Min-maxers will always find the best mathematical option regardless.
Yeh .. i don't see how BIS can be avoided. Unless numbers are unbounded, there is always a biggest one.
The problem is the strength of a piece of gear can be reduced to a single number.
Even if there are multiple numbers, you can always take an expectation (on average this is the dps) and ignore the special case (like look at normal damage dps and ignore fire).
There are some games where that concept of expected value doesn't make sense. Again, I cite Uncharted Waters Online. If one item gives +1 biology, another gives +1 mineral trading, and a third gives +1 plunder, which is the best of those depends greatly on what you're doing--and in many situations, all three of them will be useless. Trying to take an average over what the player will do that year will give wildly different results for different players.
I would say players definitely started it. But some developers cater to it, mainly by consolidating stats or streamlining stat weighting.
So players like it .. devs cater to their client. Is there a problem?
No. No problem with it. Just the assumption that ~all~ players like it isn't necessarily accurate. Once a developer begins to cater to it, that's the audience you've picked to support as there isn't a lot of room for a non-BIS player in a game that revolves around chasing BIS items. The opposite holds true as well: a min-maxer is probably going to get bored in a game without something to chase.
Nothing wrong with either one, other than they don't coexist very well. Or, at least, they don't using the current gaming models.
I would say players definitely started it. But some developers cater to it, mainly by consolidating stats or streamlining stat weighting.
So players like it .. devs cater to their client. Is there a problem?
No. No problem with it. Just the assumption that ~all~ players like it isn't necessarily accurate.
No one is making that assumption. Just take a look at this place. Would any sane person believe there is anything that all players would like?
Well you could also say looking at this forum, that Yes there are tons of players totally expecting every other player to like what they like. There is oddles of rage from the just about any "Hardcore" group about modern players being wimpy thin armed idiots for not liking the good stuff (PvPer, Grind, Raiding, and Whatever).
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
Most people have at least a dim sense that if others actually agreed with them about what was good, they would all get more of it. It takes more awareness to realize that it's not human nature to agree.
I want to help design and develop a PvE-focused, solo-friendly, sandpark MMO which combines crafting, monster hunting, and story. So PM me if you are starting one.
Well you could also say looking at this forum, that Yes there are tons of players totally expecting every other player to like what they like.
Why would they do that if they can read?
There is also a difference between TRYING to force their preferences on others from actually believing that they are successful.
There are a lot of people doing the former, but i doubt there are many who is gullible enough to believe that shouting loud on the internet will change minds.
Gear based progression is devised to make players feel strong just for investing their time and/or money.
IMO, gear should be about aesthetics and utility. Games that entertain players by artificially inflating their egos are usually devoid of content and stuffed full of timesinks. Oh wait, that's about 99.9% of the MMOs out there, isn't it...
Gear based progression is devised to make players feel strong just for investing their time and/or money.
IMO, gear should be about aesthetics and utility. Games that entertain players by artificially inflating their egos are usually devoid of content and stuffed full of timesinks. Oh wait, that's about 99.9% of the MMOs out there, isn't it...
If you want to take a jaded view about systems in MMOs designed to milk you for more playing time you can say the same about any thing in MMOs that progresses.
Infinite or near-infinite naked character progression would accomplish the same thing.
Character enhancement through gear is just a staple of RPGs and has been that way since the first +1 item dropped in a tabletop D&D game. And in real life long before that since the history of warfare in large part revolves about which equipment is best for the job.
And as long as there is more than one item to choose from, players will figure out which is the best for a given purpose just how they figure out which are the best character stat and ability development choices if they have choices. One is called BIS and the other one Meta and the only way to eradicate them is by having 0 choices.
Those in this thread advocating for more choices as a solution are simply making a pitch for a more debatable BIS than a game like say, BDO, provides. But whatever is done, there will be a BIS for a specific purpose...always.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Character enhancement through gear is just a staple of RPGs and has been that way since the first +1 item dropped in a tabletop D&D game. And in real life long before that since the history of warfare in large part revolves about which equipment is best for the job.
Progression initially existed to expand content. Gear is supposed to be a vehicle, not a destination. If you don't understand that, then you probably have never even participated in a role playing session before.
