Quote Originally Posted by konflikti View Post
I guess I am different breed from the current MMO-generation, that is content with everything handed to them from devs, having measly 30 skillpoints to allocate as the only difference between characters...
Self-righteous much?

I like having a highly customizable character. I also like having a very balanced game. I also like devs that actually have time to develop new content in reasonable periods of time. You don't get to have all three of those. To me, new content and balance are more important than massive customization, mainly because I know *very well* that customization is an illusion of choice as far as effectiveness is concerned. There will *always* be an optimal construct; the idea that you can deviate from that may be comforting since it allows those that don't care about balance to achieve some degree of uniqueness by applying their own special brand of less-than-optimal but it doesn't change the fact that it is, honestly, an illusion of choice.

For certain aspects of the game, like gear, going with a single option that is well designed is better than creating a bunch of options, only one of which will actually be used by 99% of the population (or get massive amounts of complaints from the population about their personal preference being suboptimal; just look at what's going on in this very thread). The devs have to play triage because their resources (time, money, staff) are not infinite. They have to spend those resources in what they believe to be the most efficient manner possible.

Creating a glut of stat distributions for gear is not really an efficient way to spend resources because it doesn't create appreciable differentiation: you're just changing some number around. Different classes create appreciable differentiation because they play differently. New dungeons create appreciable differentiation because they offer new, different content to do.

If you feel like getting upset or condescending because you don't have a bazillion options, it's all on you because you're not cognizant of what actually takes place and you have this magical notion in your mind that more options equate to more *real* options. The illusion of choice exists as an illusion and, honestly, most people are recognizing this and simply don't care about preserving it. I love what they did with the classes in ARR: they got rid of talent trees and cross-specs and all of the other stuff that creates the illusion of choice and simply focused on making a large number of well developed classes that have all of the traits you'd expect out of a class with a fully developed talent tree without creating a bunch of non-options that exist purely to provide that illusion.

When making ARR, the devs cut out a *lot* of the pointless crap that most other MMOs have included, largely because other MMOs had them. Because they cut out all of that crap, they got to focus on making what *does* matter actually good. They might not have done a perfect job, but they did a damned good job. If they hadn't I'd be playing a different game rather than one that I thoroughly enjoy.