Balancing The Current Meta
Hello Samhayne, and anyone else who is going to venture to read this entire thread. Thanks for checking out my perspective on balancing the current meta! Here is a quick look at what you can expect in this thread:
I. Introduction
II. Power Creep
III. Foo Strategies
IV. Hit Percentage
V. Quick Recap
VI. First Steps to Balance
A. Reworking Incomparables
B. Scaling Power Creep
VII. Conclusion
Introduction
I want to introduce this thread by saying something real fast. Please, please, please, everyone read this thread with an open mind. I'm going to mention stuff that is probably going to upset you, or that you will simply disagree with. Please focus on the main aspect of this thread, which is balance. Ask yourself if I truly am making sense as far as balance is concerned.
Power Creep
Alright, to start off I want to address one of the biggest issues in this game right now. That issue is called, "Power creep." Please watch the following video so that we can get on the same page: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bxszx60ZwGw
If you decided to skip the video, don't. Go back and watch it because I'm going to start using terms that you won't understand.
Ok, so what is the power creep in Pocket Legends? I mean obviously the levels consistently get harder as you level up because bosses get more health, and hit harder, and the same happens with mobs in general. Because of this, our gear is constantly scaled upwards with more damage and armor. So where is the issue? On the surface this doesn't seem like a problem. After all, we certainly wouldn't want to be as weak at cap as we are at level 10, right? Admittedly, there is a certain degree of power creep that is acceptable but it must be scaled correctly. A level 10 going through Forest Haven should have relatively as much difficulty as a 76 going through Blacksmoke mountain. Make sense? Power creep only becomes an issue when the scaling is off. For instance, if you couldn't get enough armor to survive, or enough damage to dps down the bosses. So what is our issue in Pocket Legends?
I would submit to you that the biggest form of power creep that is currently in this game is dodge, followed closely in second by critical. Let me explain my reasoning very briefly, if I can. A critical is a chance for you to deal double damage, which is significant. A dodge is a chance for you to dodge one of those damaging skills which in turn buys you time to deal damage, yourself. Now, ordinarily dodge and crit would balance each other out fairly equally. However, there is one big issue. That issue is the power creep which has taken place in damage itself. Especially with the help of level 9 skill points, damage has become insane. (And Armor hasn't been scaled correctly.) It has become so insane that you can probably beat an opponent down fairly quickly without the help of critical damage. This, in turn makes it optimal to choose dodge over critical. Don't believe me? Check out all of the characters using savage sets. Case and point.
Before I go any further, I want you to take a look at each of these pictures. Examine their stats carefully. Take a look at which set has the most dodge. I'm going to refer back to these probably quite often. (Thanks again, Bous!)
Ok, now I'm sure this isn't news to most people. In fact, I'm sure some of you cringe at the sight of a bear wearing savage. In fact, the first thing most people might say is, "Oh gosh, savage bear takes no skill!" Why do people say this? That brings us to our next video and portion of this thread. Again, please do not skip the video or you will be left behind: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EitZRLt2G3w
Foo Strategies
Ok, this is where things will get a little bit tricky, so hang with me. Most people would venture to attribute bears' huge success in the current meta to savage. I believe that this theory is not entirely correct. It's easily able to be seen that savage is the optimal set, but I don't believe it is the sole reason that is making bears overpowered. So what is? Foo strategies. Just in case you started acting like a noob and skipped the video, or just didn't pay attention, I'll refresh your memory. A "Foo" strategy stands for, "First order optimal" strategy. Here's a picture you can refer back to in case you forget:
What is the bear's Foo strategy? I'm sure you know it. No matter what enemy the bear is fighting, he will use pretty much the same combo of skills involving beckon-stomp, followed by a dead opponent. Granted, they throw in a few debuffs, and perhaps a slash or two, but that is the basics of it. Foo strategies are not good game designing when they lack a decent, more skilled counter. In the past, this has been fine because as the video discusses, the truly talented players had ways around this. (A mage's heal or a bird's avian scream) However, due to the bad balance of the current meta, this particular foo strategy has become extremely viable. For those of you who have played since Sewer Cap, you might recall the old avian Foo strategy that most custom birds would use. Root-shattering scream-blast shot, followed by a dead opponent.
So, strictly referring to bears for a second, what might be a way of solving this Foo strategy? Well, as I stated previously this, combo wasn't an issue in the past because it had counters. Due to the (non-balanced) power creep in the game, the strategy became more powerful than it should be. This means that balancing the power creep should resort in balancing these foo strategies without completely destroying them and allowing skilled players to once again rule the arena. Now, think back for a second. What is the counter for power creep? Incomparables.