Also, you're agreeing with me here whether you realize it or not. I said gear should be about utility, which is picking the equipment that will allow you to accomplish your task. That doesn't mean you should require better versions of your gear to advance, or that you should be forced to do repetitive content to acquire it.
Most MMORPG's these days have no business even calling themselves an RPG. They're action fantasy themeparks, where content is indifferent to class.
I would say players definitely started it. But some developers cater to it, mainly by consolidating stats or streamlining stat weighting.
So players like it .. devs cater to their client. Is there a problem?
Yes
Most players are idiots, so following their suggestions usually leads to problems.
In this specific instance, gear-based vertical progression that leads to best-in-slot items solves a short-term problem (goal setting and stroking e-peens) whilst creating a worse long term problem (segregating communities, hurting group content, lowering retention).
So, from a developers point of view, you just have to decide what you want your game to be. If you just want short term cash grab then stick with vertical gear progression like this. It suits solo players, it takes no skill to implement and the players will have quit long before the problems with this model kick in.
If you want to make an actual MMO that will generate you lots of money for years to come, you're going to have to go the harder route.
Currently Playing: WAR RoR - Spitt rr7X Black Orc | Scrotling rr6X Squig Herder | Scabrous rr4X Shaman
I'm not sure that best in slot item mattered much in the early days of EQ.
Usually, good weapons might be magical which allowed hitting magical enemies. They might have a slightly better damage or delay than a normal weapon. They might also have something like +1-5 fire damage or something of that nature at the very high end. It didn't have that great of an impact.
Armor was usually pure AC with different AC and weight ratios. At the very high end it might have some resistances or bonuses to attributes, but usually, it didn't.
The people who got the high-end gear usually were fairly few and far between so not many people had the same items.
Most of the equipment looked similar though. For instance, leather armor all looked more or less the same with different colors. Swords of the same type all looked the same with different colors and at high end might have a particle effect of some type to make it look like it was radiating power.
Gear based progression is devised to make players feel strong just for investing their time and/or money.
IMO, gear should be about aesthetics and utility. Games that entertain players by artificially inflating their egos are usually devoid of content and stuffed full of timesinks. Oh wait, that's about 99.9% of the MMOs out there, isn't it...
I agree and disagree. I think the traditional gearing system is seriously overplayed and a huge turn off to a lot of people.
Disposable gear systems like Darkfall change the whole dynamic. In Darkfall all gear breaks after enough usage and is dropped / lootable if you die.
The thing is removing gear entirely removes a huge component of the game, where disposable gear systems promote the game's economy without allowing for power gaps on the level of WoW style games. And there is a uniquely satisfying feeling when you kill someone who has expensive gear when all you had was throw away gear.
Not saying you couldn't do a game without gear, but you would still need to provide ways for people to progress. Personally for me that outlet would be empire building (Takes a lot of resources to take, build, maintain and defend territory.) but I don't think that element alone works as well as it would when paired with disposable gear.
I also like the disposable gear provides a meaning to death.
It all boils down to how much time your players want to devote to character development. Leveling and questing, at the most basic level, are easy. You do something (and maybe return to the quest giver) and you gain experience. In the simplest character development, your level increases and you don't need to do anything to make yourself stronger. In more complicated character development, you have to manage stats and skills, sometimes additionally spells and talents and items. This typically requires players who're more inclined to micromanagement. The more complicated character development is, the less popular it's. So MMO's usually gravitate to simpler systems. In terms of Best in Slot, having a single best in slot is simpler. Having multiple items you can use depending on the circumstances is more complicated. So MMO's will gravitate to best in slot or tier gear sets. These require far less item management.
The best MMO's create the illusion of choice and of complication, when in truth they're simple. They're like magicians. The same skill they use to make you feel heroic is employed to make you feel clever.
Most players are idiots, so following their suggestions usually leads to problems.
In this specific instance, gear-based vertical progression that leads to best-in-slot items solves a short-term problem (goal setting and stroking e-peens) whilst creating a worse long term problem (segregating communities, hurting group content, lowering retention).
lol .. way to be an elitist and impose your preference on others.
