10-13-2003, 12:37 PM
Well, D2 is another example of a class-based game. You have a few character classes to choose from, each with its own set of skills. In D2, the classes' skillsets are diverse enough to allow for, say, melee Sorceresses, but for whatever reason MMORPG's aren't nearly as flexible. In Dark Age of Camelot, for example, there are, at most, 3-4 ways to play any given class, and for many classes there is only one viable way to build a character.
In a skill-based game, on the other hand, you can pick and choose from a larger pool of skills. Imagine a character in D2 who attacked with Whirlwind and Vengeance, defended with Energy Shield and Oak Sage, and dropped a few extra points into Fire Golem for a minion. Skill-based games tend to be more flexible and more fun, with fewer cookie-cutter builds.
Things like classes and hit points were good ways of simplifying table-top RPG's so you weren't juggling a hundred character stats and rolling ten dice to swing a sword, but with computers we can do much better.
* Omni struggles with writer's block and gives up
In a skill-based game, on the other hand, you can pick and choose from a larger pool of skills. Imagine a character in D2 who attacked with Whirlwind and Vengeance, defended with Energy Shield and Oak Sage, and dropped a few extra points into Fire Golem for a minion. Skill-based games tend to be more flexible and more fun, with fewer cookie-cutter builds.
Things like classes and hit points were good ways of simplifying table-top RPG's so you weren't juggling a hundred character stats and rolling ten dice to swing a sword, but with computers we can do much better.
* Omni struggles with writer's block and gives up