jpedrote said:I'm sorry but this, to me, would be the worst thing they could ever do to the game in terms of itemization.
Having random stats on gear creates the one of the worst possible situations in RPG games ever, it makes gear drops unsatisfying, It creates a situation where you not only need to get the correct item name drop, but also the correct stat rools, whenever an item you want drops and it does not have the perfect item stats, that item will be deemed garbage, and you'll be left unsatisfied because it was not the best possible version of the item. Rembemer that his is not diablo where you can farm the same boss for the same item 7 days a week whenever you feel like it. This is a open world MMORPG with contested spawns, and dropping the item should be the challange, not dropping the item 20x until it rolls the perfect stats.
There is always a loss with that system, because there is always an optimal setup, and if the optimal stat setup does not roll on the item, you will be at a loss because it's not the best version of the item possible.
I think he is suggesting that items you find don't have set stats at all and when you find something it may have 10 agility but that number will change randomly, up or down. Not only is it a terrible plan but it wouldn't change much of anything as it would either A) render all items relatively pointless in the event that even the stat changes (so AGI could random to INT) or B) players would still, with a bit more work, find out the best gear based on averages, thus solving nothing at all.
jpedrote said:ZennExile said:
And randomizing the stats, would just be a means to prevent accurate records of those stats being published and maintain that value over longer periods of time. In theory long enough for new content to emerge. You could even tie it closely with the RandomRolls model that already exists in combat. And simply alter the stats of any given item slightly based on a previous or the next immediate randomRoll.
This game, like all others using DnD mechanics, is built on a foundation of RNG. Tapping into that process and adding a random chance for your gear to shuffle stats would not be an example of negative RNG. There would never be a loss. Just a change. Maybe you lose 1 point in 3 stats and gain 1 point in 3 others. Or the affinity of an item swaps and gives you a temporary bonus. There would never be a negative outcome.
I'm sorry but this, to me, would be the worst thing they could ever do to the game in terms of itemization.
Having random stats on gear creates the one of the worst possible situations in RPG games ever, it makes gear drops unsatisfying, It creates a situation where you not only need to get the correct item name drop, but also the correct stat rools, whenever an item you want drops and it does not have the perfect item stats, that item will be deemed garbage, and you'll be left unsatisfied because it was not the best possible version of the item. Rembemer that his is not diablo where you can farm the same boss for the same item 7 days a week whenever you feel like it. This is a open world MMORPG with contested spawns, and dropping the item should be the challange, not dropping the item 20x until it rolls the perfect stats.
There is always a loss with that system, because there is always an optimal setup, and if the optimal stat setup does not roll on the item, you will be at a loss because it's not the best version of the item possible.
I don't think anyone enjoys directly experiencing negative RNG. I know I don't.
However, the roll already happens in the background using a DnD model. When an action is performed the stats are used as the modifier and the dice roll determines the multiplier. This is over simplified but should be enough to visualize the idea. What I am suggesting is to apply that dice roll to the stats on the item rather than the overall event calculation. Sort of.
So as a player, you would never technically "lose" the roll. And the rolls would be happening over and over all the time, based on an underlying algorithm that only matters to the server. Even if you were to get a stat roll that was not absolutely optimal, it would be one of many, happening all the time.
The idea is to make it difficult to identify what the stats are, assign a value motivation to the ability to identify stats (or possibly solidify them for a period of time? that would be neat), and shield those who are overwhelmed by complex min/max mechanics from them. Because you either care about min/max, or you really, really don't.
So rather than perpetuate a conflict in ideology, it is not reasonable to segregate opposing perspectives through mechanics? Those who enjoy the min/max aspects of the process could be greatly rewarded through playing, and developing, a Role specifically catered to their play-style. Players organically seek to fill this roll, already. They are the people you see writing strategy guides and "what I wish I knew" videos.
They are clearly a minority, but rewarding this minority with a fixed and developed roll in the game, could create an enormous well of positive experiences for that minority, as well as the greater population that would rather not fill that roll themselves, and have already come to rely on that minority for strategy guides and what they see as "insider information".
From a min/max competitive perspective, I could not imagine a more beneficial, or positive roll existing. You could become the Profit of RNGebas. The Chief Strategist. The Seer. The Knowledge Keeper. This type of shift in perspective, has no losers. Only huge benefits. For everyone.
It is very Kumbaya in every sense of the idea.
