Part 1: Gear vs. Skill… FIGHT!
by Bo
A player’s equipment or a player’s ability; which should decide who is victorious? Some would argue that its unfair if gear plays too strong a factor in a fight. They want the game to be based off of a player’s ability to play the game. The funny thing is, I really haven’t see the other polar side of this argument. I have yet to meet someone who honestly argued that they want gear to be the deciding factor in combat and player skill to be only a minor factor. You may be asking at this point how is there an argument if its completely one sided?
Well, to be honest, there is no argument here. Its one side complaining that someone has better gear then them because they logged the time, sometimes months, to get the gear that gives them the advantage. You show me a game where equipment is only a small factor and I’ll show you a game with even more whining. Why bother to get equipment at all if it holds only a slim value? Look at new games that come out with incomplete stat systems or the wrong bonuses on gear (*coughAgeofConancough*) and be deafened by the sound of the ranting. You would think this would make at least some of these people happy. However, I’ve yet to see anyone praise a game with equipment that only minimally effected the outcome of fights. Why bother to put in equipment if it serves no purpose? Why should anyone bother to pursue gear that gives them a +.0000000001% chance to critical strike only on the third Tuesday of an in game month?
Rethink your argument, gear has its purpose. Everyone wants new shinies and everyone wants new useful shinies. These games aren’t built on things being static. They thrive off improvement and development. You would quickly tire if there wasn’t something to work towards. Adventure is cool the first time. Leveling is awesome, but the end game is what makes people keep playing a game for years, not the leveling process. Progression, Gear and PvP these are the things that make people put the time in after they are done with the leveling.
No one likes fighting a complete idiot who completely owns them because he has better gear. On the other hand, no one wants to play an MMORPG where everyone is exactly the same, except for their skill and ability (the closest example I can find is Guild Wars, which is technically not an MMORPG). The problem with this is that a large portion of the most vocal complainers think everyone they fight in PvP is a complete idiot. If they lost, that dude was overpowered or he just had the gear. If they won, he was a complete “noob” and should quit now or DIAF (if you don’t know what this means then there is still hope for you - run quickly and save yourself).
Here is the main problem. Not everyone’s skill level is equal. Not everyone’s equipment level is equal. The people who are going to complain the loudest generally are the people who are at the bottom of both ladders. Even in World of Warcraft, a person with better gear wasn’t the problem except in extreme cases (imbalanced arena match ups come to mind). The problem largely was coming across a better geared player who was actually better then yourself. Of course, the common gamer could never admit that this combination could exist in a complete stranger, but it did occur. Another interesting concept is player skill has a ceiling. Theoretically, there is a level at which a player’s skill cannot increase anymore. There is also a point at which the differences between two players skill levels will be meaningless. Technically, the same thing exists in gear. There is a point in which two players cannot gain new gear. There is also a point when the differences between two players’ gear, even though they are not identical, is not significant. The problem arises when the gear ceiling is raised. The disparity between players now increases again, and the people who were behind are even further behind. However, the ceiling on skill never really rises. Changes occur to skill systems and new skills are added but the people who have reached either the skill ceiling or their own person ceiling will quickly recover their previous positions. The skill distribution never really changes as long as the basics of the system stay the same.
What are your thoughts? Do you think gear or skill should play a bigger factor or are they two sides of the same coin? If gear didn’t make a big difference, would MMORPGs lose some element of their RPG roots? What could take it’s place - and should something take its place or is the progression of gaining additional skills and increased power enough to give you a sense of accomplishment?
Stay tuned for Part 2, coming soon to a Greenskin blog near you!