May be they don't care about communities, hurting group content, and lowering retention. Heck, i play MMORPGs like single player games, why should i care any of those things you mentioned?
Sure, it may be a problem for you ... but bey, you don't represent all gamers, do you?
Should there be any such thing as a Best In Slot item in an MMORPG?
In a game that cares about player skill only, I guess it's not necessarily a bad thing (but why bother with a levelling system then). There only being allowed to be a BIS item means that the devs can't be evil and make you grind 15 times to get every situational item.
Personally I think a Best In Slot item is pretty braindead, or at least indicative that the devs choose to leave something unbalanced. RPGs should be about building your character and hopefully making them unique, if everyone is aiming for the same achievement and ends up in the same place that's more along the lines of growth instead of development (I'm sure someone will bash me for such silly wording, but growth is just something that happens and development has some adaptation or choice implied).
Or if you do have BIS you should at least provide reason to not want to use it all the time. Could be maintenance costs (higher than some rewards), chance of loss, some sort of fuel cost, or maybe something more creative like NPCs refusing to talk to you.
Ever since my days in Everquest BIS has meant one thing: a meaningful reward for doing something. What's the point in doing something more then once if you can just pick up an item from a dungeon or open world event and have it be as good as a drop from an extremely rare or extremely powerful boss? For plebs who play for fun you don't need to worry about BIS. For people who enjoy doing hard content there should be equal rewards for their hard work. Hardcore raiders don't tell you that you shouldn't be allowed to hit max level if you're not a hardcore raider so why should it be said that raiders aren't allowed "best in slot" gear for their persistance. It's not bad design to haveone piece of gear be better then everything else if it's something that needs to be earned and isn't thrown at you ala WoW.
Best In Slot normally also includes "Best In All Ways".
When it comes down to gear design, raid gear doesn't need to be "Best In All Ways". Your DPS characters won't need the health or defense bonuses all that much, Your tanks won't need their offense bonuses all that much either, your healers probably won't need much outside of +healing and +mana, and similar.
While your PvPers will probably want gear that has the best -CC effects on it. Then the rest depending on your stat system.
While your solo/pug players will probably want all around gear, to account for the occasional mistake that will happen and "think off script" that will happen.
So there's at least 3 types of gear for what players would "want" to wear for their max level gear, even in an utterly typical MMO (frankly I'd love to talk about something less typical, but conversation is better). But the normal BiS system is so "meh" that it doesn't enable such differentiation at all.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
I encountered BIS in my PnP adventures. Why shouldn't I use this magical polearm to poke that dragon? You wanted to use the items which gave you the most benefits. I don't think BIS is evil. When content is not doable or players get excluded because they don't have BIS, then the game fails. Other than that, it's fine by me.
Even with player skill games, like most FPS, every player will pick the weapon that benefits his playstyle the best. You don't snipe with a revolver. No you want the sniper rifle with the best accuracy and silencer.
It will never not exist, but by avoiding the ilvl BUILT-IN BiS bullshit you can at least have diversity in gear by making it situational.
ESO imo does a decent job with this. There is a definite "Top tier" of CP360 gear but it isn't like you have a set for each class that is the absolute best bar none. There is at LEAST a couple degrees of separation such as Magicka vs Stamina, Procs vs Straight stats, etc.
It's still not AS situational as older games but a step up from the one size fits all BiS you have in most games today.
Then why do people want to have monster helmets and shoulders? Aren't their procs the best? What about arena weapons and jewelry? Why do people even bother to beat that content then? What about sets with bonuses for crafted gear? Why do people mix up heavy and medium armor for example?
I encountered BIS in my PnP adventures. Why shouldn't I use this magical polearm to poke that dragon? You wanted to use the items which gave you the most benefits. I don't think BIS is evil. When content is not doable or players get excluded because they don't have BIS, then the game fails. Other than that, it's fine by me.
Even with player skill games, like most FPS, every player will pick the weapon that benefits his playstyle the best. You don't snipe with a revolver. No you want the sniper rifle with the best accuracy and silencer.
Then why do people want to have monster helmets and shoulders? Aren't their procs the best? What about arena weapons and jewelry? Why do people even bother to beat that content then? What about sets with bonuses for crafted gear? Why do people mix up heavy and medium armor for example?
