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<blockquote data-quote="thewok" data-source="post: 5437805" data-attributes="member: 60907">The comparison seems valid to me.&nbsp; Both are games that rely on math and random numbers to determine outcomes.&nbsp; The only real difference is that most MMOs keep the math secret, while tabletop RPGs have to keep it public.&nbsp; That math can be pristinely balanced, but the addition of even a single new item to the system can completely throw off the system and require changes.If you've played WoW (or EQ2, or pretty much any MMO) before, then you know that this is not the case.&nbsp; Balance passes are never handled seamlessly.&nbsp; The smallest changes might call for swapping one piece of gear for another, but, generally, updates and balancing require examination of a character as a whole to maintain effectiveness, and, at its worst, can cause people to completely reallocate stat/talent points or to completely stop playing an old character and start fresh with a new one.There was a time during Wrath of the Lich King when some people just stopped playing healing priests altogether simply because druids, paladins and shamans could heal better in any situation.&nbsp; I was forced to respec my Death Knight numerous times as the developers rebalanced the class, like the period of time when Unholy specs were completely unviable.I actually agree with this sentiment somewhat, but it's really a non-issue for me as I am a DDI subscriber (at least for the time being), but not a character optimizer (at least not like the guys on the CharOp forum).&nbsp; Updates to powers are fairly transparent to me for the most part.I actually think the changes in games like WoW are worse than those that have happened in 4E--at least in so far as disruption to the game goes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="thewok, post: 5437805, member: 60907"] The comparison seems valid to me. Both are games that rely on math and random numbers to determine outcomes. The only real difference is that most MMOs keep the math secret, while tabletop RPGs have to keep it public. That math can be pristinely balanced, but the addition of even a single new item to the system can completely throw off the system and require changes. If you've played WoW (or EQ2, or pretty much any MMO) before, then you know that this is not the case. Balance passes are never handled seamlessly. The smallest changes might call for swapping one piece of gear for another, but, generally, updates and balancing require examination of a character as a whole to maintain effectiveness, and, at its worst, can cause people to completely reallocate stat/talent points or to completely stop playing an old character and start fresh with a new one. There was a time during Wrath of the Lich King when some people just stopped playing healing priests altogether simply because druids, paladins and shamans could heal better in any situation. I was forced to respec my Death Knight numerous times as the developers rebalanced the class, like the period of time when Unholy specs were completely unviable. I actually agree with this sentiment somewhat, but it's really a non-issue for me as I am a DDI subscriber (at least for the time being), but not a character optimizer (at least not like the guys on the CharOp forum). Updates to powers are fairly transparent to me for the most part. I actually think the changes in games like WoW are [I]worse[/I] than those that have happened in 4E--at least in so far as disruption to the game goes. [/QUOTE]

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