SWTOR: How Class Balance Happens 3gt67

swtor pvp

Eric Musco posted a pretty lengthy blog post on exactly how the developers try to reach optimal class balance in Star Wars: The old Republic. Quite an interesting read if you are into PVP: 5w4y6y

How Class Balance Happens | 06.15.2017, 02:33 PM

Hey folks,

Over the read the entire post (I know it’s long!). For the non-reader among you…

TLDR – We do not balance Disciplines against each other directly. Balance is based on target values which are determined by what type of damage dealer you are; ranged, melee, burst, sustained, etc.

Here is the detailed breakdown from the combat team:

Quote:
Opening note, for anyone who might not be familiar with the abbreviations and terminology used in this post:

  • DPS = Damage per second
  • HPS = Healing per second
  • DTPS = Damage taken per second
  • “Nerf” = Reduction to effectiveness
  • “Buff” = Increase to effectiveness
  • PvP = Player(s) versus player(s) combat
  • PvE = Player(s) versus non-player(s) combat (non-players are controlled by artificial intelligence programming)

Before we dig into the Class comparison game for damage, healing, or tanking changes.

The deeper reason for a “buff” or a “nerf” lies in a Discipline’s ability to perform at their target DPS (for damage dealers), HPS (for healers), or DTPS (for tanks). The target DPS, HPS, and DTPS values determine which content (Veteran Operations, Master Uprisings, etc.) kill times and the ability for healers and tanks to extend the life of an ally under attack. So to clarify, there is a comparison that takes place for damage, tanking, and healing balance, but that comparison is not among Disciplines or Classes – it is between the target DPS, HPS, or DTPS value and the Discipline in question.

Due to the variances with the item rating of the gear your character has equipped and the augments, Class buffs, stims, and adrenals your character may or may not be using, we are not providing you with a set number for any target values. Also, these values are average values. Every damage, tanking, or healing parse tends to be unique, and sometimes those parses can stretch quite high or low for several different reasons.

That said, we do have something a little special which we would like to share with you today: damage grouping categories. With no further ado…

Damage Groupings for Damage Dealing Disciplines
Melee Sustained Damage Dealers (up to +5% of target DPS)

Melee Quasi-Burst Damage Dealer (up to +2.5% of target DPS)

Melee Burst/Ranged Sustained Damage Dealers (at the target DPS)

Ranged Quasi-Sustained Damage Dealer (down to -2.5% of target DPS)

Ranged Burst Damage Dealers (down to -5% of target DPS)

PLEASE NOTE: The Disciplines are in alphabetical order within each grouping, not by damage dealt (for example, Deception Assassins are not intended to deal higher DPS than Saboteur Gunslingers). There are also groupings for healers and tanks, but we are not listing them since all healers are in the same groupings and all tanks are in the same groupings.

Now let us really only four sub-categories we use in order to classify a damage dealer: Melee (meaning short-range), Ranged (meaning long-range), Burst (meaning immediate or quick damage), and Sustained (meaning damage over time or slow damage). We feel both Melee and Sustained damage types are inherently disadvantaged, and that is why Melee Sustained damage dealers (with their two inherent disadvantages) make up the top grouping. Melee damage is disadvantaged because it must stay close to its target (often within four meters) in order to maximize damage output, and Sustained damage is disadvantaged because it takes several seconds to ramp up to its full damage potential each time it acquires a new target (and in situations where rapid target switching is required, it will often never reach its full damage potential).

Due to these inherent disadvantages, those classified as Sustained damage dealers are given a damage output advantage over those classified as Burst damage dealers. Similarly, those classified as Melee damage dealers are given a damage output advantage over those classified as Ranged damage dealers. Melee Burst and Ranged Sustained damage dealers fall into the same grouping because they each have one inherent disadvantage, even though those disadvantages are different (one being Melee and the other being Sustained). And in the last grouping, we have Ranged Burst damage dealers, which have no inherent disadvantages. They can quickly change targets without needing to close a gap, and they have little to no ramp up time before they start dealing high DPS on a newly acquired target.

It can be noticed that two of the groupings are missing in the above explanation. Those groupings belong to the Advanced Classes that have three damage dealing Disciplines instead of two damage dealing Disciplines and one tanking or healing Discipline. We could have technically tried to squeeze these Disciplines into one of the other three damage groupings, but we separated them out to differentiate them within their Class while still keeping them in line with what other Classes have to offer.

Another thing about the damage groupings above that might be a little confusing is the reference to “target DPS,” so let us give you a fictitious example to help clarify our meaning. , target DPS varies based on your equipped item rating and any augments, Virulence Sniper / Dirty Fighting Gunslinger performing in this same scenario should average below that target DPS, down to 9750 DPS (because they fall in the “down to -2.5% of target” damage grouping).

Before we move on from this topic, we want to Powertech / Plasmatech Vanguard, because it takes a while for the latter’s sustained damage to ramp up to its full potential.

Okay, so now you might be looking at the groupings above and scratching your head thinking, “That’s not AT ALL where my Discipline is!” If so, you might be correct (depending on which Discipline you play). In fact, that is precisely why we do Class balance changes beginning with 5.3 and continuing in the patches beyond it as necessary, until the damage grouping balance above is a reality in game and not just on paper.

We hope sharing these damage groupings with you is informative. When you see all the see another Discipline in your grouping got “nerfed” and your Discipline’s damage output is now quite a bit higher than theirs, then it is a good bet when we get around to balancing your Discipline it will also be seeing a reduction in damage output.

At this point, you might be wondering how we decided which Disciplines to balance first. We used several factors including player , player parsing data, and our own internal PvE and Corruption Sorcerer / Seer Sage got “nerfs” or “buffs,” well… just have another look at those damage groupings and take this hint to heart: it is the same story for Corruption / Seer healing as it is for Arsenal / Gunnery damage.

Lastly, you might also wonder why there are not more changes to a class’s utility toolkit, we want to make sure the damage or healing they can put out is on target and relatively similar to other Disciplines in their grouping. Once we are happy with the damage output, we can start adjusting utilities to give those that need it a boost and others that are too powerful a reduction.

We hope this glimpse into our Class design philosophy helps you understand the changes we are making and the rationale behind each decision.

-Your friendly neighborhood Combat Team