The direction of rebalancing

[_______________Talys]

I love this game, I really do. Out of all graphical MMORPGs, AO stands out as the most interesting game with the best graphics and most potential. I really like the fact that the dev team is trying hard to make the game better.

What bothers me, though, is that many of the "rebalancing" issues have made the game a lot harder than it was even a couple of months ago. As it stands the game is somewhat hard for power players, but difficult in the extreme for new players. It seems that with each successive patch, successful character builds have their damage output or defensive capabilities reduced, while monster statistics are bumped up.

Now, this might make the current game "equally hard" for the twinked level 50 character as it was when he first played it through, but it takes all of the enjoyment out of the game for the new character with poor gear (because they can't afford it). My first soldier that I made was a dual pistoleer, and did *everything* herself. Self-buffed, self-implanted, all items self-found or bought, no trades, et cetera. Heck, I didn't even really understand what implants did until I was level 30 (the printed manual really didn't help). All in all, though, she was TONS of fun. I don't think it would be possible to make her again using the current game mechanics.

In my organization, I constantly hear of people frustrated at things which should not be frustrating. Low/mid level yellow entrance mobs that are unbeatable in (untwinked) solo play, for example. A lot of people LIKE to play solo, at least some of the time. It used to be possible to do this untwinked, at least until level 70-80 for most classes; but now, it's a whole lot harder.

Quite frankly, I think that the game being easy for a twinked character is far less of a problem than the game being unenjoyable for an untwinked character. The overpowered character really does not affect anyone else's game play, while the underpowered character is not having any fun at all.

At the end of it all, isn't that what it's all about? Having fun?

I honestly don't think that flooding every patch with nerfs makes the game any more fun for anybody. Bug fixes, many of these nerfs are called -- but the truth is, the game was originally balanced WITH the bugs. Sure, some things are obviously overpowered, but other bugs were "okay", in that they really just made the game more enjoyable without really hurting anyone.

Also, why must monsters get tougher with each patch? I don't read about it in most of the patch notes, but I observe myself and hear from *everyone* that they do less damage after each of the last few major patches, or that monsters attack faster, or that monsters heal more, et cetera, et cetera.

At the end of the day, I think most people would really like the game to be balanced so that a reasonably equipped character (not an uber equipped character) can kill a monster, one-on-one, that is the same level (yellow). Maybe some classes would only be able to handle slightly greens, while others could handle slightly oranges, but this is offset by "nifty abilities", like trade skills, teleports, and other cool stuff. In the end, though every class should still be able to "hold their own".

It would also be nice if the game developers were sensitive to two very important things to players:

1) Missions - people love missions, and they MUST work, or an extraordinary number of players will be upset.

2) Character effectiveness - nobody wants their hard-built toon to become a lot less effective. People feel ripped off if the rules are changed on them after they've invested time an denergy in something.

That isn't to say that there aren't many other critical issues, but at the moment, I think those two top the list.

I think that AO has the most potential of any game I have ever played. I hope that in the future, those responsible for its playability and mechanics can focus on making it more fun rather than simply more difficult.

[____________Bohemund]

what iam realy curious about is if that insanity is intentional or low design/programming skill .