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Caster's Realm: Class, Equipment, and Encounter Balance
There are few Everquest topics debated as heavily as class balance.
Though the term itself is nearly meaningless; you cannot balance
sixteen classes without them all looking exactly the same; the term
just seems not to die. However, in these huge and emotional discussions
on class balancing, two other factors are often ignored: equipment and
encounter balance.
Much of the evidence used for this article comes from personal
experience. No doubt hundreds of raid leaders and dozens of EQ
developers will toss aside this moldering rag of an article with
disgust and a heated "idiot" crossing their lips. Yet ignorance never
stayed my hand before, and it shall not do so here. So let the ignorant
broad statements begin:
Myth Breaker 1: Class differences mainly matter above level 65. Most
class balance advocates only speak to the highest levels of their
class. Below level 65, groups work well with any classes from within
the class archetypes.
Class balance below level 65 isn't as difficult a topic for two
reasons. One, there are few encounters below level 65 that cannot be
defeated by leveling up. Two, appropriately powerful equipment is much
more readily available below level 65 than above.
However, classes at every level certainly have class issues that should
be addressed. These issues, however, have little to do with balance
between classes and little to do with desirability for a group.
For the sake of discussion, let us break classes into the following
archetypes:
Tank: Paladin, Warrior, Shadowknight
Healer: Cleric, Druid, Shaman
Damage: Wizard, Mage, Necromancer, Beastlord, Ranger, Monk, Rogue,
Berserker
Control: Enchanter, Shaman, Bard, Beastlord
Above 65, clerics heal for more than druids and shaman. Warriors have
more hitpoints, better agro control, and defensive disciplines.
However, only the highest and most challenging content requires
specific classes. Even in zones like the Muramite Proving Grounds, Wall
of Slaughter, Ruined City of Dranik, and Riftseekers; groups without
warriors or clerics or enchanters succeed in their hunts. How can they
do this? Equipment.
Myth Breaker 2: Equipment matters as much or more than distinctions in
classes. At higher levels, equipment determines where one can hunt, not
level or class.
We can grossly oversimplify the benefits of higher power equipment with
the following statement. Raid equipped groups have more hitpoints and
do more damage than single-group equipped players.
A group can hunt in Riftseekers without a cleric if they have a
high-end raid-equipped druid and shaman in the group. As equipment
power goes up, encounter difficulty goes down. As encounter difficulty
goes down, class dependence lessens.
However, where SOE had the problem of tuning encounters so that groups
of mixed classes found them challenging but doable, now they have to
make them challenging but doable to both single-group equipped players
and raid-equipped players. How do they do this?
They don't.
Myth Breaker 3: Encounter tuning matters more than equipment tuning or
class balance. Many class balance issues end up being specific
encounter issues.
Encounter tuning is where all of these things come together. Each
single-group encounter assumes you have six characters of a similar
level and equipment power. Each one often assumes a balanced archetype
spread. However, above level 65, equipment power varies so greatly that
no single encounter can scale well to both single-group equipped and
raid-equipped players.
In Lost Dungeons of Norrath, SOE offered normal and hard difficulties
for adventures. While single-group hunters found "hard" to be too hard,
many raid-equipped players found them to be too easy. In Gates of
Discord, designed as a very hard expansion, many of the single group
encounters such as the Ikkinz single-group events, Tipt, Vxed, and the
sewer trials were too hard for non-raid equipped players at the time.
Dragons of Norrath includes five sets of missions each scaling in
difficulty from the less challenging Lavaspinners to the more difficult
Nest. Mission rewards scale along with the difficulty of these
challenges.
Tuning encounters for a mix of classes becomes very difficult at levels
above 65. High level raids often require specific classes in order for
raids to succeed. Many of the Gates raids, for example, require high
numbers of clerics. SOE designed Gates raids to pose a challenge to
even ideal raid configurations. If they designed them for raids with
four clerics, it becomes trivial to do it with twelve.
Group encounters have the same problem. If encounter damage is tuned to
allow success with druids and shaman healing, it becomes easier to
accomplish it when one has a cleric. Since it becomes frustrating when
encounters require specific classes, most encounters become easier and
more reliable when one has an ideal class breakout.
