Caiden’s Core: Class Balances

I have to admit, I have been spoiled by previous games like Everquest II and Vanguard that offer an astonishing amount of playable classes. EverQuest II has 24 classes while Vanguard has 15. It makes games that offer any less than five or six feel like I am being short changed. At the end of the day it isn’t a huge deal, but it is definitely noticed. With all of these classes however, how do you balance them? With categories like DPS, Tank, Healer and more, how do you stay original? Even more important, how do you stay fair? This article won’t be as nit-picky as my others, but I feel it is something that should be brought to light. Games have the three major categories for classes as you all know, Healer, damage dealer and the tank. Let’s say we have, oh how about twenty classes? Then we have buffers, crowd control, pet masters, batteries, off-tanks and the list goes on! Some sound more useful, some classes appear weaker, but how do we make them all fun?

EverQuest II Character Creation Screen

From what I can narrow it down to, there are two majorly used systems for class balancing. There’s the Triangle method, and the Stand-Alone method. So let’s start with the Triangle method, seen in games like Aion and Perfect World. The Triangle doesn’t come up often, and when it does, it is generally met with some disgruntled opinions from people who are used to the more popular Stand-Alone system used in games like World of Warcraft and Twelve Sky 2. So how does it work? The Triangle class system sets itself up in a way that one class is dominant over another, but is weak against the class behind it. The commonly accepted way this goes is Mage beats Tank, Tank beats Rogue, Rogue beats Healer, Healer beats Mage, or something along those lines. The good side to this system is it prevents mindless zerging in a sense. Now I played Aion for a good deal of time and in many cases while rifting, we had small Group vs Group combat. It was generally six of us versus six or seven of them. The rotation of weaknesses is important to keep in mind because it determines targeting, placement and more. It also adds a great difference in the feeling of danger while open world PvPing. If I am a healer running about questing and I see a rogue trucking at me, I know my chances are slim and I better book it or find some way to tactfully beat this person. The same works for all the other classes from soloing to duoing. It creates more tactful scenarios that come across as having more excitement. However the downside is, as everyone may have guessed, the inevitable gibbing of your character. People don’t like being killed without any chance of survival or fighting back. If classes are designed to destroy a specific type of class, when that person is finally hunted down and torn to tiny red drippy bits, they aren’t having fun. They died without a chance. It can even go the other way if you are charging your dominant class in hopes of ganking only to be cast off like some pesky mosquito, only to see your mage friend one shot the person. This almost creates a superiority complex. People ‘know’ they can do well in PvP, they know they are good at fighting, however when they are forced to be weaker than another archetype, it can get hairy.

Perfect World Gameplay Screenshot

The other method of the class system is more commonly seen in newer games, especially western ones. Each class has the ability to stand on equal terms with any other class in plain situations. Now I am not saying that some don’t have an upper hand, I am saying that it isn’t as clearly set in stone as it is in other games. Soul of the Ultimate Nation, Jade Dynasty and World of Warcraft adopt this in their own way. In some cases, yes, I understand you have to ‘build’ your character with skill points and talents and other pointy goodness, but in the end there isn’t a defined fate for these classes. Here’s an example. I used to play a healer type in WoW and Jade Dynasty. Now solo PvPing was never really an issue. Sure I would have to heal more for DPS classes or spend more mana to kill tanks, but I could still fight them on my two feet, without needing the aid of an ally. The same goes for my other classes, I was never truly given a weaker hand of cards, unless the person completely out leveled or geared me. People like this method of game play for multiple reasons. It gives everyone an equal chance at being dominant on the battlefield. It almost creates a more skill based game where players truly have to understand the workings of their class mechanics if they are to survive in any and all situations. However I see a downside to this system. It makes large scale combat relatively simplistic in my mind. It comes down to numbers and gear at the end of the day, which does have the same level of excitement as a group of five holding off oh…twenty or more enemies for over an hour because they had a tactical terrain and position advantage over the mindless zerging enemy…*Cough* Anyway, it just comes down to play style preference.

Jade Dynasty Gameplay Screenshot

Sure you can argue with me about how these games work. Some may say, “Caiden you silly banana, this game isn’t a Spartan-stands-against-hordes-of-Persians mechanic, it’s a triangle! Because in this situation I blahblah’d and then my opponents blah’d and we won, thus proving my point so nyah.” Right, having fun with that, but in the end, this is just me ranting…sort of. I prefer the triangle method of game play because I like the feeling of being kill-able. I like that challenge of finding ways to defeat my so called ‘stronger’ opponents in ways that prove me a better strategist or combatant. It’s a sense of achievement that, to me, can’t be matched by Rambo mechanics. What about you folks? Do you like being on an equal playing field to others? Or having a weakness/strength aspect to your game play and PvP?

By, Caiden

"At the Center of All Things"