When comparing which item has more AC becomes a "complex min/max" scenario I will have officially lost all faith in humanity. You seem to be the only person in this thread complaining about the complexity of stat systems that have existed for decades, yet somehow this is the affliction of the casual player? Where are all these casuals that can't understand some of the most basic systems of the game?
I've seen 60 year olds pick up new games and understand game systems far more complex than comparing numbers on two items. Not only that, but instead of trying to simplify things (that don't need to be simplified, I emphasize) you decide to talk about introducing a mechanic that skews game knowledge even more in the direction of top tier players. That seems completely backwards to me.
It's an invented problem with questionable proposed solutions.
Rint said:...I’m looking forward to in Pantheon is the situational gear, and how the different climates will require us to switch gear depending where we are at or at the very least what we are doing (Fighting mobs, Questing, Trade Skilling…etc…) at any given moment. However, I find it tedious and hoary to have to switch out gear manually one slot at a time, and with all the talk about removing the needless tedious parts of gameplay this would be one of them....I would like to have perhaps different presets that allowed me to hot-button different armor sets...
I absolutely oppose (and hate) this idea.
It ruins immersion. If you want to be immersed in a virtual world, you need to remove a glove and put a different glove on, then a boot, then a belt. You are acting as if you LIVE in that world. Insta-clicky things argued to avoid time and tedium are really just game ruiners. They simply make the game the same as every other thumb-twitch MOBA that the instant gratification race to the top uber phat lewtzers want.
It's like auto looting. When I kill a mob I want to have to go to the body and rifle around and find its loot and take it, sometimes in dangerous places while being attacked.
I don't want to click and have stuff magically pop into my backpack from 40 feet away.
Similarly, I don't want to click and instantly change all my armor and weapons.
The other games that ruined the MMORPG genre all have that type of thing that sacrifices immersion on the altar of convenience.
@ZennExile
I couldn't understand your explanation above, maybe you can a give me a practical example of how the item would be rolled step by step with numbers.
But I stongly disagree with any kind of randomization on items, I don't need RNG slaped on top of the RNG item drop chance, if an items drops it should be the best version of itself possible.
jpedrote said:@ZennExile
I couldn't understand your explanation above, maybe you can a give me a practical example of how the item would be rolled step by step with numbers.
But I stongly disagree with any kind of randomization on items, I don't need RNG slaped on top of the RNG item drop chance, if an items drops it should be the best version of itself possible.
It is sort of a complicated idea but it can be accomplished in a very simple and unassuming way, in the background. Basically the components of an event remain the same. All items still have stats. All the stats are still used to make a randomCheck for any type of event that is possible.
Assume, Agi is your Crit modifier. And when you fire your Rare.BowOf19AGI, there is a Random(critChance.totalAgi) calculation, that results in whether or not you crit, and for how much damage.
So what I suggest, is to show Rare.BowOf(Algorithm)AGI instead to the player. And to create a Job in the game, sort of like Fishing, that prints the results of the Algorithm at a fixed point. And the idea of allowing that Roll to lock in the fixed solution they reveal, temporarily, also feels very organic to me.
Sort of think of the Equipment like one of those security key algorithms you can get on your phone or on a keyring like what released with FFXIV. Depending on the Algorithm the key will return a different value each time. So rather than using Random(critChance.totalAgi), you would just run critChance.Algorithm instead. It would move the RandomRoll that already happens to the item. But there would be no direct player awareness of this, unless...
From that foundation you could build mechanics around say, a Strategist, or any title you like, identifying a fixed state, and possibly having an ability to lock in that state for a set period of time. And this ability could develop over time to influence the Algorithm and produce more desired values the higher in skill level the Strategist becomes.
It would sacrifice only the "forced awareness" of stats, for a layer of depth and meaning that enables a role playing experience suited to the Dungeon Master playstyle in context of the game in a way that does not undermine mechanics and continuity.
So it should essentially appear as though you have done nothing, yet still gained something of great value.
All you do is take this:
(Rarity.Blue)
damage.DPS 100/14
str.damage 4/4
agi.critRate 10/0.01
With this instead:
(Rarity.Blue)
Damage.DPS (good/high)
str.Minor
agi.Major
And each of these stats can be represented according to a color scheme, or icon flare (a scale of epic border graphics)
You simply represent the base information the average player needs, and create a role in the game specifically for people who want more than a base level of information, or need that increased awareness in order to help guide a competitive raid group.