Incomparables
You'll actually notice that there are a fair amount of Incomparables in the game already. A few examples would be a fox and rhinos dash, a birds repulse, a mages firestorm, the procs on certain weapons, etc. However, the one issue with every single one of these Incomparables is one thing. Any guesses? Dodge. Every single incomparable can be dodged. (On second thought I suppose to some extent the dashes can't be dodged. However, they aren't game changing mechanics, and their damage can still be dodged.) That's partly why people (me! >.<) are so frustrated when fighting high dodge opponents. First you repulse, and that gets dodged. Then you root, and that gets dodged. Then you avian scream as a last resort and that gets dodged. What's wrong with this? Isn't that how dodge is supposed to work? Well, yes and no. Dodge should be significant, but not the all-important factor. After all, why take the time learning your range so that you can kite like a baws, when the enemy will just dodge you and then Roflstomp you to oblivion?
So how do we fix this? I mean, after all, STS is busy and doesn't have time to add new Incomparables, do they? Is there any quick fix that will bring back skill without destroying dodge? We will come back to this.
Hit Percentage
I wanted to take a brief minute or two to talk about hit percentage. Hit percentage would be considered an incomparable. Many times in various twink levels, players have had a hard time deciding what face or ring to equip because they're uncertain whether they need extra hit percentage, or extra crit, or perhaps damage. This is an example of good game design. Those tough build decisions that you make reflect the build diversity at that particular level. So is there anything wrong with hit percentage in our current meta? Yes, but only slightly.
Refer back to the pictures I posted earlier that showed the stats of each class. Notice their hit percentages. The bear's is barely over 100%. This means that debuffing a bear's hit percentage when engaging him in combat is absolutely vital! But wait, he will just dodge your debuff right? Let's suppose for a minute that he didn't. Now that you have a better understanding of what Incomparables are, let's suppose for a minute that the current blind debuffs (which debuff 60% hit) are not able to be dodged. That is, the debuff itself cannot be dodged. The damage from the debuff can be dodged. What would this allow for? It allows smart players to use their skills in correct order to efficiently take down their opponent. All the while still allowing dodge to still play an important factor in survival.
Now, even if this was the case, (that blind debuffs would hit no matter what) we would still have a problem. It would literally be the only hard counter for savage bears at the moment. This means that you would be gambling your life in every fight on the measly hope that a bear's skill won't land. That isn't skillful gaming, nor is it fun gaming. It would honestly be more fun to play candy land and hope you get queen frosteen as your first card. (Candy land! Anyone? No? Ok...)
Quick Recap
Ok, so we have discussed a ton so far. I think it would be a good idea for me to recap what we have discussed just briefly so that we are all on the same page and can continue on with my suggestions for how to fix the meta. I'm good with lists so I'll just that as a way to recap.
1. Pocket Legends has a power creep on crit, and more importantly dodge. This power creep can only be fixed with Incomparables, of which so far there is only one that is skillfully viable.
2. Bears are stuck in a Foo strategy meta due to the unbalanced power creep on damage vs armor.
3. A Hit percentage debuff that can't be dodged is an ideal type of incomparable that we could use more of to balance the power creep.
First Steps to Balance
So far we have only discussed the issues with Pocket Legends. We've only briefly and broadly tapped into some solutions, however. Now it's time to get into the more detailed analysis of how to start balancing things outs. But first, since I've been talking so long, I'd like you to watch another video. This one is less essential than the last two, but I thought I'd throw it in because it's very important to some of the things I'm going to say. Check it: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BRBcjsOt0_g
Ok, so, bearing in mind that we want good counter play, allow me to share a few ideas that I think would go a long way to balancing this game for skill, eliminating over powered foo strategies, and removing the unbalanced power creep.
Reworking Incomparables
First thing is first. We need to get rid of the power creep that is slowly wrecking our game. Remember when I suggested that undodgeable hit percentage debuffs are good game design? Well I believe they are, and that's why I think that every single incomparable in this game should be modeled after that kind of hit debuff. As a bird, this means that my thorn root will always root the enemy in place and debuff their dodge. However, it may not deal damage. This means that my repulse shot will always push the enemy back, whether or not it deals damage. This means that my avian scream will always slightly knock back the opponent. Etc. Now, this change is probably the most drastic one that I'm suggesting. If I'm being honest with myself I don't think the devs would do this. It would open up a whole new world of gameplay which might possibly cause unbalance in the short term. However, I'm still suggesting it because I believe that with a few minor tweaks after the update, it would provide for a more solid foundation in this game that allows for more easily balanced gameplay in the future.
