It seems as if significant crowd control has been diminished over the core gameplay of pve content. Specifically, modern retail WoW it's essentially mindlessly AOE down a trash pack. Again, I guess it determines the approach to engage a combat encounter in a game's pve system.
I really think Crowd Control should be prevalent again in PVE gameplay.
Crowd Control can mean many things to many different players. This is how I would break down crowd control.
SOFT CC
Snares - decrease movement speed
Roots - keeps npc in place but npcs can still attack, damage can break roots
Stuns - low duration cc that can have an npc be ineffective. Can break with damage.
HARD CC
Strong Roots - keeps npc in place but npc can still attack, damage does not break root.
Mesmerize/Lull - the npc is 100% nullifed, Can't attack or move. Damage will break it. Long duration control.
Hard CC is integrated into a class role at a primary or secondary level and doesn't have mass distribution among your classes.
Soft CC has a larger distribution among more classes and typically categorized as utility.
Let's also define the difference between a primary and secondary role.
Primary Role
Your role in how you engage in combat. Typically the trinity (tank/dps/heal) -- Think Enchanter/Bard in Everquest.
Secondary Role
Your role in how you engage in combat but brought to groups based on your primary role. -- Think WoW Mage. (Mage = DPS that happens to CC)
Questions for Discussion
1. Should CC be an integral asset to PVE Gameplay again? Why or why not?
2. Should Hard CC be categorized in a Primary Role or Secondary Role?
Would love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for posting!
Comments
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
And that's why it won't "come back", ever... players of today just want the mindless pew pew. Even the healer role is on its way to extinction, and tank is only relevant because it helps focus the attention and the firing of dps. The joys of action combat, right? (not)
Sadly people don't appreciate that type of play as much as they used to.
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2) Primary.
Unfortunately, MMOs today are not made for this kind of play. It slows things down too much and players can't rip through masses of mobs like they want in their 30 minutes of "play time."
Crowd Control is gone from new MMOs, never to return. I wonder if Pantheon or some of the other "old school feel" MMOs coming up (possibly) will bring it back?
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
2. It depends how strong it is. If it is meant as a supplement as in the first approach I mentioned above it could be a secondary role. If it is meant as a new option for party composition it would have to be a primary role.
I don't see those old minute long CC abilities returning nor classes that did very little other than manage CC because that only makes sense in 2-5 minute fights and no one is designing fights like that any more except for the rare dungeon/raid boss fight or the KS games doing it to be deliberately retro.
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If a CC only lasts for 5-10 seconds on a 45-60 seconds cooldown players have to make a decision on when its appropriate to use their CC skills.
I do believe there is a market for this sort of mmorpg. CC brings a great component in a PVE core gameplay.
If you had a Discord, I feel like you may have a mind set to give some feedback on a new trinity system I am designing. Typically do text chats on there though.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Current retail WoW has no conception of this because CC among other utilities are mass distributed. Which is a real bad idea and can break class balance.
Essentially MMORPG devs have chosen a story path of constantly escalating stakes. And that boss being even weakened by one skill, goes against that world ending threat idea.
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Though if you really want to explore CC you could look at any Iron Realms game. Essentially enemy health isn't your first priority, instead you care about keeping your healing balances open and disabling all of your enemies. Eventually ending in one person being disabled before the kill is taken .
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