MMO Antiquities – Epic Weapons

I realize that when a lot of readers look at my title they’ll think “Epic Weapons” aren’t that old. They’re just purple items in World of Warcraft. While this is true but they are not the items I am referring to. I’m looking further back to the origin of the MMO term epic weapon: EverQuest.

The epic weapons were, in summary, a class defining weapon in early EQ1 that involved a long and involved quest to acquire. This quest had raid requirements and could not be done by a single player or group (when they were new). Since that game this design feature has never truly been repeated outside of an “EverQuest property” due, in my opinion, to the implementation.

The major problem with the epic weapons in EQ1 was that they were not, in any way, balanced. Some were so powerful that they persisted for expansion after expansion. Some weren’t even used when they were released. The requirements for some of these quests were, quite honestly, the most frustrating mechanics ever designed. Others were pathetically easy. The best example is the rogue epic weapon. It provided the rogue with the highest damage main hand weapon at the time (which increased back stab damage immensely) and gave “dragon haste.” As one of the most superior epics you would imagine it would be the hardest to obtain. Strangely it was one of the top three easiest. I recall doing the quest from start to finish in less than a day for an alt. This lead to the great frustration of players and, due to the far reach of these item’s power, is ultimately why I think this design feature has not returned to other MMOs.

This is a sad thing to occur in my opinion though. If you think about the very heart of the fantasy genre the great quest for the item of power is one of a few central themes. With that in mind I advocate the return of the EQ style epic quest. I say that with a list of conditions of course.

My first suggestion would be to make the ultimate item reward only usable at max level but allow the journey to begin about five levels prior. Ensure that the work required during that time is all solo and group oriented and will assist in the progression of the character. In addition to this ensure that the quest comes to a very obvious quasi-conclusion at max level that rewards the player with a superior quality item that is better than what they would expect from a single group encounter. From that point your solo and extremely casual player will have an achievement and closure. They will not feel that their work was futile. Quite the contrary since their activity assisted in their progression and rewarded them with an item. From there the quest needs to pick up once more with a greater power curve.

Once you complete your casual portion of the quest and receive your “half epic” I feel that only through raiding should progress continue. This can be casual raids of course. As long as there is truly a feeling of grandeur associated with the process. Have mile stones that are for two groups in the mix. Ultimately though the climax and conclusion should involve a full sized raid. This raid can even be one of the easier ones as long as it involves more than a few people. Even more importantly though the item should, without a doubt, be usable and add to the over all class experience. It should be significant enough that it needs to factor slightly into class balance.

With that framework in mind I think some important things need to be listed.
* All of the quests should be of equivalent difficulty and require roughly the same amount of time.
* The final rewards should be of equivalent value to all classes and should focus on a primary aspect of said class.
* No game changing or “out of class” abilities should ever be given by these items. Don’t put “complete heal” on a healer item or “invisibility” on a melee one.
* Don’t bind these items by the silly item point system that is so prevalent in MMO design today. An “epic weapon” doesn’t get 120 points. Design something unique and rich. Balance it only against the other epic weapons and possibly the highest tier of raid gear. Giving one item of extreme quality to your casual players won’t cheapen the experience of your hardcore audience.
* Don’t make the quests impossible to do but don’t make them easy. Effort and, more importantly, skill should be required to win. Being able to sit hours on end and kill a trivial mob is not the kind of effort I mean.
* If a crafted item is included make sure it isn’t no-trade.
* Consider putting a unique but “in class” ability on the item.
* Contemplate how the item will fair in your next expansion. If they’re all still great that is acceptable. If they’re all obsolete that is equally acceptable. If even a single one isn’t, you need to upgrade it. Every item should “age” equally.
* Use unique art and models that do not appear on any other weapon or item.
* Just because EQ1 used “weapons” doesn’t mean they actually have to be! As long as it is a visible slot players will be pleased.

I hope that in the future we’ll see some class defining equipment like we did back in the EverQuest 1 days. Epics brought a lot of join and pain to players. Despite whether your experience was a good one or a bad one, however, you always felt accomplished when you finished. That is something we need to bring back!