Yes, certain pen and player games do have BiS, D&D and Pathfinder comes to mind.
The majority of them doesn't have that though (Vampire, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, Warhammer fantasy RPG, BRP, CoC, ARS Magica and so on...).
And even D&D and Pathfinder tend to have many items that are best in some situations but far from all. Your Vorpal blade is excellent against an ogre but it wont help you decapitate a slime monster after all. MMOs tend to have dumbed down that so usually is the BiS items always best and that is a shame.
As for mixing medium and heavy armor historically speaking at least, there are 2 reasons: First, you have heavy protection on critical parts but lighter on arms and legs to keep weight down and movability up. The second reason is that heavy armors have always been more expensive then lighter ones and if you can't afford a full one you will try to at least have a good helmet and a breastplate to lesson the chance to get instantly killed.
In a MMO I havn't clue, maybe they think it looks good?
Most players are idiots, so following their suggestions usually leads to problems.
In this specific instance, gear-based vertical progression that leads to best-in-slot items solves a short-term problem (goal setting and stroking e-peens) whilst creating a worse long term problem (segregating communities, hurting group content, lowering retention).
lol .. way to be an elitist and impose your preference on others.
May be they don't care about communities, hurting group content, and lowering retention. Heck, i play MMORPGs like single player games, why should i care any of those things you mentioned?
Sure, it may be a problem for you ... but bey, you don't represent all gamers, do you?
which part of his post is wrong? we know which part you disagree with, but what is wrong in his post?
This part "Most players are idiots, so following their suggestions usually leads to problems."
Problems are subjective here. He implies that there is a universal problem. There is none. For example, "segregating communities" may be a "problem" for him, but certainly not for me .. and hence it is not a universal problem.
Gear based progression is devised to make players feel strong just for investing their time and/or money.
IMO, gear should be about aesthetics and utility. Games that entertain players by artificially inflating their egos are usually devoid of content and stuffed full of timesinks. Oh wait, that's about 99.9% of the MMOs out there, isn't it...
Character enhancement through gear is just a staple of RPGs and has been that way since the first +1 item dropped in a tabletop D&D game. And in real life long before that since the history of warfare in large part revolves about which equipment is best for the job.
Progression initially existed to expand content. Gear is supposed to be a vehicle, not a destination. If you don't understand that, then you probably have never even participated in a role playing session before.
Also, you're agreeing with me here whether you realize it or not. I said gear should be about utility, which is picking the equipment that will allow you to accomplish your task. That doesn't mean you should require better versions of your gear to advance, or that you should be forced to do repetitive content to acquire it.
Most MMORPG's these days have no business even calling themselves an RPG. They're action fantasy themeparks, where content is indifferent to class.
They are not agreeing with you, you're too stupid to realize what Iselin was saying. Even if gear is only about utility, there will still be BIS gear for a given purpose.
Gear based progression is devised to make players feel strong just for investing their time and/or money.
IMO, gear should be about aesthetics and utility. Games that entertain players by artificially inflating their egos are usually devoid of content and stuffed full of timesinks. Oh wait, that's about 99.9% of the MMOs out there, isn't it...
That worked oh so well for GW2 base huh?
It is one of the top MMOs still you know...
But frankly, that is besides the point here.
The question is more if you should progress by gear or by character improvement as you play a MMO. The older games had a bit of both but today your character progression generally stop after a few weeks of playing when you hit the endgame.
And guess what? The MMO endgame is terrible.
You will not get a new skill or ability there (it is terrible for more reason than that) and 100% of all your progress is through gear and all that progress will be useless whenever the next expansion comes.
Putting too much focus on gear and killing character progress so soon is a huge part of the reason so many people constantly jump games today.
Gear based progression is devised to make players feel strong just for investing their time and/or money.
IMO, gear should be about aesthetics and utility. Games that entertain players by artificially inflating their egos are usually devoid of content and stuffed full of timesinks. Oh wait, that's about 99.9% of the MMOs out there, isn't it...
That worked oh so well for GW2 base huh?
It is one of the top MMOs still you know...
But frankly, that is besides the point here.
