𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙫𝙨 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙈𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨
Context is everything. A paperclip is just a piece of metal that binds paper; unless you are a student in Norway during WWII, then a paperclip is a symbol of resistance and solidarity. Context is everything.

So too is it with abilities in games. My personal favourite example of this comes from Hearthstone. Compare the Druid exclusive card ‘Innervate’ that reads “gain 2 mana” (pre-nerf) against the Rogue exclusive card ‘Counterfeit Coin’ that reads “gain 1 mana” – ‘Innervate’ seems strictly better. However, in the context of their respective class, Innervate offers the player “ramp 2 mana”; whereas Countefeit Coin is loade with synergies and can offer the player “ramp 1 mana, activate combo cards, buff minions and draw cards”. Given this context each card offers similar value to their class.

Or consider this example in Aethermon:

When Aethermon “level up”, players must learn a new move for their Aethermon, these moves vary in cost from 2 to 5XP. If a player chooses a move that costs less than 5XP, they will increase their Max HP to make up the difference. For example an Aethermon learning a 2XP move will also receive 3 additional Max HP.

One might intuit that a 2 cost move exclusive to one Aethermon would have a similar value as a 2 cost move unique to another Aethermon – and this is mostly true.

However Earth Aethermon, have more Defense than any other Aethermon type… which effectively serves as a multiplier of HP. Consequently Earth Aethermon get more value from 3HP than other Aethermon. Therefore an Earth exclusive 2XP has its power throttled to account for this.

Overall the objective of balancing moves and abilities in Aethermon is not to ensure that every move or ability is balanced against every other move or ability; rather that the larger strategies available to each class are balanced. This ensures that no matter which Aethermon you choose as your own, you have the same opportunity to explore the world of Aethermon and compete to be the best AetherRen.

Stay ready AetherRen.