This is the first of a series of posts about the game design issues that are contributing to unsatisfactory gameplay and limiting the game’s ability to attract and retain players. In this series I will focus on issues of game design, not game balance. While the game does have ability and class balance issues, those are contentious and generally lead to acrimonious, unproductive discussions. The issues I’ll be raising affect both sides more or less equally and I believe addressing them would improve the gameplay experience for players from both realms. If you’re already bored, just skip to the TLDR.
Today, we’ll be talking about the power imbalance between a fresh 40 and higher level characters. It’s a common belief that the insane imbalances in Age of Reckoning were created by Doomflayer and Warpforged gear and that RoR has better balance. Unfortunately, that is only half true. Doomflayer and Warpforged gear did ruin the balance of Age of Reckoning, but RoR’s gear gap has grown to the point where it is now a comparable problem. While none of the following issues are by themselves game-breaking, in combination they create a massive power imbalance making it extremely difficult for fresh 40s, and especially newer players to succeed and progress upon hitting Tier 4.
I want to highlight seven major advantages that experienced, BiS players tend to have over people entering T4. They have much higher stat bonuses from gear, renown, consumables and talismans, and also have a higher AP pool. They are, on average, better players who join better groups.
These are not all of the advantages, and not all of them are a problem for the game. However, they all combine to make the game unfair and extremely difficult for newer players.
The first contribution to power imbalance is of course the power of end-game gear. I’ll use three Choppas as examples. These statistics were compiled from the armory.
The BiS choppa has double the statistical bonus of the Mercenary choppa and 50% more than the Sentinel/Red-Eye choppa.
This is also borne out in some limited testing I’ve done. In these tests, two choppas face off without moving and use the ability ‘slasha’ until one dies. Against the Mercenary choppa, the BiS choppa won with between 70% and 80% health remaining. Against the Sentinel/Red-eye Choppa, he won with 40%-50% health remaining. There was a small sample size in these tests, 2-5 rounds each, but the results meet what you would expect from the stat differences.
This severe gear imbalance is exacerbated by a combination of benefits that higher players receive. These benefits individually are not massive, but combined significantly contribute to the power imbalance.
Characters receive an extra 25 max AP at renown ranks 50 and 60. That is, a renown rank 49 player has an AP pool of 250, while a renown rank 60+ character has a pool of 300.
Talismans were factored into the above stat calculations. The Red-Eye/Sentinel and BiS choppa had comparable talismans ranging from +19 to +24, but the fresh 40 Choppa had mostly +13 talismans. That’s only a total difference of around 80-90 total stats, and not a massive imbalance.
However, there is one class of talismans that does create a power imbalance, armor talismans. Healers in particular benefit from armor talismans, but a fresh 40 and higher level players find purple talismans prohibitively expensive. At the time of writing, +136 armor talismans cost 220g each on destro and 250g on order. +124s are 140g for destro and 150g for order. This is prohibitively expensive for most players, and something only the richest will invest in for temporary sets while leveling.
More experienced players tend to have access to better consumables. This may not seem significant to most of us, however, many new 40s, and especially newer or casual players, aren’t aware of, or can’t afford to buy high-tier consumables. Some can’t afford to buy consumables at all.
For example, the stat potions many players use give no benefit in groups because the stat would be buffed by someone else. So a Marauder with a War: Blood liniment is getting 60 wounds and 5% melee crit, in addition to strength from a groupmate. The newer player’s 80 strength potion, assuming he even has one, gives no benefit over a group buff. Further, not all players can afford blue health, absorb and renown potions. My purpose in mentioning this is not to suggest that we get rid of consumables or make them easier to get, only to point out another advantage that higher level, established players have.
Higher ranked players have access to more renown points. Forty-five renown points equates to 14% crit or 24% crit reduction. Thirty-four renown points buys 120 of any stat. Twenty renown points earns 18% parry, 10% block or 18% dodge and disrupt. Again, I’m not advocating that renown points be removed, only pointing out that they must be considered as we discuss power imbalances. If we include standard buffs, renown points and consumables this is what the above looks like:
Including everything, the BiS Choppa has 217% of the base stats of the entry level 40 player and 162% of the base stats of the player who has done some PvE. That doesn’t even include the critical hit rate, which is as much as five times higher, the armor penetration bonus or bonuses from armor pots.
The next power imbalance is networking. More experienced players have been around the server for longer and have connections. It’s easier and faster for them to find groups. They often have multiple BiS alts and can form optimal group compositions. As with the previous observations, I am not suggesting that we abolish friendship or ban groups, only pointing out that they must be considered as we discuss power imbalances.
The final power imbalance is caused by player skill. More experienced players are not only better at playing their own classes, but also more knowledgeable about other classes and archetypes. They know what their opponents can and can’t do, and know how to counter it. Just as importantly, they know what their allies can do, and how to support them. At the risk of sounding redundant, I am not advocating for the abolishment of player skill, only pointing out that it must be considered as we discuss power imbalances.
Despite these significant advantages, some would argue that skill and coordination have a greater impact on in-game success than gear. I completely agree with that statement. I also think a comfortable majority of players, myself included, believe that progression is a necessary part of any MMO. The carrot keeps us playing. However, I would argue that players with greater skill, playing in groups with greater coordination do not need such massive character power advantages to succeed.
What should be done? Renown is an important part of character progression, and doesn’t need to be adjusted. Crafting of talismans and consumables allows for character customization and also adds interesting gameplay loops. Obviously, we don’t want to restrict player skill or grouping. In addition, as we have seen, renown, talismans and consumables (around 100-300 total stat points) do not contribute as much to power imbalance as gear sets (around 500-700 total stat points). The issue is that these factors all reinforce each other. That leaves adjusting gear sets.
First, I suggest the stats on Conqueror Ward sets (Conqueror, Red-Eye, Dominator and Onslaught) be adjusted to the power level of Vanquisher Ward sets (Vanquisher, Oppressor and Sentinel) and the renown rank required reduced to 40 for all pieces. Further, Vanquisher Ward sets should be adjusted to the power level of Invader or even Warlord sets. Invader Ward and Warlord sets should be boosted so that they are slightly more powerful than they currently are and provide an upgrade from the newly boosted earlier sets.
Second, the extra AP that higher renown rank characters get is a completely unnecessary advantage. The simplest adjustment would be to give all characters an AP pool of 300 from character creation.
Third, the availability of armor fragments should be increased until their costs are in line with other talismans. This could be done by increasing the droprate of purple fragments from scavenging.
TLDR: We have highlighted seven distinct advantages BiS players have. Gear, renown, talismans and consumables combine to give them more than double the stats and fighting power of lower level characters. They have more AP, more consumables, play better and play with better people.
Removing renown specs, talismans, consumables and is unproductive and unnecessary.
The stats on gear should be flattened. Conqueror ward sets should have roughly the power level that Vanquisher currently does. Vanquisher, Oppressor and Sentinel sets should have roughly the power level of Invader or Warlord. AP pools should be equalized across character levels. Armor fragments should drop at an increased rate to bring their costs into line with other talismans.
Please restrict your comments to discussion about the state of power imbalance between high-level and low-level characters. Discussions about how class or ability balance intersects with gear imbalance, while interesting, are more likely to distract the conversation than contribute to it.
Edit: Some people are wondering why I didn't include the Vanquisher set in this comparison. The short answer is that I think Vanquisher set makes players reasonably competitive in T4. However, many players can't get Vanquisher when they enter T4 and/or are advised to save crests and do PvE. The point of the post is to show why a set with Vanquisher's power level should be the enter-level set for T4.
