ITT: Cody undercuts his central argument against Destiny

by Leisandir , Virginia, USA, Monday, August 12, 2013, 12:16 (3913 days ago) @ electricpirate

I'm not certain I understand your point. That's a Diablo-like where advantages gained from leveling are numerical; none of the builds change how you play the game, they just coalesce to give you really big numbers. The game is still "right-click until the enemy is dead." Sometimes that right-clicking is at a distance and sometimes it's up close, but that's as deep as it gets.

The style of leveling in Deus Ex, and that I'd like to see proliferated, is more akin to a toolkit: instead of improving statistical benefits, you're gaining access to more methods of play. There are jobs you can do with a clawhammer that are more effectively carried out by a mallet; you can complete challenges with any build, but some will be more conducive to one situation or another. The encounter design is critical: in Deus Ex, the player has the ability to decide how to take on a mission, so that (excluding boss battles) a character who is specialized for stealth and conversation will be able to complete any encounter because they've been designed so that they can be approached from multiple perspectives. Compare that to WoW, in which if you're playing a support class, you will never be able to defeat certain enemies by your lonesome because the numbers you generate simply aren't big enough.