#57
by Caliban
There is are multiple threads about how each class is broken and neglected. It is useful, for me at least, read those and consider what is true across all those threads and why. I assume people are talking about something real and do know what they are talking about.
My Mage has some sigils and is not 30/30 or anything yet. Sigils make no difference at all in combat and only effect the downtime between fights. Running out of energy in a fight is an entirely different matter and completely unaffected by sigils. So there are two different conversations. In combat energy and how to manage that, and leveling your Mage and how to handle that.
The main theme I notice across classes has to do with the OW plateau that occurs. Mages discovered (mancandy, mdimarco, etc.) that we begin to experience diminishing returns for stat investment at about 180 and a more noticeable plateau at 350. This means that builds heavily investing in a single skill prior to OW experience a much larger positive effect. Essentially up to Eyes in OW we are still pretty powerful compared to mobs, in PvE. After that it seems as if the mobs continue to scale the same way, but the player builds, particularly those focusing on a single stat, do not. I do not think this means the classes are broken. I think it is intentional.
The result is that it is quite easy to solo this game up until eyes. After that point a completely different play style is required. After that point the effectiveness of builds is greater from builds that invest in multiple stats, because you can really hit 350 in some single stat and still have some vit around 100-ish. Grouping beckmes more or less required, or at least certainly much more effective, when you think across classes in a collaborative way. This is a main difference. Is my class competing with other classes or collaborating with other classes? Your answer to that question has a great effect on how you feel about your class.
For example, instead of thinking of my toon as a stand alone, i must begin to think in terms of a team dynamic. This allows for continued soecialization, even with the plateua, or for generalized builds meant to work in a team. My own feeling is that many people fail to recognize what is happening and adjust accordingly. I see no reason why people would assume that we should be able to play through the entire game, including leveling, using the same builds and styles that work up until OW. Players get 'trained' into a solo play style. Consider if the game required grouping from the very beginning, as has been the case in many mmo's, then players would have a very different set of expectations and so a very different set of complaints.
Personally I like that this happens, but I am apparently in the minority on this. I enjoy games that require me to think about more complex dynamics beyond straight dps, etc. in order to get good at the game. No big deal. People have been talking about getting 'locked into' or being forced to play some build or another. In my experience this one of the most flexible build systems I have ever seen. There are many things you can do with all the classes, mages most of all, IMO. It is my feeling that OTM has dropped in some 'fixes' that are not meant to address or change underlying dynamics leading to all these complaint threads. An example is the embermane horses in the Lava.
Anyway, just one voice as I said.
