Now that we have entered the balanceing phase of CR 2.0, I think now would be a good time to give the players an idea of what sort of balance you, the Dev team, are trying to achieve exactly.
I was a bit disturbed when I read NoRepro's request for feedback on the Hacker tree in solo situations, because I was under the impression that Hacker was intended to be a support tree. This is an example of the type of miscommunications that can occur and I think they can be avoided by a "statement of purpose" of sorts from the Dev team. Who should be the best at what, and in which situations should they run into trouble? Some of these answers are obvious, but some are not.
What I would like to see: a comprehensive statement regarding how the basic trees (not hybrids) should stack up against each other in key areas and situations, e.g. general damage output, general defensive capability (maybe should be split into evasion and damage absorbtion?), genaral accuracy tendencies, solo vs. lower/equal/higher levels, teamed with lower/equal/higher levels vs. single/multiple lower/equal/higher levels, one-on-one situations, harassment of a larger force situations, etc, etc, etc. Combat is multi-faceted, and we need to consider all angles. These areas could be ranked with a simple five tier system, Great - Good - Fair - Poor - Bad.
Balance is not a simple thing to achieve. What we are searching for is for all trees to be equally USEFUL. This does not mean that all trees should be equally useful in every situation. If we get this right, then Data Miner will be of just as much use as Karate Grandmaster, Destroyer, or Master Knife Thrower. This is not to say that you will ever use Data Miner in a combat situation, but the value that the player gets out of his or her investment into the tree in time and $info should be equal. The situation should then ultimately guide you towards what tree to load, and dictate the mix of abilities necesary in a team setting.
Please don't take us off the deep end of overbalancing by making everyone good at everything. Tell the players what sort of vision you have in mind and let us tell you if we think it is the right or wrong direction.
Players: Let me hear what you think. Do you want more information about the direction the Devs are looking in for the balancing of this Combat Revision? If so, say so!
Devs: Know that I appreciate the blood, sweat, and tears that you are putting into this game, and only want to help you make this game the biggest success it can be. Please respond as quickly as possible.
I was a bit disturbed when I read NoRepro's request for feedback on the Hacker tree in solo situations, because I was under the impression that Hacker was intended to be a support tree. This is an example of the type of miscommunications that can occur and I think they can be avoided by a "statement of purpose" of sorts from the Dev team. Who should be the best at what, and in which situations should they run into trouble? Some of these answers are obvious, but some are not.
What I would like to see: a comprehensive statement regarding how the basic trees (not hybrids) should stack up against each other in key areas and situations, e.g. general damage output, general defensive capability (maybe should be split into evasion and damage absorbtion?), genaral accuracy tendencies, solo vs. lower/equal/higher levels, teamed with lower/equal/higher levels vs. single/multiple lower/equal/higher levels, one-on-one situations, harassment of a larger force situations, etc, etc, etc. Combat is multi-faceted, and we need to consider all angles. These areas could be ranked with a simple five tier system, Great - Good - Fair - Poor - Bad.
Balance is not a simple thing to achieve. What we are searching for is for all trees to be equally USEFUL. This does not mean that all trees should be equally useful in every situation. If we get this right, then Data Miner will be of just as much use as Karate Grandmaster, Destroyer, or Master Knife Thrower. This is not to say that you will ever use Data Miner in a combat situation, but the value that the player gets out of his or her investment into the tree in time and $info should be equal. The situation should then ultimately guide you towards what tree to load, and dictate the mix of abilities necesary in a team setting.
Please don't take us off the deep end of overbalancing by making everyone good at everything. Tell the players what sort of vision you have in mind and let us tell you if we think it is the right or wrong direction.
Players: Let me hear what you think. Do you want more information about the direction the Devs are looking in for the balancing of this Combat Revision? If so, say so!
Devs: Know that I appreciate the blood, sweat, and tears that you are putting into this game, and only want to help you make this game the biggest success it can be. Please respond as quickly as possible.
<div></div>