My apologies if this has been the subject of an earlier thread. Whilst I am not necessarily taking a position for or again real time skill progression (a.k.a. I haven't yet made up my mind...), I do wonder whether the EVE 'oldtimer' effect will kick in here - namely, the fact that later arrivals will, in the nature of things, never catch up with older players in terms of skills.
Goblin Squad Member
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Yes if you join the game a year after launch you will never catch up with someone who has been advancing a single character since launch.
This doesn't mean that someone who has been playing since launch will have a huge advantage, it just means that they will have a wider verity of abilities. My guess is that the system will be kind of like SWG for character power, you could get 2 master weapon trees but you can only use one weapon at a time, there may be some bonus' that bleed over but they won't be significant enough to put you at a huge advantage.
The only place where Ryan hints to "time = big power" is when he talks about capstone abilities, and how the players who reach this will be "powerful individuals not commonly encountered"
You should go look in the thread for the "Your Pathfinder Online Character" blog discussion or Ryan's post history. There may be some better information.
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Goblin Squad Member
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I would just add that Ryan also said the Capstone Abilities would not be so powerful as to make multi-classing a bad idea.
Unless every 'Class' badge requires the exact same level of effort to get, multi-classing will have to always be less powerful. The system works in the PnP because every level requires higher xp, in this game the levels are gone, and you class badges will most likely require more and more the higher you go. So by the time a multi-classer is 10/10 a focusing character would be 12-15 depending on how fast the curve increases.
From what i have interpreted character development never stops, the capstone is a reward for focusing a a single class line to the end without deviation. The Power of the Capstone characters is not from the capstone, it's from the 20 badges of perks, the capstone is icing on the cake.
Paralleling 2 classes would eventually get you to 20/20, but character that does one class then another would be 20/20 with both capstones. Both take about the same time to finish, but the paralleler will be at a disadvantage. You have to choose, do you want more power early on, or as a reward at the end of the class line?
Multi-classing will probably be good for non-combat or low combat characters. You'll be able to pull any crafting/gathering perks out of other classes early and have no interest in capstone abilities.
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Goblin Squad Member
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@Valkenr, I think Ryan's whole point was that they didn't want that choice (You have to choose, do you want more power early on, or as a reward at the end of the class line?) to always boil down to "It's better to get the Capstone". And that "the paralleler [who has neither capstone] will be at a disadvantage [once they're both 20/20]" will be true, but that the disadvantage will not be enough to make the "paralleler" feel like he made a stupid decision.