Right from the start the MK II point system was controversial. While the Mk1 system was incredibly fiddly, in both scale and how you purchased units, the MK II system was incredibly simple. The suggestion to double the scale was rejected in the field test with DC stating that there wasn't any problem and you could simply tack rules onto a model to make it worth its points.
 |
| Enter the Adepts... |
At this point its rather obvious that this didn't work out. A common, and justified criticism, is the granularity on the smaller end of the scale. Jumping from 1 to 2 points is a 100% increase and 2 to 3 falls to a mere 50%. Rules can't just be added to a model to balance this either. There aren't half rules steps so you still fall into a granularity trap alongside other issues such as models not being able to fully utilize their special abilities package.
 |
| The One Point Difference |
From a game design perspective a less obvious takeaway is its important to realize that, you, the designer will make mistakes. When you introduce an incredibly granular point system, granular to the point where a single point mistake will make or break a model, and that single point is the smallest mistake you can make its going to cause real issues in balance and diversity. It turns what could be a potentially tiny error in Mk1 into a fairly large one in Mk2 and it sadly happens all the time.
 |
| Thankfully they only make single point mistakes... |
The other important takeaway is not to be stubborn about the design. This cropped up elsewhere in the field test too, but when an obvious improvement is offered you should run with it. This isn't only a PP failing either: Deadzone uses TLOS because the designer thought it was "fun" and didn't see any issues with it. Getting too close to a design is sadly easy to do and steps to distance yourself are important. I mean, something has to explain the state of design in Kickstarted board games.
Comments