I am aware of this fact.

Then I must have missed something in your last post.

I said "eventually." It was an exaggeration and not referring to the current state of affairs. Also we should probably take this to PMs.

(Here's where I was reading about it if anyone wants to check it out.)

Gotcha.

I'm on the poster, too!

I really enjoyed reading that article.

It puts all the people who scream bloody murder after a nerf or a buff into a nice "do not listen to" category.

One thing I found particularly interesting was how important the author said it was to remove god tiers. God tiers, as defined by the writer:

God tier (no character should be in this tier, if they are, you are forced to play them to be competitive)

Yet we have a 'god tier' here, programmed into the game and fully endorsed by the administration. This isn't to say that playing a 'god character' means you will never lose, a person who is very inexperienced or just bad at the game would still lose to someone who is experienced, but if you want to be competitive at the top level, you are forced to play a god character, or settle for being second best in such situations.

I was pondering this earlier today before reading the article, and one of the first things I thought of was Team Fortress 2. For anyone unfamiliar, it is a class-based, team based FPS. It reminds me a lot of Lusternia since group combat is such a focus here. In Team Fortress 2, each class has a certain role they play on the team, and every class is counterable by another class. For example, the heavy is insane at mid-range fighting, but he is bulky with a large hit box and an easy target for snipers. Pyro's will own him at very close range, unless the heavy has a medic curing him the whole time. TF2 is known for being one of the most beautifully balanced games in existence at the moment.

And I couldn't help but think how ridiculous it would sound if Valve wanted to introduce a mechanic so that if you dedicate 400+ hours into doing a mindless activity, you get increased stats, health regeneration, etc. It would never fly, but no one has to worry about it because they would never do it.

Just makes me wonder why Iron Realms games have these mechanics in place. It is balance suicide. I think I remember reading a post once by Matt Mihaly that said Dragon's on Achaea were going to be a "poor man's artifact." The only problem with that is that people can get dragon and still buy artifacts. Iron Realms games already have enough inherent issues with balance due to the pay-for-perks system; people who spend more money will always have a more powerful character to play as. Most games do not work that way. I can't spend more money on Gears of War to increase the speed of my chainsaw. I can't spend more money on TF2 and get a shield that will completely absorb 15% of things that hit me.

But IRE is a commercial business, and this is how it operates. If not for this, it wouldn't exist at all. I'm fine with that, since they do offer other methods of obtaining these items other than money.

But level 100 combat-related perks have never made sense to me. Letting people who achieve such a level have RP related things, or just "cool" things would seem more logical.

In the end this isn't going to change, but most people, including me, have neither the time nor inclination to try and get level 100. So I guess I'll settle for playing a Zappa in a game where I can't unlock Justice. At least I get the cool factor when I do manage to win.

They should offer a 'free level' artifact... I'd totally spend 1000 credits to skip from 99 -> 100.


-hint-

Rave for Anisu for always being amazing and always tolerating the wifey & her fits

And rave/condolences for Wuy for always putting up with Reiha's rudeness.

And a Rave to you for your greatness and for making me happy

Long 'back in my day' discussions with Raguel. You know they're good when they make you feel old IRL.

Rave for the intense domoth battle.

So how's your willpower now?

Even if it wasn't for very long.

touch chessboard

You touch the Chess Board of Libertas and its resplendent golden glow washes
over you, giving you an overwhelming sense of exhilaration and well-being as its
power regenerates you.

It's probably full now. Why do you ask?

She's still there right now.

Thoros ran out of willpower while claiming. But that domoth fight was intense. Shuyin's telling me to stop being a domoth fight magnet.

When are you going for the Crown?

Right, but she said she was just there to spend Yeralih's money. I took that to mean it's a one-off visit. I can't rave about it IC, so I wanted to make note of it here.

Have to go for the orb first!

Shikha. She has the ability to make life so much nicer just by patience and pleasant interaction.