We Fly Spitfires – MMORPG Blog

A reminder to all that WoW's colour palette should probably be avoided by those with epilepsy

Although it’s early days with SW:TOR and I’m still somewhat off to the level cap, I’m an avid PvPer and queue for Warzones almost constantly when I play it (they’re a lot of fun). Taking a breather and switching back to WoW Battlegrounds for a few days though highlighted something I always suspected: it’s ridiculously unbalanced compared to The Old Republic.

It’s no surprise really. SW:TOR is a new game and designed from the ground up to cater to both PvE and PvP and, whilst I’m sure there will be balance issues of some sort (it’s unavoidable really), the PvP is a lot less frustrating than, say, WoW and none of the classes seem to stand out as being ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than any of the others. At least not yet. Of course, it’s not perfect and you still have to deal with the issues of level divides and gear progression but, unless you play PvP specific MMO like League of Legends, I’m not sure it’s ever going to be possible to solve those problems.

Also, whilst balance is certainly a consideration in PvE, I’m focusing on the PvP front here because I think that’s when unbalanced class and gameplay mechanics truly become noticeable (at least for me). Maybe it’s just my preferred playstyle but I find performing X% less on a DPS chart in a group or raid far less frustrating than getting my face rolled by an opposing class over and over again. PvE is also easier for the developers to sort out because you’re fighting against a controlled enemy in a, more or less, controlled environment. Not to mention that some abilities are naturally perfectly suitable for PvE, especially when combined with long cooldowns, but suddenly become hugely overpowered in a PvP setting.

BioWare took all of this into consideration when designing SW:TOR and made all of the classes, and both of the factions, as equal as possible. Republic and Empire sport the exact same classes, mirrors of each other, and all seem to get a pretty similar set of crowd control abilities and an early action to break them. Likewise, there are no hugely powerful killer abilities on long cooldowns, there aren’t a lot of mobility options, you can’t use mounts and there are gameplay effects in place to limit CC potential. And whilst this makes PvP in SW:TOR a lot more balanced than in WoW, I also think it makes the game a tad boring as a result.

Warhammer Online and Everquest 2 are another couple of good examples of this in where the former had a lot better balanced PvP mechanics than the latter but ultimately, I felt, was kinda boring due to it. WAR lacked the really iconic and crazy class abilities that a game like Everquest 2 had and tried so hard to make player combat as frustration free as possible but squeezed the life out of the game in the process. Of course, I never was on the receiving end of a Shadowknight’s Harmtouch or a Brigand’s stun lock in EQ2 but, hell, at least it made open world PvP a diverse blast. All classes were unique, many feared, and the iconic divide between good and evil, represented by classes like the Paladin and Shadowknight, just wouldn’t have been the same had they been mirrors of each other.

I suppose if we accept the fact that it may be impossible to balance PvP in a PvE game without sacrificing some creativity, then we just have to decide whether or not it’s actually important. Is it better to have a game that’s well balanced and potentially be more boring as a result? Or should we stop trying to obtain the unachievable balanced perfection and just focus on classes and game mechanics that are unique, diverse and fun instead? Personally, I’d go for the latter option. What about you?

-Gordon

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Hey SOE, Aion called and wants its IP back

I used to love Everquest 2. I mean really love it. My feelings towards it transcended beyond the way a man feels about a woman, the way he feels about a fine cigar and even the way he would feel about a fellow Spartan (should be be one himself). To me, it was a game that absorbed years of my life, the plucky little kid who fought back against the face of overwhelming odds (World of Warcraft) and worked harder than anyone out there to improve, to evolve, to better itself. Under excellent guidance it streamlined its mechanics, enhanced its gameplay and tempered some excellent lore into a very immersive and well executed MMO. Not long after I stopped playing though, the game designers just seemed to give up.

It’s not that they stopped adding content or expanding the game, it’s more like they just gave up with anything trying to make sense. Instead of a tight, cohesive product that was being guided by strong leadership with a clear direction, EQ2 started to see a hodgepodge of random weirdness seeping into the game, starting roughly around the time after the excellent Rise of Kunark expansion. Playable vampires I could live with, alternative appearance slot I could kinda understand but candy cane weapons? Flying squirrel mounts? And now wings for everyone? Wings? Wings?! It makes no sense!