Raid Leader, could be specific Job in the game with a fresh take on something as simple as where you put the Ran(Algorithm) and what information is ultimately available to the player.
So this is not intended to be a solution. It is intended to be an evolution. A slight mutation in the code that leads to synergetic abundance.
I strongly oppose randomization of stats on gear. In a hardcore MMO, "risk vs reward" is an extremely important factor with how the game is balanced. Randomization of stats would skew that. If 10 players take the same risk of navigating a dungeon and killing all of the bosses, they should have the potential for the same reward. Some might get lucky drops (RNG will always exist to some degree with drop percentage) but that's a part of the process, both from the risk and reward perspective. I played quite a bit of Diablo and to be honest with you, their loot system was atrocious. I see why it can work in a game like that but I would never want to see it in an MMO.
Now, with all that said, I am not completely opposed to the idea of there being "some" randomization that could be applied to our gear. For this, though, I would want to see it tied into crafting. FFXI had a system where you could make a +1 or +2 or +3 version of the same item. It wasn't entirely random because the quality of materials/skill being used gave a higher chance of crafting the better version, but it did help with creating a more diverse loot table. Even on named drops, we already know it will be possible to enchant our gear (which I think also makes it soulbound) -- maybe this is an area where something like that can be done. Once I get the item, I wouldn't mind trying to refine it to maximum quality as long as it's not 100% based on RNG. Higher quality materials, crafting gear, (FFXI also used a system based on mana crystals, moon cycles, night/day) -- all of that would be fine for me.
But when you are talking about a hardcore MMO ... with a severe death penalty ... where a 4 hour dungeon crawl is just as epic as the final boss at the end of it; we don't need an evolution to itemization. This is one area where we should stick to our roots, except maybe put a larger emphasis on situational gear. I don't want to see 25 sceptres (of the whale, cat, hyena, moon,) with slightly different stats dropping from the same mob. I want there to be pieces that can help our characters thrive in specific situations -- the more of these situations found in the game, the more situational loot you can implement, and the more satisfying it will be. I like to think back to EQOA ... fighting Siliskor ... the best breastplate in the game for that Dragon was a level 40 breastplate that had a ton of AC on it, but no other stats. If VR can analyze how that encounter worked, and then duplicate it hundreds of times over with different resists/factors, and then also create the "situational gear" that will allow characters to thrive in those situations ... situational gear will be a grandslam for this game.
Resists were really important in EQOA, probably moreso than any other game I have ever played. We need to get back to a system like that. With most other games, stats trump everything else. Resists/acclimation bonuses seem to be an easy way to create situational gear that can thrive in one circumstance but be average in another. I really hope resistances on gear are much more valuable in Pantheon than what I have seen in other games for the past decade plus. They should make or break fights ... be the difference of getting one shot, or barely surviving. There should be pieces that have odd combinations of stats (poison + fire) and then encounters where items with that combination shine like a champ. The key isn't making the gear, it's making the encounters where the gear is worth it's weight.
oneADseven said:I don't want to see 25 sceptres (of the whale, cat, hyena, moon,) with slightly different stats dropping from the same mob.
What if all you saw was Sceptre.Material.teir for a name and depending on border color and graphics in the icon you know the basic stat information, and the only way to know anything else was to ask someone with Equipment specific skills to identify it, or pay an NPC to evaluate it?
And what if the same Algorithm was used for all stats. On all items.
Assume 1-5 is low, 6-10 is normal, 11-15 is good, and 16-20 is High, instead of saying weapon has 19 Agi, you tell the player, using any means you wish, that the Agi rating on this weapon is "High". And every item in the game with a "High" Agi rating would then use the same algorithm to produce the fixed stat on demand, at the point of use, under those specific circumstances.
The algorithm already happens. It just happens in a different part of the code. There is no difference in the results, only in the "Perception" of the player.
Does that make sense? You could simply remove the Awareness of fixed stat values. And allow the developer to worry about their internal algorithm, and how that algorithm processes them. It would allow for more well defined levels of balance across multiple systems. Not impair it, from the developer's perspective.
It would be invisibly random, using exactly the same math the Engine already uses. You as the player would have no perception of RNG that is not already expressed in Hit/Miss rolls, crit/damage rolls, dodge, and or block rolls. These all randomize your stats in the algorithm in order to produce a sense of chance as an output. So being firmly against RNG stats is like saying you are firmly against DnD mechanics, which are the foundation of these games. That randomnumber generator has always been there. The only reason you have a sense at all of fixed stats, is because developers artificially gave that sense to you with fixed stats printed on tooltips.
