making numbers match is the easiest and most accurate way to Balance for sure... however, after talking with everybody I have, I fear it's not the most fun
- what I think is the perfect goal is continuing to allow mages the initial "power dump" but toning it down a bit at high levels so the target had a chance at survival, while really focusing on boosting everybody else.. here's a portion of a "non-public" post... let's see what happens with this lol. I do ask a couple things:
1> please read with an open mind
2> when you read something you don't like, ask why I think it's a good idea and explain your concerns rather than just saying "this sucks, you're gonna ruin the game" ... there are reasons for everything here
3> realize this is only the balance portion of the main post on purpose... let's please stay on topic. thank you
I guess it's time to refresh this topic. some old ideas are outdated due to changes which have already been made. I'll break it into five sections
highest priority in gold
high priority in red
BALANCE
tons here, will add later
B1> to be honest, I think we need to look at the core formulae here... My guess is balance is close to changing green flow to 50 + max_mana (including gear to help low level mages and give some value to mage gear) x 1.5, then also increasing damage of all other characters to str (including gear) x 1.5 + natural_dex x 0.5 - like I said, this is a rough guess based on on some quick numbers... if the general premise is accepted, I'm happy to run detailed tests to give as good a starting point as possible for real game testing.
B2> I love the thought of making mage spells simpler to cast (I. e. cast at max rate while holding button or toggle on/off or similar) - - it would make balance a lot easier... however, many (most) of the players I've talked with think this would make it less fun to play.. so maybe it's a bad idea :/
B3> pvm is still off also (strongly favoring mages) I think two options here would help a lot B3A> flow damage is reduced by monster dex (max 80%) or B3B> introduce a "magic resistance" stat to monsters - - either way could work... the second is better imo, but more work to implement - - bottom line is that there needs to be a limiting factor for mages in pvm
B4> the armor spell needs reworked imo.. maybe a max of 3 active at any given time or similar? or increase it, but then simply the effect of multiple casts does not stack?
B5> speed pots need to be available to all classes since all are the same speed now, and it should cancel slow spell and make you resistant to slow for maybe 5 seconds. Additionally, I think it's worth considering combining unfreeze and speed into 1 pot so you needn't carry both.
B6> Ogres desperately need a good skill to help them stand out - I suggest making their second skill a regeneration skill - while active, you regen at normal rate while under attack, or double rate while standing still alone
B7> speaking of Ogres, twister skill is virtually worthless as it is - - I'd say make it 2% damage to every attack (from all attackers, not 1 at a time) and whether they hit or not - - another option is simply increasing the damage
B8> fill in 4 (or 5) skills to all classes
B9> change skill mechanic - you can activate skill #1. when it's done, it goes into recharge exactly like it does now, but you can immediately activate one of the other skills - - this would help with balance and also make it more fun
B10> Mage gear should provide less armor and str
B11> archers should be able to choose target (as should others actually...care must be taken to not overpower % damage attacks though)
B12> change range of all melee attacks from 1 to 2... it looks fine (we tested) and makes it much, much more fun to play, and more fair. Also, it's super easy to implement
B13> give melee auto follow when attacking a fleeing foe. it's a lot to code I'm sure, but would be awesome