there will always be a BIS for the scenario+class+race+build+...
For example, in short order, there will be 500 top tier Clerics who become experts at both intended and emergent Cleric gameplay and the gear required to support it. VR has what, 1 class designer for ALL the classes. They might have an idea of what their code does, but we'll smash it, and BIS will emerge. VR should fight other battles.
Even the "environment" idea is just another BIS gear set. Remember "gearing" for raids? Don't forget your fishbone earing, your jboots for insta-click buff, as little resist gear necessary to manage diminishing returns and... oops, BIS is back! Just BIS for this raid. A trip to the bank to "gear up" before a raid is not interesting or strategic gameplay. At best, it's a shopping list. At worst, it's player-enforced content gating. "If you don't have 300 FR, don't bother"
Plus, don't we want signature gear? Shouldn't an epic weapon/armor-set naturally be BIS for "most" use-cases? I can't be the only one who hated unequipping my epic between POP and OoW after the effort/time it took to get.
Kalgore said:Angrykiz said:I really hope that gear variety can shine in Pantheon and that at the end game there will be very blurry lines as to what gear is BIS for your character.
I hope that at endgame you will have to choose between having a lot of hit points on armor or having various stats but not everything on one item.
For instance one leather bracer might have +25hps and 8ac while another would have +3str and +5dex and 3ac.
This means you have to make choices and that not everyone will value stats the same.
I really hate it when armor just has every stat but its better cause the numbers are just a bit higher.
What do you think about BIS gear ?
Thanks for reading,
Kiz~
I always liked having to carry 3 or four different sets of gear based off the raid for the night. One raid I might need crazy resists or another raid I might be used as Offtank so I needed tank gear while another encounter I was a backup healer (Paladin) It made it fun but DKP expsensive to have so many needed sets of gear. I think I ended up having a set of Gear for Melee DPS, caster DPS, something for healer, 2 sets for tanking and another 5 or 6 sets with maxed out super resists.
I think, and hope, that if gearflation is kept in check, that if gear upgrades don't fall down like rain from the sky, and if the game is more about groups and player abilities (and not about the gear race), if the difference between BIS and what is widely available doesn't vastly tip the scale, I think I'd like that.
I really dislike the idea of a bunch of gear sets, it devalues my attachment to my items, which was super important in EQ and other games I've loved. Maybe I'm just lazy. On this one I think I've accepted that I'm not going to get my way, but I hope it's not too much. This isn't diablo 2.
Nah, I'm with ya. I don't want to throw away my rusty shortsword until level 5. The dented helm of rust flakes should last until the first dungeon camp where I find the giant's breakfast bowl as a replacement. Not even magical items, but enough of an AC bonus to trade it out. I'm with ya. I want to attune to a slowly morphing character.
Once they release more(any) of the dynamic environment stuff we should have a better idea of how alternate gear will need to work.
Krixus said:I really dislike the idea of a bunch of gear sets, it devalues my attachment to my items, which was super important in EQ and other games I've loved. Maybe I'm just lazy. On this one I think I've accepted that I'm not going to get my way, but I hope it's not too much. This isn't diablo 2.
Some of my gear sets took a year or more to complete and countless raids and DKP to win. Im not talking about gear sets that are farmed diablo style but gear that is only earned by winning end Game content
I have no problem with BIS gear. The beauty of Pantheon is that "BIS" is going to be situational, so you won't have every druid on the server running around in identical gear 99% of the time.
You may have every druid wearing the same gear in the same situation, but we wouldn't expect them to wear their fire resist gear to the ice zone, now would we? Given that BIS may also vary by specialization within the class, I think we end up with a lot of variety as we balance resists vs damage, etc... Your BIS gear may also be dependent on your role within your group today. Yesterday you were main tank, today you're in more of a DPS role, based on group composition. Swap your gear around accordingly.
It's the nature of the beast that some gear is going to be prevalent and/or desired by specific classes in specific circumstances. Whether you figure that out in-game or from information gleaned from the web doesn't really seem to be relevant. Modern MMO's need to be designed with the knowledge that 3rd party sources of information are going to exist such that getting the gear or doing the quests isn't entirely about knowing a secret which is readily obtained via Google.
I'd rather not have entire sets of different, situational gear.
I don't mind sets of different rings, earrings and such. Or having slots in my armor, where I can put, and on the fly, different resist items: ones that don't alter the look of my hard earned, uber chestplate of swooning.
On another note: I don't even like colouring my armour. I really like being able to discern between armour sets at a distance and drooling all over my keyboard as a result.
(The different weapons depending on mob body type is fine, though)
