Offense vs Defense

[Concillian]

Now, if we do decide to change +damage system from +spell damage to %damage, adjustable by level, such as the current rating systems, I don't see much difference between these two systems (well, there are some). And honestly, I'd rather prefer static +damage and at least do the same damage at 70 as I do at 60, rather than actually losing damage every time you level up if you don't buy a new rank of the spell, because %damage gear scaled back on me.

"Losing damage" as you level up is a little bit of a misconception with the 'rating' based system. You still do the same amount of damage to the same opponent as when you were 60. It decreases only when your opponent's level increases, which makes a lot of sense, really.

This was true for many stats before the rating system was implemented. Armor, for example. If you show at something like 45% DR at level 60, you'll mitigate very significantly more than that if you start running Wailing Caverns or The Deadmines.

The rating system is a necessary fix to bring the +x% modifiers back into line with the normal stat bonuses like +agility, armor, etc... that already scaled in exactly the same way as the 'ratings'. I think the rating system is very clean, it just needs a page in the spellbook or character sheet that mentions what rating = what % at various opponent levels.