RMT are NOT playing the game ...EVER,they are simply their to make real money off a game.
The people that actually might play the market ,still need to play the game to attain their own currency and items/wares to sell or trade.Also WHY would they ONLY play the market if they had no interest to actually play the Adventure game and in that case,how would it be cheating the game if they were not interested in the adventure aspect?
The ONLY time it becomes a problem is when rmt takes place and of course cheating.This is because as i witnessed during many years of gaming is that the market is a RACE.Those first to market usually profit the most.On that note,what i have seen are a few players will use real money to buy up all the rares that others have went out and harvested and earned and just flood the market early on with the very best crafts.Then by time those that EARN their way can get those same items to market,it is flooded and prices have dropped off to where there is little profit to be made.
Also you need to keep any possible way of buying the best items away from a game because it allows those cheats to just buy the best gear,take on the toughest Bosses faster than everyone else.That again leads to FIRST to market,first person to sell that EPIC rare loot makes a killing and this happens all the time.
The best way to sum it up is that developers need to quit making shallow game designs where everything is a RACE.Remove levels so that is not a race.Put some worth and value into EVERY level so players are not in some race to the next level.Put some worth into ALL gear so that players are not just rushing to end game gear.Basically just in real life make every year as important as the last,there should NEVER be some END GAME 90 year old looting non stop for gear.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I honestly think that if you're worried about how others are going to progress their alts/RMT than this game is probably not for you.
Right - let's just have a free for all and openly invite Gold Buyers/Sellers and Account traders to ruin the economy. As far as Sinist's point on as a player buying their gear with in-game money is PTW, I disagree as they did earn it, even if its not through traditional or intended means. But, I think it wouldn't be an issue if skill-based restrictions were in place like I mentioned in previous posts.
And, Pantheon is wanting to having challenging gameplay, so "worrying" about how others progress their alts is relevant if alts could ultimately trivialize a new players content (Like EQ after Fungi Tunics and +100 Hp items).
And like Sinist said, this is the best time to discuss game mechanics as Pantheon is still in a very early development state when most everything isn't set in stone.
Well, my point about that is that they didn't earn it on that class, which is a big deal.
It is a "BIG DEAL" to whom?
To anyone who doesn't want their effort trivialized because someone else bypasses it with cheap gimmicks.
It is the same problem that people have with RMT when another person buys all their progression rather than earning it. You did read my original post correct?
I know for me, I see spending a lot of time on something to earn it as meaningless if another can easily buy it and excel without that time spent.
This is the theme of this game. We have pages of people going on about how things should be hard and progression should be meaningful, long term, etc... Heck, we had entire thread with people going on about how others shouldn't be able to bypass the effort it takes to earn a certain look in the game.
You were speaking about it as if the BIG DEAL was an absolute quality for everyone. It is your issue.
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what
it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience
because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in
the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you
playing an MMORPG?"
I honestly think that if you're worried about how others are going to progress their alts/RMT than this game is probably not for you.
Right - let's just have a free for all and openly invite Gold Buyers/Sellers and Account traders to ruin the economy. As far as Sinist's point on as a player buying their gear with in-game money is PTW, I disagree as they did earn it, even if its not through traditional or intended means. But, I think it wouldn't be an issue if skill-based restrictions were in place like I mentioned in previous posts.
And, Pantheon is wanting to having challenging gameplay, so "worrying" about how others progress their alts is relevant if alts could ultimately trivialize a new players content (Like EQ after Fungi Tunics and +100 Hp items).
And like Sinist said, this is the best time to discuss game mechanics as Pantheon is still in a very early development state when most everything isn't set in stone.
Well, my point about that is that they didn't earn it on that class, which is a big deal.
It is a "BIG DEAL" to whom?
To anyone who doesn't want their effort trivialized because someone else bypasses it with cheap gimmicks.
It is the same problem that people have with RMT when another person buys all their progression rather than earning it. You did read my original post correct?
I know for me, I see spending a lot of time on something to earn it as meaningless if another can easily buy it and excel without that time spent.
This is the theme of this game. We have pages of people going on about how things should be hard and progression should be meaningful, long term, etc... Heck, we had entire thread with people going on about how others shouldn't be able to bypass the effort it takes to earn a certain look in the game.
You were speaking about it as if the BIG DEAL was an absolute quality for everyone. It is your issue.
