7th August 2004, 12:15 PM
Armor generally is by class, yeah, no matter what kind of RPG you are playing... honestly, it's hard to compare console-style and PC-style RPGs. They are so different in so many ways. I have a lot more experience in PC RPGs, true, but I have played a couple of console ones... maybe others are more complex in this way (than Lunar for GBA or Skies of Arcadia)? Don't know though...
One thing that it does seem like to me is that in console style ones you upgrade your weapons and armor a LOT more. In a standard D&D PC RPG (which is most of what I have played and generally what I mean by PC RPG) you really don't upgrade your equipment that often. Mages won't get any armor at all (well, robes...) for several levels, for instance... jewlery and stuff also generally doesn't come until later and often you'll keep some of the same things on for a really long time. Armor? You'll upgrade it sure, but not anywhere near as often as in a console title. Same with weapons... in BGII I kept one weapon (for my main character, who dual weilds) for about three quarters of the game... and the other for the two thirds of the game after I got it. I never found anything better than them. And that's typical, I think... once you get to that level (BGII starts at around level 8) the really good magically enchanted weapons are pretty rare and hard to find and even when you find one one you have that is 'weaker' (lesser enchantment) might be better for various reasons, like if you really like some enchantment on it... once you get good stuff you won't be changing it much really. It doesn't seem to work quite that way in console games from my experience... yes, you can get the best stuff, but by that point you've pretty much finished the game and there is only so much choices you can make... which, yeah, is mostly about the accessories.
One thing that it does seem like to me is that in console style ones you upgrade your weapons and armor a LOT more. In a standard D&D PC RPG (which is most of what I have played and generally what I mean by PC RPG) you really don't upgrade your equipment that often. Mages won't get any armor at all (well, robes...) for several levels, for instance... jewlery and stuff also generally doesn't come until later and often you'll keep some of the same things on for a really long time. Armor? You'll upgrade it sure, but not anywhere near as often as in a console title. Same with weapons... in BGII I kept one weapon (for my main character, who dual weilds) for about three quarters of the game... and the other for the two thirds of the game after I got it. I never found anything better than them. And that's typical, I think... once you get to that level (BGII starts at around level 8) the really good magically enchanted weapons are pretty rare and hard to find and even when you find one one you have that is 'weaker' (lesser enchantment) might be better for various reasons, like if you really like some enchantment on it... once you get good stuff you won't be changing it much really. It doesn't seem to work quite that way in console games from my experience... yes, you can get the best stuff, but by that point you've pretty much finished the game and there is only so much choices you can make... which, yeah, is mostly about the accessories.