Interesting read.
"Dodoo," chimes the game, subtly announcing to the whole player base of World of Warcraft that I've turned on Perception (an ability to see stealth classes). Rogues scurry away into hiding, only to re-emerge 20 seconds later to Cheapshot or Ambush.
On the other side of the fence, Warlocks keel over and die as Undead players turn on Will of the Forsaken, making the race immune to the class's primary form of attack for the next 20 seconds (no sound effect telling the world, too). Teen libido magnet Succubus stands idly by as Rogues mash the squishy spellcasting class into oblivion.
Oh class balance oh class balance, wherefore art thou class balance?
Bad class balancing has been an endemic problem to MMORPGs--unfortunately especially in games where PvP is a major component. Dark Age of Camelot tanked the usability of the original classes with the emergence of Vampiirs in the ill-reputed Catacombs expansion. Users were incensed when Creature Handlers ruled the universe in Star Wars Galaxies--then angered even more when the class was beat down with the nerf bat in subsequent patches. Class disarray continued for SWG: Tera Kasis then ruled with their Vibroknucklers until the ingenius inclusion of Jedis ...who then littered the landscape in time when Jedi's were supposedly hunted to extinction (Vader has been too busy sipping Galactic Grande Lattes in the Emperor's Retreat in Naboo).
Solutions to bad class balance have usually been equally tragic, and are usually seen in two forms:
1) Make every class equal in abilities: The easiest way to go, it also makes the gameplay generic. SWG's long-delayed combat upgrade has been reeling from this issue--although Carbineers are no longer powerless against Riflemen, the simplification of the HAM system means class roles have been dumbed down.
2) Nerf the overpowered class: Often having devastating results, developers make crippling changes to a class (otherwise known as "nerfing") in a haphazard effort to make the game more balanced with respect to other classes. Sounds fine on paper, but short-sighted revisions have drastic consequences, sometimes destroying the viability of the class altogether.
At the heart of the issue is the devaluation of game testing. For example, Blizzard changed the whole Paladin class two weeks before Beta testing ended--and three weeks before launch. To this day, minimal changes have been made to the class, keeping intact the horribly disorganized talent tree and diverse array of useless judgments that only serve as mana sinks. While Blizzard did finally redeem the warrior and druid classes with fixes, the company seems "satisfied" with the paladin class, in spite of its jarring shortcomings. Although not underpowered in groups, the paladin class has effectively morphed into a cleric class, helpless when traveling alone. Meanwhile, Shamans have been ruling the Battlegrounds, who despite being the supposed caster hybrid, also has the most potent melee abilities of any hybrid.
Balancing is especially critical in the subscription-based MMORPG market, where longevity is more crucial than initial sales for revenue. While Blizzard will likely continue to see high subscription numbers in the near future (especially with of the launch of WoW in China), the relative simplicity of its classes when compared to other games (Guild Wars, EQ) may only amplify class balance discontent within the community.
"Reroll," say the cold onlookers. Not so coincidentally, Undead Rogues menace the ganking fields of WoW.
http://gamepro.com/gamepro/domestic/gam ... 5869.shtml
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