Scurvy Cur wrote:Restricting skill point saving would neither make rogues viable nor reduce the power gap between good builds and bad builds. At most, it would change which builds are good, and push the suboptimal builds further into the dumpster.
Believing anything else is an exercise in purest self-delusion.
I second this. The only thing it would really do is shrink the lineup of viable builds. It would take maybe a week at most and you would see the same three or four cookie-cutter classes grinding to epics and it would be the most boring thing possible. It would be a horrid mistake and would do absolutely jack for balance. As Scurvy said, if you want to see even less variety on Arelith, this is a fine way to do it.
Also, there seems to be a misconception that people who "power build" are only doing it for PVP reasons and "grinding for 5%" Some people GENUINELY love adventuring, both in and out of groups. There's a lot to explore and find out there, and it's awesome. If it were possible to do that on a barbarian/wizard/cleric with any level of efficiency whatsoever, I would be the first on board with the idea. The problem is that this is certainly not pen and paper. We can't make things like rage mages, fate spinners or effigy masters. and if we did, it would take years of tweaking to get such classes right. I really don't want to go there right now, though.
Also, PVP isn't bad. PVP is the result of conflict RP which almost every faction will gravitate towards because it makes genuinely interesting stories. I mean, I'd be happy to log in to some goof character and talk about how to skin rats and how my mother used to make me eat raw fish when I used curse words. If that's your thing? Very awesome. You're doing something that makes you happy and that means you're most likely playing this game correctly. Have fun, RP with one another, and that's really it. And you know what? That's what is great about Arelith.
You like being a bar keep? THERE IS A PLACE FOR YOU HERE
You like being a socialite and building relationships? THERE IS A PLACE FOR YOU HERE
You like being involved in conflict between drow houses, surface scandles, and Good VS Evil? THERE IS A PLACE FOR YOU HERE
You like running around with your familiar and forming a bond with it? THERE IS A PLACE FOR YOU HERE
It's very awesome that all of these things can fit on the server. And really, imagine how long this list can get, and think about it for a second - how much can 'power builds' really affect that? Even if you get your teeth kicked in by a 23/4/3, there is ALWAYS someone else who hates that same guy who is also a 23/4/3 (or something similar) that you can buddy up with and invite to your faction and you can get even. And that's how stories are made!
Playing such builds isn't fun for some people because they are less flexible on the RP end, but for others, being a walking scimitar who can also use scrolls is the meat and potatoes of this game.
I guess the TL;DR
I read a bunch of things by different people and I just wanted to state that
Powerbuilding does not equal bad
PVP does not equal bad
RP builds and mechanical builds can C O E X I S T
Owlbears are the only thing keeping Arelith from the D&D experience.