A few weeks back – and before we realized the game was slated for execution – MOP’s Sam wrote a piece about balance in Warhaven, and in it, there was a quote about character balance (more specifically, the game’s lack thereof) that leaped out at me.
“There is a large imbalance in the game right now from what I could see. By the third evening, the Warhammer class was a glaring concern. Essentially the hero has a large swing that is unblockable, uninterruptable, and nearly undodgeable. It also one-shots most other heroes. It’s just too dang strong. As the Hush, I had nearly no skillful way to outplay a Warhammer. You could argue that the longer buildup time for it means landing the hit should be rewarding, and while that’s true, there should be more ways to counter it. And perhaps the reward shouldn’t be a one-shot kill. That’s what a balance is: It’s weighing something and placing an equal weight to counter it. Here, I believe the only counter was ‘don’t let it hit you,’ which is really no solution at all.”
I’m betting that “balance” is right up there with things like monetization and content and grind for things MMO players grumble about endlessly, and it might even be impossible to achieve. Even so, some are better at managing class balance than others. But I want to talk about the worst! Which MMO is the worst at balancing its classes?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
