Topic: POWER vs balance

[Karai]

Here's the deal: you start new game with, let's say, two characters. One of them has high attack, but poor defence, and the other one has poor attack, but high defence. During your quest you find items that can permanently raise those stats, and amount of those items is very limited.
The question is: will you rather try to balance both characters, or abuse their potential and make a God-killing Machine and a Tank?

EDIT: woot! 100th post

[Dr. Wily II]

Hehe, I'll try to balance the both of them up...
Been that way since... Yellow.

[Akamaru]

Holy [tornado fang]. My dilemma in Battle Moon Wars... Make Takumi extremely killer or raise his defense to get him to bypass any damage?

In honest to goodness, I do both. First time playing, I usually balance it so that I am prepared for anything. Second time around, I abuse their power as much as I can since I know what is needed and what isn't.

[Tickle Buffalo]

A character that's good at some things and bad at others is better than a character that's good at nothing. POWER it is.


Or I dunno maybe balance them it depends on what the game's like I guess.

[RMX]

Usually you'll ruin your character if you balance its stats. Getting it as specialized as possible will hand you a character that's GODLY doing something so exploit that something or die, moreso if you can group it with other characters.

Holy [tornado fang]. My dilemma in Battle Moon Wars... Make Takumi extremely killer or raise his defense to get him to bypass any damage?

I made him tank stuff, he deals good damage anyways and I needed someone with high HP (14.500) to help out the middle range gang I use. Unless you're stupid is really difficult to gimp characters in BMW, and I suck at leveling characters.

[Hypershell]

Depends on what game you're playing, really.

There are benefits to both sides.  POWER gets you some really stubborn SOBs, while balance gives you some versatility against those who try to target your weaker department.  But it is true that if you overdo the "jack of all, master of none" shpiel, you can really shoot yourself in the foot.

[Jericho]

In my entire gaming life, I don't think I've ever let any one character specialize in one attribute, ability, or otherwise. I've always tried to keep a fair balance or leaned towards play styles that allow me to find a decent balance. The main reason for this is because when facing front heavy opponents, I will almost always be able to find a way around it all with a solid overall character and a decent tactic or 3.

[Strider Xhaiden]

ROBO-KY SMASH GO BOOM! MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!

*ahem*

Power all the way.

[Shiki Tohno]

Holy [tornado fang]. My dilemma in Battle Moon Wars... Make Takumi extremely killer or raise his defense to get him to bypass any damage?

In honest to goodness, I do both. First time playing, I usually balance it so that I am prepared for anything. Second time around, I abuse their power as much as I can since I know what is needed and what isn't.

LOL, you'll want to see my party. Takumi, Saber, Archer and Rider = Power Tanks. The two Shikis = Speedy Tanker-Sinkers. Len and the Maids = Speedy, Slippery Healers. Akiha and Rin = Long Range WMDs. Best [tornado fang]ing party ever.

[Satoryu]

i am all about offense. examples:

-in Pokemon, i never used moves that caused poison or paralysis, unless they came with the superpowered move. i did use Recover, though.
-in X8, the Hermes buster is way too weak, even with the X Drive. give me Quick Charge and the normal Buster anyday. it's the closest thing to the Real Ultimate Buster. also, i'd never use the B Fan. D Glaive is where it's at.
-in the Kingdom Hearts games, i never used the defensive spells like Aero and Reflect. though Reflect is actually a really good offensive tool as well.

[RMX]

I think we already went through how much you like your party, DZ

[RockmanHalo]

Well, in Fallout, I usually make my guy more agile and intelligent than strong. It usually ends up good, I can't comment on Fallout 3 since I've found near every bobblehead and as such, my guy's a God-Killing Machine Tank...in Power Armor.

[Psycho Yuffie]

It's all about power and stat abusing in RPG's. After all, that's usually why you have party members, right? Each character has a specialty to abuse the hell out of. Balancing out their stats would ruin them and make the game a lot harder. If you like challenges, I suppose you would find that more fun. Myself, I would find that frustrating. I guess it comes down to the person.

[Ramzal]

Balance. To be ready for anything and to have a reliable character is my choice.

[Akamaru]

LOL, you'll want to see my party. Takumi, Saber, Archer and Rider = Power Tanks. The two Shikis = Speedy Tanker-Sinkers. Len and the Maids = Speedy, Slippery Healers. Akiha and Rin = Long Range WMDs. Best [tornado fang]ing party ever.

...

If that isn't devotion, I don't know what is...

[Protoman Blues]