After struggling extensively and intensely with “Witcher 3” for nearly two weeks now, I have noticed once again a point that I miss in so many online games: a real choice. I am not talking about story-related decisions, but rather about how I can shape my character or my own playstyle.
I have no choice despite a wide selection
Almost every game lets me theoretically customize my character or my play behavior. In Smite, I can focus on certain stats through different items, in Diablo 3 I can influence the game through the choice of talents, and in Hearthstone, I can even choose a whole deck from over 500 cards. If all players actually made use of this card pool, it would be significantly less likely to encounter one’s own deck than to hit the lottery.
Objectively stated, however, staying with the Hearthstone example, I only have three options:
- Do I want to succeed? Then I play a proven deck.
- Do I just want to have fun? Then I create a fun deck and lose often.
- … or I belong to the 0.1% of players who create a new, effective deck themselves.
In the long run, deciding is about as difficult to predict as the behavior of a child after the parents have said: “Clean your room or you’ll have a week of grounding.” Of course, one cleans their room, meaning: I choose what everyone else is playing, because losing is only fun for a certain period of time, even with a fun deck. And after the 57th attempt to establish a Succubus deck, I came to the realization that I probably do not belong to the 0.1% of elite players.
Single-player games have it easier
In “Witcher 3,” there was also a talent system, and I could really experiment without feeling pressured to make a very specific selection. The reason for this is obvious: there is no competitive pressure. It doesn’t matter whether my Geralt does 2.5% more or less damage and may not parry as well. I do not harm anyone if I do not choose the absolutely optimized skill set, except for myself.
As soon as other players are involved in any way, whether as teammates or enemies, an exact mathematical calculation becomes almost mandatory. Those who do not adhere to the “best build” are often – regardless of the game outcome – ostracized beforehand. “Look at that build, lol noob,” “Read the wiki first and come back later.” Everyone knows that such comments can be phrased much more unfriendly.
I find this compulsion to optimize terrible but see few solutions on how to escape from these rigid mathematical calculations. I cannot blame anyone for requiring players to choose the most effective gameplay method – and yet it frustrates me when I could choose 4 talents every time in Heroes of the Storm, but only 2 of them are accepted by the team. Because what good is a selection if you actually have no choice?
What do you think about all this? Do you always Google the most effective build and the “best” skill set? Or do you even encourage others to try completely unconventional things? Are your teammates’ words completely irrelevant to you? Let me know in the comments!
