Critical hit! Direct hit!

[Nabril]

Black Mage uses Direct hit and Spell Speed.

[Edax]

I don't think I've played a game where stats didn't end up boring in the long run. Even WoW's Mastery (effect changed based on class specialization) fell flat.

Anyone played a game where stats felt fun and interesting? If so, what made them that way?

KOTOR had interesting stats. This came down to the fact that your character had a base of 10 and any point increase had a dramatic effect. In single player RPGs, you can get away with overpowered stat builds and abilities but with MMOs it's discouraged to have wildly varying balance. The problem with the multiplayer experience is that you can't make yourself special without making someone else angry.

[Rasikko]

I balanced Crit and DH for my DNC. For AST though, going all DET, which will also have a ton of CRIT as a side effect, so win/win. This game heavily revolves around damage, so of course Crit and DH have the largest impacts in this area.

[ZeffieShida]

KOTOR had interesting stats. This came down to the fact that your character had a base of 10 and any point increase had a dramatic effect. In single player RPGs, you can get away with overpowered stat builds and abilities but with MMOs it's discouraged to have wildly varying balance. The problem with the multiplayer experience is that you can't make yourself special with making someone else angry.]

KOTOR was very literally a slightly changed version of the star wars D20 game based off of what was then the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons. While they give you enough points to be really good since you're the big awesome hero, only every other point is a + 1 to your behind the scenes rolls and until higher levels under the d20 system you can feel severely punished for skimping on a stat you end up using fairly often. This game too has best stats to choose and if you don't go with at least a 14 the stat just isn't that good.

The game itself, however, is easy enough you can power through despite this.

[Rasikko]

I can talk about perfect world then,since we're all discussing other game systems anyway. PWI: Where every stat is broken. Stack Cast = all skills instant. Stack channel = skills have no cooldown XD. Stack main stat, stack crit, stack attack damage, and load up on attack level AND defense level, and you are a God in that game, and this has never been nerfed. There is food you can eat to buff the base crit damage, and Assassins have skill to double it on top of their crit and main stat lolololol. Only hurdle is you need money.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

Anyone else reading this thread and getting flashbacks to raiding Velious, with having to change from ‘real gear’ to ‘resist gear’ just to increase resists enough to survive the AE’s?

[Barraind]

Who the hell changed gear around in Velious?

You used like, 5 resist pieces from kunark forward.

but I do understand that at best we'll see each job have their own two stats, and that it's highly unlikely we'll wind up with, say, several ways to build a BLM.

we never will because of how gearing works in this game. Theres very little actual horizontal itemization (each ilvl has between 1-3 pieces of gear per slot, and the ilvl with 3 is never the highest lvl in a tier), which keeps us from being able to have more than a small difference in secondary stats. Secondary stats are also dwarfed by primary stats, unless the secondary stats are required to hit breakpoints.

[Urthdigger]

Yes absolutely.
But that doesn't mean we should dumb the game stats down to "Gloves of power+20" and they are 100% better than your "Gloves of power+19".

Even if it's an illusion of choice, the difference in stats can really be fun to work with. And for those who don't find theorycrafting or playing with unique stats entertaining can just wait until someones figured out the mathematically correct choice and run with that. Wanting more of x stat while maintaining a minimum speed and accuracy were something to actually do. Something to think about while getting the gear you do have. Getting one cool new piece may change your entire loadout!
But we're taking away more and more and eventually we'll just have one bland stat. ilvl is already almost that as it is.

Oh, I don't think we should dumb things down further. Rather, I meant that since the OP was bemoaning the fact of how there's really only two stats anyone cares about, no matter how they switch things around there will likely be two stats that are considered the best. I do like complex systems, and I do wish tenacity and piety were a more worthwhile way of building tanks and healers, but I do understand that at best we'll see each job have their own two stats, and that it's highly unlikely we'll wind up with, say, several ways to build a BLM.

[Malmstrom]

Oh, I don't think we should dumb things down further. Rather, I meant that since the OP was bemoaning the fact of how there's really only two stats anyone cares about, no matter how they switch things around there will likely be two stats that are considered the best. I do like complex systems, and I do wish tenacity and piety were a more worthwhile way of building tanks and healers, but I do understand that at best we'll see each job have their own two stats, and that it's highly unlikely we'll wind up with, say, several ways to build a BLM.

I'd rather have the "own two stats" thing than "MELD FOR BIG DEEPS OR GTFO".

[TaranTatsuuchi]

Direct Hit IMO is worthless on Tanks/Healers because you're only getting around a 12% shot of doing it at most. That's too low to be reliable. Determination would be a better stat to invest in for them since it increases the low point of damage/healing the more you invest in it. The healing part of that is mandatory for all healers, since one less (o)GCD to use for healing is another attack spell cast. Tanks...you have the aggro, you're always going to be hitting it, DET is more important.

DPS, Direct Hit shares importance with Determination, though I believe DET is more important for BRD/MCH/DNC considering you're always hitting the enemy unless it becomes untargetable.

"Learning that Direct Hit doesn't effect healing fills you with Determination!"