Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

In a skill-based game without classes, how do you begin to differentiate between the skills of individual group members in order to make sure you field a balanced group? That's the challenge Cryptic is addressing with the just-announced "roles" system. Basically, group members will assign themselves roles such as "melee" or "support." Players can switch roles as often as they like, but the incentive for choosing a role that matches one's playstyle is a buff to a needed stat for that role (and a slight de-buff to a less important stat for that role). For example, a brick that chooses a melee role would get more hit points at a slight cost to his endurance (needed for certain superhero abilities). It's an elegant solution to a complex problem, and we look forward to hearing more about it in the future.

The roles system is just one topic we discussed with Game Designer Aaron Safronoff. Learn where the game is at on the road to beta, what gives Champions Online its distinctive look, what prompted the recent addition of exclamation bubbles (i.e. Wham! Biff! a la 1960s Batman), and much more in this 10 minute interview from Leipzig GC!