I have never been more supprised at the opinions of the the AO player base than by what I've read today.
The vast majoirity of people are shouting out their intention to close their accounts before they've even thought about the implications of the 14.2 notes.
How many of you have sat down and worked out what the 20% cap really means? I have.
-It means that you can't own pvp at level 20.
-It means you can't solo 100% missions any more.
-It means that there is some semblance of realism in the challenges you can expect to take on.
-It means that the team aspect of the multi-player game is going to be much enhanced. (hence, I'm sure, the team mission fix)
-It ensures that each profession is going to have to rely on its specific skills and abilities.
-It reduces the gaps between gimped professions and uber professions.
-It readdresses many of the game balance issues that have been ranted about on these forums for months.
-It means that leveling speeds will drop and players will need to find alternative ways to spend time. Heres an idea - how about we all roleplay a bit?
-Lastly, it means that most people are going to have to look again at the way in which they play this game.
Not for a moment am I saying this is the ultimate game fix. There are many problems which will need attention very quickly to ensure that all professions remain playable. Funcom pay attention these include:
-Trade skills need to be made viable.
-An alternative way of leveling must be found. Non-combat professions will suffer with 14.2 so you must address this before you implement these changes.
-All mobs are going to have to be nerfed so that players have a chance to kill them. The 60% ac reduction has not made it possible for everyone to solo reds - so when you take away OE things will get very hard for most people. Reducing mob HP would be a good place to start.
-Non-combat classes will need their roles defining again - becuase atm all professions are combat professions because they have to be. Things like perception/concealment, roots, calms and mission blitzing will need to be made viable.
Let me give you my example. I'm an NT (so I wont be hit hardest by the oe nerf) and am currently level 79. Due to my own foolishness my character is IP gimped - badly. My implants are all ql82 or below except my new head imp. My armor is all ql 75ish, except a nano cloak which I can self buff into and falls well within the 20% cap anyway. Please note that by my calculations if I use int/psy armor I'll be able to wear ql110-120 and remain within the caps, so I don't think the OE cap will hurt those who keep things simple / realistic.
I team with a level 65 adv most often - we run missions together. He, like me, dosen't believe in uber-equipping, and has all his equipment within self-buff levels, all of which fall under the proposed cap. When soloing, neither he nor I can complete more than 50% missions. Together we can easily manage lvl85 missions (85% for him, 60% for me). Adv and nt team very well together, and have complimentary skills. This type of example will have to be the norm after 14.2 - not just some odd few people who bother to think of themselves as roleplayers.
As an NT I can imagine you saying "well - NT's cant OE much anyway so what do you know?". Heh - welcome to our world. NT's will suffer from reduced armor which is a serious problem given our low HP and almost constant ag from mobs because of the damage we can do (or will do when OE is capped), so lower ac's will hurt badly.
I know I'm going on a bit - but no one seems to be saying "I've worked it all out and at this level this ql will be the max I can use..". Everyone is just saying "omg, omg its going to be crap we won't be able to play, I'm going to quit."
Some classes have legitimate questions - fixers in particular are going to have big problems unless they are addressed. But the majority of professions are just going to have to reign in their over-extended sights and aim at more realistic goals.
It seems to me that the proposed changes fix more than they break, so long as a number of other issues are also attended to
I read in another post somewhere that most people don't want a balance - they want an advantage. Looks to me like those people shouting "im canceling" are too lazy or just plain unwilling to adjust to a game where the mobs have a (slightly) fair chance, and pvp is about combat ability and cunning not just who have the better alt to overequip and twink their character. IMHO those people can leave this game to those of us who prefer to try rather than just wipe out everything in their path.
(As an end note - I've played most professions a little and several a lot, I've been clan, neut and OT, I've pvpd, solod, teamed, missioned , hunted, roleplayed and been grid ganked - though I've never ganked others.)
Well done Funcom - you are heading in the right direction. Please don't stop half way. Make sure this is tested to the fullest extent, and make the other changes that will be required by the removal of OE.
OE != Cheaters
one quick note
) is that AO never should become a game like DAOC..