Can class balance exist in a true sandbox?

Chieftan

I always go back to UO when I think of a true sandbox MMO.  Other players who experienced the early days of UO remember what the words "Corp Por" and "Kal Vas Flam" meant...and how screwed you were if you were a melee-based character on the wrong end of those spells.

But UO was more of a medieval fantasy sim than it ever was a MMO as we know them now.  That's what gave it it's edge, that's what made it a game that made your character's skill path so definining.  Melee skills were easier to learn and infinitely cheaper to take into combat...and for people like me it was worth the tradeoff.

In the real world, if you pull up to a stoplight in your cheap economy car, you understand that the V8 Camaro next to you is going to blow you off the line if you try to race.  It's a combination of economics and simple math.  You bought the economy car because it costs less and you can keep driving long after Mr. Camaro has to sheepishly pull over and stop for gas.

But in today's MMOs?  People want to have the perks of the eco-friendly sedan with the raw power of a sports car.  They don't understand the tradeoff, the appreciation for choosing a path and sticking to it because it fits your style.  They can't accept that some classes are going to be better at certain things in certain situations.

In the real world, a tank is the king of the battlefield.  A tank can level buildings with a single shot and mow down foot soldiers by the dozen without breaking a sweat.  But against an air attack, especially from an airplane like the A-10 Warthog specially designed to destroy tanks, it has virtually no defense.

In real life, this is accepted.  In a MMO?  Oh noes.  Tank players will cry a river until they have anti-aircraft batteries mounted to their turret and A-10s are shooting BBs instead of depleted uranium.

jazz.be

I was going to say who cares about class balance, it's just the nature of things. The one is stronger than the other. As long as there is a supreme balance.

But I see now that this is exactly your point.

TyranusPrime

Class balance is highly over-rated anyway.. For a sandbox, there are plenty of ways to give players the tools needed to be successful and/or competitive..

 

As for the example.. So the tank is the tank of the trinity.. and the A-10 Warthog is the dps.. Who then is the healer? A Red Cross worker? Damn.. Healers, screwed again..

bcbully

Well said both of u. 

mmoguy43

Real life is not fair.

Games generally should be.

Sandbox- how can imbalance not exists?

killahh

ideally there should be NO class balance.

every class should have redeeming qualities and inherent weakness.

warrior ,  cleric, mage, wiz, necro, druid, rogue, shaman,  the idea in a mmorpg is for people top group up, to work together, to form friendships, form alliances, and develop the social aspect of a game.

class balancing is for the solo artist, the small group person,  the guy who wants to be able to do it all , the mmo guy.

now having said that,  i have seen great reasons for slight balancing classes due to unseen overpowered or underpowered issues, but  in the end, if your going to play a mage, you are going to be a glass cannon, if your going to play a cleric, your going to have great healing and support spells but wont be able to hit worth a damn, and  as a warrior, youll be awsome  dps but no way to  heal yourself atall.

my 2 cents, cheers

 

 

VengeSunsoar

1. Do classes even exist in a true sandbox.  If they don't, or there is a way to swap/change/add to your classes the question is redundant.

2. For all the tanks ruggedness, a smiple remotely detonated IED which is basically just a homemade landmine can take out a tank.

Kyleran

The only sandbox games I've played didn't have classes, so I can't relate.

Stuka1000

I have advocated for many years that the endless search for balance isn't just unrealistic but damages the game as a whole as everyone starts screaming for nerfs because they lost a one on one PvP battle.  If the tank is king of the ring then lets see how well he does when taking on three clerics all healing each other while they take him down with bug bites.  Strategy over balance any day of the week.

Jairoe03

Direct analogies from real life into video games don't always work especially in this case. It's a universal to accept life isn't fair but life shouldn't be in my video games either or else I should just be playing life.

Let's say I'm an axe wielder but I find myself gimped vs let's say a hammer wielder. It sucks running across a situation that it is theoretically impossible for you to overcome. It's almost like you lost a long time ago. I don't believe class balance can ever exist but this shouldn't be used as an excuse to not continually strive for balance.