Convince Me That I'm Wrong About RPGs

Recommended Videos

joshthor

New member
Aug 18, 2009
1,274
0
0
In my opinion, it really depends on the game. for instance, i think guild wars is a FANTASTIC example of how to make a game customizable. there isnt any one build that will be good at every situation, and there are multiple builds for every class for any givin situation you need to handle. there is no "right" or "wrong" way to do it. there are skills that mesh well together, and skills that clash. games like WoW are all about stat building and using skills in the right order at the right time. there is little strategy in a rpg like wow.

in traditional rpgs i perfer games the way bioware does it. i like my rpgs to focus my role of molding the story of my character. i dont need to spend hours calculating what the best stat is for what im doing. i wanna get into the game, feel powerful, while crafting an excellent story thats easy to follow.
 

SangRahl

New member
Feb 11, 2009
290
0
0
In every MMO and character customization driven RPG that allowed me, I've played an unconventional build... almost always a stealth-centric Rogue with emphasis on mobility and utility (versus the ever-common DPS power builds).

In WoW, I spent half my time defending my build against other players, and the other half running circles around them. Able to solo-complete quests 3-5 levels earlier than others, because I could sneak past elites of even and higher /con. By the time my guild was raiding, I was the guy scouting ahead of the raid, sapping patrols and allowing single-pulls when normal doctrine required blitzkrieg tactics and perfectly timed, coordinated movement. So what if I couldn't put out quadruple-digit damage per second... I could hunt and lock down the opposing force's rogues with alarming regularity (mostly playing a game of "If I were going to sneak in to my side's back lines..."). I might not have been able to kill them in 2 seconds flat, but having an Alliance rogue suddenly appear out of nowhere, sapped and helpless, tended to get the attention of any Horde players in attendence.
 

drisky

New member
Mar 16, 2009
1,605
0
0
Dungen Fighter is more action than rpg, I just used whatever I was comfortable with. Its not like the same as WoW, when you just click the target and hit it you have to use the ones best for you. Honestly I've never encountered anyone complaining about my build in that game so I don't know what happened to you.
 

fundayz

New member
Feb 22, 2010
488
0
0
I dislike min/maxers as much as the next guy. HOWEVER, when playing any sort of team game I expect people to be competent.

bussinrounds said:
SangRahl said:
In WoW, I spent half my time defending my build against other players
What does that tell you about MMO's right there ?
That people don't like playing with incompetent players?
 

SangRahl

New member
Feb 11, 2009
290
0
0
bussinrounds said:
SangRahl said:
In WoW, I spent half my time defending my build against other players
What does that tell you about MMO's right there ?
About MMO's? Nothing.
About a subsect of the people that play them? That they need to play an RPG where if they try to pull a calculator out to come up with the best possible way to make a character or use their abilities, the DM will say "A rock falls out of the sky and squashes your character. You're dead." Heheheh.

Through most of it, I enjoyed the interaction. Most of the time, they'd listen and accept my playstyle (one of the reasons I loved Foundation's Edge* as a guild... I'm really sorry to see it imploe like it did), others they'd keep on the "Well, you're wrong" bent, and I'd just go my merry way, and have fun playing 'Sap the poor sap' in contested lands.

*Although the post above made mention of being a member of the Horde, this one guild was while I was on sabatical and playing an Alliance member. It was the one, and only, time that I found Alliance players that weren't a waste of space, and both pleasant to be with and above average in ability. (I think it came form their being forged in LinII PVP before coming to WoW... their ability meant that they should have been Horde, but their past experience predisposed them to needing "pretty" characters to stare at all day/night long)
 

Et3rnalLegend64

New member
Jan 9, 2009
2,448
0
0
I'll just say what everyone else said. Stop listening to what others tell you about your builds. If they work for you and you're not playing an MMO, then it's a good build, end of story. I don't see how other people's opinions can matter so much that it can put you off of an entire genre.
 

subfield

New member
Apr 6, 2010
97
0
0
Unfortunately some games are less forgiving than others. RPG's can be divided into two types: those where you can "fuck up" your character by choosing the wrong skills, stat points etc, and games where you cannot - or where it's very difficult to do so in a permanent way.

Games in the former category are very simply an example of a "bad" RPG - e.g. diablo 2. I'll assert this even if by other peoples' standards they are "good". Its a matter of choice - if you're not enjoying playing, then stop - it's just a game, after all. Some people enjoy the masochism.

Games in the other category are the "good" kind of RPG - and they do exist e.g. FFVII. These types of games are the reason I'm glad to be a gamer.
 

