jerm

I won't be playing World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online, or City of Heroes. Done with those.

Probably won't bother with Champions.

Old Republic looks okay, but it will be 99% Jedi and Sith.

Otherwise.....uh.....clicky clicky grind grind anyone? You have killed your 5000th Frobnoz. Uggghhhhh.

I need something different, where the world is actually persistent. If you could construct buildings yourself like on preset towns or foundations, that would be cool. Hire henchman. Lots of resources to gather. Extensive crafting. Influence system that actually matters. Become the mayor/duke/prince/king.

I dunno, the clicky clicky til thing is dead is just real dull after awhile.

Um, Dragon Age: Origins.

Oh, wait...

Is this game any good?

CoH...lf AE farm. Ugh. Rubbish.

I respectfully disagree that the problem is lack of tactics in RvR.

A group of engineers, bright wizards, and a couple healers can own everything in site, especially in a keep siege. How fun is this for the rest of the players that don't choose to play The Nuker of the Month? I have read that a disproportionate number of RR80 characters in WHO are Bright Wizards, much higher than the 1/12 you would naively suppose from the number of classes in the game. Evidently, the class is terribly imbalanced, yet Mythic doesn't do too much about it. They don't want to lose any more subscribers, especially hardcore ones.

Fireballs and arrows that magically distinguish between friend and foe, and with the accuracy of cruise missiles, does not make an enjoyable game for those who don't play the classes that use these mechanics. This is a fantasy era game, yet magical and ranged attacks have the accuracy of sniper rifles. Does this make any sense? No, it does not.

A good model of dueling would be an interesting contrast. Parrying, blocking, deflecting (armor), dodging, stances, fighting styles, etc. are interesting mechanics that I would like to see explored in more depth by MMOs.

I'd also like to see a better wound model than a health bar, where one could go on fighting when wounded but there would be penalties. Head injuries effect intelligence, leg wounds hit move speed, wounded arm means you can't use the item on it, etc. Running around at full speed with 1% health is another thing that just sort of doesn't make much sense at all.

Most of these mechanics were developed for PvE games like Everquest. I don't think it translates all that well to PvP, but it has become the default because its easy to do.

The real problem with most of these MMORPG fantasy games isn't the bugs, though WHO has a lot of them. It is the whole combat model they are using.

Ranged attacks are imbalanced. In real life (or at least in medieval times), most ranged attacks, like an arrow or a cannon, would miss their targets. But in the games, they hit by default unless blocked, absorbed, etc. The ranged attacks are far too accurate. So melee classes are at a huge disadvantage. In the 2-5 seconds it takes to close the distance to a ranged class, the melee is most likely nuked down and killed. If there was a game where ranged attacks were less accurate, you could see some interesting tactics develop. Melee might actually be useful.

For instance, in WHO, classes like Bright Wizards, Engineers, and Squig Herders, played well, can own everything in site simply with ranged attacks and kiting. It is the WoW hunter all over again.

Also, game engines like D&D limit the number of times casters can cast a particular spell before a recharge, but not so WoW or WHO. Casters can spam magic fireballs of doom all night long.

Add in all the silly area of effect damage that magically only hits those on the opposing force, and you have a recipe for dullness and imbalance in the basic combat engine.

Also, characters in full armor can run as fast as lightly armored rogues and wizards. Some characters, like the WoW warrior, have charge abilities where they can run at sprinting speeds while in full suits of armor. Does this make any sense at all?

No wonder the combat in these games is so dull. Sure, these games aren't made to be realistic combat simulators, but a little bit of realism would make it more interesting and tactical. Heavily armored warriors should not be able to sprint, but they can take and deal a lot of damage. Rogues and wizards should be more nimble, but they can't absorb or deflect nearly as much damage.

I also think it would be interesting if area of effect damage hit everyone, not just those on the opposing team, like the blizzard spell in WC3. It would then have to be used tactically. Using AOE attacks on a huge, mixed group of players is just stupid. The Bright Wizard can spew all this fire around that magically only hits those on the other team. I mean, it is just damn silly.

Yeah, I mean most computer games are such a productive use of your time and energy. (rolls eyes)

COH is the most grindy and dull MMO I have ever played in my life. When I left a few months ago, literally all that people were doing was farming the same repetitive missions over and over in the mission architect builder. Lame! It doesn't matter what kind of shiny graphics or power customizations you can have when the game has devolved into something this uninspiring and repetitive.

"It sounds like Mythic is planning on uncoupling the fortresses from zone capture."

Why? This sounds like a terrible idea.

I don't understand your point. A 6-man can have plenty of impact by taking battle objectives and defending keeps. If you are arguing that in T4, 6 people should be able to take on an entire war band of the opposing side, that's just rubbish. I don't see how it could possibly work or what (unfair/overpowered) mechanics would have to be implemented to do this.

On orvr servers, in lower tiers, you can be 10 levels above the maximum, so in T2, you can be up to level 31. A 6-man at the level cap could certainly take on an entire war band of lower level characters. But things even out in T4. Why should it be any other way? You want DAOC? "LF Skald" .... LOL. No thanks.