Version 1.1
By Ron S. Patterson Jr.
Email - darklaguna@yahoo.com
-=Table of Contents=-
1. Revision History
2. Introduction
3. Game Balancing Tips
4. Experience Chart
5. Credits, Thanks, and Legal Information
-=Revision History=-
10/25/2000 - Added a few minor changes
10/24/2000 - Created FAQ
-=Introduction=-
The Purpose of this FAQ is to help you balance your RPG. While
creating my own RPG in RPG Maker, I have spent countless hours
trying to get enemy encounters and boss battles just right, so
they are neither too hard nor too easy. I also realized the need
of an experience reference chart so I would know how much I should
be giving out. I have included such a chart, and a few of the things
I do to help make my RPG's more balanced. I'm sure these will come
in handy as you create the ultimate RPG.
-=Game Balancing Tips=-
*The most common pitfall when creating an RPG is character growth.
In the 'Main Characters' section, you can set the rate of growth
for each statistic. It is usually a good Idea to keep these pretty
low. An average of 5 per stat is plenty. I usually go about making
characters by using the 35 point rule: they have 35 points to go
between all 7 statistics. that comes out to 5 points per stat, but
you can raise one by lowering another, as long as the total comes
out to 35.
*If you need a character to start with strong stats, but don't want
them to grow too rapidly by gaining levels, then I would suggest
using the 35 rule (maybe 40 for stronger characters) and simply
adjusting their level (which is also done in the 'Main Characters'
section) until they have the necessary strength.
*Make sure you balance the equipment accordingly. Remember that
they will also be gaining about 5 points per stat per level, so you
don't have to give them a new piece of equipment every new dungeon.
Likewise, a new weapon should not be more than 10 or 15 points
stronger than the previous one, or before long you will have to
give enemies way too much HP or Defense. Be a little more careful
with armor; they get up to five pieces of equipment to bolster their
defenses: Armor, a Helmet, a Shield, and two Accessories. They
shouldn't be more than 5 or 10 points stronger than their current
armor.
*Don't make spells to damaging. If you make a spell hit 1000 damage,
then even against the strongest boss, it will only take them 10
rounds to kill it. You should gear your spells, skills, and attacks
more toward a max damage of 999 rather than the full 9999, because
that's also the max HP of any enemy.
*Keep all of your characters balanced. If one character can equip
armor with a defense of 50 and another character can only equip
a robe with 10 defense points, then the enemies will barely
scratch the first and decimate the second. Also keep in mind
that you probably gave the first more defense and HP than the
second, say, if the first was a warrior and the second was a
wizard. There can be gaps like this, but make sure that the
enemy can still hurt the first character, and give the second
defensive spells, etc. to protect himself.
*Your characters shouldn't have to be at level 99 to defeat the
Final Boss. Play a test play through your game when completed, and
make note of what level your characters are on prior to the Final
Boss. They should only have to be on that level or a few higher to
have a decent chance to defeat the boss. By all means make your boss
challenging, but don't make it so they have to do alot of tedious
level building just to last two rounds against it.
*Keep stat increasing items to a minimum. Most of the time, the
player will just pile all of the status increasing items on their
favorite character, and that character will be so overpowered that
the rest of the party will have a hard time keeping up.
*Keep in mind that unless you are using the shield trick (making a
'cursed' shield item always equipped on a character) that they will
be able to equip a weapon in each hand instead of a weapon in one
and a shield in the other. Balance your enemies accordingly; make
them hit strong enough so that the players will want to have a
shield equipped. Those that bring two weapons against your Final
Boss or just your regular bosses will soon be running for the shop
to equip a shield. If you want them to equip a weapon in each hand,
however, then adding a few more points to the monsters defense or HP
is probably a good idea.
-=Experience Chart=-
Yes, Finally, here is the Experience Chart: (Exp. TNL =
Experience points needed to reach the next level):
As you can see, it always takes 32,768 experience points to
reach the next level after level 21. So if your game is long,
then you should probably give no more than 1000 experience
points to any enemy, except bosses. Unless you want (or need)
your characters to level up rapidly, 500 is about the max
experience points any normal monster should possess.
-=Credits, Thanks, and Legal Information=-
This document was created Solely by me, DarkLaguna. You can
Email me if you have questions about this FAQ, or you would
like to contribute information. Your help will be recognized.
I received help and would like to thank the following people:
Thanks first to God, without which nothing would be possible.
Thanks to ASCII and Agetek for creating such a great
game, and for actually getting it sent over here to the US.
Special thanks to worf22, who brought to my attention that
such a FAQ was needed, and for help with the experience chart.
This Document is copyrighted under US and international laws
by the author, DarkLaguna. It is intended for private use only.
Any attempt to alter this document and claim it as your own
work is in violation of the law. violators will be persecuted.
This FAQ can be found at the following locations:
GameFAQ's: http://www.gamefaqs.com
RPG Maker Pavilion: http://www10.ewebcity.com/rpgmaker/index.html
Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com
Game Advice: http://www.gameadvice.com
Playstation cheat.net: http://www.psxcodez.com
If you found this at any other location, notify me at
darklaguna@yahoo.com.