Jodah

New member
Aug 2, 2008
2,280
0
0
If someone is telling saying you are doing it wrong on single player, unless you actually are struggling, you should slap them repeatedly with a large trout. Yes there are mathematically best builds but on single player it doesn't matter.

Multiplayer is a different bird and it comes down to how your play interacts with theirs. If, for example, you join a guild in WoW you are expected to have a decent build. Depending on the guild the definition of decent may change. However, such builds are often very easy to find. (Nobody give me that "its my money I'll play how I want" crap. Yes your 14.99 a month permits you to play but your raid's 134.91/359.76 says know your damn role!)

All that being said RPGs tend to take more out of game research than any other game except possibly strategy games. Its not like an FPS, which you can pick up and learn pretty quickly on the fly. To many people this makes them boring and thats their choice. What I tend to do is to expect to restart at least once. I get some basic understanding of the game the first time. Do some out of game research. Then I make my "final" character.
 
Feb 7, 2009
1,071
0
0
WildSeraph said:
Gxas said:
I'm not going to try and convince you of anything because it sounds to me like you are pretty set in how you feel about this. If you don't like them, then good for you, go play something else, no one is forcing you to play these games.
But I WANT to play them. I WANT to be proven wrong. I've played RPGs that I've loved. But after these thoughts, I can't sit down and play one any more.
Who gives a fuck what other people think of your play style? It's your play style, not theirs. If you are perfectly happy playing these games the way you do, why let other people ruin it for you? There's no wrong way to play a game (unless you play by smashing the controller to tiny bits).
 

Rpground

New member
Aug 9, 2009
229
0
0
who cares? play how you wants to play,build yourself how you want to! thats why they give you that option,to play around and experiment. take me for example: when i play Dungeons and Dragons i play a rogue that fights in HEAVY armors, sure i dont get the BEST out of my rogue abilities but its fun and unique seeing a rogue character strolling around in armor that would best be bolted to a tank rather then himself. hell,ive made a mage weird a 2h sword in the thick of combat...i didnt live very long,but its was fun as hell! xD

and thats the point,its supposed to be fun. you dont HAVE to always limit yourself to the guide lines set-out for you. think outside the box! try something unique,if people bash or troll against you for it ignore them. as long as your enjoying yourself, thats all that should matter in the end!
 

Manicotti

New member
Apr 10, 2009
523
0
0
All these characters created, and you haven't figured out how to customize yourself a backbone? If you're so spineless that you're willing to not have fun or make the smallest effort at the independent thought that RPGs are literally based on, on the basis of "friends" who have nothing invested in your free time but whom you allow to push you around anyway, then that's not faulty game design.
 

MassiveGeek

New member
Jan 11, 2009
1,213
0
0
I'm terrible at convincing people of... Well anything. Unless I do the puppy eyes, but I'm at my phone at the moment so that'd be hard.

I personallu love RPGs with a passion, but I definetely see where you're coming from. The skill builds are generally fucking hard to wrap your head around in games that include them. What I do is that I play through the game blind and do whatever I want to see the outcome - and then I replay it, either to "do it right" for which I research the builds and moral choices and whatever or because it was fun and I now understand it better on my own.

Tell your friends to get off your back though, unless they have proper advice to give - or let them help from the start. Your choice. And sorry if this wasn't helpful, but that's how I get around the systems and all.
 

SL33TBL1ND

Elite Member
Nov 9, 2008
6,467
0
41
Well for one thing, an RPG is a rocket pro- You know what? That's not even funny.

OT: Just play a SP RPG and it's all good, you don't have to deal with douchebags.
 

omegawyrm

New member
Nov 23, 2009
322
0
0
I know what it's like to hit a rough spot in a genre and get discouraged. If you want to try an RPG where the choices you make have a good chance of letting you succeed, you might want to try some of the action oriented RPGs out there. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines is really great at letting you specialize in whatever you want and still be effective, as long as you're reasonably skilled at actually playing the game. I hear the first Deus Ex does the same thing.

I see a lot of people recommending Bioware RPGs, which I'm not sure is a great idea. I've played all of them since KOTOR and there are always powers that are useless and some powers or combinations that totally break the game. Not that I don't like them, they're still great games, they're just kind of badly balanced.

There aren't a lot of mainstream JRPGs that provide meaningful choice in how to build your characters. A lot of the Shin Megami Tensei games have extensively customizable team building, but they're usually REALLY hard, so that might put you off. I might recommend the GBA game Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, very customizable progression, and even if you're bad at SRPGs, you should have a fairly easy time overpowering your enemies (hint: illusionists, ninja: double sword, gunner: ultima shot).