So... why did hybrids get penalties in the first place?

[Ele]

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

I was too young to know the true game mechanics back in 99. (Hell, I still don't know even 10% of the game, but that's another thread)

Why exactly did they penalize hybrids in the first place?

Did the exp penalty actually *benefit* anyone?

Was it removed as a result of the players efforts? Or did the Devs just come to their senses?

Genuinely curious, as I play a Troll SK and I've greatly noticed the before and after effects.

As others have already stated it was a nod to D&D multi-classing, which allows for more powerful characters versus a pure class. However, the translation did not really work in EQ due to grinding xp, mudflation between expansions, disciplines, and itemization.

Beneficiaries of class exp penalties? The people without them. Although it was known at the time that some classes had penalties, your casual player did not know or care enough about them to ostracize the hybrid classes. Here, pretty much everyone knew about the penalty coming into the server and a lot of people actively sought to exclude those classes from groups (even though it isn't that big of a deal, if you have a full group and the person knows how to play their class).

Removal of the exp penalty was a combination of player complaints and devs realizing that it did not pan out as they intended.


The full explanation can be found in the EQ Producer's Letter