The Daily Grind: Make your own kind of music

by Eliot Lefebvre Oct 20th 2009 at 8:00AM

Filed under: Classes, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, The Daily Grind

The optimal ways to play are pretty easy to find, these days. If you didn't have several dozen sites with forums, guides, and other tricks to let you know exactly what the best approach to a given game might be, many players will also be very helpful in offering their advice. (Often they'll offer it repeatedly, whether you want it or not, with little regard for phrasing or whether or not they even know the subject well.) Naturally, if you want to play the game at your best, you should be reading these guides and tricks and deviating as little as possible.

For some of us, of course, that's exactly why we've disregarded everything the guides say.

When you play an MMO, do you try and make your character optimal, or do you throw all caution to the wind and grab whatever you want? Do you play undervalued classes or use skills generally considered sub-par just because you like working up to the challenge? Do you like trying to crack a new build that no one else will realize the strength of for a while? What are your little ways of rebelling against the "correct" way to play and build your character, if you have them?

Tags: classes, game-mechanics, opinion, skills, tdg, the-daily-grind, tips-and-tricks

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

davie_90 said on 9:10AM 10-20-2009

I don't rebel against the norm much. Usually just go for the 'best' or 'optimal' spec/class build.

If I do though, i'll just experiment for fun in a no-consequences environment (ie. battlegrounds with a dual spec)

Vulturion said on 10:14AM 10-20-2009

I pick my classes on superficial reasoning (can be male, good model, good-looking gear), and I don't bother with build guides etc. because - let's be honest - MMOs are very seldom complicated anymore.
Outside of Guild Wars, I'm struggling to think of a game where 'build' doesn't just equate to choosing mastery path 1,2 or 3!

That said, I am a bit of an efficiency-bunny; if it is obvious that my choices are unacceptably under-effective compared to alternatives then I'll probably start over - but hoping that the devs bring my first choice back in to line eventually.

Crying Reaper said on 10:45AM 10-20-2009

I tend to go agenst to the norm a bit in EVE Online (curently the only mmorpg I play). While most everyone I know that does pve (missions mainly) in the well liked Caldari Raven (and it's various spin offs) class battleship I just can't bring myself to do as everyone else is doing. So I went agenst a lot of peoples personal choice and whent for an Amarr Navy Apocalypse. I personally love the ship to no end even though it does limit (currently with my skills) just what type of npcs I can shoot and kill.

eddie said on 11:01AM 10-20-2009

I like to play however strikes my fancy, and I have fun figuring out ways to make it work. I was one of the pioneers of the bard class when Everquest launched and we were all working out how to use the glitchy mechanics of the class to make it functional.

The saddest day in MMOs for me was when I was playing WoW and my guild browbeat me into switching to an "approved" build if I were going to continue raiding.

Peer pressure to conform in a make-believe fantasy world is depressing...

Duke said on 11:19AM 10-20-2009

I usually roll whatever floats my boat and work through the builds. It doesn't bother me if it isn't the most powerful class or race as long as I'm having fun. For the most part, it is a character that isn't played or one that is equipped differently then the norm. i.e. my Guild Wars days being a Warrior with a Hammer. Don't get me wrong; I still strive to maximize my character but I don't stress out about it too much.

Enaris said on 12:49PM 10-20-2009

Interesting question. As more of an RPer, I'm honestly more interested in the character's concept, than class or the like. (This is how I ended up with a Graf/FF Controller in CoH :D)

Beyond that, while I might look at guides and the like for a few ideas, and will talk with buddies about what does and doesn't work, I avoid pre-built characters like the plague. Why?

One of my other gaming backgrounds is 4X type games, and for a number of years, I was highly active in the community for the game Stars!. If you're not familiar with it, it has an extremely powerful and flexible race editor, where you can create your own race, setting various strengths and weaknesses, what the growth rate is, what planets it can live on, the economy and the like. As you'd imagine, there were a number of guides on how to build the "perfect" race... and people would play them, and frankly, not do well with them. Why not? Because, they didn't understand them. They didn't understand the concepts behind the race build, the comprimises that were made, and the like.

I think often taking "uber" premade builds does much the same. My approach to character building is the good old school of hard knocks. I get in the game, use the character, use the powers, figure out what works for me, and adapt my playstyle to it. Do they end up being "approved" designs? Probably not, (though, I'm not sure, as I never look at the "good" designs..heh).

It does help that I've never been in a hardcore raiding guild in any of my games, and frankly, that play style doesn't interest me.

dudemanjac said on 1:53PM 10-20-2009

I rue the day I started looking at guides as I got nearer and nearer to 70 in WoW. I think hitting 70 actually made me not like it anymore. Having to have this or that build to be viable in pvp or raiding got to be a real hassle.

Ppl told me that the fire build in Champions was busted. I picked it on purpose to prove them wrong. He's not my favorit character (my dark rules) be he is by no means a chump.

I think my play style leans toward long range AOE special effects extravaganzas. Give me a newer prettier way to shoot someone and I'm there. I also like keeping ppl off their feet (thank you Pyre).

Chris said on 6:56PM 10-20-2009

I have to admit I follow the advice pretty strictly. I did so especially when it came to my tanking paladin in WoW. One "wrong" talent could mean the difference between the raid downing the boss or wiping repeatedly. Not only was the build sacrosanct so was the skill rotation. Tankadins had that shit down to a science.

While that did make you feel like a monkey pushing buttons by rote it did have the desired effect of downing the boss and making the raid happy.

That said, I do try to look for games that allow for more than one optimal build that shall not be deviated from. And, on occasion, I roll a character that's just fun for me. My DDO characters are absolutely not optimal. They're just fun.

Ultimately it depends on whether or not I have a whole group of people depending on me to not fuck up. In a WoW raid more often than not as the raid leader, you're carrying the load for a number of your more than optimal players so deviation can't even be a consideration.

I suppose that's one element that got me to stop playing WoW.