by Ghadis_God Sat Sep 08, 2012 4:18 pm
You're right, I already see people gearing up for fights over what the new OP metagame is going to be, be it the Obsidian Greatsword or the Wolf Ring or even eating grass. Soon people are going to be whining that the RtsR is too powerful to be combined with the Leo Ring, etc. until every build has to be exactly the same to be "fair" and nothing is good or useful anymore.
What I consider perfect online balance is that everything is powerful in its own way, depending on how it's used. It's a bit of an old example, but take CoD4 multiplayer. It had 5 weapon classes to choose from; Shotguns, SMG's, Sniper Rifles, LMG's, and Assault rifles, all of which were incredibly powerful and useful weapon types, in the roles they were meant for. Though I would consider myself very good at this game, I could take any weapon type and potentially dominate with it because I understood the game's mechanics and my weapon's role. LMG's were best used while stationary, and were excellent at firing on moving targets at range. Assault Rifles were the most balanced weapon class and boasted power with medium range, they could adapt to different circumstances and were very commonly used, while SMG's had the clear advantage in close quarters, etc. But there would be no cause to complain that a Sniper is OP because it was better than an SMG at long range, because each playstyle had strengths and weaknesses and a way to be effective, and yes, this is a metaphor for DkS in that every playstyle has clear strengths that may seem too powerful until you realize that anything one can do can also be gotten around. Now, yes, there are things that ruin game balance, but in general, they've already all been nerfed.
It's time to stop complaining and just play the game. There are always going to be certain builds that have advantages over others and there are always going to be builds that you have an advantage over. But complaining about and nerfing countless things hurts build diversity rather than helps it. The Wolf Ring doesn't just help low poise builds meet the breakpoint for certain weapons, it can also be used to make some incredible tanks. So if we decide to nerf it, we all become low poise fast rollers trying to stunlock each other with Katanas. We have ring and item slots for the purpose of specializing our builds; choosing grass in your items may leave you unable to buff with resin, or cure toxin. The wolf ring could be substituted for a myriad other rings that either improve your offense, defense, or versatility.
I once fought a BKGA user while using a rapier. His build was at a massive disadvantage against mine and I beat him taking only the chip damage from him hitting my shield. Next fight, he switched to a WP and I was the one at a disadvantage; his bleed meant I had to dodge a lot more than block and he had the definitive range advantage over me. So try thinking outside the box before you cry OP, and remember that some things have natural advantages over others.