On nerfs and balance updates

[dam]

Hello guys,

 

 

 

Any of you guys remember when Psychic Mindblades where OP as **** ?

That was before patch 1.03 which tuned down the damage.

 

Some time ago, Josh published a very nice post about balance updates and tuning.

 

 

Now, I don't know about you guys.

I usually play RPGs one of 2 ways, depending on the mood and the game.

 

The first one is to RP it, try and be legit and "realistic", if such a thing can even happen in a fantasy universe.

 

The second one is to min-max it.

What's the single highest target damage I'll be able to inflict ? (500+ raw damage from a cipher, but that's a DoT, not a one-shot effect).

What's the highest AOE damage I can deal ?

What's the biggest disable/CC combo I can land ?

What defense can I reach on my main tank ?

 

 

On the one hand, I just don't like balance updates when they mess with my 2nd way of playing games.

If something's OP, so what ? This is a single player game, nobody's forcing people to use OP spells and abilities.

On the other hand, Josh's post also makes sense.

 

Anyway, I recommend the post

 

[Wormerine]

I am with Josh on that one - balance is quite important. I dunno, I am very much “roleplaying” kind of guy - I like to create different characters, focus on different strategies and make different choices through the game, but minmaxing dice rolls doesn’t excite me.

 

Still, if I know something is really really good, and I am using something which is simply worse, I do feel guilty - like i am playing game badly. I still feel guilty for never making Kensai/Mage in BG2.

 

Not something that kills game for me, but seeing a rebalance is always welcome. I agree, poorly balanced (with some reason fo course) single player game isn’t hurting as much as a multiplayer game would.

 

But:

well balanced SP game > poorly balanced SP game.

 

So if dev is willing to go back and fix stuff that is a bit too good, in my eyes he/she only makes game better. There is a bit of disappointment, when strategies you used aren’t as valid or ridiculusly broken anymore, and that’s why Josh said he prefers to buff than nerf if he can help it.

[MaxQuest]

Balance is very important to me.
After the first kind of RP and blind playthrough done with predefined companions, I usually strive for the strongest party in general, and strongest build for my MC in particular.

And if there is only 1 way to achieve it, it will heavily diminish the replay'ability factor for me. Additionally: if that one best build is also very obvious - there will also be a sense of disappointment, as there is nothing left to figure and try out (party power-building fun ended right after it began)

That's why I liked PoE1 so much:

- Want to top total-damage chart? You have many different options. You can build barb, chanter or cipher; and depending on playstyle a Priest or Monk could compete too.
- Want to change general playstyle? Again you have different, but equally viable options.
- Want to have a cipher that fills niche A? Great, there is a unique build for that. Want him to fill niche B? There is a great build for that too.
- Want a dps guy with DW? It works great! Want a dps guy with 2H? It works differently, but is also great! Heh, you could even have 1h+shield dpser.

The key is:
- all options are at least ~viable.
- there is more than 1 optimal option in every domain. And these optimal options are different, unique, but somewhat equal in power between them.
* in place of "option" insert: "class", "role", "weapon style", "weapon type", "armor type", "dumped attribute x", "maxed attribute x", etc
 

If something's OP, so what?

- If something is OP to the level of being an obvious I WIN button - there is no fun.
- If something is strong, but you had to explore / figure it out, and build the character and party in a specific way - then it's another story, and feels closer to being a reward for effort. But then again there should also be alternative ways to specialize your character that are almost equally as strong, but do play differently.

Edited January 30, 2018 by MaxQuest

[MortyTheGobbo]

Even if we're running an RP-oriented character and pick something we like, balance is still important. Because there's few things worse than finding out the character concept or ability set you like means you've picked hard mode for yourself.

[Boeroer]

[stuff that's 100% my opinion, too]