Well, the only people important to consider are those who support this game. Everyone else (ie mainstream) is irrelevant. Most of want a game where progression matters, where time spent means something and isn't cheapened by others through RMT, or fast acquisition without any effort.
if someone else wants to spend cash to take a few shortcuts who am I to care? doesn't effect me in the slightest. except of course the game remains profitable and therefore open and still free for me to play. people need to grow a bit and stop being envious of other people's pixels. it's just a game. and millions of of other gamers don't give a ***k what your character looks like.
if someone else wants to spend cash to take a few shortcuts who am I to care? doesn't effect me in the slightest. except of course the game remains profitable and therefore open and still free for me to play. people need to grow a bit and stop being envious of other people's pixels. it's just a game. and millions of of other gamers don't give a ***k what your character looks like.
RMT harms game play and defeats the purpose of reward and effort. Go ahead and camp that item for hours and hours, weeks if need to finally get that drop. Then get back to me how you don't care that Bob over there who isn't even skilled enough to find a group to see that that item drop in the first place buy it easily with no effort. You say you are alright with that and you just showed me you are Bob.
if someone else wants to spend cash to take a few shortcuts who am I to care? doesn't effect me in the slightest. except of course the game remains profitable and therefore open and still free for me to play. people need to grow a bit and stop being envious of other people's pixels. it's just a game. and millions of of other gamers don't give a ***k what your character looks like.
RMT harms game play and defeats the purpose of reward and effort. Go ahead and camp that item for hours and hours, weeks if need to finally get that drop. Then get back to me how you don't care that Bob over there who isn't even skilled enough to find a group to see that that item drop in the first place buy it easily with no effort. You say you are alright with that and you just showed me you are Bob.
why should it bother me if "Bob" payed for his gear? what matters to me, is how I got mine. I'm not worried about you or "Bob" or anyone else's game.
Thats actually basically how EQ worked. You could have a really nice sword, lets say a 15dmg 25 delay 1 handed. With maximum skills in 1h slash, you might be able to hit for say 65 dmg. However, if you had no skill in 1h slash, not only would you miss constantly, but when you did hit you hit for a lot less.
EQ actually worked off skills. Your hit rate and all that stuff was based on your weapon skill and offensive skill, vs the mob defensive skill and things like parry, dodge, etc. Your dmg was based on your weapons dmg, with modifiers based on weapon skill (i.e. 1h slash) as well as your str. Then you had chances for double attack, and such. To spice things up. All levels did was increase your skill caps. Thats it.
Levels were in no way used in calculations against the mob, such as in WoW, where lets say if a mob was 5 levels above you, you under no circumstance can hit it. And one that is say 4 levels above you, you have an automatic 80% change to miss, regardless of all your other stuff. WoW's system was stupid, because there were arbitrary blocks in place. In EQ, if 100 level 15's wanted to go try and band together and try to kill a level 35 sand giant, they might actually be able to do it. In WoW, wouldnt even have been in the realm of possible.
Well you say all levels did was increase your skill caps, but those skills were heavily weighted. Thus, levels were the single most important thing, with stats merely augmenting them.
For instance, if you were level 20 and you casted a spell on a level 20 mob, even with the best piece of armor in every slot, you still got resisted often. What I'm suggesting is that the stats be more heavily weighted in the formula, and making item progression more important and the overall game less about merely gaining levels as fast as possible.
Just to note, that was the reason that melee were so much more effective against equal to higher level mobs in EQ, because stats (str > atk) already contributed a lot to the melee's capability to land attacks. My suggestion is to simply add even more weight to those stats, and to include caster's by factoring in stats like INT, channeling power, etc. Not to allow players to fight mobs beyond their level, but simply to be a little more stringent about players actually spending the time to properly equip themselves rather than just focusing on exp and levels. I just don't want to see players 10 levels in, still plugging away with their tattered robes and rusty weapons. They should hit a wall that communicates to them, "hey, if you don't go out and find some better gear, it won't go well for you."
Not particularly. The levels really only mattered as far as hit rate, chance to double attack, etc. Your dmg output was based off your gear (at least as a melee). Another example was a caster, their "evocation" skill would determine their resist rate on the mob, but that's really the extent of it. How much dmg they could do was based on their int, and how much mana they had. Someone who was naked for example might only be able to cast 4 DD spells before they were OOM, whereas someone in excellent gear might could do 10, and also would regen mana a lot faster, etc.
Gear was definitely very important in EQ, but skills were as well. I honestly think it was a good balance.