One reason I believe this idea is a good one is because it fits perfectly with the idea of counter play. Everyone likes to feel that the more they play a game, the better and more skilled they become. One way to negate this feeling is to deprive a character control of themself. For example, being rooted in place generally makes a player feel helpless. It sucks to get rooted and then killed while just spamming skills trying to escape. It helps to add skills which can allow you to break free from the stun or root that has ensnared you. It also facilitates skill because players will learn to react quicker to stuns/roots.
(Another idea I had which is far fetched, and would require some effort to design would be an extra skill dedicated to blocking. If you've played any of the super smash brothers Series you should be able to recall that you could pull out a kind of bubble shield that would block all attacks for a second or two. This might be just what Pocket Legends needs.)
Scaling Power Creep
In addition to the idea above, I also think it's important that power creep is scaled correctly. One way to do this in Pocket Legends, as people have been suggesting for years now, is to start scaling Mana and Health Points. It already scales a little bit with stats but I believe each set should have a lot of health or mana associated with it. For instance, a full strength set should give *as a set bonus* 150 health and 25 mana. A dex set should give *as a set bonus* 90 health and 90 mana. A full int set should give *as a set bonus* 150 mana and 25 health. These are just suggestions and may not be accurate, but the idea remains the same. We need more health and mages need more mana, which ultimately turns into health via mana shield. Fights shouldn't be as quick as a simple beckon and stomp.
Another way to help with power creep is to stop adding crit and dodge! This is probably the biggest and most urgent need of the game right now. I believe dodge should never be able to exceed 50 by any means, and crit should never exceed 75 by any means. This would require adjusting buffs appropriately and scaling down by a lot the dodge and crit obtained by wearing gear. Gear should be for armor and damage, but not for getting insane amounts of dodge and crit! Those are two luck factors which take away from the overall experience and simply give noobs too much power with their foo strategies.
Hit percentage is another element of power creep that has only slightly slipped into the game. Due to the fact that it can be dodged, and the fact that some classes with the right build can aquire more than enough to not worry about being debuffed means that power creep has taken it's toll. Anytime you don't have to worry about a particular stat, or compare it side by side with another stat to make an all important choice means build diversity has decreased, and, most likely skill needed to play as well.
One thing to be careful with while rebalancing this game is effecting twink levels too much. You want to fix endgame, but not at the expense of ruining all of the twink levels. A couple of tips from me would be to add a slight buff to the bird's focus skill which gives him about 15 damage at level 6 and 25 damage at level 9. (Birds have trouble dealing dps at twink levels) Then begin removing the dodge and crit from end game sets appropriately while adding damage and armor where it is needed.
The effect these changes should have, if done right, will be to:
1. Effectively increase the survival at end game (hp/mana increases) which will remove foo strategies effectiveness
2. Remove the massive luck factors which currently exist and make skill a more determining factor.
3. Give incentive for players to use their class specific gear (hp/mana increases with full set bonuses)
4. Allow for end game balance without effecting twinks too much.
Conclusion
Alright, now it's time to clean all of this up. Admittedly I didn't originally plan to write such a long thread or to suggest such big changes. I hoped I could just list a few specific stats that need changing and go from there but it seems that the problems with this game run deeper than just a surface fix. Of course an overall decrease on savage and plat packs might be nice, it simply won't balance the game.
It's not that the changes will be too difficult to implement. It's just that STS needs to change their approach on how to fix the problem. What I hope I have done is successfully identified the problem and proposed some solutions for how to get these issues under control.
To conclude, we need to reduce power creep by scaling crit and dodge appropriately while allowing armor, health, mana, and damage to continue to grow as intended with each new cap. This will facilitate a growth in power while still maintaining the same balanced pvp gameplay at each level range.
We need to allow Incomparables to take their full effect allowing skillful strategy to pay off higher in the end than foo strategies. With any luck, this may even start to solve the issue of level caps being so drastic. Just imagine the day when death set is actually viable against glyph. It seems crazy but with enough Incomparables, it isn't as crazy of a thought as it may seem.
Well that's about it. Let me know what you think, guys! Would this balance the game? Is it an easy enough fix for STS? Let's discuss in the comments! Please try and stay on topic and do not flame. If you don't have anything constructive to add, please just remain quiet and observe the discussions of others.
If I think of anything else to add, I'll edit it in later. I'm tired right now and need my sleep. :P
-MM
hai doods
Originally Posted by bearofaltera
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