Will Force users overpower non-Force users?
This was one of the questions asked during a Q&A session at PAX this weekend. You can read a transcript of the whole Q&A session here over at Darth Hater.
I wanted to focus on this question because if you’ve ever spent any amount of time playing a “traditional MMO” then you know that the answer to this question has to be a resounding no (and it was by the way).
In the movies and books, etc. Force users have superhuman abilities and thus have an advantage over most everyone else. The Old Republic is not a book or a movie, it’s an MMO, and the design goal is to have every class do equal DPS. What distinguishes one DPS from another is not the amount of damage they do, but the methods by which they deliver that damage. The same goes for healing and tanking as well.
Anytime you have a class or spec that is more powerful than the others, players will gravitate towards that class and play it almost exclusively. Class imbalance is the bane of every MMO developer, and it’s a constant battle that they will be fighting throughout the lifetime of this game.
As my podcasting partner once wrote about WoW, the goal of the developers isn’t to design the game you want, it’s to design the game you’ll play. An MMO where Force users or any class are stronger than the rest is a game that no one will play. One that is balanced and has a semblance of parity is one we’ll all enjoy.
May the Force be with you!
I think I understand now. In aiddtion to being listed as Likes, she was also listed as indifferent. I think this just means that some of the items in that category she’ll like, and some she wont care about.