I have a suggestion that might be useful. Perhaps create a Playtester Role reserved for very experienced/dedicated players. They can play test content and give thorough input to the development team on balance changes. I can think of many people who could be great playtesters like former GMs, most dedicated bossers, etc. I think those people who are that dedicated to the server would be useful to provide a lot of feedback for content before it's released. Bonus Suggestion: One other suggestion is maybe doing Player Surveys similar to how OSRS does. I think it'd be really cool to get a sense of the community's thoughts on potential content. For example, if Pink Bean is released to the game it might be worth considering how to balance Timeless or Reverse weapons considering the current value of perfect weapons. There are other potential ideas like buffing Warriors, tweaking crash, further tweaking HP washing, adding an end game PQ, and possibly adding a new class like Aran or Knights of Cygnus that all could benefit from player surveys.
Was a idea that was pointed out quite awhile ago. Yet, too many cooks spoil the broth. Just a small group of focused & dedicated balancing members with clear understanding of the game’s formula + boss mechanics to work alongside with the developers will do well.
Just for everyone's info, a balance team--as well as a bugtest team--is an idea that has been promoted a couple of times both externally throughout the forums as well as internally within Staff. This is in addition to revamping the Staff applications generally. While I can't say what our next recruitment plans are (because I don't know lol), hopefully this is something everyone can look forward to when the time comes.
I'm pretty sure the plan is... Autoban. Then everything else. I'm over here chillin till autoban gets done then the real fun begins for Royals. I'm sure they'll do this, sound like so much fun.
This was something I wanted to ask for an update on as well. To my knowledge, this is the latest official statement on the topic. Reference: February 2021 GM Blog. As @Jooon says, a small team of dedicated players would work best. It's clear that there are several experienced and focused players in Royals willing to step up to represent their fellow maplers, and I hope that they can be utilized soon.
