The Polish developer studio Warhorse is currently working on the medieval role-playing game Kingdom Come: Deliverance. It focuses on a lot of realism, which also affects character development.
In the role-playing game, it will not be possible to improve your hero by increasing hitpoints. You have a certain number of hitpoints that never increases. This is intended to ensure that every enemy in the game is dangerous at all times. If you annoy a peasant towards the end of the game, they can kill you just as easily as they could at the beginning of the game. However, this does not mean that the hero cannot develop. It just happens in a slightly different way.
You learn to fight, handle the sword better, and defend more effectively. Additionally, you will acquire armor that provides better protection. As a well-equipped and trained fighter, you have a better chance in a fight with a peasant. This is due to the equipment and the fact that you have learned to fight. It is not because you can generally take more hits.
An MMORPG without increasing hitpoints?
Could such an approach also work in an MMORPG? In an MMO, many players highly value leveling up their heroes quickly. For many, it is important to belong to the best players as fast as possible. Additionally, strategy plays an important role in an MMO. In most games, battles occur passively, by clicking on actions in the hotbar that are then executed automatically. Hitpoints play an important role in combat systems. Ever more powerful spells or weapons and skills would lead to being able to obliterate someone who has not increased their hitpoints with a single hit.
Not being able to increase hitpoints in an MMORPG would, at best, be difficult. Completely new gameplay approaches and combat systems would be necessary, not to mention that the increase of hitpoints has already become ingrained, and hardly anyone would want to do without being able to show others how powerful they have become through points.
What do you think? Could you imagine an MMORPG where hitpoints always remain the same and never increase?
Further articles on Kingdom Come Deliverance:
Kingdom Come Deliverance: The skill and armor system – Practice makes perfect
