Does a RPG require player skill?

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What do you guys think?

There was this guy in AoC today saying that MMORPGS don't require skill because the server decides the damage and effect you do.

Do you think he's right?
 
Even WoW requires you to know which button to press in response to another players actions and to react quickly to things etc.
 
Does it require as much dexterity as say a twitchy fps... probably not but that's not all skill's about.

If a decent MMO player sells their account to a newb, without even saying anything, everyone knows right away because the newb doesn't know what they're doing.

I find in a lot of MMO fantasy rpg's one of the best classes to see the difference between a skilled and a non skilled player is the Bard. A well played Bard in EQ, EQ2 or Vanguard is an absolute joy to behold, he's usually doing about 5-6 things at once and improving the efficeincy of the group 10 fold. A badly played one is basically just meleeing with 1-2 songs on.
 
Not the same skill as an FPS game requires, which is inturn not the same skill as an RTS requires.

On MMOs, having critical strike %, change to hit %, dodges, misses, parrys, etc all calculated by the server, sure, blunts the personal skill you can bring to the table if you're opponent gets a lucky streak, but then all that means is it that the skill required is dictated by something else.

Higher skilled players will always consistently do better than lower skilled players, no matter how easy the game is made.
 
I think knowledge should be counted, even in an FPS, from knowing where to throw your nades on certain maps to being deep into the psychological aspect of second guessing an entire enemy team with a high accuracy rate, requires knowledge of the game you're playing, the map you're playing on and the team you're playing against. You're knowledge of all that becomes your expertise, or skill.
 
Skill for me is the total of your physical (responses, hand eye coordination etc) ability + knowledge of the situation to do the best thing in any given situation and ultimately outplay your oponent.
 
RPG's require 'mental ability' knowing what stats to put your level points on, and what items you require for your character as in... are you defensive/offensive, PvP, PvM, balanced/mixed... all sorts of things like that, so yes they do require skill :D
and no its not the same as FPS or RTS :p hope that answers your question :)

EDIT: i also like to think of RPG's as 'relaxed' games, to make a nice change from a fast paced FPS game :D
 
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Ive always seen MMO's to be the FPS of RPG's. They have to be fun, easy and quick to learn, else no one would pay to play.

I really wish they would put a (proper) death penelity on mmo's. Something like AD&D, a certain amount of xp loss when you die.
MMo's dont seem to be very diverse, not like nwn for example. i.e. you are a class and theres nothing you can do with that toon apart from be that class.

All you have to do is compare the vast majority of WoW players compaired to nwn (online) players.
 
Depends on the type of MMO.

If it's level / item based (I have limited experience of these games granted, matrix online being my most played), then no, skill isn't usually an issue. The player with higher level / best gear wins. Sure you need to know what to press when, but it's hardly a skill. More knowledge.

Put me in a 1 v 1 with a player higher rank but less experienced / skilled than me in PlanetSide or CoD4, and I can guarantee I'll win 90% of the time.

To win by skill means that you both had a 50/50 chance of winning in the first place.
 
skill (cs:s, cod4, quake4...) knowledge/memory(rpg, wow ,aoc)

like u dont need to shoot someone in the head to know how to craft a weapon, u just need to know how to do it :) if u get me ;)
 
It seems that some of you are confusing dexterity with skill.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/skill

skill

–noun
1. the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well: Carpentry was one of his many skills.

2. competent excellence in performance; expertness; dexterity: The dancers performed with skill.

3. a craft, trade, or job requiring manual dexterity or special training in which a person has competence and experience: the skill of cabinetmaking.


I can assure you that gear and levels in mmo's does not equal skilled players. If that were the case then everyone and their brother would have completed all the end game content in every game by now.
 
skill is reflexes, accuracy, ability to process game sound , process many tasks at a time(multitasking :D), smartness, calmness. Most of them are inborn abilities that you just practise them(become more skillfull) and become veteran. Thats the difference between a "newbie" player that later will aquire the skills and become veteran.

RPGs DO NOT require skills, or at least skills that exceed the abilities of an average/below arvg person, imo. They are based on knowledge. Unless you classify knowledge as skill (which i dont).
 
Could you say that crafting a figure out of wood is a skill but making a decent charactor in a mmo is not a skill because you are using already defined paramaters?

I still think playing/making a charactor in D&D (nwn) needs a higher skill level that a mmorpg.
 
Even WoW requires you to know which button to press in response to another players actions and to react quickly to things etc.

As a tank, yes but then I have played every class in the game apart from shaman and they all require you to be "skilled" but I still say the tank is the class where your skill really shows
 
RPGs DO NOT require skills, or at least skills that exceed the abilities of an average/below arvg person, imo. They are based on knowledge. Unless you classify knowledge as skill (which i dont).

Unfortunately you can't just choose to not classify knowledge as part of skill. It simply is part of skill.

I think most people who've studied a martial art all their lives would be pretty annoyed if you turned round and said they're not skillful. They become skillful partly through learning (omg knowledge!) different techniques.

Much in the same way as learning a map makes you more skilled at an fps.

And learning to play your character makes you more skilled in a mmorpg.
 
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Does it not all boil down to a skill actually being 'worthy'

Like i said before I dont brag about being 'leet' at making nwn charactors but i would brag (a bit) about running a marathon or making a carving or building a desk or even laying a floor in my kitchen.

Maybe if someone gets to a point where they make a lot of money by playing games they can class themselves as skillful, because not only have they proved they are great at playing but they also got further than just sitting at home infront of a screen.
 
Depends on the game, but I'd say most do, however sometimes part of the skill is taken away because there's things like crits, percentage based hits, resists and so on.
 
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