Rather than adding fixed stat values, you would simply know you have Sceptr.Material.Newbie and by the colors and graphics you can determine it's rarity, levels of specific stat algorithm, and quality.
Nothing would be diminished. It would instead be enahanced and offer the foundation for a new Role in the game. Which is what Roleplaying Games are for.
So basically, instead of knowing the item value up front, I have an "idea" of the item value based on colors/graphics that determine it's rarity. Once I determine the item isn't trash, based on whatever is considered a "good" color (purple, orange, red) I can hire a strategist to tell me the exact stats and determine how good this version of the item might be compared to the other 3-4 that I looted who also share the same "good" color? Not a fan.
oneADseven said:So basically, instead of knowing the item value up front, I have an "idea" of the item value based on colors/graphics that determine it's rarity. Once I determine the item isn't trash, based on whatever is considered a "good" color (purple, orange, red) I can hire a strategist to tell me the exact stats and determine how good this version of the item might be compared to the other 3-4 that I looted who also share the same "good" color? Not a fan.
Ideally, you would be the player others would hire. Would you not consider yourself an armchair Strategist already? What if you were rewarded for that in the game?
I imagine it play out like, "Uber.RaidGuild is recruiting skilled Strategists for competitive Raiding", and someone exactly like you, who enjoys that specific realm of gameplay, could not only express that in the game, but also have progression and reward structures supporting that experience. With almost no effort. Mind you. It would be like taking up Fishing, or Baking Pies.
It could be like a shell game, and you could play the role of the con man street performer, or the seasoned war veteran, and anything in between.
What if you could be rewarded for being the guy people come to asking "Which one is the best for me?". Can you not imagine that as a rewarding experience?
Edit: because I fergot the stats...
You would never need to know what the fixed stats were as the player. They would always be a probability calculation using a range. An example would be like a weapon with 15 minimum hit and 22 max hit, represented as "Good" as it relates to the Teir. And what would happen when viewed directly is the Strategist would get a fixed number in that range, but would have to test many of the same weapon to learn the complete range information. Like maybe you test 5 Daggers Of Poking, and they are all the same. They should whatever means Good Damage, High Agi, and Low Str. So you would then test all 5 and get the range expressed to you sort of Fog-of-War ish. Maybe the first look it shows 17, then 20, then 15, then 19. And each time a journal of some kind would just record those numbers for you. Like min/max and a simple line graph thing to fancy it up a bit.
And all Stats would do the same thing. Think of Quantum Physics, and a Probability Cloud. Every fixed stat, would exist as a cloud to the lamen. But there would never be a permanent fixed stat, it would always be the Probability of the Stat range. Whatever that is. And only Experts like you would be able to narrow that range down.
Although it seems completely different, this is actually what already happens. You just trade constant awareness, for temporary awareness. And you assign a value and purpose to that awareness with a simple tradeskill, a coin sink. Really any motivation you want to assign to it would work.
Being a better player in terms of mechanical skill and knowledge is already rewarded in games like this. You kill the hard mobs and get the good loot.
You're framing this mechanic as if it is a skill that would only be used by a specific demographic of players, operating under the assumption that the majority of players would somehow pass up what would arguably be one of the strongest tradeskills to ever exist in a game.
This sounds like an extremely convoluted mechanic that, as I've said several times, is designed to address a problem that I am utterly unconvinced even exists in the first place.
How is jumping through hoops to figure out the stats on an item somehow simpler than just having stats?
ZennExile said:Ideally, you would be the player others would hire. Would you not consider yourself an armchair Strategist already? What if you were rewarded for that in the game?
I imagine it play out like, "Uber.RaidGuild is recruiting skilled Strategists for competitive Raiding", and someone exactly like you, who enjoys that specific realm of gameplay, could not only express that in the game, but also have progression and reward structures supporting that experience. With almost no effort. Mind you. It would be like taking up Fishing, or Baking Pies.
It could be like a shell game, and you could play the role of the con man street performer, or the seasoned war veteran, and anything in between.
What if you could be rewarded for being the guy people come to asking "Which one is the best for me?". Can you not imagine that as a rewarding experience?
I can absolutely imagine that as a rewarding experience for that .5% of the population at the cost of the total frustration and bewilderment of the other 99.5%.