Everquest is a game of challenging encounters. We want to fight in
challenging battles, receive rewards for our victories, and travel
forward to new challenging battles. From our first fire beetle to the
Overlord Mata Muram, challenge and progression is what keeps the game
entertaining.
Why does this matter? Frustration comes from hitting a wall in
progress. If we cannot find appropriate challenges or we receive
inadequate rewards, we become frustrated. If we face only the exact
same sort of challenge, we become bored.
There are a few things SOE can do to help balance encounters at levels
above 65.
SOE can equalize the primary abilities of the four archetypes across
the 16 classes. They can reduce the difference in healing power between
druids, shaman, and clerics so any of the three are capable of healing
more effectively in high powered groups.
SOE can reduce equipment disparities between single-group and
raid-equipped players. Single-group gear could offer 80% of the power
of raid gear from that same level and expansion.
SOE could tune more high-end encounters around the four archetypes
instead of specific classes. They can change the types of challenges we
face to avoid simple damage vs. hitpoint vs. healing formulas. Dragons
of Norrath shows us good examples of encounter variance and success
states not dependent on damage, hitpoints, and healing power.
I covered a lot of topics with very broad strokes so let me spend a
minute to summarize. What have we learned today?
1. Three factors really go into our characters when it comes to power:
level, class, and equipment.
2. Individual class balance issues only become a problem above level
65.
3. As fun as it is to debate class issues, equipment issues and
encounter balance often make a bigger difference.
4. While we like to dig into statistics and debate details, we really
want challenging encounters and rewards for defeating those encounters.
5. It is very hard to balance encounters for the wide range of
equipment power between raiders and non-raiders.
6. It is equally hard to design a challenging encounter that a mixed
group can defeat that doesn't become trivial for an ideal group.
We play Everquest because it's fun. Class identity and equipment power
are important factors, but most of all we want to face new and
interesting challenges and we want to receive rewards when we succeed.
When discussing class issues, always consider your level, your
equipment power, and the encounters in which you fight. Most of all,
remember that the whole purpose of all of this is fun.
Loral Ciriclight
3 March 2005
loral@loralciriclight.com
Caster's Realm: Class, Equipment, and Encounter Balance
There are few Everquest topics debated as heavily as class balance.
Though the term itself is nearly meaningless; you cannot balance
sixteen classes without them all looking exactly the same; the term
just seems not to die. However, in these huge and emotional discussions
on class balancing, two other factors are often ignored: equipment and
encounter balance.
Much of the evidence used for this article comes from personal
experience. No doubt hundreds of raid leaders and dozens of EQ
developers will toss aside this moldering rag of an article with
disgust and a heated "idiot" crossing their lips. Yet ignorance never
stayed my hand before, and it shall not do so here. So let the ignorant
broad statements begin:
Myth Breaker 1: Class differences mainly matter above level 65. Most
class balance advocates only speak to the highest levels of their
class. Below level 65, groups work well with any classes from within
the class archetypes.
Class balance below level 65 isn't as difficult a topic for two
reasons. One, there are few encounters below level 65 that cannot be
defeated by leveling up. Two, appropriately powerful equipment is much
more readily available below level 65 than above.
However, classes at every level certainly have class issues that should
be addressed. These issues, however, have little to do with balance
between classes and little to do with desirability for a group.
For the sake of discussion, let us break classes into the following
archetypes:
Tank: Paladin, Warrior, Shadowknight
Healer: Cleric, Druid, Shaman
Damage: Wizard, Mage, Necromancer, Beastlord, Ranger, Monk, Rogue,
Berserker
Control: Enchanter, Shaman, Bard, Beastlord
Above 65, clerics heal for more than druids and shaman. Warriors have
more hitpoints, better agro control, and defensive disciplines.
However, only the highest and most challenging content requires
specific classes. Even in zones like the Muramite Proving Grounds, Wall
of Slaughter, Ruined City of Dranik, and Riftseekers; groups without
warriors or clerics or enchanters succeed in their hunts. How can they
do this? Equipment.
Myth Breaker 2: Equipment matters as much or more than distinctions in
classes. At higher levels, equipment determines where one can hunt, not
level or class.
