[nilbog]

Originally Posted by YendorLootmonkey [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Nilbog,

If you played a hybrid, then you know how important the revision is and you remember wishing someone had pointed it out sooner for Verant/Sony to fix.

No. I remember thinking.. "wtf why do all the newbies get to benefit from not having the penalty for the past 2 years? Is there even a point to the warrior class?"

Wouldn't it be better for the long-term health for the server and overall gameplay if more people played the hybrid tanks (allowing for more grouping opportunities) instead of feeling compelled to go play some other class because they know in advance how the XP mechanics work and that it is not in favor of playing a hybrid, in terms of both general XP gain and getting a group?

Classic EQ was about you forming your own group.. not the game mechanics being aligned to balance classes. That's the beauty of it later on.. if no one wants to play a ranger, there's lots of good ranger loot that will be rotting on raids. When that starts to happen, people will play that class.

Yes, I know Verant/SOE made the decision based on customer-retention and we do not pay to play here. But my definition of a bug is "something that's not working as intended." i.e. broken. Verant clearly stated here that the original vision for hybrids would be that their "greater power" would warrant the hybrid XP penalty. As people gained levels, it was apparent that that "greater power" was never there. Same thing is happening here. What's your definition of a bug, then?

It's working as intended, because your developers say it is working as intended. If there is a portion of the developer's exp system that does not function as they say it should, that's a bug.

"When EverQuest player characters were being designed, it was immediately apparent that some races and classes would be more powerful than others given versatility and other factors."

They then admitted that this concept of "being more powerful" never materialized:

"Later, it came to light that the concept of being "more powerful" began to break down at the upper levels, given that everyone capped at the same level."

They "admitted" to that fact too early, imo. I disagree with you, because hybrids are clearly very powerful at the end of Velious. Maybe they should have made this change at the beginning of Luclin.

You can twist it and manipulate the words all you want. The dev letter clearly states the class-based penalties that were designed into the game from the start with the original vision of what hybrid classes were meant to offer in terms of power created unexpected results because that "greater power" or "extra group benefit from the class" never materialized in reality. I really can't spell it out any better than what I just did... I'm sorry.

Once again, this letter was written before they could even see the outcome on a grand scale. They listened to all the bitching done in Kunark, and decided to make a carebear group change for complaints. Velious is when paladin and sk hybrids became powerful, and always chosen for group tanks over warriors, in my experience. Bards were always chosen, and needed. It's.. rangers that are left lacking.. and that's working as intended.

*My* opinion on the matter is that there shouldn't be a superfluous amount of hybrids. That seems to be the original intent of the game. If you want to be level 60 and be as good of a tank as a warrior, and have 30% of a spellcaster's arsenal, then there are trials and tribulations you need to overcome. That's my RP opinion though.