Most modern MMORPGs put a lot of emphasis on the perfect balance between classes and maximum player freedom. MeinMMO author Mark Sellner finds that this is a completely wrong approach and kills the fun in the genre.
Maximum freedom for each player is something that many modern MMORPGs are committed to. And at first glance, that sounds great too. After all, I can do anything then, right? All classes can wield almost any weapon, and I can create a build that suits my playstyle.
In some cases, like recently with New World, MMORPGs even do without classes completely and then only define your “class” by what you wear. But with this maximum freedom, even the best balancing has its limits.
The developers want to make sure that no player has to wait in line and that everyone can participate and even make everything themselves. But that takes the fun out of the genre and even scraps the RPG in MMORPG entirely.
Who writes here? Mark Sellner is an MMORPG author at MeinMMO and has been loyal to the genre for over 15 years. He insists on immersing himself in the endgames of various MMORPGs, but mostly the RPG falls by the wayside.
Freedom restricts you
The more freedom an MMORPG brings, the more different directions players will take with it. At the same time, this also means that the difference in damage from the different builds is sometimes massive.
So the advertised build freedom usually dies when the MMO has been out long enough for a meta to form. Some fans who want to get the most out of their characters then put together the best builds in the game and also like to share them with other players.
Even fans who aren’t that deep into the game to get to these builds themselves then adopt it. You often see that it works with the “good players”. A meta is established in which mostly only about 10 of the hundreds of possible builds of your characters can actually be played.
Whether you enjoy it or not doesn’t matter anymore. A warrior is expected to go into battle with two axes and banners. But if you as a warrior prefer to fight with sword and shield, you usually have to do it alone, because groups simply won’t take you with them anymore.
Because as such, you simply bring less to your group than a warrior who is equipped differently. And that’s exactly why the perfect balance between the classes, if it still exists, is simply detrimental to the MMORPG itself.
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Not every class can do everything
In the name of balance, all classes in modern MMORPGs are often adapted further and further, to the point that each class should somehow be able to do everything. This often happens to achieve the exact opposite of what it is ultimately intended to achieve.
It is often said that you want to use these steps to make all classes valid, so that none have to be left behind. But that’s exactly why classes have to take a back seat. If everyone can do everything anyway, then as a group leader I only have to take those with me who still do the most damage.
Unfortunately, my old favorite MMORPG Guild Wars 2 currently provides a negative example of exactly this. Although I stopped playing the game about 2 years ago for exactly this reason, I still follow the patch notes and often just want to shut my eyes to keep.
All classes can provide almost any buff and the unique bonuses of the different specializations have to give way to general buffs.
In this meta, not only does the sword-shield warrior no longer have a place, but also the previously touted double-axe banner warrior. Because nobody needs his banner anymore, since other classes now give the same buffs, just more efficiently. The actual freedom of the players in everyday gameplay is thus further restricted.
Unique buffs are not enough
I switched from Guild Wars 2 to Lost Ark relatively quickly and admittedly the developers at Smilegate do things a little better. Here, each class brings a unique buff that makes it valuable to the party and doesn’t stack.
So there’s something to be said for taking every class with you and at the same time preventing a group from being made up of 8 of the same specialization just because it deals the most damage. That’s a big step in the right direction, but it’s still not enough for me personally.
Because I still miss the RPG in the MMORPG. Class identity suffers from the fact that everyone somehow has to be able to do everything. A unique buff just isn’t enough when every character can jump, counter, or dodge roll.
When I play a berserker with a greatsword on my back bigger than myself then I don’t expect this character to be particularly mobile. But he is – and that’s annoying.
At least me.
Even after 1,000 hours in Lost Ark, I still feel stupid rolling across the floor with this monstrous sword to dodge, just because a nimble villain can do that too and you want to be fair. That’s pure nonsense that pulls me out of the “role-playing” of a berserker. My actions just don’t feel berserk.
Ashes of Creation could be the rescue
That’s why I’m currently looking at the upcoming Ashes of Creation with greedy eyes, because I really like what you’ve seen of the class system so far. Although the 64 classes that are supposed to exist seem just as overwhelming and “too free” as in an ArcheAge, the concept is different.
In Ashes of Creation you choose a base class and later a second one, so you get a new class. Unlike ArcheAge, which works similarly, you don’t just get your second choice skills on top.
Rather, the spells of your base class change depending on which second class you take. For example, if you pair a cleric who wields the mages of life and death with a tank, it becomes a paladin. This then focuses on the life-giving skills of the cleric and gives them a kind of holy aura.
If you pair the cleric with a summoner, he becomes a necromancer. This then focuses on the deadly skills of the class. So you are adaptable, bring unique buffs for your group. And all without having to sacrifice your character’s class identity. Provided that the system works out in the end as it currently looks.
Of course, there needs to be a certain balance in an MMORPG so that one class doesn’t escalate completely and another is left somewhere. But the perfect balance just makes many MMORPGs worse than they need to be. Because it has to sacrifice a lot of its charm for it. Getting rid of some of the “RPG” that really defines it.
Not every class has to be able to complete all content equally well. Not every character has to be able to fight their way through everything on their own, and it’s totally okay if this means that some classes are clearly weaker than others in certain content. Or how do you see it?
Even if Lost Ark could still improve in terms of class identity, MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch says: “I threw money at Lost Ark and finally I’m enjoying it”