The Daily Grind: Do you use builds?
This blogger was intrigued, on looking through a copy of the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Player's Handbook, to see that each character class had two different 'builds'. Apparently, the terminology (and the thinking behind it) has now officially migrated all the way back from MMOs to the pen-and-paper games that preceded them.
Some players create characters purely for concept, some for efficiency, some to fit a particular playstyle. In City of Heroes, a suprising number of not-so-good powers will still get picked if they fit a character's concept, such as Flurry for a superspeeder. In fact, one of the developers said some time ago that concept should be the primary reason for picking any power.
But other players come up with carefully structured builds and respect them like Cordon Bleu recipes. The thought and planning that goes into these builds, which are arguably a form of engineering challenge, is impressive. The individuality of the character doesn't matter; what matters is how well the character's abilities milk the game for every possible drop of performance.
Are you a build-user? Have you ever worked a character out to the specifications given in someone else's build? Do you like to plot and plan, and possibly share your work? Or would you rather make characters freestyle?