The question is more if you should progress by gear or by character improvement as you play a MMO. The older games had a bit of both but today your character progression generally stop after a few weeks of playing when you hit the endgame.
And guess what? The MMO endgame is terrible.
You will not get a new skill or ability there (it is terrible for more reason than that) and 100% of all your progress is through gear and all that progress will be useless whenever the next expansion comes.
Putting too much focus on gear and killing character progress so soon is a huge part of the reason so many people constantly jump games today.
ESO uses a mix of character and gear progression as well as skill unlocks that progress only if you use that type of skill. You can change your mind about what skills you may want to use later on and will then need to skill up those things... even at end game if you wait till then to do it.
Some things progress rapidly like the class skill lines and skills you use a lot and the same for weapons and the armor type you most use. Other things such as the Undaunted and alliance war skills, progress more slowly and only when you run dungeons and trials or PVP respectively.
Then there is the nearly endless character advancement with the champion point system that not only gives you your choice of many different useful passives but also buffs your basic stat attributes. It works very similar to the D3 paragon system in that the quantity of points is account-wide but how you use them is character-specific.
Gear progresses up to a certain point and then it goes horizontal also borrowing heavily from D3. There are literally hundreds of gear sets to collect and choose from that apply buffs to stats, enhance specific abilities or even confer new skills by way of procs. Some can be crafted, some drop only in a specific dungeon or trial, some in PVP. Each zone in the game has 3 sets you can find there from overland mobs, chests, etc. And all of those, even if bound, are account-wide so you can pass them along to alts through the bank.
A lot of this gear is not obviously better than other similar level gear - it's just different and may for example, enhance fire damage or lightning damage or dual wielding, etc. Some of the trial gear also only buffs your damage or healing in dungeons and trials and nowhere else. It's up to you to decide which sets to go after and collect for whatever individual purpose you have in mind for your character.
This not only creates a different and more varied end-game environment but it also means that any alts you create only need to be leveled to 50 (which is very simple and can easily be done in a couple of weeks or quicker.) As soon as they reach 50 they automatically go to the highest CP level you've achieved in that account and can start using whatever gear you have collected that might suit the alt.
We're not the only ones who think about these sort of end-game issues including BIS, you know. Developers also think about it and try to come up with interesting new ways to do things. You can see some of that in ESO.
Of course, depending on which meta-of-the-day YT guru you choose to listen to, you can discard 498 of the 500 choices because they'll tell you there's only one way to build your character. Those are the worst people for perpetuating the "one and only" BIS myths.
I play it enough that I can usually tell when someone tries to play the "one true BIS way", usually not even realizing that they're trying to use a BIS DPS trial build and gear (which like all DPS trial advice assumes that you're grouped with excellent healers and tanks) and then fail badly when they run into a tough spot without a great healer or tank to bail out their glass cannon asses... it's funny and kind of sad at the same time.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Comments
So players like it .. devs cater to their client. Is there a problem?
Nothing wrong with either one, other than they don't coexist very well. Or, at least, they don't using the current gaming models.
No one is making that assumption. Just take a look at this place. Would any sane person believe there is anything that all players would like?
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
There is also a difference between TRYING to force their preferences on others from actually believing that they are successful.
There are a lot of people doing the former, but i doubt there are many who is gullible enough to believe that shouting loud on the internet will change minds.
IMO, gear should be about aesthetics and utility. Games that entertain players by artificially inflating their egos are usually devoid of content and stuffed full of timesinks. Oh wait, that's about 99.9% of the MMOs out there, isn't it...
Infinite or near-infinite naked character progression would accomplish the same thing.
Character enhancement through gear is just a staple of RPGs and has been that way since the first +1 item dropped in a tabletop D&D game. And in real life long before that since the history of warfare in large part revolves about which equipment is best for the job.
And as long as there is more than one item to choose from, players will figure out which is the best for a given purpose just how they figure out which are the best character stat and ability development choices if they have choices. One is called BIS and the other one Meta and the only way to eradicate them is by having 0 choices.
Those in this thread advocating for more choices as a solution are simply making a pitch for a more debatable BIS than a game like say, BDO, provides. But whatever is done, there will be a BIS for a specific purpose...always.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Progression initially existed to expand content. Gear is supposed to be a vehicle, not a destination. If you don't understand that, then you probably have never even participated in a role playing session before.
Also, you're agreeing with me here whether you realize it or not. I said gear should be about utility, which is picking the equipment that will allow you to accomplish your task. That doesn't mean you should require better versions of your gear to advance, or that you should be forced to do repetitive content to acquire it.
Most MMORPG's these days have no business even calling themselves an RPG. They're action fantasy themeparks, where content is indifferent to class.
Most players are idiots, so following their suggestions usually leads to problems.
In this specific instance, gear-based vertical progression that leads to best-in-slot items solves a short-term problem (goal setting and stroking e-peens) whilst creating a worse long term problem (segregating communities, hurting group content, lowering retention).
So, from a developers point of view, you just have to decide what you want your game to be. If you just want short term cash grab then stick with vertical gear progression like this. It suits solo players, it takes no skill to implement and the players will have quit long before the problems with this model kick in.
If you want to make an actual MMO that will generate you lots of money for years to come, you're going to have to go the harder route.
Usually, good weapons might be magical which allowed hitting magical enemies. They might have a slightly better damage or delay than a normal weapon. They might also have something like +1-5 fire damage or something of that nature at the very high end. It didn't have that great of an impact.
Armor was usually pure AC with different AC and weight ratios. At the very high end it might have some resistances or bonuses to attributes, but usually, it didn't.
The people who got the high-end gear usually were fairly few and far between so not many people had the same items.
Most of the equipment looked similar though. For instance, leather armor all looked more or less the same with different colors. Swords of the same type all looked the same with different colors and at high end might have a particle effect of some type to make it look like it was radiating power.
Disposable gear systems like Darkfall change the whole dynamic. In Darkfall all gear breaks after enough usage and is dropped / lootable if you die.
The thing is removing gear entirely removes a huge component of the game, where disposable gear systems promote the game's economy without allowing for power gaps on the level of WoW style games. And there is a uniquely satisfying feeling when you kill someone who has expensive gear when all you had was throw away gear.
Not saying you couldn't do a game without gear, but you would still need to provide ways for people to progress. Personally for me that outlet would be empire building (Takes a lot of resources to take, build, maintain and defend territory.) but I don't think that element alone works as well as it would when paired with disposable gear.
I also like the disposable gear provides a meaning to death.
The best MMO's create the illusion of choice and of complication, when in truth they're simple. They're like magicians. The same skill they use to make you feel heroic is employed to make you feel clever.
May be they don't care about communities, hurting group content, and lowering retention. Heck, i play MMORPGs like single player games, why should i care any of those things you mentioned?
Sure, it may be a problem for you ... but bey, you don't represent all gamers, do you?
Ever since my days in Everquest BIS has meant one thing: a meaningful reward for doing something. What's the point in doing something more then once if you can just pick up an item from a dungeon or open world event and have it be as good as a drop from an extremely rare or extremely powerful boss? For plebs who play for fun you don't need to worry about BIS. For people who enjoy doing hard content there should be equal rewards for their hard work. Hardcore raiders don't tell you that you shouldn't be allowed to hit max level if you're not a hardcore raider so why should it be said that raiders aren't allowed "best in slot" gear for their persistance. It's not bad design to haveone piece of gear be better then everything else if it's something that needs to be earned and isn't thrown at you ala WoW.
When it comes down to gear design, raid gear doesn't need to be "Best In All Ways". Your DPS characters won't need the health or defense bonuses all that much, Your tanks won't need their offense bonuses all that much either, your healers probably won't need much outside of +healing and +mana, and similar.
While your PvPers will probably want gear that has the best -CC effects on it. Then the rest depending on your stat system.
While your solo/pug players will probably want all around gear, to account for the occasional mistake that will happen and "think off script" that will happen.
So there's at least 3 types of gear for what players would "want" to wear for their max level gear, even in an utterly typical MMO (frankly I'd love to talk about something less typical, but conversation is better). But the normal BiS system is so "meh" that it doesn't enable such differentiation at all.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
Even with player skill games, like most FPS, every player will pick the weapon that benefits his playstyle the best. You don't snipe with a revolver. No you want the sniper rifle with the best accuracy and silencer.
Then why do people want to have monster helmets and shoulders? Aren't their procs the best?
What about arena weapons and jewelry? Why do people even bother to beat that content then?
What about sets with bonuses for crafted gear?
Why do people mix up heavy and medium armor for example?
The majority of them doesn't have that though (Vampire, Shadowrun, Cyberpunk, Warhammer fantasy RPG, BRP, CoC, ARS Magica and so on...).
And even D&D and Pathfinder tend to have many items that are best in some situations but far from all. Your Vorpal blade is excellent against an ogre but it wont help you decapitate a slime monster after all. MMOs tend to have dumbed down that so usually is the BiS items always best and that is a shame.
As for mixing medium and heavy armor historically speaking at least, there are 2 reasons: First, you have heavy protection on critical parts but lighter on arms and legs to keep weight down and movability up. The second reason is that heavy armors have always been more expensive then lighter ones and if you can't afford a full one you will try to at least have a good helmet and a breastplate to lesson the chance to get instantly killed.
In a MMO I havn't clue, maybe they think it looks good?
This part "Most players are idiots, so following their suggestions usually leads to problems."
Problems are subjective here. He implies that there is a universal problem. There is none. For example, "segregating communities" may be a "problem" for him, but certainly not for me .. and hence it is not a universal problem.
Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!
Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!
But frankly, that is besides the point here.
The question is more if you should progress by gear or by character improvement as you play a MMO. The older games had a bit of both but today your character progression generally stop after a few weeks of playing when you hit the endgame.
And guess what? The MMO endgame is terrible.
You will not get a new skill or ability there (it is terrible for more reason than that) and 100% of all your progress is through gear and all that progress will be useless whenever the next expansion comes.
Putting too much focus on gear and killing character progress so soon is a huge part of the reason so many people constantly jump games today.
Some things progress rapidly like the class skill lines and skills you use a lot and the same for weapons and the armor type you most use. Other things such as the Undaunted and alliance war skills, progress more slowly and only when you run dungeons and trials or PVP respectively.
Then there is the nearly endless character advancement with the champion point system that not only gives you your choice of many different useful passives but also buffs your basic stat attributes. It works very similar to the D3 paragon system in that the quantity of points is account-wide but how you use them is character-specific.
Gear progresses up to a certain point and then it goes horizontal also borrowing heavily from D3. There are literally hundreds of gear sets to collect and choose from that apply buffs to stats, enhance specific abilities or even confer new skills by way of procs. Some can be crafted, some drop only in a specific dungeon or trial, some in PVP. Each zone in the game has 3 sets you can find there from overland mobs, chests, etc. And all of those, even if bound, are account-wide so you can pass them along to alts through the bank.
A lot of this gear is not obviously better than other similar level gear - it's just different and may for example, enhance fire damage or lightning damage or dual wielding, etc. Some of the trial gear also only buffs your damage or healing in dungeons and trials and nowhere else. It's up to you to decide which sets to go after and collect for whatever individual purpose you have in mind for your character.
This not only creates a different and more varied end-game environment but it also means that any alts you create only need to be leveled to 50 (which is very simple and can easily be done in a couple of weeks or quicker.) As soon as they reach 50 they automatically go to the highest CP level you've achieved in that account and can start using whatever gear you have collected that might suit the alt.
We're not the only ones who think about these sort of end-game issues including BIS, you know. Developers also think about it and try to come up with interesting new ways to do things. You can see some of that in ESO.
Of course, depending on which meta-of-the-day YT guru you choose to listen to, you can discard 498 of the 500 choices because they'll tell you there's only one way to build your character. Those are the worst people for perpetuating the "one and only" BIS myths.
I play it enough that I can usually tell when someone tries to play the "one true BIS way", usually not even realizing that they're trying to use a BIS DPS trial build and gear (which like all DPS trial advice assumes that you're grouped with excellent healers and tanks) and then fail badly when they run into a tough spot without a great healer or tank to bail out their glass cannon asses... it's funny and kind of sad at the same time.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
yeh ... and constantly jumping games is great. More variety in fun!