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Milawe · 09-01-2007, 11:23 AM

Every game has its power gamers. These are the people who figure out ways to optimize every command you ever created in order to level in whatever ways possible. It really doesn't matter what type of game you run, you still always get powergamers. They totally know how to game your system.

MANY games try to balance according to their powergamers, and others have come up with different ways to level the playing field. Most of the methods they use take out the element of skill and substitute sheer time involvement.

Are power gamers really a problem? Is it really the best solution to try to balance your system based on the power gamers?

In my opinion, the biggest damage that a power gamer does to your system is that they often create a sense of hopelessness in your more average players, and this is going to be the majority of your players. These players, who strive to keep up and simply can't, begin to feel as if they're 1) not good players or 2) are missing some sort of "hack" that they believe the power gamers are using. What's worse is when your power gamers band together to form some sort of "elite" organization and end up controlling certain resources in your game. It can be pretty crippling for your other players and for the game as a whole.

I, however, do not believe in balancing by nerfing power gamers. That always ends up making certain aspects of your game a sheer grind or simply too difficult for the average gamer. Besides, I'm not sure there are ever effective ways of truly slowing down a power gamer unless you completely take skill and min/maxing out of the game. At that point, you really don't have much of a game.

Any thoughts? What kind of power gamers have you had to deal with? Do they cause problems, or are they an asset in your community?

09-01-2007, 11:23 AM	#1
Milawe Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: USA Home MUD: Threshold RPG Home MUD: Stash Home MUD: Archons of Avenshar Posts: 653	Power Gamers Every game has its power gamers. These are the people who figure out ways to optimize every command you ever created in order to level in whatever ways possible. It really doesn't matter what type of game you run, you still always get powergamers. They totally know how to game your system. MANY games try to balance according to their powergamers, and others have come up with different ways to level the playing field. Most of the methods they use take out the element of skill and substitute sheer time involvement. Are power gamers really a problem? Is it really the best solution to try to balance your system based on the power gamers? In my opinion, the biggest damage that a power gamer does to your system is that they often create a sense of hopelessness in your more average players, and this is going to be the majority of your players. These players, who strive to keep up and simply can't, begin to feel as if they're 1) not good players or 2) are missing some sort of "hack" that they believe the power gamers are using. What's worse is when your power gamers band together to form some sort of "elite" organization and end up controlling certain resources in your game. It can be pretty crippling for your other players and for the game as a whole. I, however, do not believe in balancing by nerfing power gamers. That always ends up making certain aspects of your game a sheer grind or simply too difficult for the average gamer. Besides, I'm not sure there are ever effective ways of truly slowing down a power gamer unless you completely take skill and min/maxing out of the game. At that point, you really don't have much of a game. Any thoughts? What kind of power gamers have you had to deal with? Do they cause problems, or are they an asset in your community?