Time for a poll. (The subject is abuse)

[Sombre]

I'm sorry I don't buy that in the slightest. There's nothing particularly unconventional about dominions at its core and it isn't so varied or complex that you can't work towards balance. Balancing increases replay value not by making all elements the same, but by ensuring different elements can effectively be used and different paths explored. Certain elements need to be improved, certain others need to be weakened.

You talk about what is 'easier' as if that is what will be done. Yes, the easiest way to balance the game is to make all sides the same, all maps the same, all spells the same. But no-one is suggesting that and it isn't going to happen. The kind of balancing that we're realistically talking about is the fixing of the overpowered and, judging from what happened with LA Abysia, MA Mictlan, LA and MA Ulm etc, addition and boosting of national units and spells.

Beyond that the main balancing movement is CBM, which again aims to increase variety through balancing, toning down the overpowered and boosting the weak. Is that in your opinion heading towards a less varied game with restricted replay value?


I personally haven't been part of a game that's been 'ruined' by balancing. Even when people describe these 'horror story' examples of balancing from other games I rarely have much sympathy. I remember a friend telling me about some online WW2 shooter where far and away the best weapon was the shotgun, which everyone used. So people banned 'shotgun whoring' on certain servers and there was a backlash of people complaining that if everyone could pick the shotgun it was fair. Then the makers of the game toned down the shotgun so it wasn't obviously better than all the other guns. My friend quit in disgust. Why? I guess because he liked killing people with the shotgun who hadn't worked out it was the only weapon worth picking. I'm not saying MoD/SoW is the 'shotgun' here, just talking about balancing and fixing in general. To me a game where the elements are different but equally effective (if you use them correctly, in the correct context) is far more interesting than one where a handful of elements are simply more effective. Especially when those elements are flat out cheesy like MoD/SoW, or in some other game, spamming stuff on a spawn point or doorway. Clearly fun for some people, but not at all for me. Looks bad, plays bad, is bad.