Originally Posted by
Trenchfoot
Sometimes it's fast, other times it long, and sometimes it's just pure luck. The point is that it's a skill YOU as the player learn, and not a statistic that the character learns. Your combat skills don't automatically appear just because you get another point in some skill (while it may effect the odds somewhat). Your combat skills appear when you as the player learn them. You can't grind them up out of nothing by getting more points on your character sheet. You must actually learn them by practice and experience (real experience, not experience points).
And that's what I love about the MnB system. That when you become a good sword fighter, it hardly matters what your character sheet says, you're still a good sword fighter. And things like level, stats, gear, etc. become less and less of a factor in a fight as you get better. So that when you learn to feign, parry, dodge, block, strike, even if you re-roll your toon you still retain those skills as a player.
Now I don't care how they do the mechanics of it necessarily. It's not that I want combat here to even look anything like MnB. I'm not saying anything like 'Clone MnB'. MnB is just a good example of the things I describe above. I honestly don't care how they get there, but I would really like to see a combat system with the aspect I described above. Where levels and gear and stats play less of a critical role in success than player skill does.
We've all seen the level 20 run up and wale on the level 80 and the level 80 just stand there unaffected. When stats/levels/gear become the primary factor in combat, you're not fighting at all, a calculator is. And that's really the only reason I tout MnB, because it's the best example of breaking that mold that I know of.
It's the difference between being a good fighter because your stats/gear says you're a good fighter, and ACTUALLY BEING a good fighter.
If they can capture the essence of this, I'd play this game until the sun explodes.
EDIT: Just to clarify. I'm not saying stats/gear shouldn't matter at all. I'm saying that stats/gear shouldn't decide empirically. That out of two equally skilled swordsman, stats/gear could come into play. But also that an unskilled swordsman with the highest stats and the very best gear has very little chance against an expert swordsman with beginner stats and starter gear.
'Expert' being a title you earn through real practice and experience, not a title you grind up that's displayed on your character sheet.