Just sent this off to Brad and Smedley... was hoping that if
others felt as I do, we could continue to work them in a similar
manner.
Mr. McQuaid,
I have just finished reading your rather long and impassioned
eMail/Producer letter on the topic of Everquest's evolution. I found
it to be one of the most effective communications from any game
company to its customers that I have ever read, and for that I
congratulate you. I hope that people read it, think about it, and
take away from it that which you intended: that the EQ team cares
deeply about Norrath and its citizens.
As a software developer myself (although truthfully, I don't
do as much actual development as I'd like any more - I tend to spend
more time in the design and management process these days), I also
understand that there must be a primary focus to every project. For
me, this doesn't necessarily mean that the primary goal be "create
the best possible system"... it goes beyond that to a deeper goal:
"Make sure that the client is happy". Sometimes this involves
difficult and painful decisions, Herculean efforts, and the ability
to case aside profit considerations at times in order to fight for
what is ultimately the best way to solve any given problem.
I suspect that you and your team have a similar goal, except
yours would be to keep your subscriber base happy and to attract new
members to that subscriber base. Another parallel between what we do
is that our clients (or subscribers, in your case) don't always know
what it is that will truly make them happy or are at loggerheads
about what any particular change might do to forward that goal
(witness how many people cannot even agree on whether or not an item
on your recently released change list is a "+" or a "-".)
Most of us understand that tuning needs to take place. If
things were too easy, then there would be no challenge to life in
Norrath and therefore there would be little enjoyment of the
surmounting of those challenges. If one class is too powerful, a
surfeit of players using that class results, just as a underpowered
or less useful class suffers a dearth of interested participants.
The fact that it requires a group of people to do most worthwhile
things in EQ is one of the more attractive things about the game
(although there are of course those who would argue that this is also
one of its greatest downfalls). The fact that each and every class -
once it reaches maturity - can bring something unique to a group is a
wonderful and fragile thing. Adjusting the balance of the classes so
that their value to such a group is maintained is a task of
monumental delicacy, and your efforts at maintaining this balance
should be commended.
Unfortunately, as people are by definition human, mistakes
are occasionally made. Over time, the development team has
recognized some of these mistakes and have made efforts to address
them. By way of example, Warriors got some serious boosts some time
ago, and with the introduction of the expansion, the presence of a
Rogue in a well-rounded party will become very important indeed.
These were both well-considered and well-deserved changes, and the
players of those classes have (or will have) reaped the rewards of
these changes over the course of time.
Other classes who have been 'nerfed' may complain
vociferously about it, but if they go over those issues which
generated the most complaints (kiting, pet damage, etc) I think that
people will realize that while these changes were made to the
possible detriment of the solo player, they were certainly done to
enhance the value and necessity of other classes in a group. If this
was indeed your goal, then I must certainly say that your mission has
been accomplished.
With this in mind, I am still at a loss to explain why the
Feign Death skill for Monks was recently so seriously altered. I
understand your reasons for doing what you did, but the consequence
is that the usefulness of a Monk in higher-level (40+) groups has
been seriously compromised. True, we can do the damage of a
decently-equipped warrior, but that's it. The warrior offers so much
more to a group (stun, taunt, the ability to take huge amounts of
damage, etc) that the role of a monk has been diminished greatly.
The one thing that we could bring to a group - that of feign-pulling
- has for all practical purposes been eliminated and replaced with a
reputation for being the "Master Train Engineers". For this reason,
monks are beginning to be refused entry into impromptu groups because
they do not bring anything special and are often dangerous companions.
As a level 50 monk, I no longer use FD for fear that on those
occasions where it is necessary, I'll end up wiping out half the zone
as I get up to work my way back to a zone point. I would far rather
die individually than wipe out other innocent players in a ploy to
save my own skin - and have now done so on a number of occasions.
How has this change made your player base happier? How has
it enhanced the role of a Monk in a group? How has it positively
affected group dynamics? I really want to understand what the
desired affect of this change was... perhaps if I did, I could lose
the bitter taste in my mouth and not continually toy with the idea of
dropping out of Norrath in disappointment. As it is, I only stay so
that I can help twink up friends.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Norrath is an
impossible place to live in without Monks being able to Feign in
their accustomed fashion. Groups will just load up on more Warriors
or Paladins in their stead, and the more difficult areas of Norrath
that could previously be handled by a single well-organized and
balanced group will now have to be taken by multiple groups just
charging in willy-nilly with no plan more sophisticated than "kill
this one first, then that one, and if we're still left alive, we go
for that other one last."
I understand that your decision is made and that further
revision to the Feign Death mechanics is unlikely. I am not
therefore asking for you to do so - your team seems to be happy with
FD in its current form, and we as players should respect that and
make our own decisions accordingly. I just wanted to ask for a brief
explanation of the motivations behind this change and to also bring
again to your attention the fact that the balance you strive for is
an exceedingly delicate thing that is all to easily thrown out of
kilter by even the best-intentioned and well-discussed changes.
Thank you for your time.
--
Aaron Braunstein
Pacific Data Management, Inc.
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aaron_braunstein@...>