I remember the first time that I ever played World of Warcraft. My brother had the highest level he could have on his character (I can’t remember what kind) and he had to go to bed because of school and I was already off for Summer break. So, I played the game. He said to me to wake him up if I came across any gear in the raid that was purple because that was the best gear to get.

I was thinking about this today when I was talking to some of my friends about the game and I realized something that really worried me about the game. One of the things I did not like about WoW was that the sole goal was to get the best gear because if that was the case, you were then the ultimate person and really strong.

Yes, cool gear is great, but I want more than just gear.

I want there to be some sort of tactic and skill to becoming good at the game. Just because your gear is higher than mine doesn’t mean that you are a better player than I am. It means one of a few things:

• You get to play the game more than I do.

• You are luckier than I am and just so happen to come across the gear faster.

• You have other people there to raid with you to watch your back while you go hunting for the gear.

Now, I am not a sourpuss. I do think that a lot of players that have the best gear are really great players, but it worries me that the game is going to be so gear focused that there won’t be any necessary skill.

I propose a simple formula for this game to work so great. Make gear important and make it so that it does make you strong, but also consider creating some sort of a “learn new styles” program. In this program, what you would do is learn certain combos. Rather than just button mashing like I did the first time that I played the game, instead, I’d like for there to be certain player skills. I don’t mean in game skills, but actual skills that the player develops.

I would love for them to create the game and have all our desires intertwined in the perfect game, but I really would love if the game had certain skills that I could develop by playing. It’ll differentiate the good gamer from the gamer that just has a ton of time and friends to back him up. We’ll have to wait and see, though.

What do you think, though? Should gear be the most important thing or would you like to see a skill development system? Leave a comment and let me know.