Skill point allocation: an idea for improving character diversity

[ahwinters]

If you put enough points into a tree to get the top skill, you will have 5 points left over to put elsewhere. This is not enough to get anything but the bottom row in any other tree. This forces characters to be 1-dimensional if they want to unlock their class's best abilities.

 

My suggestion to improve this: (without changing the level you get anything)

Require 4 points in any "row" before you can advance to the next row instead of 5, but put a level requirement on each row. For example, the second row would have a level req of 15. You would have several options with your 5th point at level 14:

 

• Put it into the same row (like currently)
  
• Put it into a different tree
  
• Sit on it until next level to save it for the next row
  

 

 

What would happen is that by the end, you would have 11 points extra after getting the top skill in a tree instead of just 5. You could potentially get the lower level tree skill from a 2nd tree, or instead choose to max out your main tree.

 

I know this is a bit confusing, but I think it would work, AND it would help the looking for a healer issue by making it possible to spec DPS and still be OK at healing.

 

Thoughts?

[aznthecapn]

You have 10 points left over. Not 5. Problem solved.

 

See?

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#500ZfhMRMuddhR.1

Edited December 31, 2011 by aznthecapn

[Thrage]

Honestly all talent trees really do is allow you to mess up your character and make them not as good as they could be. I'm not so sure they're a good thing for an MMORPG. Fantastic for single-player, sure, but I really haven't seen any advantage to having them in an MMO since Ragnarok Online.

[ahwinters]

You have 10 points left over. Not 5. Problem solved.

 

See?

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#500ZfhMRMuddhR.1

 

Yea you are right, I messed up. I was mostly looking at the fact that you can't get the 3rd row ability in a second tree with only 10, you would need 11. But yea that basically nullified my whole idea lol. Anyways I wish you could get the 3rd row ability in another tree.

[aznthecapn]

Yea you are right, I messed up. I was mostly looking at the fact that you can't get the 3rd row ability in a second tree with only 10, you would need 11. But yea that basically nullified my whole idea lol. Anyways I wish you could get the 3rd row ability in another tree.

 

The third row ability in another tree is in the third row so you CAN'T get it.

 

Add another skill point and they move it to the 4th row. That's the whole point.

[Cryptoling]

I really am not a fan of the skill trees in the game currently. As a Jedi Sage specced Seer (Heals) I am locked into really only one viable build.

[ahwinters]

The third row ability in another tree is in the third row so you CAN'T get it.

 

Add another skill point and they move it to the 4th row. That's the whole point.

 

In the end, what this does is make players figure out what is "best" for their class and cookie cutter that. With a tree system already in place it would make alot more sense if you could spread the points out more.

 

I am coming from Warhammer where there was a very similar 3 tree system, in which viable builds always included 2 trees as well as some 3 tree builds. So there was a ton of variety between each character.

 

edit for spelling

Edited December 31, 2011 by ahwinters

[aznthecapn]

In the end, what this does is make players figure out what is "best" for their class and cookie cutter that. With a tree system already in place it would make alot more sense if you could spread the points out more.

 

I am coming from Warhammer where there was a very similar 3 tree system, in which viable builds always included 2 trees as well as some 3 tree builds. So their was a ton of variety between each character.

 

Ultimately there's often a "best build" even in the world of hybridizing trees. This is a different system.