I like class/job systems in games, in fact I love them. But I hate being locked into one class for my character forever. Why should I be limited in such a way? Why can't I dabble in some Priest skills on my warrior, and lose some subsequent (skill?) levels in warrior to do so.
I think FFXI sort of got things right with their Job/Subjob system. While having a terrible problem of people Min/Maxing and pigeon holing certain job combination's as "The Best", the idea behind it is some terribly appealing. In fact this is probably the only reason I have any love for the game, because aside from the fun job system, the leveling, horrible grind, and need for a group to be effective is a huge turn off. Though, they have alleviated some of the problem by implementing a mentor system.
Which leads me to my other topic...
Why oh WHY don't more games with in a leveled environment implement the Sidekick and exemplar type system that City of Heroes/Villains have had since release?!
One of the BIGGEST turn offs for myself and many friends is when one person slowly, or quickly, pulls ahead or falls behind the pack. The people in front get tired of having to wait for everyone to catch up and either end up choosing to roll an alt to play with their friends, or completely leave them in the dust for end game. The opposite is true for those with very little time to play, they get bored of not being able to group and tend to quickly lose interest in the game, at least this is what I've experienced and witnessed.
It would cause a much more widespread appeal in WoW and WAR if I'd be able to use my main character, for example, and roll with my lowbie buddy gettnig started and just have fun with them questing and doing whatever they felt like. Instead, right now I have to roll an alt which I may not like to do, or cannot do so due to lack of space on the server/my account. What is even more strange is that we are not even seeing a trend to lessen the impact of this effect, we're in fact making this much more of an effect by effectively raising the cap in WoW 10 levels every expansion (so far), Or creating a huge amount of levels from the get go (AoC), and even worse, not having a truely amazing impact on the character growth per level.
That's it for today, although, I'll probably revisit this topic later, just to further my thought process on a possible fix or just to rant.
~Xi
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Agreed. The being able to play any job (class) in FFXI with the same character was a great feature. Made a big difference in terms of attachment toward your character instead of having to divide your attention between an army of alts.
ReplyDeleteAnd the whole not being able to group with your friends because of level differences is absurd. MMOs very much need to include features like CoX's sidekick system. Why is it the WoW hasn't put this in yet? And why does WAR only let you do it in PVP regions and not with your friends while PvEing?
Why do we still have levels?!
ReplyDeleteI just do not understand at all. Not at /all/.
You want progression? Fine. Here's what you do, in a WoW-like setting:
1) Abolish net gains. Anything that increases an attribute has to reduce one or more other attributes by an equal or greater amount.
2) Do not award new content in a set sequence. Randomize per character, or allow player selection. This includes spells, abilities, equipment, and even new areas of the world.
There! Done! Problem solved! You're still developing new powers, accumulating loot, and expanding your atlas, but you aren't rendering any of the previous regions, items, or abstract character traits obsolete in doing so.
WHY ARE WE SO STUPID.