Auto Assault Developer Journal

NetDevil’s Matt Shaffer has written up an Auto Assault developer journal on MMORPG.com that discusses the game’s latest update and the skill system changes that came with it.

One of the larger obstacles when revisiting a skill system is attempting to identify all the areas that will be affected by a single change. Even something as simple as adding 100 points to a health stat buff can have a large impact on both PVP and PVE. Recognizing the areas where problems may occur and avoiding them while balancing the skills is extremely important…and extremely difficult, considering the complex systems involved in an MMO. If an error makes it live then there is no telling how quickly it can be fixed. Also, when changing a skill in a positive way for one class it has be recognized that the skill will be used against another player. So a buff of one skill is in a way a nerf to the people that fight against that skill. The changes generally need to be done in a small, incremental fashion, and in a way that allows others that come against the skill to be able to counter it or master an alternative way to deal with it.