[MUD-Dev] Blog about GDC implies changes to MMORPG population

[Michael Hartman]

Vincent Archer wrote:
> According to Sean Kelly:

>> It helps that a quest will give experience until you're 7-9
>> levels beyond it (I forget the exact number offhand).  I've spent
>> various chunks of my play time 3-5 levels behind the people I
>> play with and quest levels have never been a problem for us for
>> this reason.

> If you are 3-5 levels behind people, that's not much of a problem.

If you are deliberately playing inefficiently and don't care, then
sure. But if one person is doing quests for someone 5 levels lower,
they are early sub-optimal xp and are also earning worthless quest
rewards.

A system that works only when you deliberately gimp yourself is not
one that can be called forgiving for people of disparate levels.

>  (as an aside, the resist cap is higher when grouped than when
>  solo.  I've been able to hit mobs 5 levels above me moderately
>  often, something that's completely impossible solo)

There is no such thing, though I wish there was. You just lived long
enough to take more swings and may have had a few extra buffs.

There are no bonuses to hit chance or to land spells when grouped.

DAoC had this which was a great idea. WoW does not.

>> I do agree with this (see above).  It's really amazing what a
>> difference just a level or two makes in WoW.  Not with stats or
>> abilities so much as the ability to avoid aggro and to damage a
>> mob.  It makes every level feel significant, even though they are
>> fairly easy to attain.

> Yes. And that's exactly what makes disparate levels in groups a
> problem. If you have more than a 4 level range, either someone is
> not really challenged, or someone is completely useless - with the
> exception of healing characters, because their heals are never
> resisted by the other players :)

Exactly.

--
Michael Hartman
President and CEO, Threshold Virtual Environments, Inc.
http://www.thresholdrpg.com
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