When I first began playing
MMOGs in the early 21st century I entered Everquest without
a single clue as to what I was doing or what I was supposed to be doing.
I spent about three hours killing skeletons and snakes outside of the
Dwarven city, and dying repeatedly because I couldnt grasp why I
had to stay close to that area and not go venturing out on my own.
I was a noob for the lack of a better term. Heck by most
accounts, I would probably still be a noob today. But I had fun
then, even with my lack of knowledge.
As time went on, I learned more and more
about game mechanics in Everquest, and especially with World of Warcraft,
my first true love of the genre. I learned what stats boosted
what skills, and what gear I needed to achieve the highest amount of
damage against the dastardly trolls in Stranglethorn Vale. The
game became less about just playing, and more about playing well
about using my character to his fullest potential.
Ive been both types of player this
editorial seeks to address. Ive been the Conceptual Creator,
leveling a character and designing his skills and gear based on my imagination
with little regard to what is best. My hunter in WoW (yep,
a noob hunter) used a staff as his melee weapon for the longest time.
Ive also been the Min-Maxer with three different sets of gear in
my bags for different combat situations. Ive written out my
desired stats and used search engines to find the best gear possible
for that outcome. But is there a better way to play?
Does it really matter if you have the optimal build if youre having
fun whatever way you play?
In Champions Online, this disparity between
play-styles seems more pronounced than in most games on the market today.
The reasoning behind this is pretty simple: the character creator in
Champions allows you to do precisely whatever you want. You can
be a werewolf clown with the powers of fire, ice, and giant laser-beams
coming out of your eyeballs if you feel like thats the way you want
to play.
But there are folks who would see such
a way of playing as folly. They would advise you to stick to one
or two power sets at the most, and to pick this advantage or this super-stat
because they lead to having the most reliable damage output in the game.
Theyll tell you that picking a super-stat that doesnt coincide
with your main power-set is crazy talk
and while that it may be,
it doesnt mean that theres only one way to do things.
Fair enough, in CO those players that
focus on doing whats optimum will generally have an easier time in
their fights, but the same could be said of any game. Those players
who focus on getting the right gear and the right skills are always
going to have it easier than those who are reaching towards a certain
build concept. But those players that prefer to use their imagination
and creativity in the creation of their heroes will be plenty viable
as well. Now, Im not advising anyone to overdo it and pick
one power from every set. In that case, there is no real concept and
certainly no min-maxing. But I think its worth mentioning that
I currently have a Supernatural/Strength hero with a Super Dexterity
and Super Constitution thats doing just fine and Im really only
building on the concept of a werewolf with some vampire-like powers.
I even defeated Foxbat in the news studio
just fine the other day
with thanks to Resurgence (healing powers
are smart no matter who you are). There is no real wrong way to
play Champions Online. Before the now infamous launch day patch,
Im sure it was much easier to just make your character in any old
way you wanted without much forethought. Now the games gotten
a bit more difficult, but Wolfenstein (thats me) is proof that you
can build on a concept and still succeed in kicking bad guy butt.
The moral of the story is simple.
If you want to build your character in the most efficient way possible,
go for it. If you want to make your hero a hybrid of three different
power sets based on an idea you had in the 3rd grade for
a comic book, then do it. And heck, you might even find some synergies
between sets that make such a character a joy to play. Dont
listen to anyone telling you how to play your hero. The choice
is yours, and there is no wrong choice.
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our Champions Online Game Page.