Rating System

So why did we change it? It was frustrating for people to not be able to aspire to truly epic gear, since we had to account for flat percentages everywhere you went. We were literally giving out tiny bits of effectiveness for our characters, and generally, although some may disagree, tiny fractional percentages just aren’t fun.

Remember, the tricky part about percentages and a successful MMO? You can’t give out more than 100%!

When you budget out these values over 10+ years (remember, we’re not just talking about Moria here; but future expansions and beyond!), you either start giving out tiny fractions of a percentage that don’t feel very meaningful, or eventually players over a ten year play cycle will reach 100% of those values.

The rating system allows us to give out ”moments of advancement” more often and in greater magnitude that remain relative for the lifetime of the character.

You can continue to garner ratings for the lifetime of your character, and the more rating points you get, the higher the level of content you can challenge.

Previously, the system was heavily reliant on comparing the monster’s level and the player’s level for adjusting the difficulty for fighting more powerful creatures. Although there is still some of that involved, many of these checks have been reduced to ratings checks. So if you find yourself with more powerful gear, you can overcome some of the previously level-dependant mitigation and resist penalties you faced before. This enables truly daring players to reduce the penalties for fighting up-level.