Damacon said:I personally want a game and character I can be invested in for a long time maybe even forever if its that good haha. For me leveling alts is just like playing the same game over again its not playing an on going game that is keeping me engaged. I don't think there is anything wrong with people playing alts but its just not enough to keep engaged in a game and leads to me quiting a lot faster if I feel I have to.
I love the feeling of getting more powerful making my numbers bigger that is one of the main concepts of an RPG game and once its stops that game is over. You can keep throwing gear at people but that makes gear worthless because its just a place holder for that next piece of gear you will get. Which is ok in moderation but if you over do it like the recent MMO's it makes more sense to just not play the game because all your work has no meaning. Oh you spent 3 months farming a whole set of gear for your entire raid? Here is a new set of gear with 5 more stats per piece do it all over again! Thats the whole point behind these other systems so that the time we spent actually means something in the end unlike gear. unless they decide to use my gear system then it would actually be worth something as well haha.
I just don't get that though. You reach the top, you get geared, and you want to keep grinding on with extreme amounts of time for minor boosts to make your character slightly better at doing all the things they can already accomplish? You'd rather sit at the top grinding the same exact content mindlessly for tiny increases in power so you can more easily do that which can already be done? I just don't see how that is more appealing than leveling through the game again likely using different zones the second time, playing with all new spells/abilities, getting different gear types, and meeting new people.
Just seems like an unhealthy mindset in a way, like being Usain Bolt but unsatisfied just beating everything/everyone and obsessing over getting even faster or being filthy rich but feeling like you need to earn more money.
I guess I just don't have a problem with things being replaced over time, as most anything in life is.
Roxxers said:Clever and smart itemization is really important. Set items can become BiS and can be the only items that matter if wise planning and smart development is not done properly. Honestly, I think in a loot centric game, itemization is just as important as class balance or world design and should have dedicated personnel keeping it organized and managed. Set items should have great benefits for collecting a full set, but there should also be quite powerful items that have unique attributes that could replace set items and should be enticing enough to, in certain situations or for certain people, encourage them to want to break up a set. This is why I think a dedicated team for this development is important, as understanding the intricacies of how all these items interact and affect a class and spell selection can have little to no effect or have overpowered and profound effects and everything in between. Understanding and managing this delicate balance would be a full time job.
Developing a new item that could potentially replace a set item should be tempting enough to replace the BP for top tier set, but not so powerful that there would never be reason to use the set BP after you get it. Situations should dictate the value. I think a simple example would be, let say a warrior set, when all five pieces are worn, the warrior get a substantial damage mitigation boost. They simply tank better in a full set. Now, a new BP has come into the mix and when worn, increases all hate generation with attacks by 15%. So, does the warrior want to keep mitigating damage better but occasionally losing aggro and dealing with potential ping pong effect, or does he break up the set to hold hate better, but finds he will take more damage?
I am a strong believer that everything should be designed with a pro/con approach. There should always be pros and cons for anything. Just like in life. What is more important to me here and now?
I agree anything can viable if its made smart with the long term in mind and sets if done right can create some fun combinations of gear. Like I personally like smaller sets and not so much a full set of gear. I also like the idea if maybe there is a bunch of items for the set but you don't need all of them to get the full set bonus so maybe legs,both earings, both rings and helm are all in the set but you only need 4 of them to get the full set effects so you can pick which items you want most. With something like this you can mix sets and like you said create your own builds of gear that best work for you. The only problem is you end creating a ton of gear which isn't a bad thing but if you want to keep it going into the future you are going to end up with mountains of gear. Which is the reason most games only stick with one set of gear and then simply replace that set of gear with each new dungeon they create BORING haha.
Iksar said:I just don't get that though. You reach the top, you get geared, and you want to keep grinding on with extreme amounts of time for minor boosts to make your character slightly better at doing all the things they can already accomplish? You'd rather sit at the top grinding the same exact content mindlessly for tiny increases in power so you can more easily do that which can already be done? I just don't see how that is more appealing than leveling through the game again likely using different zones the second time, playing with all new spells/abilities, getting different gear types, and meeting new people.
Just seems like an unhealthy mindset in a way, like being Usain Bolt but unsatisfied just beating everything/everyone and obsessing over getting even faster or being filthy rich but feeling like you need to earn more money.
I guess I just don't have a problem with things being replaced over time, as most anything in life is.
If you look at it that way yeah its going to sound boring that you get all your gear and then you farm for minor upgrades for 6 months grinding the same mobs for exp or some crap. I look at it as something I'm gaining WHILE farming gear and doing other things like helping friends level while mentored ect. It has the added benefit of making everything still useful to you where normally it wouldn't be. If the AA system or whatever is made correctly it is not tied to the same exp as lets say gaining a normal level. So you would gain them while you are raiding or mentored down to help a friend heck you could even make it so you could gain them while crafting/gathering.
It also has the added benefit creating a tiered progression system that isn't just based on gear alone if you fit it in with acclimation system it would help you have zones that no one can enter until they get so far into AAs. Thus creating more content already in the game that doesn't just spike in diffculty by needing you to farm gear for everyone in your group/raid. PLUS it also has the abiltiy to eventually help people who are not that good at the game take down end game content which eliminates the need to nerf anything when adding new content.
I agree, I don't want to farm level 1 boars to max level and beyond like you are thinking haha. I want a dynimic game where it always feels like I am progressing no matter what I am doing. If I need/want to take a break to do something else, I want it to be because I want to do something else not that my game got boring cause it sucks!
P.S.
I appreciate the feedback no matter what it is because its a lot more fun to discuss things that can actually effect the game and not just talk about stuff we already all know or don't know.
Iksar said:I just don't get that though. You reach the top, you get geared, and you want to keep grinding on with extreme amounts of time for minor boosts to make your character slightly better at doing all the things they can already accomplish? You'd rather sit at the top grinding the same exact content mindlessly for tiny increases in power so you can more easily do that which can already be done? I just don't see how that is more appealing than leveling through the game again likely using different zones the second time, playing with all new spells/abilities, getting different gear types, and meeting new people.
Just seems like an unhealthy mindset in a way, like being Usain Bolt but unsatisfied just beating everything/everyone and obsessing over getting even faster or being filthy rich but feeling like you need to earn more money.
I guess I just don't have a problem with things being replaced over time, as most anything in life is.
I can fully understand your point of view. This is a matter of differing people enjoying differing things. My first class to max level will always be my main love. The one class I enjoy above all others. The ability to be able to keep playing it and enjoying its mechanics while also knowing my efforts continue to grow my character and make it better, even if it is slight, keeps me motivated. If playing this character hit a dead end and nothing I did was going to make it better, my desire to play would eventually die off.
I do play alts, and I will eventually have multiple characters at max level, but my main character, I always want to keep coming back and working to make it better.