I read about the many changes coming in Change 5.1.2 and am both intrigued and hesitant. I know there are a plethora of threads discussing the details of the upcoming changes, and thus, I want to rekindle a concept to the developers that may have been central at the game’s inception but seems to have been forgotten in the recent core thinking. I am not a programmer, nor am I very versed in computer software design, engineering, or coding-- so I know the root idea might prove too herculean or too game breaking in nature to be practical. I am however a lover of the game and an avid fan of the role-play genre since the late 70’s when D&D was in it’s infancy.

First, I appreciate what has obviously been a lot of hard work, creative thinking and many hours of coding by the Zenimax staff to continuously strive to provide its playing community with fresh content. I feel the emphasis on balanced game play is, however, an error in judgement. Over-balancing the skills and passives between classes minimizes player choices, and thus detracts from the true nature of a “Role-Playing” game. Why role play a thief when you can role play a templar and achieve essentially the same results. To be fair? Is the world of Tamriel a truly fair place? Variety is the spice of life, without variety, everything is rather bland.

I propose that rather than balance each class, the developers should try to focus more on making each class uniquely different from the other classes- and leave balancing to the players to find. So, a night blade isn’t very good at healing? Maybe they should have paid attention in the temples when they were young instead of trying to pilfer from the collection plates. Good thing they know an alchemist. And if that priestess of Mara won’t heal my partner, she is going to be very sorry when the guild hears about it.

I know a large portion of the playing community is not interested in role playing when they play this role-playing game – because it is such an appealing game to the entire gaming community. And I also understand the developers need to run a business and try to generate reliable sources of revenue to keep the company strong. Yet, the game is, at its very heart, a role-playing game. I challenge the developers to keep their goal of balancing game play for all players whilst making playing the game more about role playing and defining each class into its own distinctive choice with real benefits and weaknesses that may or may not be fair, since life in Tamriel isn't fair.