The itemization bug bites Tabula Rasa
As you should already well know, Destination Games is hard at work on patching up some common complaints in their new sci-fi epic Tabula Rasa. Though the most significant part of the patch for most players was Rage getting whacked with the nerf bat and the promise of a free respec, that wasn't all that Paul Sage and crew had in mind. An easily overlooked part of the patch notes says, and here I quote, "We have also fixed another problem where item rarity was not affecting damage bonuses on the items. Now green weapons will do more damage than their white counterparts of the same level. Blues will do more than greens." Itemization is getting tweaked, and it's going to have huge ramifications.
As things of this nature usually do, the change has spawned a heated discussion within the TR community, with some feeling that the difference in itemization (which, if you'll note, is called a "fix" not a "change") is going to have profound implications for the way players approach equipment and the game in general. As the game exists now, damage is entirely independent of item quality, and the only advantages conferred by rare items (which follows the popular rarity scheme of white < green < blue < purple) are that they have their mod slots filled. In most cases an item bought at a vendor is basically equal to a purple of the same level that you can get either as a rare drop or as a quest reward. Why is that a problem?
Some, who are ostensibly of a more egalitarian bend, feel that itemization in its current state is as fair as it gets. Casual players, who may not have the time to run through long quest lines or farm for items, can attain comparable damage outputs to their more hardcore friends in a fraction of the time. Purples are really more of a status symbol at this point in the game than anything, And while some believe this actually makes the game more fun, both as a way to alleviate item envy and to balance PvP, I think it's actually a serious problem.
By giving damage bonuses to rarer items, they're actually conferring value these items, where before there was none almost. The whole idea of the surplus store, another thing Sage and crew are patching in soon, would be highly suspect if players didn't have anything of true value to sell. Economies, and MMO economies in particular, rely on the sale of commodities to keep from being completely arbitrary. TR credits are of little value as it is, without truly rare items to buy, they may become all but useless.
And while some are bemoaning the changes before they're even put into action, I am of the opinion that they don't actually go far enough. Damage bonuses are nice, but they really need to get on the ball and quit randomizing the mods on weapons, blues and purples in particular. It's fairly commonplace to get weapons with mods on them that are completely contrary to their intention. Why on earth (or Foreas, or Areki) would somebody put a debuff to ice resist on an incendiary shotgun? They don't have to go in World of Warcraft's direction and put in a bunch of named equipment, but one would hope they'd at least put mods on items that give direct benefits to the item itself.
Will Tabula Rasa devolve into a soulless gear grind? It's too early to tell, and given how few people have reached the end of the content at this early stage, it's probably fruitless to speculate. Nonetheless, I welcome these changes and will be hungrily hoarding whatever blues and purples I can find in the meantime.