My main thing is while levels indirectly affected things, they didn't DIRECTLY affect things like in WoW. WoW bothered me so much because no matter what, you had certain % chances tied directly to your level vs the mobs level. So, an example I always give, in EQ it was very VERY normal to bring people below max level to raids. A direct example, you could bring a level 53 person to level 60 raid, and they could absolutely contribute. Whereas in WoW, because they would be more than 4 levels below the mob, they wouldn't be able to hit it AT ALL. In EQ, they might only land hits 30% of the time being 7 levels below the mob, but they could still land hits.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
I honestly think that if you're worried about how others are going to progress their alts/RMT than this game is probably not for you.
Right - let's just have a free for all and openly invite Gold Buyers/Sellers and Account traders to ruin the economy. As far as Sinist's point on as a player buying their gear with in-game money is PTW, I disagree as they did earn it, even if its not through traditional or intended means. But, I think it wouldn't be an issue if skill-based restrictions were in place like I mentioned in previous posts.
And, Pantheon is wanting to having challenging gameplay, so "worrying" about how others progress their alts is relevant if alts could ultimately trivialize a new players content (Like EQ after Fungi Tunics and +100 Hp items).
And like Sinist said, this is the best time to discuss game mechanics as Pantheon is still in a very early development state when most everything isn't set in stone.
Well, my point about that is that they didn't earn it on that class, which is a big deal.
It is a "BIG DEAL" to whom?
To anyone who doesn't want their effort trivialized because someone else bypasses it with cheap gimmicks.
It is the same problem that people have with RMT when another person buys all their progression rather than earning it. You did read my original post correct?
I know for me, I see spending a lot of time on something to earn it as meaningless if another can easily buy it and excel without that time spent.
This is the theme of this game. We have pages of people going on about how things should be hard and progression should be meaningful, long term, etc... Heck, we had entire thread with people going on about how others shouldn't be able to bypass the effort it takes to earn a certain look in the game.
Agreed 100%. If they have a cash shop of any kind, IMO the ONLY thing allowed in it should be things like paid server transfers, as well as maybe the option to pay to redo your character's face, hair color, etc. That's pretty much it. Name changes should not be allowed, people should have a reputation and if they screw that up, they deal with the repercussions of having to start over with a new name, and modify their behavior the second time around, or to transfer to another server and start fresh.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
if someone else wants to spend cash to take a few shortcuts who am I to care? doesn't effect me in the slightest. except of course the game remains profitable and therefore open and still free for me to play. people need to grow a bit and stop being envious of other people's pixels. it's just a game. and millions of of other gamers don't give a ***k what your character looks like.
RMT harms game play and defeats the purpose of reward and effort. Go ahead and camp that item for hours and hours, weeks if need to finally get that drop. Then get back to me how you don't care that Bob over there who isn't even skilled enough to find a group to see that that item drop in the first place buy it easily with no effort. You say you are alright with that and you just showed me you are Bob.
why should it bother me if "Bob" payed for his gear? what matters to me, is how I got mine. I'm not worried about you or "Bob" or anyone else's game.
Because having that gear is now meaningless. There was a certain sort of accomplishment of earning something in the game, but with Bob having it without having to do the same? There is absolutely no point in spending that time.
plus you can still beat the raid or whatever the gear is for. according to you "Bob" has no skill, so he of course won't be able to beat it. he might be good though and just not have the time needed to really dedicate himself to a game he might enjoy. should he miss out on the "raid" because he works overtime and has a wife and three kids? he only has a few hours a week to play games and doesn't want to fall years behind his friends.
I guess I play games for fun. not to boost my ego.
Yep, you like entertainment simulators, not games. People who actually like games don't cheat them as it defeats the point of playing the game in the first place.
I guess I play games for fun. not to boost my ego.
Yep, you like entertainment simulators, not games. People who actually like games don't cheat them as it defeats the point of playing the game in the first place.
how is bob cheating the game? he's a taking a shortcut so he can play with his friends.
plus you can still beat the raid or whatever the gear is for. according to you "Bob" has no skill, so he of course won't be able to beat it. he might be good though and just not have the time needed to really dedicate himself to a game he might enjoy. should he miss out on the "raid" because he works overtime and has a wife and three kids? he only has a few hours a week to play games and doesn't want to fall years behind his friends.
So why don't we give Bob a GM code too so he can do everything solo? I mean, we can give Bob really easy quests that give him super powerful rewards, we can make mobs easy so he can kill them in one to two shots. Heck, everything can be made so he can do this all in 10-15 minutes of play, you know... because Bob has a busy life and all, and he deserves it. Yeah, if only there were games out there that attended to that? Hmm...
