Weapons and Armour

This has been troubling me for awhile and I decided to see what you guys think about it. I am talking about the overwhelming number of items in today's games.

Remember back in EQ? There were few choices in armor and weapons. Pretty much everyone started with cloth, then leather, then banded armor. From there things began to spread out and people go into more specific class armor, but it was great to see a group in those outfits.

Later on, because items were so few, if you saw red plate, you knew that person was in Rubicite armor. A green bracer? The hero bracer. A blue one? Runed Metal Bracer. You knew what items people had, and some were elevated to the status of legendary items. Oakwynd, BladeStopper, CGS, Lammentation Blade, Blade of Carnage.

In all other games since, none have had that. Items have become trivial. I am in a complete new set every few levels. They are given out as quest rewards, crafted, and as loot. I have items replacing items I just got a few days before. It's ridiculous.

I remember wearing Banded boots until I replaced them with Boot of Ro at level 39, for 30 levels I used them.

This is one reason I believe that we seem to have lost care for our characters. When their appearance is in constant change it's hard to develop that connection. Of course death penalties or lack there of have something to do with that too.

So what do you guys think, the number of items in today's MMOs, like it or hate it?

I had jotted down a bunch of ideas for a blog entry or two on this topic... I don't want to use up all my ideas here, but I'll say that I think the over-abundance of loot has far-reaching consequences in just about every other facet of the game. I really wonder sometimes if game designers see the domino effect that decisions have on the whole direction of their design. I imagine they do...but sometimes I wonder if they only see the choice right in the front of them, the problem they're currently trying to "fix".

Too much loot not only ruins any kind of feeling of attachment to items, it also causes a complete loss of value. As you said, I have no idea what items I'm wearing in WoW right now, but I can clearly remember the items you mentioned from EQ, and a lot of the gear my main EQ character was wearing and using when he retired. Items MEANT something, to each player and to the community.

One place that I think too much loot has a far-reaching impact is on travel times. Games these days have to have short travel times...because travel isn't "fun". I'm guessing at least some of that mentality comes out of the fact that today's games fill your bags with crap about every 10 minutes.

Whether you're soloing or in a group (which is twice as annoying), everyone is having to leave to vendor or do this and that at more and more frequent intervals. Games can't have long travel times to the nearest vendor in those situations, because you end up spending more time going back and forth to the town than you do adventuring.

Instead of reducing the drop rate to allow more adventuring between visits to civilization, they make it nice and quick to run back and forth from pretty much anywhere you are adventuring (either that or just make massive bag space available early on). The feeling of a world, of exploration and adventure, of isolation and danger, are further swept aside by the need to make a game.

I understand what you mean! The day our warrior (EQ) got his first pieces of blue armor (Cobalt), the guild was SO proud for him! That warrior is still with us, btw, but playing a wizzie in EQ2 now!

Too much loot has only escalated the greed aspect of the games and the desire to level up to get the really "GOOD" stuff, whether or not they deserve it. It's a brag right, after all, and source of contention between players.

My druid kept a special weapon for a zillion levels! It was special and had been given to her, and served her well all thru those times. Plus, she kept anything people gave her in the bank until it was the right level to use (which wasn't a lot, really. I got yelled at later for not having decent armor). Back then, the word "tweek" was taboo and nasty and all that. ahhhh, Those were the days!

So, yeah! The abundance of weapons and such have created monsters, I think. Working for what you get is better, or finding help in crafting and making an art pay off again! Remember all the yelling in GFay (among others) for people that could make plate? We made good money doing trades back then! Gave you a good reason to really do things and people happy that you could, too.

Strange we always go back to EQ, isn't it?