Talk:Rune/@comment-115.181.37.61-20120625160651

I would advice ansgiat the ultra-specialized weaponry.This is just my own personal game design feelings, but ultra-powerful ultra-specialized weaponry always feels frustrating to me. Here's an analogy:I saw a game design talk at BlizzCon where the Diablo III team talked about the principle behind charms, and how they would be implemented in D3. For those who aren't familiar, charms were items that gave you a permanent, passive bonus to your character as long as you carried it in your inventory. It didn't have to be equipped on your person, but it did take up valuable inventory slots, which you then couldn't use for loot.This is an important decision for the player to make—how many charms can I afford to carry?—but what the D3 team realized was that it was not a FUN decision. You're forcing the player to choose between power and convenience. Users who aren't powergamers won't carry any charms, but they'll always feel weaker than powergamers. Users who ARE powergamers will fill their whole inventory with charms, but then they'll have to port back to town to put all the charms in a box every time they want to pick up some new piece of loot. Both types of users feel like they're missing out.Ultra-specialized, ultra-powerful items pose a similar problem. Say I have a Sword of Moderate Coolness,  and a  Sword of Truly Epic Frogman Stabbing But Precious Little Else. I can only carry one. Which do I take?Well, if I carry the Sword of Moderate Coolness, then I can be reasonably prepared ansgiat most scenarios. If I run into a Frogman, though, I'm going to be kicking myself.If I carry the Sword of Truly Epic Frog-Man Stabbing But Precious Little Else, then I am TOTALLY COVERED if a Frog-Man shows up—but what about the other types of enemies I'm likely to encounter? I just have to grit my teeth and say Man, this will all be worth it the next time I have to fight a Frog-Man! The third option is to carry BOTH swords with me at all times, and switch them out depending on what sorts of enemies I encounter. This is the best overall option. But it's also inconvenient and frustrating, and makes combat more about equipping myself than actually doing any fighting.These are in fact meaningful game choices. But they're not really fun choices to make.