Balancing FT

[just joe]

I decided it was time to put my thoughts about the balancing issues up.
First, I don't PvP, so I don't have much input as to how to balance the classes for this. All I can say about this is the more changes that are implemented, the more similar the characters are becoming. With the exception of gear selection, it seems to be there is no real difference between melee characters. Yes, each has their own skillset, but most comments I've read say they don't really help the player. There are ways to negate freeze/stun etc.
With most games, each class has an advantage against another specific class. (i.e. archer hits swordsman 2x damage, swordsman hits dwarf 2x damage, dwarf hits ogre 2x damage, etc.)
I don't know exactly how it would all work, and that doesn't help balance mages, so it really is just rambling on.

Second, there is no balance between those that enjoy PvP and those that despise it.
Option A> I have posted before that I would be willing to pay $$ to be able to be safe from PvP. I do not like PvP. I will never like PvP. My wife all but quit playing due to randomly being attacked for no apparent reason other than they could. I understand PvP is a big part of this game, but a very large part of the players wish they could avoid it.
Option B> A conversation with another person gave me a different idea that would work just as well. If Player A (not clanned- not outlawed) is attacked by any number of other players and Player A does not counterattack any one of the assailants, Player A should have 0% chance to drop any gear, and not lose XP. I would love to also see the attackers lose XP if Player A dies. I know that will probably never happen, but it would save a lot of people unnecessary heartache.

Lastly, it would benefit a very large number of the FT community if all of the larger updates ( or updates that have a greater implication on many aspects of the game, i.e. clans) could be announced on the forum 1 or 2 days prior to being implemented in order for players to prepare for changes. Also, I believe it would make a lot of people happy if these updates could be given a test run of a set amount of time to be tried and tested, almost like beta version but for all. After the set time expires, if the consensus is predominantly positive, the community is generally happy. If, on the other hand, more harm was done that can ever be repaired, the Creator could reset the system prior to the change.

I don't have any answers to the problems, I only have the opinion of one soul. If any of my ideas could be feasible, feel free to adjust them as needed.

Thank you for taking the time to read through my post.
just joe

[LordSeth]

A lot of your post would be 50% salved if my designs in the clan allies thread were added but I have no say in the decisions made the ones above the players will decide on what will and will not be done. I indeed do like your thread and understand your point of view. Well done.