We can grossly oversimplify the benefits of higher power equipment with
the following statement. Raid equipped groups have more hitpoints and
do more damage than single-group equipped players.
A group can hunt in Riftseekers without a cleric if they have a
high-end raid-equipped druid and shaman in the group. As equipment
power goes up, encounter difficulty goes down. As encounter difficulty
goes down, class dependence lessens.
However, where SOE had the problem of tuning encounters so that groups
of mixed classes found them challenging but doable, now they have to
make them challenging but doable to both single-group equipped players
and raid-equipped players. How do they do this?
They don't.
Myth Breaker 3: Encounter tuning matters more than equipment tuning or
class balance. Many class balance issues end up being specific
encounter issues.
Encounter tuning is where all of these things come together. Each
single-group encounter assumes you have six characters of a similar
level and equipment power. Each one often assumes a balanced archetype
spread. However, above level 65, equipment power varies so greatly that
no single encounter can scale well to both single-group equipped and
raid-equipped players.
In Lost Dungeons of Norrath, SOE offered normal and hard difficulties
for adventures. While single-group hunters found "hard" to be too hard,
many raid-equipped players found them to be too easy. In Gates of
Discord, designed as a very hard expansion, many of the single group
encounters such as the Ikkinz single-group events, Tipt, Vxed, and the
sewer trials were too hard for non-raid equipped players at the time.
Dragons of Norrath includes five sets of missions each scaling in
difficulty from the less challenging Lavaspinners to the more difficult
Nest. Mission rewards scale along with the difficulty of these
challenges.
Tuning encounters for a mix of classes becomes very difficult at levels
above 65. High level raids often require specific classes in order for
raids to succeed. Many of the Gates raids, for example, require high
numbers of clerics. SOE designed Gates raids to pose a challenge to
even ideal raid configurations. If they designed them for raids with
four clerics, it becomes trivial to do it with twelve.
Group encounters have the same problem. If encounter damage is tuned to
allow success with druids and shaman healing, it becomes easier to
accomplish it when one has a cleric. Since it becomes frustrating when
encounters require specific classes, most encounters become easier and
more reliable when one has an ideal class breakout.
Everquest is a game of challenging encounters. We want to fight in
challenging battles, receive rewards for our victories, and travel
forward to new challenging battles. From our first fire beetle to the
Overlord Mata Muram, challenge and progression is what keeps the game
entertaining.
Why does this matter? Frustration comes from hitting a wall in
progress. If we cannot find appropriate challenges or we receive
inadequate rewards, we become frustrated. If we face only the exact
same sort of challenge, we become bored.
There are a few things SOE can do to help balance encounters at levels
above 65.
SOE can equalize the primary abilities of the four archetypes across
the 16 classes. They can reduce the difference in healing power between
druids, shaman, and clerics so any of the three are capable of healing
more effectively in high powered groups.
SOE can reduce equipment disparities between single-group and
raid-equipped players. Single-group gear could offer 80% of the power
of raid gear from that same level and expansion.
SOE could tune more high-end encounters around the four archetypes
instead of specific classes. They can change the types of challenges we
face to avoid simple damage vs. hitpoint vs. healing formulas. Dragons
of Norrath shows us good examples of encounter variance and success
states not dependent on damage, hitpoints, and healing power.
I covered a lot of topics with very broad strokes so let me spend a
minute to summarize. What have we learned today?
1. Three factors really go into our characters when it comes to power:
level, class, and equipment.
2. Individual class balance issues only become a problem above level
65.
3. As fun as it is to debate class issues, equipment issues and
encounter balance often make a bigger difference.
4. While we like to dig into statistics and debate details, we really
want challenging encounters and rewards for defeating those encounters.
5. It is very hard to balance encounters for the wide range of
equipment power between raiders and non-raiders.
6. It is equally hard to design a challenging encounter that a mixed
group can defeat that doesn't become trivial for an ideal group.
We play Everquest because it's fun. Class identity and equipment power
are important factors, but most of all we want to face new and
interesting challenges and we want to receive rewards when we succeed.
When discussing class issues, always consider your level, your
equipment power, and the encounters in which you fight. Most of all,
remember that the whole purpose of all of this is fun.
Loral Ciriclight
3 March 2005
loral@loralciriclight.com
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