I've drawn my conclusions from this topic and what's to follow will not be good.
This entire topic hits at one of the cornerstones of MMORPG games: progression and gear, and not depth of gameplay and balance, drive these games. Knocking out that cornerstone will bring the whole structure crashing down.
It is clear to me that some form of progression is required to keep the game moving, as the core gameplay does not contain enough depth on its own. The type of player who enjoys this kind of game feeds on the feel of new gear and power advantage, or they wouldn't be playing this type of game in the first place. Both models of progression advanced so far run counter to the ideals of balance:
- Vertical progression transforms the game state from set to set and can cause parameters to shift to extreme levels, which inevitably results in some specs and even entire concepts becoming unviable.
- Horizontal progression increases the number of variables in the game and thus the difficulty of the balance exercise, and is also very difficult to implement in a meaningful manner without resulting in the development of a secondary gear meta based around rock/paper/scissors. It also lacks the "raw power increase" appeal of vertical progression.
It has also been noted that dramatically shifting balance when new content is released acts as a motivator by keeping the game fresh.
In addressing my OP, some have suggested that the state of the game will not shift dramatically between Annihilator and Sovereign on the basis of the stat increases. While this may be true, it begs an obvious reply:
If the state will not shift dramatically between Annihilator and Sovereign, and there WILL be an end to progression (at Sovereign level), then this means that there will come a time when vertical progression cannot drive the game. Knowing that this is inevitable, why should we rely on such vertical progression at all?
The response is obvious. There is no intention to stop the progression cycle and thus the disruption of the balance. When Sovereign is reached, new progression will be introduced, most likely in the form of the overpowered LotD content from live, and more progression beyond that, because this is the only way to hold player interest. It's the same flaw in mentality that has killed many MMORPGs - using a model that relies upon progression and generation of content with low replayability and depth to hold interest.
Unfortunately, I do not feel as if we have any choice but to follow the same path, and thus I judge attempting to balance this project pointless. I am not willing to expend effort into supporting a balance process that
will be deliberately disrupted, and in fact
must be, in order for the game to hold its players.
In order to allow replies to my post, I will unlock the topic. However, as it stands, I lean heavily towards the cessation of balance efforts.
