[quote][b]4) The Second Implementation[/b][/quote]With the previous goal in mind, the next implementation we'll try is one that allows players to select a number of special abillities from a preset list to place on their newly ascended exotic. This implementation gives players maximum control over the final product of the ascension process and will allow them to create the exotic that they feel best matches their character. However, this approach, though very appealing, is fraught with problems. The core issue with this second implementation is that the control gained by players is control lost by Bungie, and with that loss of control, the feature becomes much harder to balance. Keep in mind that while it is in Bungie's best interests to create balanced exotics with clear strengths and weaknesses, players feel no such obligation, and will try to minmax their choices to create the strongest possible items. Bungie cannot allow that to go unchecked; if the ascended exotics become too powerful, then nobody would want to use any of the dropped exotics, and that's a thematic portion of the sandbox that would go to waste. To prevent this from happening, Bungie can control which abillities players can place on their ascended exotics, but this system is difficult to balance in a way that also feels satisfying to players. Any one abillity can be too strong when combined with any other abillity, and any given abillity set can be too strong when placed on the right base equipment. An edge abuse case caused by any of those situations is difficult to fix without causing a rippling effect that can hurt otherwise balanced exotics simply because they share an abillity or base equipment with the prime offender. I'm concerned that the only way to ensure that the system is ultimately balanceable is to homogenize the set of abillities available for ascension. If every abillity is safe, the game certainly wouldn't be unbalanced, but it also wouldn't be very interesting either. At that point, we'd have the opposite problem on our hands; nobody would want to turn their superior equipment into a "pseudo" exotic when they could just use a "real" exotic from a drop. Again, this would be a rather unfortunate waste of what could have been a very interesting feature. Not to mention, the exotics ascended by players through this approach just wouldn't have the same charm and magic as any Bungie created exotic. This isn't to say that our community isn't capable of creativity, it's just that thematic flavor isn't something you can really select out of a series of drop down menus. There's also a few issues with conveyance and readibillity that comes from letting players place several out of many abillities onto a piece of equipment which makes this approach less than desirable. It's possible to make an approach like this work with enough iteration, but I feel that it's far too clunky to be efficient and I feel that it doesn't truly fulfill the fantasy of the exotic tier. What if there was a way to give players options, but in a way that was safer, more powerful, and easier to balance? [b]Destiny Speculation: Exotic Ascension continues on the next post. [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=63605626&path=1]Please click this Hyperlink to continue reading.[/url][/b][spoiler][b]Table of Contents 1) [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=63605619]Introduction / Original Post[/url] 2) [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=63605658&path=1]The Sub-Exotic Tiers and Standard Ascension[/url] 3) [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=63605637&path=1]The Exotic Tier and the First Implementation[/url] 4) >> The Second Implementation << 5) [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=63605626&path=1]The Third Implementation[/url] 6) [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=63605621&path=1]Conclusion[/url][/b][/spoiler]