No game with multiplayer is truly balanced, it is all just a matter of degree. What's more important is do the company have a history of trying to correct any such issues without over reacting. I am sure others here have been in a MMO which each month was making changes to classes, an overreaction that meant the issues were never solved.
I'm not sure I'd play a game where character advancement is determined by RNG - there is too much potential to end up with a gimped character plus I just generally enjoy being in control of my own progression.
However, I would play an unbalanced game (in fact, I've never played a balanced MMO). It just depends on how unbalanced. For example, I enjoy games with a rock-paper-scissors approach to balance and I also enjoy games balanced around groups rather than solo. Both these styles of balance create unique roles and approaches to the game whilst retaining enough balance to keep the combat fun.
I would totally play a game that has unbalanced classes, as long as every class is useful in some way.
I've always loved playing classes that need 10 times more effort than the op class of the game, to do pretty much the same, it feels rewarding when you can come up with combos and strategies just to beat these tough op guys.
I've played games that were D&D based that started with RNG rolls for stats during character creation. I rolled till I found something decent but heard of players rolling for long periods of time until they got stats they wanted. Some games limited the number of rolls. It usually worked out as everything is limited to specific ranges offset with gear, armour, and player skills usually produced a working balance.
I don't think you can really get a complete balance due to player diversity among other things. A 12 yo person playing an mmo for the first time playing against someone who's 46 and has been playing since they were 12 is going to be hard to balance. Only group play could even come close to creating a balance imo. But PvP is a mixture of 1v1, teams, and larger number vs smaller.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
An example of this is having all abilities found and the abilities found being random in stats. So two character may have the ability "stab" but one players stab is a very strong attack. The other characters stab has weak damage but it has vital wound perk that causes heavy bleeding and a chance to stun.
That's not an imbalance. If anything that someone trying to balance a mechanic.
Balance implies that no matter what class/skills are available to players they'll be able to beat the content.
Imbalance is the opposite. Using your example, the "Stab" skill would either be useful or completely useless.
But like I said, you have actually tried to balance the stab skill in your example.
Yes. Most definitely yes. I find it super boring that in a given game everyone is an expert on the reality the game presents. I would love to play a game where less is predictable, and where players have to make their way in the world with less certainty and repetition. In a game like this, losing would be something that would be less about how you stacked your gear, and more about how you stacked your approach and execution.
Without the number crunching, one must stack as much as seems good on one's side in order to overcome. Doing that in regular games is accomplished by reading forums or official documentation. There is no bravery, adventure, renown, or daring in MMORPGs. Just accounting and hitting buttons fast.
MMORPG players are often like Hobbits: They don't like Adventures
Yes. Most definitely yes. I find it super boring that in a given game everyone is an expert on the reality the game presents. I would love to play a game where less is predictable, and where players have to make their way in the world with less certainty and repetition. In a game like this, losing would be something that would be less about how you stacked your gear, and more about how you stacked your approach and execution.
Without the number crunching, one must stack as much as seems good on one's side in order to overcome. Doing that in regular games is accomplished by reading forums or official documentation. There is no bravery, adventure, renown, or daring in MMORPGs. Just accounting and hitting buttons fast.
If you had combat like Dark Souls it might be interesting. Dark Souls combat can be hard to execute the timing precisely.
In old MMOs like EQ you often had classes that could solo, but it wasn't the intention of the developer for them to do so originally. Everyone was supposed to group. I don't believe this is possible in today's MMOs because developers are to good at balancing things and have the past experience of games to draw upon. That means everthing you accomplish in the game is something the developers will have intended for you to accomplish. That is a bit boring IMO, but I don't think it's something that is possible unless the genre and game mechanics are something fairly new.
Without even thinking to hard YES! There should be imbalances in games. There should be classes that just have no chance against another class, but in return they have classes that can't stop them. You can actually create balance out of imbalance if you are a good developer.
Star Wars Galaxies pre-NGE is one of my all time favorite MMORPG's. That being said, it was pretty imbalanced when it came to combat. Riflemen could 1 shot your mind pool with a good T-21 rifle ... then there was the flavor of the month TKM builds that everyone used. If you weren't a jedi or didn't have certain builds and buffs you didn't stand a chance. I loved it, but it did have some pretty significant balance issues.
Without even thinking to hard YES! There should be imbalances in games. There should be classes that just have no chance against another class, but in return they have classes that can't stop them. You can actually create balance out of imbalance if you are a good developer.
Comments
However, I would play an unbalanced game (in fact, I've never played a balanced MMO). It just depends on how unbalanced. For example, I enjoy games with a rock-paper-scissors approach to balance and I also enjoy games balanced around groups rather than solo. Both these styles of balance create unique roles and approaches to the game whilst retaining enough balance to keep the combat fun.
I've always loved playing classes that need 10 times more effort than the op class of the game, to do pretty much the same, it feels rewarding when you can come up with combos and strategies just to beat these tough op guys.
Edit: Text fixes.
I don't think you can really get a complete balance due to player diversity among other things. A 12 yo person playing an mmo for the first time playing against someone who's 46 and has been playing since they were 12 is going to be hard to balance. Only group play could even come close to creating a balance imo. But PvP is a mixture of 1v1, teams, and larger number vs smaller.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Balance implies that no matter what class/skills are available to players they'll be able to beat the content.
Imbalance is the opposite. Using your example, the "Stab" skill would either be useful or completely useless.
But like I said, you have actually tried to balance the stab skill in your example.
Without the number crunching, one must stack as much as seems good on one's side in order to overcome. Doing that in regular games is accomplished by reading forums or official documentation. There is no bravery, adventure, renown, or daring in MMORPGs. Just accounting and hitting buttons fast.
In old MMOs like EQ you often had classes that could solo, but it wasn't the intention of the developer for them to do so originally. Everyone was supposed to group. I don't believe this is possible in today's MMOs because developers are to good at balancing things and have the past experience of games to draw upon. That means everthing you accomplish in the game is something the developers will have intended for you to accomplish. That is a bit boring IMO, but I don't think it's something that is possible unless the genre and game mechanics are something fairly new.
I'd even prefer it over the current balanced and homogenized MMOs.
My favorite MMORPG ever, EQ, was never balanced. Meh to balance.