Oh WAIT, there is! There a numerous games out there Bob can play because he is such a busy and responsible person. How about you Bob goes out and plays those games or is Bob so entitled that he needs to make every game out there special to catering to you Bob?
I guess I play games for fun. not to boost my ego.
Yep, you like entertainment simulators, not games. People who actually like games don't cheat them as it defeats the point of playing the game in the first place.
how is bob cheating the game? he's a taking a shortcut so he can play with his friends.
Go have fun in your games Bob. This one isn't for you. Bye!
first of all, I have never bought anything in a free to play game. Ever.
I think it's a waste of money.
secondly, why should every game cater to you?
Of course not, not ever, you never once did this, not at all. /wink
Every game caters to you, none cater to me. This is the first game since EQ that might just cater to some resemblance of a game I would like. I guess that is asking too much right?
Nope. Games are not entertainment, games are often played for entertainment, but a game is not entertainment itself. A movie is often watched for entertainment, but is a movie a game? According to your brilliant reasoning, it is.
Ok, I think then I misunderstood your point. I would agree it should not be the primary focus, however I do feel it should be in the top 3 or 4.
I guess my concern is you said it should not be a "primary" means of progression. That's the statement I took concern over. I do realize you don't mean it should be useless (such as in Age of Conan, where a full suit of gear vs naked made about a 5% difference), however it should be a significant portion of your power.
I want it to be powerful as you, but I want that power to be dependent on a players skill progression in the class.
As I said, a level 1 with 50 skill in a full set of level 50 gear should not out perform a level 1 with a 100 skill in average gear, but when that level one gets up to a 100 skill as well, all bets are off and that level 50 gear should be very powerful within the allowed cap of power that VR decides a twink should be for that level in such gear.
The whole point is to have another component of character progression that requires the player to "earn" (ie work on the various improvement of skills) their progression, not simply bypassing it with a gear item they picked up off the AH.
Well again I think we're both on the same page, we're just arguing semantics. I absolutely believe there needs to be skills, ala EQ (or a similar system) for the exact reasons you said. A level 1 shouldn't be able to equip the 1h sword of badassery and start solo killing mobs 10 levels above him because of said item. However a level 10 equipping a level 50 sword should be significantly better off than with a level 10 item. Maybe he hit for 40dmg at level 10 with a level equivalent sword, maybe he can hit for 55 with the level 50 sword, and it will continue to be a good sword all the way to endgame.
Basically EQ's system would work fine here. Hit rates and such dependant on things like your 1h slash skill, and your offensive skill. Perhaps DMG caps that are released at certain level points, say 10/20/30/40/50, etc.
Whatever, the details can be hashed out. But twinking is an important aspect to the game, but like you said, twinking shouldn't equate to "godlike".
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Ok, I think then I misunderstood your point. I would agree it should not be the primary focus, however I do feel it should be in the top 3 or 4.
I guess my concern is you said it should not be a "primary" means of progression. That's the statement I took concern over. I do realize you don't mean it should be useless (such as in Age of Conan, where a full suit of gear vs naked made about a 5% difference), however it should be a significant portion of your power.
I want it to be powerful as you, but I want that power to be dependent on a players skill progression in the class.
As I said, a level 1 with 50 skill in a full set of level 50 gear should not out perform a level 1 with a 100 skill in average gear, but when that level one gets up to a 100 skill as well, all bets are off and that level 50 gear should be very powerful within the allowed cap of power that VR decides a twink should be for that level in such gear.
The whole point is to have another component of character progression that requires the player to "earn" (ie work on the various improvement of skills) their progression, not simply bypassing it with a gear item they picked up off the AH.
Well again I think we're both on the same page, we're just arguing semantics. I absolutely believe there needs to be skills, ala EQ (or a similar system) for the exact reasons you said. A level 1 shouldn't be able to equip the 1h sword of badassery and start solo killing mobs 10 levels above him because of said item. However a level 10 equipping a level 50 sword should be significantly better off than with a level 10 item. Maybe he hit for 40dmg at level 10 with a level equivalent sword, maybe he can hit for 55 with the level 50 sword, and it will continue to be a good sword all the way to endgame.
Basically EQ's system would work fine here. Hit rates and such dependant on things like your 1h slash skill, and your offensive skill. Perhaps DMG caps that are released at certain level points, say 10/20/30/40/50, etc.
