Greatest MMO features that somehow never got copied

[Azrayne]

Originally Posted by Mithrull

DAoC: Leveling items

Ewwwwwww. Not only did you have to go to absurd lengths to farm the scrolls, then the artifact itself, then get the credit for the encounter, but you also had to level the item from 1 - 10 (probably off some obscure mobs in some stupid location) before you could use it... No thanks. Nevar again.

[Desidero]

I admit I didn't read through all 26 pages, so hopefully it hasn't been said:
EQ: Loot that doesn't bind to you.

[Zehn - Vhex]

Originally Posted by Desidero

I admit I didn't read through all 26 pages, so hopefully it hasn't been said:
EQ: Loot that doesn't bind to you.

You also didn't read the thread as that has been copied by several mmo's.

[Froofy-D]

Originally Posted by Agraza

NOTHING is better than ding. I long for that sound everytime my character levels up, in any game.

Here's a comparison of most popular MMOG ding sounds:

The DORK Club [Ding! The Sound of Progress!]

Can dl them as mp3's too. Great article.

[Agraza]

That was awesome. Ding on command. It makes me feel like I achieved something. I need that sound on my oven timer, or something.

[I'm Rich Bitch]

Game Update #38, September 12th, 2007

There is a new Appearance tab in the Inventory window. Items worn here will not convey benefits, but will override what people see on your character.

[Eonan]

Originally Posted by I'm Rich Bitch

Game Update #38, September 12th, 2007

Agreed

[Itzena]

Didn't LOTRO copy that, though?

[Wash]

Originally Posted by Ashes Emberblade

Any game (I'm looking at you AoC) that doesn't copy VG's cast while moving mechanic should be ashamed. I'll never play another caster without it.

As in cast a spell while running around? No.

That's one of the few things that most MMOs have kept constant despite all their differences (EQ to DAoC to WoW), and I think it's a good thing. It's one of the fundamental differences between casters and melee: melee can do all of their stuff on the fly because they're all like Mary Lou Retton, and as a caster, in exchange for great power, you've gotta stand there like a meerkat looking at the horizon, wearing your cloth that barely covers your baby-soft body, while you do your magic thing.

I like it because it's a subtle way to handle game balance. Everyone is always thinking about armor stats and hitpoints and mana and all that, but, restricting the movement of the player while he does something is a subtle and powerful mechanic that usually goes unnoticed.

I like it because it takes away from the numbers game, too. You can add up all your armor stats, hps/mana, whatever, but little things like a caster having to stand still while he casts give another level to it. Not only are you weak and scrawny, but you've gotta stand still for 10 seconds before your bomb goes off and if you screw up the timing, you're toast, so you better not screw up the timing. But if you do do it right you're gonna blow something up. Satisfaction of a job well done.

What I'm trying to say is I think you're wrong.

[Ninajrr]

I disagreed with pretty much every single thing the above post said.

[Wash]

Originally Posted by Ninajrr

I disagreed with pretty much every single thing the above post said.

That was a stupid thing to say and you're stupid for saying it.

[Draz]

Originally Posted by Wash

That was a stupid thing to say and you're stupid for saying it.

And your stupid for saying what you said LOL. If you happened to even know what you were talking about, and maybe played the game he was referring to, you would know that you dont run at full speed while casting. You slow to a crawl basically. But your still allowed to move, and moving doesnt instantlly interrupt casting. But thats ok, That was a stupid thing to say, and you're stupid for saying it!

[Duppin]

If you don't like Vanguard's cast-while-moving mechanic, you hate America.

That's really all there is to it.

[Wash]

Originally Posted by Duppin

If you don't like Vanguard's cast-while-moving mechanic, you hate America.

But I kinda do =/ I live here and stuff, but that's just because everyone I know is here and I have nowhere else to go.

Ultimately it's about what your vision of an RPG is. When I picture a caster running around and doing his stuff at the same time, that's basically like an overpowered Ranger to me (instead of arrows, you're shooting spells). I like the old fashioned rules that separate melees and casters.

I like the drawbacks of a caster as much as their power. To change that you'd have to redefine what a caster is. That's fine as long as your game is balanced around it.

For example, cast-while-running would never work in EQ or WoW-- it would just be crazy overpowered. So if you're going to change it, you've got to redefine everything else about casters. If you're a game designer and you know what you're doing, go for it, but you're walking a tightrope and you're going to have to redefine what a caster is in your game.

[Valishar]

Originally Posted by Wash

It's one of the fundamental differences between casters and melee: melee can do all of their stuff on the fly because they're all like Mary Lou Retton, and as a caster, in exchange for great power, you've gotta stand there like a meerkat looking at the horizon, wearing your cloth that barely covers your baby-soft body, while you do your magic thing.

In most of the MMO's I've played, being a caster isn't more powerful than being a melee. Their damage is more or less similar in MMOs, and both are usually given tricks (snares,stuns,etc) and limitations (cooldowns,reagents,etc). It's not like earlier versions of DnD, where your level 20 mage is a demigodlike force of nature and your level 20 fighter hum drum. The only significant difference is that caster = long range, melee = close range. The caster is squishy because he already has an environmental defense, it's the fact that the mob has to walk over to you to hit you. While a melee character has no distance buffer so his mitigation and avoidance is higher to be able to take hits. This is why the idea of a mana bar is so embedded in the design decisions. Since they get damaged with every fight melee have to refresh the hp bar as part of downtime, casters can get by without worrying so much about hps since if they're played right they don't get hit often. So to compensate they're given a bar to manage as well, a blue bar! Which essentially serves the same purpose, it adds downtime. So basically any "great power" they supposedly have, it's illusory.

When I picture a caster running around and doing his stuff at the same time, that's basically like an overpowered Ranger to me (instead of arrows, you're shooting spells)

That's exactly how casters are implemented in MMO's, they're rangers in robes. Or rather, you could say rangers are casters with arrows.