I have been playing MH for very nearly a year now and in that time I’ve played every character to 60 and am currently in the process of playing them all again so I can figure out how I want to gear each of them for maximum efficiency. I’ve encountered a lot of design choices that I really liked and a lot that I really didn’t but one thing has been obvious throughout, that every element of a design is there for a reason and they all work together, the whole is typically greater than the sum of its parts. Every aspect of a character’s design, their strengths, weaknesses, damage output vs. spirit costs of their various abilities, buffs, debuffs, passives, uniques, synergies, the whole shebang, is designed to go together and it all has to be considered when designing (or redesigning) a character. It’s like juggling bear cubs while staying one step ahead of the mother, one misstep and it all ends very, very badly.
Now, every time Gaz asks for feedback on a new character or a proposed change for an existing one I see a flood of posts that prove that many members of the community have a deep understanding of exactly how all these disparate elements coalesce into a complete character. Sadly, I’m not one of them and I know it. I have thus far attempted to provide feedback on a character twice, once on Black Cat when she was still on TC and again for Squirrel Girl during the recent/current round of feedback requests, and each time my posts have been completely and utterly ignored, no response, no reaction, nothing. I’m not salty about that at all, I get it, my suggestions were no doubt complete rubbish. The thing is, if I don’t understand why they were rubbish I won’t be able to do better next time. And there will be a next time. As anyone who knows me can attest, I am full of a great many things, occasionally even ideas. snork
So, I’m asking anyone who has the time and inclination to give me (and by extension, anyone else who reads this) a primer on character design philosophy. If a character were being designed or redesigned, what elements are mandatory, which ones should be avoided like the pox, and why? How do they affect each other, since all too often changes to one part of a character’s kit necessitate changes to one or more other parts due to balance or functionality concerns. And what about their uniques? There seems to be some sort of template for what role exactly a character’s uniques play in their design and which ones cover which part of it (I’ve seen too many "why isn’t there any x on x-character’s slot x” posts not to think that) but sometimes I feel that I’m the only one who doesn’t understand what it is.
I love this game and the characters in it and I love the fact that the devs let the players take part in the design process to a greater or lesser degree. I just want to know what I need to know in order to make as meaningful a contribution to that effort as so many others do. So thanks in advance for any information or assistance that anyone can provide, I really appreciate it.
Also tagging @Chufmoney and @Asros because, well, they’re the experts. And because I’m sure they’re getting tired of reading posts by well-meaning neophytes like me who think they have great ideas but really don’t understand the first thing about how it all works. LOL