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Many of the design decisions in this game seem bad and arbitrary. Why have bans and why limit to 1 of each character per game? Why not let everyone play who the

Many of the design decisions in this game seem bad and arbitrary. Why have bans and why limit to 1 of each character per game? Why not let everyone play who the want?

maruhan2 10y ago
"Why have bans" The so called "normal mode" is one where there are no bans. Rank mode, however, have bans because with so many characters it's impossible to be perfectly balanced, and some will be distinctively stronger than others. Just by picking them first, you'll be in a much better spot, which goes against the competitive nature. So, you get to ban those characters. (Then, you might question why there is pick order instead of everyone choosing what they want at the same time. I'll get to that.) In addition, in adds a strategic element. For example, say you are really good at one character but that character is particularly weak against another character. You can ban that option out. About why there is pick order. In the normal mode, there is no pick order. In rank, there is because it adds a strategic element. It allows you to try to pick characters that will most amplify your team's strategy or nullify your opponent's strategy. This also helps with balancing since you don't want to have a strategy that completely by chance happens to be countered by the opposing strategy. "Why 1 character per game" This can be put to two options. First option is controlling many characters at once like starcraft. Second option is being able to swap out characters mid-game like overwatch. This is purely based on decisions of what make games fun. About the first option of controlling one character, this game structure is based off DOTA which is a mod for Warcraft 3. People liked DOTA because instead of the trouble of controlling multiple characters in Warcraft 3, for many people, it was more intuitive and hence more fun to control one character. It also highlights different skillsets where controlling one character rewards more on accuracy and reflexes, while controlling many rewards more on macro decision making. The second option is likely arbitrary. One can totally make the same game where you can swap out characters mid-game. But that would make it harder to balance characters and items properly, which is why I think the original DOTA decided to just go with playing one all throughout the game. And in my biased opinion, it wouldn't particularly be any more fun to be able to swap mid-game anyway.
spdionis 10y ago
Because then it would be another game?

Many of the design decisions in this game seem bad and arbitrary. Why have bans and why limit to 1 of each character per game? Why not let everyone play who the want?

maruhan2 10y ago

"Why have bans" The so called "normal mode" is one where there are no bans. Rank mode, however, have bans because with so many characters it's impossible to be perfectly balanced, and some will be distinctively stronger than others. Just by picking them first, you'll be in a much better spot, which goes against the competitive nature. So, you get to ban those characters. (Then, you might question why there is pick order instead of everyone choosing what they want at the same time. I'll get to that.) In addition, in adds a strategic element. For example, say you are really good at one character but that character is particularly weak against another character. You can ban that option out. About why there is pick order. In the normal mode, there is no pick order. In rank, there is because it adds a strategic element. It allows you to try to pick characters that will most amplify your team's strategy or nullify your opponent's strategy. This also helps with balancing since you don't want to have a strategy that completely by chance happens to be countered by the opposing strategy. "Why 1 character per game" This can be put to two options. First option is controlling many characters at once like starcraft. Second option is being able to swap out characters mid-game like overwatch. This is purely based on decisions of what make games fun. About the first option of controlling one character, this game structure is based off DOTA which is a mod for Warcraft 3. People liked DOTA because instead of the trouble of controlling multiple characters in Warcraft 3, for many people, it was more intuitive and hence more fun to control one character. It also highlights different skillsets where controlling one character rewards more on accuracy and reflexes, while controlling many rewards more on macro decision making. The second option is likely arbitrary. One can totally make the same game where you can swap out characters mid-game. But that would make it harder to balance characters and items properly, which is why I think the original DOTA decided to just go with playing one all throughout the game. And in my biased opinion, it wouldn't particularly be any more fun to be able to swap mid-game anyway.

spdionis 10y ago

Because then it would be another game?