In most
MMORPGs, the player is only able to wield a single weapon such as a sword, axe
or bow. What if the player can equip a hybrid of these weapons, such as the
gunblade from Final Fantasy 8 and Final Fantasy 13? The gunblade feature two
different weapons in one, a gun and a sword. This can change the play style of typical
MMORPGs where the fighting style is static, (for example melee fighters would
always be melee fighters).
Having a
hybrid weapon in a MMORPG can change how the general combat system would work.
If a warrior now wields a gunblade, they can either choose to brawl with the
enemy up close with the sword or choose to kite the enemy with the gun. With
two types of weapons, at least two new play styles can be used in a fight. A
more dynamic battle system would change how the game is played and may create
more strategy for the player.
Hybrid
weapons would also remove a “profession/class/job system” since now a warrior
can both shoot from afar and fight in melee range. This gives more freedom to
the players. They do not have to be limited in their own role but they can
choose to be. An example of this would be a player who loves melee fighting
could have a hybrid weapon of a large 2 handed sword and dual daggers. This
will create a melee oriented player, but it also as two different styles of
play. A high damage with a large reach but slow 2 handed sword and a quick but
low damage with a short reach dual daggers. With the removal of a “class system”
the spells and skills of a player would now be with the weapons themselves. The
player will learn sword skills if they equip swords, where as they will learn
gun skills if they use guns. Instead of having multiple weapon skills generalized
in a class (such as a warrior), it is much more specific and more oriented to
the weapons the player use. General skill/spells would be given to all players
and the players may choose to train these skills/spells.
With the
skills/spells being given to weapons instead of classes, this gives more
freedom to parties. A typical party would have a tank, high damage dealers, and
healers, but with hybrid weapons and no classes, this lets players play
multiple roles at a time. Players don’t have to and can focus on a single role,
but it gives more diversity to a party. In MMORPGs, finding the right party
members are difficult because maybe there is no healer, or a tank. But a with
hybrid weapons, a player can play different roles and also swap roles with
their teammates. This creates a more strategic battle and can also create a
more competitive fight with other players or clans.
With so
much freedom, limitations must be placed for these hybrid weapons. Some
limitations could be that only 2 types of weapons can be combined, (gun +
sword, not gun + sword + staff). This gives the player enough freedom to swap
between two roles, but not allow a single player to be the “god” player where they
can use every weapon and play every single role.
Hybrid
weapons create a more dynamic combat environment because the player can play
multiple play styles during combat. There would be no more class system because
the player can now freely wield any combination of weapons that they so choose.
This creates multiple roles that can be played by each player because there is
no more class system. The player can choose to play a specific role though, so
if a player enjoys playing the backline healer, they can use weapons that are specific
to that class and play that role out during fights. I know a few MMORPGs that
allow the player to use multiple types of weapons, but none of them can change
during combat or it is not effective to change weapons during combat. With the
addition to hybrid weapons such as the gunblade, the player can have more
freedom during combat in MMORPGs.
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