belowmecoldhands
Savant
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2014
- Messages
- 795
Like a few have stated, the current practice in recent and upcoming RPGs seems to be all builds are viable. I think the last one I read about was Pillars of Eternity. You don't need to min/max yours stats in it because all setups are (theoretically?) viable. While current attempts might be imperfect, it will be perfected with time, and the next step is to allow more player agency in character creation and actions during gameplay. This might satisfy "characterfags". So if you want to conjure a battle axe at the end of a fight and behead your foe then you can.
I think it might require a skill-based system with rapid retraining or something like the system in Diablo 3 or some other MMORPGs I've seen. Basically, you have X slots for "abilities". I put it in quotations because it's termed differently in different games. These "abilities", when combined, define your class's major abilities. They're acquired via loot and rewards and such things. This means you can essentially be any class, if you have the abilities available. Usually there're a lot of abilities, but since you only have X slots, you can't be everything at any single moment. For example, if you're in the midst of a battle as a warrior-ish setup and want to be more like a cleric then you have to switch out some of your current abilities for others.
I say the above because if you want to conjure a battle axe at the end of a fight and behead your foe then it probably has a corresponding skill attached to it. How else will you be able to conjure it? If you want your character to split into 4 mirror images which can fight independently and aide you then that also is probably attached to a skill. If you want to have the flexibility to do anything, maybe at any time, then the system needs to allow you to define your class and hence, your skills. Skill-based systems allow this, but they usually have high retraining costs, meaning you have to know EXACTLY what you want, or you'll spend a lot of time grinding skills. To facilitate more flexibility, they merely need to make retraining cheap. Systems like Diablo 3 might also have constraints, like cool downs and scarce availability. To increase flexibility, reverse these.
Am I right in thinking that the OP wants to be able to do anything and be anything at anytime? I don't think I am. However, I know somewhat where the OP is coming from, maybe. I really liked to play hybrids in Everquest. Why? Because they can do lots of things. The only negative is they were somewhat gimped in groups because specialists were better. I like to have my mind busy. Being focused on something more narrow is usually more boring because the game hasn't developed it enough. In RL, you can focus on something narrow and keep learning and stay interested. In games, when the focus becomes narrow it fails to deliver. It becomes too repetitive. So in this light, I can relate to the OP with respect to wanting to experiment and do lots of things.
In reality, I've no real idea how this will all unfold. I just know there're people like the OP who want more flexibility in defining their character without it also meaning their character is gimped or broken.
I think it might require a skill-based system with rapid retraining or something like the system in Diablo 3 or some other MMORPGs I've seen. Basically, you have X slots for "abilities". I put it in quotations because it's termed differently in different games. These "abilities", when combined, define your class's major abilities. They're acquired via loot and rewards and such things. This means you can essentially be any class, if you have the abilities available. Usually there're a lot of abilities, but since you only have X slots, you can't be everything at any single moment. For example, if you're in the midst of a battle as a warrior-ish setup and want to be more like a cleric then you have to switch out some of your current abilities for others.
I say the above because if you want to conjure a battle axe at the end of a fight and behead your foe then it probably has a corresponding skill attached to it. How else will you be able to conjure it? If you want your character to split into 4 mirror images which can fight independently and aide you then that also is probably attached to a skill. If you want to have the flexibility to do anything, maybe at any time, then the system needs to allow you to define your class and hence, your skills. Skill-based systems allow this, but they usually have high retraining costs, meaning you have to know EXACTLY what you want, or you'll spend a lot of time grinding skills. To facilitate more flexibility, they merely need to make retraining cheap. Systems like Diablo 3 might also have constraints, like cool downs and scarce availability. To increase flexibility, reverse these.
Am I right in thinking that the OP wants to be able to do anything and be anything at anytime? I don't think I am. However, I know somewhat where the OP is coming from, maybe. I really liked to play hybrids in Everquest. Why? Because they can do lots of things. The only negative is they were somewhat gimped in groups because specialists were better. I like to have my mind busy. Being focused on something more narrow is usually more boring because the game hasn't developed it enough. In RL, you can focus on something narrow and keep learning and stay interested. In games, when the focus becomes narrow it fails to deliver. It becomes too repetitive. So in this light, I can relate to the OP with respect to wanting to experiment and do lots of things.
In reality, I've no real idea how this will all unfold. I just know there're people like the OP who want more flexibility in defining their character without it also meaning their character is gimped or broken.
Last edited:
