Wyr Discussion

Nelson

I'm curious to know what people think about Simutronics' Wyr socketing system?  I personally think it's an innovative feature, but I fear that there will be balancing issues.

If you're not familiar with Wyr than check out this article which was released with the E3 2006 press kit.

Amathe

I see pros and cons to it. Here are some thoughts:

Pros:

1. Allows for there to be loot rewards while still being able to customize character appearance.

2. Allows you many different options on your character build.

3. Fosters a player economy.

4. Allows you to use a weapon you like for as long as you wish and still be able to make it effective -  something you cannot do in most games. This is a plus for roleplayers, because why would I chuck the family hierloom sword the moment I get another one?

5. Promotes situational weapons, which adds depth to tactics.

6. Getting goodies is fun.

Cons:

1. In a game that is not meant to be another item centric chase for phat lewts, this could be the road to same old, same old.

2. Difficult to balance, as people will find the uber wyr combinations. Hello Nerf City.

3. The sale of rare wyr could make for a farmer's paradise. It also encourages people to grind for gold so they can afford this stuff.

4. "Dood, y U hav the suxxor noob wyr? My wyr rox." Not exactly a roleplayer's dream.

5. So where does the best wyr come from? The good money is on the high level mobs. Rush to end game again in T minus 60 and counting.

6. Since a level 5 can group with a level 50, if the level 5 gets level 50 wyr drops in those encounters, get ready for tons of requests by players who want to be PL'd.

Chessack

Wyr sound an awful lot like a more complex version of enhancements in City of Heroes. In that game, you can enhance a power however you want (within limits) and the power remains useful from when you get it to max level, etc. The main difference seems to be that in COH, there are no "combos" of enhancements you can use to get other effects (adding damage just adds damage, no more, no less), but Wyr seem more capable of this. That could prove interesting, or frustrating, depending on how they do it.

As for drops... in COH, you can be "sidekicked" into a much higher level, but the drops come at the level you're at. So if you are a level 5 and SKed into a level 50 mission, any drops you get will be level 5 ehancements, not level 50s.

C

Kane

I would like to see a Wyr system unlike City of Heroes in that their are no levels of it, just differing effects to be had and maybe make the Wyrs effect be based on character level, once again so that they will always be useful, but maybe not in every situation.

SorcerousKhan

Wyr does a lot more than just grant bonuses. In an interview I did with Tracy Butler, the Art Director of HJ, a few hours ago I discovered some interesting new information.

If you want to find out that info, though, you're going to have to wait to see the interview posted on Hero's Hall.

Maladak

I'm in the same boat as Chessack here and see Wyr the same way.  However I've seen the articles that have wyr being alot more. For example  certain combination of Wyr will unlock zones for you to travel in...a very cool idea if I say so myself.

I do wonder about combining Wyr. Some Wyr is said to be the essence of past heroes, kinda like fossils (I think please correct if i'm wrong) but I'm wondering what happens if you get Hero Wyr and mix in Villian Wyr. Would they just not combine or would the combine with strange results? 

If I was GM'ing I'd make  it the latter and have a special zone created that's an on going war between the two. The player could then choose sides or what have you.

Chessack

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Originally posted by Riceman
Wyr does a lot more than just grant bonuses. In an interview I did with Tracy Butler, the Art Director of HJ, a few hours ago I discovered some interesting new information.

If you want to find out that info, though, you're going to have to wait to see the interview posted on Hero's Hall.

---

Yes, as I said, they seem conceptually similar to COH enhancements but more complex. Kind of the next step in this sort of game design I guess.

C

Kenorv

I like it because there will be pros and cons to every wyr. I think the examples given were that one wyr may increase your fire damage but decrease your cold damage. I assume that there will be wyr that will increase strength but decrease defense and vice versa, increase magic but decrease magic defense and vice versa. So you may gain an advantage in one area but you'll also aquire a disadvantage in another area. If it turns out that there is a balance issue then I think that Simu will be quick to fix the issue unlike other mmo companies who are very slow to react to balance issues in their games.

I like this system better than the systems in which the weapons and equipment themselves give you the bonuses because in those games everyone looks so cookie cutter. That to me is the most important part about the wyr system. Your warrior can be as strong as your friend who is also a warrior but you two won't be looking cookie cutter with your equipment unless you want to. One of the things that I really dislike about FFXI is how every high level paladin looks the same because of their artifact gear, every high level dark knight looks the same, every  high level dragoon looks the same. So I'm a big fan of the wyr system because of that.