Class Balance

[Strokke]

That way of balancing just seems so boring

[Greymain]

Perhaps the balance is achieved not by looking at any one class but as groups, in that any group containing the 4 basic types (Caster, Healer, Tank, Damage dealer) is in balance.

It should not be expected that all classes are equal in isolation. indeed many players want a support role such as healer, others like more independance such as offered by classes like the Ranger.

Where the whole balance thing falls down in with exotic groups. a group of 6 - 8 healers may not be great damage dealers but can be impossible to kill if they can heal faster than the mobs can inflict damage.

[Arctic_Slicer]

Just like Greymain said any 6-8 characters can make a group but depending on what you have in a group your groups strengths will vary. 6 Clerics might not be able to dish out the damage but there shouldn't be anyone dying. Of course you do have to balance the game enough so that a whole group of a single class isn't broken.

In "EverQuest" the joke was that a group of 6 necromancers would be so broken that it would require GM intervention.

[Nabren]

Well, that's kind of hard to say because I think a group would be hard pressed to kill raid mobs with only one class, no matter what class it is. Ignore the fact that they might require a class specific ability to kill and just straight out damage to kill, even then, because clerics would probably run out of mana before they killed him and offensive fighters might die from no healing before they manage to get the boss down.

And quite honestly, I only care about the end-game. It can be unbalanced as it wants to be before then, as long as everyone has their niche in raids! :P

[Greymain]

Not coming from an EQ background I never took any notice of the "Holy Trinity" until I found my Bard in EQ2 left hanging around LFG for hours on end. I was used to groups forming from any players hanging around reguardless of class. The only time a healer was demanded was in raid situations or trips into really hard areas.

[Nabren]

Well the holy trinity will almost always exist because of how class balance works with tanks/dps/healers, just have to minimize it's effect to the point where if you don't have a healer but your group is full of DPS you would need minimal healing anyway.

[Greymain]

Originally Posted by Nabren

Well the holy trinity will almost always exist because of how class balance works with tanks/dps/healers, just have to minimize it's effect to the point where if you don't have a healer but your group is full of DPS you would need minimal healing anyway.

It only works that way because its the wish of the designers. The armed forces of the world don't, and never have, fought in groups of 3, One holding the shield, one holding the sword, and the third a priest with box of sticking -plasters. It is perfectly possible to create interesting and fun classes that are more rounded in ability.

[Arctic_Slicer]

Honestly the holy trinity in "EverQuest" is actually a bit of an exageration. I used to do groups all of the time without the trinity classes. The holy trinity was simply the best grouping for the most effective party.

[Greymain]

I know that but its amazing how many wont do anything without a healer in the group.

[Nabren]

I'll try any kind of group combination. However, if you are killing ungodly slow due to a lack of healing, i'd try my best to get a healer while killing every opportunity we got.