08-10-2011, 11:37 PM
I wasn't sure of what to make of this, seeing as I like the idea of the prestige system, yet I know that it doesn't work as well as we wish it would. I've been on the server for three years (sure, I may not have logged in from time to time, but I do my best to keep up on the forums), and I have seen things come and go like it was nobody's business.
I've watched people become GMs, quit, return. I've been through at least two server restarts, if not more. I've made friends and lost them, watch people practically revolutionize the server with their ideas only to ragequit over something stupid. I admit, I may not have been active in these last couple of months, so I don't know the full story. But I suppose an old fogey like me can throw in their two cents without being kicked around like a Blood Elf in an orc party.
Prestige systems are wonderful ideas. They allow a character who has worked hard at their class to perhaps better themselves in their respective field; Such as a mage studies to become an Archmage or an orc warrior learns the art of the Blademaster. The journey that these characters take in order to become better, faster, stronger, whatever! That is what the prestige system is meant to be about. As it has been stated in the thread already, "It's not the destination, it's the journey." And that what the idea is about. It's not about who can get more skills, better attack rolls, some stupid powerplay bonus.
Which is what leads into this second paragraph: People generally see the prestige as a way to get a more powerful character. Which is true, yes, but not the point. The point is to have a character evolve through their interactions and become better (or worse) people.
For a shitey example, my human warrior Tracy is hardly a warrior. She's an engineer, and she works hard to make her contraptions the best that they could be. Tracy wasn't a harsh person; she treated everyone fairly and thought everyone had the right to walk the road of life at their own pace, whether they be human or otherwise.
Unfortunately, she was abducted by pirates, forced into slavery, and had to do things that would have never crossed her mind in order to gain her freedom. She had a mental breakdown, became a mess, and nearly offed herself in frustration. After recovering for some time in Mimiron, tinkering away, she slowly returned to a functioning member of society. Yet her personality shifted entirely, going from a caring individual who wanted her inventions to be used for good to a borderline psychotic woman who views people as test subjects for her experiments. She even helped enslave innocent people to fund her engineering projects, despite knowing the very hell the people were likely to go through because she had been through it herself.
The thing here is that Tracy went through all this through live interaction with other players, no prestige title, no power bonuses, nothing. Her life has been changed permanently, and her engineering has become more about weaponry and war instead of useful inventions to better lives around Azeroth. So what is the whole point of this rambling story?
The Prestige Title system hasn't worked since it was first implimented back in vanilla/early BC. It will always have flaws, and some people will always try to use them to gain a more powerful character. I like the idea of 'variant' classes, but it doesn't seem quite fair, either. Getting rid of the 'stat bonuses' and 'awesome super duper skills' (that aren't the point of the prestige ((like, for example, the runes on a runemaster because that's the point of them: They use runes.))) would definitely be better because if prestiges don't have all the 'super awesome fantabulous powers' they apparantly acquire, then not as many people will immediately dive into it.
tl;dr: Prestige system needs to be more focused on character development and less on overpowered bullsh*t skills that aren't really used outside of combat RP anyways.
I've watched people become GMs, quit, return. I've been through at least two server restarts, if not more. I've made friends and lost them, watch people practically revolutionize the server with their ideas only to ragequit over something stupid. I admit, I may not have been active in these last couple of months, so I don't know the full story. But I suppose an old fogey like me can throw in their two cents without being kicked around like a Blood Elf in an orc party.
Prestige systems are wonderful ideas. They allow a character who has worked hard at their class to perhaps better themselves in their respective field; Such as a mage studies to become an Archmage or an orc warrior learns the art of the Blademaster. The journey that these characters take in order to become better, faster, stronger, whatever! That is what the prestige system is meant to be about. As it has been stated in the thread already, "It's not the destination, it's the journey." And that what the idea is about. It's not about who can get more skills, better attack rolls, some stupid powerplay bonus.
Which is what leads into this second paragraph: People generally see the prestige as a way to get a more powerful character. Which is true, yes, but not the point. The point is to have a character evolve through their interactions and become better (or worse) people.
For a shitey example, my human warrior Tracy is hardly a warrior. She's an engineer, and she works hard to make her contraptions the best that they could be. Tracy wasn't a harsh person; she treated everyone fairly and thought everyone had the right to walk the road of life at their own pace, whether they be human or otherwise.
Unfortunately, she was abducted by pirates, forced into slavery, and had to do things that would have never crossed her mind in order to gain her freedom. She had a mental breakdown, became a mess, and nearly offed herself in frustration. After recovering for some time in Mimiron, tinkering away, she slowly returned to a functioning member of society. Yet her personality shifted entirely, going from a caring individual who wanted her inventions to be used for good to a borderline psychotic woman who views people as test subjects for her experiments. She even helped enslave innocent people to fund her engineering projects, despite knowing the very hell the people were likely to go through because she had been through it herself.
The thing here is that Tracy went through all this through live interaction with other players, no prestige title, no power bonuses, nothing. Her life has been changed permanently, and her engineering has become more about weaponry and war instead of useful inventions to better lives around Azeroth. So what is the whole point of this rambling story?
The Prestige Title system hasn't worked since it was first implimented back in vanilla/early BC. It will always have flaws, and some people will always try to use them to gain a more powerful character. I like the idea of 'variant' classes, but it doesn't seem quite fair, either. Getting rid of the 'stat bonuses' and 'awesome super duper skills' (that aren't the point of the prestige ((like, for example, the runes on a runemaster because that's the point of them: They use runes.))) would definitely be better because if prestiges don't have all the 'super awesome fantabulous powers' they apparantly acquire, then not as many people will immediately dive into it.
tl;dr: Prestige system needs to be more focused on character development and less on overpowered bullsh*t skills that aren't really used outside of combat RP anyways.