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EVE Online: Balancing In EVE
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
Balance is an eternal battle for CCP Games. In this article from correspondent Andrew Wallace, he focuses in on some recent examples and sees what they're up against.
Let’s take the recent Falcon “Nerf” as an example of the subtleties of balancing. The Falcon recon ship and the Electronic Counter Measure (ECM) modules that it employs have been a dominant force in EVE PVP for ages, so straight away the falcon issue is two problems in one, and that becomes three when you add in the relative uselessness of the other ECM ships in comparison with the Falcon. Now, what happened to the Falcon in Apocrypha 1.1? Well, they weren’t “nerfed” into the ground, and the two that decloaked on me the other day would suggest that they are far from useless, but they are certainly not as powerful as they once were. No other recon ship had the ability to put that many targets out of action simultaneously, especially from that range.
Read more here.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
They need to give FOF missiles their own launcher so Caldari don't not only have all the ECM useful ships, but ALSO the only offensive ECM counter.
I think on of CCPs greatest achievements are balance.
There are around 200 different ships in game and almost all of them serve a purpose and are used.
Sure some might be slightly better than others in different ways but at the end of the day they are all useful.
"Memories are meant to fade. They're designed that way for a reason."
Basically people change with the system and find ways to make the nerfs work for them and some nerfs they actually fix if it becomes necessary.
Balance is basically a wasted effort in EVE...since frankly there is no such thing as a "balanced fight" with that many options available to all parties involved. Every round of nerfs/balancing just creates a new set of circumstances that the players roll with and a new FotM comes out quickly in every case. CCP isn't particularly consistent about direction either, for the longest time most changes favored longer and longer engagement ranges, now they seem to have it stuck in their heads that all combat should be short ranged...>shrug< they will change it again next quarter/year anyways....
There is a huge positive aspect to balancing, it keeps the game fresh and new, it keeps the players on their toes as they have to adapt to the changes.
There will be always some ships that are better than others, but by changing the attributes over time, these aren't always the same ships. It would indeed be a boring game if the same ships and tactics would always be the "best".
So if your pet ship get's nerfed, instead of crying, adapt, study what else has been boosted with the balancing this time and get to fly those ships instead of pulling always the same old trick with your favourite pet ship.
The continuous tinkering of the ships in EvE and the regular introduction of new ships and skills is one of the main virtues of EvE, they keep the game fresh even after years of playing. ... except the nano nerf, they got to nerf those ships just when I was about to be able to fly them, but I never got a chance, sheeees, I hated that... not that they nerfed those ships, just that they did it a bit too soon.
Played: UO, SWG, TR, WoW, AoC, EvE
Playing:
Interested in: JGE, LotR, TSW
one of my most favorite post patch sayings i see on forums is simply:
"adapt or die"
never assume your flavor of the month ship is going to be uber forever. be ready and diversivied (the true advantage of vets overs rookies) to switch tactics, loadouts, and even whole ships if neccessary.
i remember when a NOS Domi was an "I Win" button, now it's not as powerful, but you still find plenty of them in the PvP ranks due to overall balance of the ship.
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MMO Name: InVictus Kell
Currently Playing:
EVE Online
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