I do not in any way, shape, or form see how obfuscating or otherwise overcomplicating items and item stats is desireable. How could it be a good idea to do something like this just to create another profession/tradeskill? What would be next? Making it so you don't know how much damage your spells do or what additional effects they have until you go perform the spell a hundred times in front of a master of your class or a "scholar" profession?
The next step is rolling dice to decide what tradeskill your character gets, with an additional dice roll to determine the maximum skill you can get in that tradeskill. For a thousand gold, you can pay a small minority of players who had good dicerolls to improve your diceroll.
Iksar said:I think the .5% is probably a fair estimate. Maybe a bit light. 1.5% would not be out of line. The direct benefits would indeed only be apparent from a single perspective. But that is completely by design.I can absolutely imagine that as a rewarding experience for that .5% of the population at the cost of the total frustration and bewilderment of the other 99.5%.
I do not in any way, shape, or form see how obfuscating or otherwise overcomplicating items and item stats is desireable. How could it be a good idea to do something like this just to create another profession/tradeskill? What would be next? Making it so you don't know how much damage your spells do or what additional effects they have until you go perform the spell a hundred times in front of a master of your class or a "scholar" profession?
Liav said:Immersion. Because clicking things with a mouse is equivalent to putting boots on in real life.
Your argument is exceedingly weak. I understand what you are saying " clicking a mouse isn't realistic" well neither is tapping the WASD keys to walk around but you do that without complaint.
By your argument we should have a keyboard or mouse and that is absurd because the whole point is to be immersed THROUGH our character controlled by the keyboard and mouse.
Iksar said:Powerful in the sense that it would be pretty much a requirement for anyone who leans even slightly toward max on the min/max spectrum of caring about personal skill/growth.
No more than say, Fishing skill is a requirment to make Shark Soup.
The beauty of it is that, it's trick of perception. An exploitation of mostly predictable human behavior. The great value, you see in this, is completely meaningless to everyone else. Even though it seem so overwhelmingly clear to you.
From the polar perspective, all they need to know is, "What is Best for Me right Now?". So all that extra information, just serves the same function it always did. It gives you a platform to min/max and theorycraft. The vast majority of players do not even see the value in that. But you do.
You realize intuitively that this would be required information for any legitimate "Meta Chaser" such as yourself, and extremely valuable as a tradeskill for groups and guilds alike. This sort of counts as milestone 2, I'll take it.
The next part, is where I explain how the process of masking stats, already mitigates the "objective" value of this skill to a point where it could compete with Fishing in motivation and reward structure. Then it is on to where this affects the idea of hot swapping gear, by diminishing the percieved value of rapidly changing gear, and to engineer what I call Synergetic Abundance.
But that will have to wait until the Pies are done. I've got several to get done tonight. Thanks for the inspiration to communicate with other humans.
ZennExile said:
No more than say, Fishing skill is a requirment to make Shark Soup.
The beauty of it is that, it's trick of perception. An exploitation of mostly predictable human behavior. The great value, you see in this, is completely meaningless to everyone else. Even though it seem so overwhelmingly clear to you.
From the polar perspective, all they need to know is, "What is Best for Me right Now?". So all that extra information, just serves the same function it always did. It gives you a platform to min/max and theorycraft. The vast majority of players do not even see the value in that. But you do.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the number of players that you think don't care about stats and finding upgrades to gear is ridiculously high.
Iksar said:I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the number of players that you think don't care about stats and finding upgrades to gear is ridiculously high.
Iksar said:I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the number of players that you think don't care about stats and finding upgrades to gear is ridiculously high.
How exactly, did you formuate the assumption that I am suggesting most players "don't care about stats and finding upgrades" when I have repeatedly stated the exact opposite?
The average player, simply does not need the "additional" information. Nothing functional, or mechanical, would change. The result of a Hit with a 16 AGI Bow would be no different than a hit from a "High Agi" Bow. Same calculation, same use, same everything. The only difference would be, the act of narrowing down the exact stat values would require game mechanics, and a tradeskill.
And get back in off that limb of assumptions before you kill yourself...
btw my Pies turned out glorious as always.
DragonFist said:
I'm going to confidently stand about 2 feet out past the limb like Bug Bunny, and point out that none of those people are anywhere near a game aimed at old school MMO values.
And I will point out that every single "OldSchool" MMO had identify skills and hidden stats. And all modern MMOs also have hidden stats. Although Identify skills and completely locked stats are less common.
fazool said:Liav said:Immersion. Because clicking things with a mouse is equivalent to putting boots on in real life.
