A System to Handle Balance Suggestions (Checks and Balances)

[Jaycub]

I'm not sure what qualifies me to make balance decisions, though.

I merely write code. Sure, I know broadly how the emulator handles, and quite finely when it comes to the combat and ability system, but that doesn't translate in any way towards understanding the game on a player's level - knowing what is viable, why it's viable and what should be changed to best benefit a class. That comes with experience playing the game at a solid level.

The best I can give you is common sense, advice on how to go about the balancing process and an assurance that crap suggestions won't be listened to. It's up to you guys to work out what needs to be done.

Just had to seize the chance to jerk you off a bit :^)

I think to balance a game you need someone who knows every single ability down to the the most minute detail, and understand the different metagames present. Someone might know their class really well, and have some good ideas... but they need to also understand (and care) what those changes also mean for the game as a whole. The only person/people that come to mind are those that work with and understand the system the best, via coding or whatever. Because there isn't really a good wiki or central place to get information about all facets of the game from for regular players.

Spoiler:

"Uncle Az's Advanced Warhammer Online Mechanics Video Series™" when?

[Azarael]

To be honest I think you'd be really hard pressed to find a person who could truly claim to understand all the aspects of this game unless they play both realms and all of the classes - and good luck finding such a person. If you CAN find them, you also need to make sure that they aren't thinking within the box - for example, believing that strict 2/2/2 comps in 6v6 must always be the only viable option (unless this proves undeniably true), or that WP / DoK are designed correctly because they happen to be viable backline healers.

Just trying to come up with examples of implicit assumptions here. I don't have any problem with 2/2/2 comps being the gold standard, for example.

[Jaycub]

2-2-2 should be some kind of indicator that the archetypes are in general balanced. But it would be nice to see viable 1-2-3 (hybrids or 3 dps) setups as well, as long as it doesn't too much of a negative effect on 2-2-2.

[Penril]

2-2-2 should be some kind of indicator that the archetypes are in general balanced. But it would be nice to see viable 1-2-3 (hybrids or 3 dps) setups as well, as long as it doesn't too much of a negative effect on 2-2-2.

1-3-2 is very viable but you need a SUPERB tank.

[Jaycub]

2-2-2 should be some kind of indicator that the archetypes are in general balanced. But it would be nice to see viable 1-2-3 (hybrids or 3 dps) setups as well, as long as it doesn't too much of a negative effect on 2-2-2.

1-3-2 is very viable but you need a SUPERB tank.

Ya, we would run the standard order melee train, but sometimes swap out an IB for a DPS WP. The problem is if we ran it 6v6 or against a double premade they knew all they had to do was super punt me away and it was pretty much GG. The DPS warrior priest can pump out decent damage, has great utility/buffs and its melee heal helps pick up the slack of not having 2 tanks. I didn't play long enough to stick around for the melee heal change, hope that it wasn't a huge nerf to their ability.

I see some destro guilds even here recruiting DPS shaman, I am assuming for 1-2-3? How exactly does that setup work?

[Penril]

Need puddles to catch all that damned order rdps

[Vigfuss]

yeah 1-3-2 is very good, but would be better with /assist.

[RyanMakara]

This won't be necessary until T4, I fear.

we dont need to wait till t4 to discuss balance cause that could be 2 years or more from now

Az said it best once: people are gonna say wait till t4, then their gonna say wait for full renown, then their gonna say wait till sov etc etc

Well excuse me but I was basically quoting him for saying something along those lines before. He doesn't have to agree with it, since neither do I, but it -was- something he said the devs would do in spite of the community's cries for balance on the T2 and T3 scale, which won't happen since it'll ruin the balance at T4 according to them. It's not 'the people' who say this; on the contrary.

To discuss balance changes for a tier that is the current end-game due to the obvious problems we face with it, that's no problem. To expect actual change within a short time to change the meta of the current end-game, however, is unrealistic, since those changes will not be made until we arrive at T4. That's what I actually meant to say. The discussion is there to probe and figure out where the problems lie, which must then be summarised in conclusion and handed to the devs as the 100% best way to balance the lower tiers. Good luck expecting them to follow up on even the 100% most accurate way to do things, since it will always be up to them whether or not this would actually be implemented.

[Uchoo]

It's probably a good idea. I think we had a lot of community voice during live, but there was very little done in the way of balance. I think that absolutely any attention to balance would be a good thing lol.

[Euan]

Stop trying to balance this game as 6v6 because its not a 6v6 game. It's always been very diverse in how you can pvp but 6v6 is the rarest of ways. All classes can find a place in War whether its 1v1, partyvparty, or wbvwb.