Whatever, the details can be hashed out. But twinking is an important aspect to the game, but like you said, twinking shouldn't equate to "godlike".
first of all, I have never bought anything in a free to play game. Ever.
I think it's a waste of money.
secondly, why should every game cater to you?
Just for clarity's sake, and sorry if I missed something, but Pantheon will not be a free to play game. Honestly, you may be barking up the wrong tree in the Pantheon section of these forums if you prefer the "let everyone have everything philosophy" since they dev team is specifically targeting a more hardcore old school crowd.
That being said, there are TONS of free to play games that fit into the play-style it sounds like you prefer.
first of all, I have never bought anything in a free to play game. Ever.
I think it's a waste of money.
secondly, why should every game cater to you?
No one is arguing that the game should cater to us - we want the game to be fair. If we lived in a world where everyone had the same expendable income one could make the argument that RMT is fair, but we don't. The cheating aspect is subjective, if a game allows RMT, then it's not cheating; however, I would argue that it is, and at the very least, majorly cheapens the game experience. I'll expand a bit...
RMT = external advantage in game. And you're argument that RMT doesn't affect my or other's gameplay is ridiculous. It affects adventuring by introducing oftentimes terrible players who have bought their gear and/or characters. It trivializes content/challenge by offering an external way to achieve a goal when the whole idea of playing a game is to "play the game" not buy your way to success. It ruins the economy as in-game currency becomes so inflated that if you're not RMT or constantly farming 24/7, you can't afford to purchase anything. It introduces a ridiculous amount of gold farmers/bots with their sole desire is to make as much coin as possible to sell online, which basically makes instancing mandatory as every single spawn would be locked down. That's enough for now though, as others have said, there are plenty of P2W games available that appear to be "catering" to what you desire - I'd suggest checking those out.
plus you can still beat the raid or whatever the gear is for. according to you "Bob" has no skill, so he of course won't be able to beat it. he might be good though and just not have the time needed to really dedicate himself to a game he might enjoy. should he miss out on the "raid" because he works overtime and has a wife and three kids? he only has a few hours a week to play games and doesn't want to fall years behind his friends.
Then he needs to re-establish his priorities. The genre is in the state its in because its to trying to cater to people who want to have their cake and eat it too. Everyone has lots of hobbies, at some point, particularly when you become a spouse and have children, you have to put those things on the backburner to take care of your needs. If you only have a specific amount of free time, and you have more things than you have time for, you have to prioritize.
So yes, he should miss out on the raid because he works overtime and has a wife and three kids. He chose to get married, he chose to have 3 kids. Life is hard, you don't get everything you want. That's reality.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
Nope. Games are not entertainment, games are often played for
entertainment, but a game is not entertainment itself. A movie is often
watched for entertainment, but is a movie a game? According to your
brilliant reasoning, it is.
Um, wait, what ? Games are obviously entertainment.
Comments
RMT are NOT playing the game ...EVER,they are simply their to make real money off a game.
The people that actually might play the market ,still need to play the game to attain their own currency and items/wares to sell or trade.Also WHY would they ONLY play the market if they had no interest to actually play the Adventure game and in that case,how would it be cheating the game if they were not interested in the adventure aspect?
The ONLY time it becomes a problem is when rmt takes place and of course cheating.This is because as i witnessed during many years of gaming is that the market is a RACE.Those first to market usually profit the most.On that note,what i have seen are a few players will use real money to buy up all the rares that others have went out and harvested and earned and just flood the market early on with the very best crafts.Then by time those that EARN their way can get those same items to market,it is flooded and prices have dropped off to where there is little profit to be made.
Also you need to keep any possible way of buying the best items away from a game because it allows those cheats to just buy the best gear,take on the toughest Bosses faster than everyone else.That again leads to FIRST to market,first person to sell that EPIC rare loot makes a killing and this happens all the time.
The best way to sum it up is that developers need to quit making shallow game designs where everything is a RACE.Remove levels so that is not a race.Put some worth and value into EVERY level so players are not in some race to the next level.Put some worth into ALL gear so that players are not just rushing to end game gear.Basically just in real life make every year as important as the last,there should NEVER be some END GAME 90 year old looting non stop for gear.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
You were speaking about it as if the BIG DEAL was an absolute quality for everyone. It is your issue.
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
RMT harms game play and defeats the purpose of reward and effort. Go ahead and camp that item for hours and hours, weeks if need to finally get that drop. Then get back to me how you don't care that Bob over there who isn't even skilled enough to find a group to see that that item drop in the first place buy it easily with no effort. You say you are alright with that and you just showed me you are Bob.
why should it bother me if "Bob" payed for his gear? what matters to me, is how I got mine. I'm not worried about you or "Bob" or anyone else's game.
