In an RPI, that is true, though it is somewhat different in less intensive environments, it's not neccessarily the case. I've seen muds where RP seems only to occur after characters max (for better or worse). For those people who like this style, I imagine formulae would help them get the style of maxed character they want, and allow them to thusly RP the character they want to RP.
However, yes, I object to formulae, or even numbers, in systems I develop. The basic theory, for me, goes as follows: You shouldn't need them. If all the factors that should be involved are (and that's your goal, of course), then players should be able to attack problems intuitively. Further, the difference between sword A and sword B, one of which is slightly better, if unintuitive (such as similar but slightly different swords), is also small, and thus negligible.
Or so the theory goes.
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