I just don’t get it and if you do, good on you, to each their own etc. For me though (aside from causing horrific Aion flashbacks), it’s an act that marks a long line of incremental of decisions that betray the original design consistency of the game which I think is an important aspect of MMO immersion. Staying true to the design laws of the world that one creates is what makes LotRO feel like Lord of the Rings, STO feel like Star Trek, SW:TOR feel like Star Wars and RIFT feel all rifty. Heck, even World of Warcraft has managed to maintain a very consistent vision of design, quirky as it may be, right from day one and it’s not like Blizzard are suddenly giving in to public pressure and adding silly playable Pandas or something.

Wait.

But anyway, you could argue that defeating an epic evil deity whilst wielding a deadly chocolate stick is just as ‘real’ as using a glowing, fiery, magical two-handed sword and you’d be absolutely right. What I’m talking about though is the consistency of the world that is created when the doors to these MMOs open up and then the need for designers to stick closely to the laws of that lore. If your game is based around angels vs demons then sure, wings work, but if it’s your typical high fantasy then it might look a tad out of place. Which is does.

I suppose I’m kinda sad to see EQ2 go this way but I’m not surprised. I don’t know if it was the leaving of talented people like Scott Hartsman, the introduction of the station store or the switch to F2P that triggered this odd decline of design clarity but, whatever it is, it certainly makes the game less appealing to play by presenting a miss-mosh of utterly random ideas. Maybe I’m being a snob but I can’t but feel game designers should care about the quality and consistency of the world they create and the lore behind it more than introducing throwaway eye candy.

-Gordon

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The incredulous, exuberant, marvellous paradigm of multi-role perfectionism - the RIFT cleric

One of the reasons that I’m not a fan of the Advanced Class system in SW:TOR is because it fills you with hesitation and regret. Having invested four or five hours into your character, you’re suddenly forced to make a huge decision that’s going to impact your playstyle forever more based only upon a tiny Codex entry and a brief glance at skill trees. Furthermore, you sometimes have to pick between giving up any chance of tanking or healing and become a full on DPS only class. The Jedi Sentinel/Sith Marauder and Gunslinger/Sniper are the examples in question. Just why, oh why, would anyone gimp themselves to such a degree?

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Even fictional computerised Sith find my charms irresistible

According to general chat on Balmorra, Darth Lachris is a well known hussy. I don’t mind. My Bounty Hunter may be a big softy at heart, refusing to kill people unless absolutely necessary and showing mercy where he can, but he still tries to pork anything that moves. Twi’lek, Hutt, Sith, anything goes. Apparently Lady Lachris feels the same way.

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Even evil Bounty Hunters feel the need to chill out in bars

I don’t like doing reviews because I don’t really feel qualified to write them – not as a gamer that is, but as a journalist. I’m far too opinionated and biased to be comfortable scoring games plus MMOs are a huge endeavour and I don’t think reviewing one within a few weeks of release does them justice. Still, I can’t get SW:TOR out of my head (which probably says a lot about how strong a hold it has on me and how good it is) and strangely feel the need to blab my thoughts about it, detailing its many aspects, good and bad. So anyway, I guess this is my so sort of ‘non-review’ review:

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Fat Jedi have trouble gripping their lightsaber. It's a graphical bug.

First off, as I’m aware I’m being quite critical of the game lately, I just want to say that I’m really enjoying SW:TOR. It’s a blast to play, lots of fun, and I’ve had a good time these past couple of weeks with it. Whilst I’d urge people to check it out because of those facts, I highly doubt, however, that I’ll be playing the game in two or three months time. I expect by then I will have returned to dabbing with alts in WoW, resubscribed to RIFT and/or be trying out EVE again (at last). And this is what I mean when I say that SW:TOR won’t be the success everyone hopes it will be.

By success, of course, I mean making stupid amounts of money, money enough to rival Blizzard’s revenue and generate millions of dollars in profit a month. If success in your books means the creation of a really fun game though, then yes, The Old Republic has succeeded in spades on that account. Unfortunately I don’t think ‘fun’ is what the board members of EA/BioWare had on their minds when they dumped $300 million into their latest creation.

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Look mum, I'm a big boy now!

Today is the 25th December. It marks the birth of Jesus, the coming of Santa Claus, the constitution of the Chinese Republic, and general festivities and merriment all round. It also marks the day that this blog was created. Yes, whilst everyone else across the Western world was opening presents, tucking into turkey and trying to avoid family arguments, I was busy huffing and puffing, giving birth to the blogging monstrosity known as We Fly Spitfires (you can thank me for the mental image later).

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