07-11-2003, 12:14 PM
Like Warblade, I've had the occasion to give some of my ideas on the matter elsewhere.
But, those were specifics, so here are my general thoughts about synergies.
The key point is that, like any other aspect of the game, they're part of a whole. Synergies imo cannot be treated independantly from the rest of the game.
So the first thing to consider is: what do you want the final product to be like?
What follows is my answer to that question.
- I don't care about PvP, so that aspect isn't a concern for me.
- For a mod, I'm mainly concerned about single-player, so MP aspects like skill combinations with other partied players and trading amongst players are not part of the equation.
"Balance" is for me the most important aspect of the game. It's the key to its replayability. I don't view Diablo as a kind of riddle game where you have to find the ultimate character build. I want most builds to be equivalent in their ability to beat the game, which makes trying them all a renewed experience every time.
But with 7 character classes and 210 skills, with 20 ranks per skill, balancing the game is hard enough. That's why I started with saying that single-player (and thus PvM) are my concerns: that's scaling down the dfficulty of balancing the game by one factor.
Now, what kind of builds do I want to see "balanced"?
Builds with 2-4 skills maxed.
Again, if a character with slvl 2 in every single skill isn't competitive in Hell mode, I don't care about that.
I'm also not concerned with builds which are "flawed": if a player chooses purely defensive skills only, I'll turn a deaf ear to his complaining about not killing monsters fast enough.
So, I want all kinds of "reasonnable" builds relying on several maxed skills to be equally challenging. No "cookie-cutters", no "perfect answers".
I also want them balanced throughout the game.
So monsters stats and items available are part of the equation.
Character progression is also a key factor: if say, a character can be at lvl 50 still in normal act 5, or anywhere in nightmare, or starting hell mode, then the job of balancing the skills is going to be a lot harder.
So I'd put hard caps on the level a character can be at a given location in the game.
With those goals in mind, there are two ways of using "synergies":
1- The "easy" way:
Pre-determine a certain number of different builds for each character class, and use the synergies to make the skills used in those builds to reinforce one another.
That way, synergies are used to smooth the character's "power" over the game.
My problem with that solution is that it restricts a lot the number of "viable" builds. So...
2- The "hard" way:
Allow a lot more equally "viable" builds.
That implies making each skill equally interesting on its own.
Use synergies to add more effects (or reinforce secondary effects) to the skills, not to boost their main effect.
Such a solution is a lot harder to balance, especially for direct damage skills: Firebolt can be maxed by level 20. How to avoid making it overpowered in normal mode and underpowered in Hell?
There are solutions to that problem, but I don't know if they can be modded in (for instance, use the character level in the damage output formula, or base damage on the orb/staff used, or only allow skill points to be invested in the same skill every three levels, etc...).
Example: The Hydra Sorc
- Under the "easy" way, it could be decided that a Hydra Sorc is based on Warmth, Fire Mastery, Firebolt, and Hydra.
Fire mastery and Firebolt would give a damage bonus to Hydra.
Warmth would reduce the mana cost and make them last longer.
- Under the "hard" way, it could be decided that hydras use whatever skill was selected on the left button at the time they were cast. So you could have your hydras spew forth firebolts, or fireballs, or glacial spikes, or chain lightning, etc... The hydra skill itself would determine how long each hydra lasts, and how many hydras can be up at the same time, while the Firebolt / Fireball / etc.. level would be used to determine the spell level used by the Hydras (1/3 or 1/2 for instance).
But, those were specifics, so here are my general thoughts about synergies.
The key point is that, like any other aspect of the game, they're part of a whole. Synergies imo cannot be treated independantly from the rest of the game.
So the first thing to consider is: what do you want the final product to be like?
What follows is my answer to that question.
- I don't care about PvP, so that aspect isn't a concern for me.
- For a mod, I'm mainly concerned about single-player, so MP aspects like skill combinations with other partied players and trading amongst players are not part of the equation.
"Balance" is for me the most important aspect of the game. It's the key to its replayability. I don't view Diablo as a kind of riddle game where you have to find the ultimate character build. I want most builds to be equivalent in their ability to beat the game, which makes trying them all a renewed experience every time.
But with 7 character classes and 210 skills, with 20 ranks per skill, balancing the game is hard enough. That's why I started with saying that single-player (and thus PvM) are my concerns: that's scaling down the dfficulty of balancing the game by one factor.
Now, what kind of builds do I want to see "balanced"?
Builds with 2-4 skills maxed.
Again, if a character with slvl 2 in every single skill isn't competitive in Hell mode, I don't care about that.
I'm also not concerned with builds which are "flawed": if a player chooses purely defensive skills only, I'll turn a deaf ear to his complaining about not killing monsters fast enough.
So, I want all kinds of "reasonnable" builds relying on several maxed skills to be equally challenging. No "cookie-cutters", no "perfect answers".
I also want them balanced throughout the game.
So monsters stats and items available are part of the equation.
Character progression is also a key factor: if say, a character can be at lvl 50 still in normal act 5, or anywhere in nightmare, or starting hell mode, then the job of balancing the skills is going to be a lot harder.
So I'd put hard caps on the level a character can be at a given location in the game.
With those goals in mind, there are two ways of using "synergies":
1- The "easy" way:
Pre-determine a certain number of different builds for each character class, and use the synergies to make the skills used in those builds to reinforce one another.
That way, synergies are used to smooth the character's "power" over the game.
My problem with that solution is that it restricts a lot the number of "viable" builds. So...
2- The "hard" way:
Allow a lot more equally "viable" builds.
That implies making each skill equally interesting on its own.
Use synergies to add more effects (or reinforce secondary effects) to the skills, not to boost their main effect.
Such a solution is a lot harder to balance, especially for direct damage skills: Firebolt can be maxed by level 20. How to avoid making it overpowered in normal mode and underpowered in Hell?
There are solutions to that problem, but I don't know if they can be modded in (for instance, use the character level in the damage output formula, or base damage on the orb/staff used, or only allow skill points to be invested in the same skill every three levels, etc...).
Example: The Hydra Sorc
- Under the "easy" way, it could be decided that a Hydra Sorc is based on Warmth, Fire Mastery, Firebolt, and Hydra.
Fire mastery and Firebolt would give a damage bonus to Hydra.
Warmth would reduce the mana cost and make them last longer.
- Under the "hard" way, it could be decided that hydras use whatever skill was selected on the left button at the time they were cast. So you could have your hydras spew forth firebolts, or fireballs, or glacial spikes, or chain lightning, etc... The hydra skill itself would determine how long each hydra lasts, and how many hydras can be up at the same time, while the Firebolt / Fireball / etc.. level would be used to determine the spell level used by the Hydras (1/3 or 1/2 for instance).