The White Tower Speaks: Gear vs. Skill Part II

This article is a continuation of Gear vs. Skill Part I, which you can find: Here! So here's our problem. We need to balance gear so that it provides something for players to keep striving for, but at the same time, we need to keep it from over-powering those who attain it.

Now that's a quandary if I've ever seen one, but there are a few possibilities:

1. Don't make gear upgrades the reason people want to keep playing. This one seems pretty obvious. WAR looks like it's making a step in the right direction here. People will probably play just because the campaign is dynamic and fun, incorporating the best elements of RvR, PvE, and Realm Pride/Socialization.

2. Make gear about customization, not power. Have items be similar to your Masteries/Tactics, and allow them to further differentiate and customize your character. If you really hate casters, for example, maybe you can sacrifice some armor for spell resistances, and so you seek out a set with higher spell resistances bonus. Or maybe if you feel too squishy as a caster, maybe you can sacrifice some spell damage for hit points. This allows you to customize your gear to your play style, while allowing you to embrace your class role as well.

3. Have gear reduce your weaknesses, instead of increase your strengths. In a rock, paper, scissors environment, or indeed any environment where balance is desired, it's not always possible to achieve. Let's say you're a Tank, and you're usually pretty good against Melee DPS, but weaker against ranged DPS. Having better gear should mitigate your weaknesses in match-ups that are not usually favorable for you (ranged dps), instead of giving you even more advantages over classes you already do well against (melee dps).

There you have it folks, a few ideas on how to make gear desirable without being overpowering. If you have something to contribute, please do!

Stormcrow

The White Tower Speaks: Gear vs. Skill Part I

Before you read this, make sure to pop on over to the The Greenskin! and read Bo's article. It's all sorts of amazing, and provides a suitable base for what I'm about to talk about.

The eternal debate, Gear vs. Skill: the truth is, there's not much of a debate, as Bo mentioned, there are very few people who are going to say "I don't want to beat people because I'm 'better' than them. I want to beat them because I have better gear."

Does anyone really say that? To me, that statement makes no sense. When I beat someone, I want it to be because of my deeper understanding of game mechanics, proper use and timing of skills, solid team work, and generally just being faster or smarter than my opponent.

Does this always happen? Of course not. There is always someone out there smarter or faster than you. There will always be people who are capable of beating you, no matter how good you (think you?) are. That's a given. But what about the people who beat you, not because they out thought you, or outmaneuvered you, but simply because their gear allows them an unfair advantage over you.

That's what gets me. I can play a match-up perfectly: anticipating CC, interrupting heals, maximizing burst damage etc. While my opponent makes numerous mistakes: forgetting about diminishing returns, letting a heal get counter-spelled, and still win, simply because his gear allows him to take 3 or 4 times more punishment than me, or deal out twice as much damage.

No one (at least not me) wants to lose that way, and I really hope no one wants to win that way either.

But let's face it, gear is a large part of MMO's, it always will be. People have to have something to strive for, a reason to keep playing. Who's going to keep playing for an item that makes one stat .001 percent better? A few, maybe, but what's the point?

That's the problem, there's got to be a balance. How can we balance gear so that it provides a means for players to keep having something to strive for while keeping the gear differential in check?

Come back for the next installment of The White Tower Speaks: Gear vs. Skill Part II

Articles from Book of Grudges and The Greenskin!

Hey guys, if you haven't already, be sure to check out these two awesome articles:

Book of Grudges: Hardest Sell of All, PvP to non-PvPers

As well as:

The Greenskin: Bo's Gear vs. Skill

Both very interesting topics, I'm probably going to write a little something myself on the issue of Gear vs. Skill, so keep checking back!

Stormcrow