Your argument is exceedingly weak. I understand what you are saying " clicking a mouse isn't realistic" well neither is tapping the WASD keys to walk around but you do that without complaint.
By your argument we should have a keyboard or mouse and that is absurd because the whole point is to be immersed THROUGH our character controlled by the keyboard and mouse.
Missed my entire point. Immersion isn't an on/off switch, it's a matter of how many degrees a situation in a video game is removed from reality. At least, that's my interpretation of what people mean by immersion.
My point is that complaining that instantly swapping multiple pieces of gear is not that far removed from instantly swapping a single piece of gear. The several millisecond delay in clicking a single piece of gear to swap it is thousands of times slower than the action takes in real life. I just don't get how immersion justifies the removal of one, but not the other.
Maybe every time we click a piece of gear to swap it we should get a 20-30 second timer depending on how long that equipment takes to put on irl. Except no, because that would be awful.
Anyways, I'm about done with this thread. It's getting boring and repetitive.
ZennExile said:How exactly, did you formuate the assumption that I am suggesting most players "don't care about stats and finding upgrades" when I have repeatedly stated the exact opposite?
The average player, simply does not need the "additional" information. Nothing functional, or mechanical, would change. The result of a Hit with a 16 AGI Bow would be no different than a hit from a "High Agi" Bow. Same calculation, same use, same everything. The only difference would be, the act of narrowing down the exact stat values would require game mechanics, and a tradeskill.
And get back in off that limb of assumptions before you kill yourself...
btw my Pies turned out glorious as always.
I quoted where I got that from.
ZennExile said:No more than say, Fishing skill is a requirment to make Shark Soup.
The beauty of it is that, it's trick of perception. An exploitation of mostly predictable human behavior. The great value, you see in this, is completely meaningless to everyone else. Even though it seem so overwhelmingly clear to you.
From the polar perspective, all they need to know is, "What is Best for Me right Now?". So all that extra information, just serves the same function it always did. It gives you a platform to min/max and theorycraft. The vast majority of players do not even see the value in that. But you do.
I'd say most people want to be making informed decisions, they want to see an item drop and be excited about it because they can see it is a direct upgrade and know by how much. They don't want to get a drop that is full of vague information like "Good Damage" or "High Agility" and then have to wait to either find & pay someone to tell them what the stats actually are or level the profession themselves, at the cost of having a different profession.
Even in a game like Diablo they realized players really didn't like having to buy/find/carry identify scrolls to reveal item stats, and that was a far more simple process than the tedium you are suggesting here.
In any event, what does this have to do with quick swapping gear?
The motivation of others is not your motivation though. And your motivations are what this discussion is about. You are motivated to know the fine details, the majority is typically not concerned with them. The majority wants to know what "YOU" think is Best-in-Slot.
And I could not agree more that most players of this kind of game are occupied with the Meta. But are they actively seeking it as a player with your motivations would, and does? No. They are simply seeking what someone else already "informed" them was the upgrade. Someone like you.
That subtle difference in perspective, is vitally important. And it speaks to the overall value potential in sharing fine details.
What I am suggesting, is this role, you are already playing here on the forums, and that many players just like you apply to their Strategy Guides, and New User Tutorials, could be a real game mechanic. And it could provide you, specifically, with an extremely rewarding game experience.
And as a bonus, it would completely remove the motivation of the vast majority, to "hot-swap" their gear during combat. It accomplishes this through a psychological manipulation. One that prevents the awareness of individual stats during active combat, and moves that awareness from a reactionary position, to a function of preparation. If executed carefully, this manipulation of perception should result in turning an illusion that discourages hot-swapping entirely, into Synergetic Abundance. At the very least should keep players thinking about their gear before a fight, before the Strategist uses their Raid-wide or group Skill to shrink the Probability Cloud and move it closer to max values. For Example.
It would cause the player to feel a sense of direct loss if they change items mid-fight, even if that new item would benefit them in some small statistical way. It would also limit the short term impact of online guides and databases, ideally to the point where the majority of any content release is still undocumented by the time new content becomes available.
You take something that has little if any real impact, and modify it into something that creates great impact out of nothing. This is the essence of Synergetic Abundance.
Don't you want to be a Strategist? I mean, if I didn't need max Fishing Skill to catch high quality Gnomes, I would.