Gear progression in the Elder Scrolls Online is being designed to be dynamically generated. Much like Diablo, Torchlight, and any other action RPG, the stats of items will be dynamically generated rather than static.
As such, even the most powerful items in the game will come with a set of variable statistics. The statistics will not be written in stone, and give players an ample opportunity to seek them out on multiple occasions by killing bosses known to drop those items.
Players might be hesitant to embrace such a system, given how it differs from most MMORPGs including World of Warcraft, but it's been done before—successfully, even—in Asheron's Call, so it wouldn't be the first time that an MMORPG has used dynamically generated stats for equipment.
According to fans of the game, it's a feature that could either be fun or rage inducing, so we've decided to weigh the pros and cons of the system.
Pros
Replay value: Legendary items dropped by bosses will have a pool of stats to pull from, giving players reason to kill the same bosses repeatedly for better, or perhaps different stats on the same gear.
No cookie-cutter builds: The dynamically generated stats will allow each and every player to have a different build. There will be no cookie-cutter characters with the same stats.
Faithful to the Elder Scrolls series: Weapons in the Elder Scroll series have always had variable stats. In Skyrim, weapons scaled based on your character level.
Good for the game economy: Because items have the potential for different properties, players seeking out different stats on their weapons and gear will have a lot of room to choose from.
Cons
Difficult min-maxing: It will be more difficult, though not impossible, for players to scope out what weapons and equipment they need for the best possible builds.
Useless stats: It will be disheartening to find a piece of gear that you wanted with stats irrelevant to your character class or build.
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Ultimately, the game will have to offer a system that isn't quite as random as ARPGs but is equally not as static as your typical MMORPG so stats on the items you find won't vary to the point of annoyance.
What's your take on the system?