Not particularly. The levels really only mattered as far as hit rate, chance to double attack, etc. Your dmg output was based off your gear (at least as a melee). Another example was a caster, their "evocation" skill would determine their resist rate on the mob, but that's really the extent of it. How much dmg they could do was based on their int, and how much mana they had. Someone who was naked for example might only be able to cast 4 DD spells before they were OOM, whereas someone in excellent gear might could do 10, and also would regen mana a lot faster, etc.
Gear was definitely very important in EQ, but skills were as well. I honestly think it was a good balance.
My main thing is while levels indirectly affected things, they didn't DIRECTLY affect things like in WoW. WoW bothered me so much because no matter what, you had certain % chances tied directly to your level vs the mobs level. So, an example I always give, in EQ it was very VERY normal to bring people below max level to raids. A direct example, you could bring a level 53 person to level 60 raid, and they could absolutely contribute. Whereas in WoW, because they would be more than 4 levels below the mob, they wouldn't be able to hit it AT ALL. In EQ, they might only land hits 30% of the time being 7 levels below the mob, but they could still land hits.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Agreed 100%. If they have a cash shop of any kind, IMO the ONLY thing allowed in it should be things like paid server transfers, as well as maybe the option to pay to redo your character's face, hair color, etc. That's pretty much it. Name changes should not be allowed, people should have a reputation and if they screw that up, they deal with the repercussions of having to start over with a new name, and modify their behavior the second time around, or to transfer to another server and start fresh.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
how is bob cheating the game? he's a taking a shortcut so he can play with his friends.
Oh WAIT, there is! There a numerous games out there Bob can play because he is such a busy and responsible person. How about you Bob goes out and plays those games or is Bob so entitled that he needs to make every game out there special to catering to you Bob?
first of all, I have never bought anything in a free to play game. Ever.
I think it's a waste of money.
secondly, why should every game cater to you?
Every game caters to you, none cater to me. This is the first game since EQ that might just cater to some resemblance of a game I would like. I guess that is asking too much right?
Well again I think we're both on the same page, we're just arguing semantics. I absolutely believe there needs to be skills, ala EQ (or a similar system) for the exact reasons you said. A level 1 shouldn't be able to equip the 1h sword of badassery and start solo killing mobs 10 levels above him because of said item. However a level 10 equipping a level 50 sword should be significantly better off than with a level 10 item. Maybe he hit for 40dmg at level 10 with a level equivalent sword, maybe he can hit for 55 with the level 50 sword, and it will continue to be a good sword all the way to endgame.
Basically EQ's system would work fine here. Hit rates and such dependant on things like your 1h slash skill, and your offensive skill. Perhaps DMG caps that are released at certain level points, say 10/20/30/40/50, etc.
Whatever, the details can be hashed out. But twinking is an important aspect to the game, but like you said, twinking shouldn't equate to "godlike".
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
That being said, there are TONS of free to play games that fit into the play-style it sounds like you prefer.
RMT = external advantage in game. And you're argument that RMT doesn't affect my or other's gameplay is ridiculous. It affects adventuring by introducing oftentimes terrible players who have bought their gear and/or characters. It trivializes content/challenge by offering an external way to achieve a goal when the whole idea of playing a game is to "play the game" not buy your way to success. It ruins the economy as in-game currency becomes so inflated that if you're not RMT or constantly farming 24/7, you can't afford to purchase anything. It introduces a ridiculous amount of gold farmers/bots with their sole desire is to make as much coin as possible to sell online, which basically makes instancing mandatory as every single spawn would be locked down. That's enough for now though, as others have said, there are plenty of P2W games available that appear to be "catering" to what you desire - I'd suggest checking those out.
Then he needs to re-establish his priorities. The genre is in the state its in because its to trying to cater to people who want to have their cake and eat it too. Everyone has lots of hobbies, at some point, particularly when you become a spouse and have children, you have to put those things on the backburner to take care of your needs. If you only have a specific amount of free time, and you have more things than you have time for, you have to prioritize.
So yes, he should miss out on the raid because he works overtime and has a wife and three kids. He chose to get married, he chose to have 3 kids. Life is hard, you don't get everything you want. That's reality.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Pantheon wont be free to play.
And you talked about trading with criminals, not about buying stuff from a shop in a free to play game.