It's 2023 – why is it still so annoying to respec in singleplayer RPGs?

It would be nice if there were an accessibility option or slider to adjust the cost. We don't all have the stamina or range of motion to play as many hours as we'd like, or in the way that fits us best.

Understandable if indie devs cannot afford such accomodations, but for AAA it seems reasonable.

Definitely doesn't increase the immersion for me. I have spend a ton of time looking into the consequences of what ever choice I'm presented with. That happens with me pausing and searching the internet

The problem with most RPGs is that you end up specializing towards a certain goal, from the get-go, but it’s entirely unclear what items you’ll actually find down the road to support it, and what consequences could potentially exist.

And of course unless the game is trivial difficulty-wise, you can always build yourself into a dead-end (though many rpgs are trivial to avoid this).

Ultimately though you usually have two classes of player — min/maxers and role players — and it’s generally pointless to argue solely towards one side or the other; they will inevitably conflict, and the game generally must find its balance between the two

This artistic choice, combined with poorly balanced classes and overly complicated rules turns RPGs into Build Playing Games. Looking at you BG3.

I like respecs, as do most RPG players I know. Game companies won't be getting my money if they don't provide this - I want an enjoyable experience, not a frustrating "purist" one.

It's handy if you know you'll only play one run and aren't satisfied with how your build plays.

But in that use pattern, it doesn't need to be streamlined or made too easily availble, as the article seems to be about. It's just nice to have there if you really need it in order to squeeze some more enjoyment from the game.

That's one way to look at it. Another is "I've had fun playing the way this spec allows. I wonder how respeccing in this particular manner will change things? Oh wow, this is SO much more me!"

Maybe you could make it a part of the difficulty setting. I mean, sometimes you just want to roll over everything in your path and feel badass for a bit, and sometimes you want an actual challenge.

> Why even have classes at all at this point?

Perhaps this is the actual lesson? Instead of artificial opportunity cost in the form of exclusive choices, why not provide opportunity cost in the form of time/money/etc investment?

You're a Sword & Board fighter in need of stealing the MacGuffin. Instead of magically undoing the choices that got you here, you go out and practice Stealth until you're able to heist the famed MacGuffin.

Admittedly, this system does actually provide less immersion, meaningful choices, etc., but IMO this can be mitigated almost completely by making skilling up much harder. If you still want to promote class/archetype-based characters, then just make your character's class reduce the amount of XP needed to level up certain skills. While you're at it, make having high skills also reduce the XP cost of similar skills. Someone who's really good with two-handed weapons will probably pick up one-handed weapons much quicker than someone who's never even touched a weapon.

And if this isn't enough opportunity cost for truly meaningful choices, then limiting the availability of XP (in certain sections of the game?) is also an option.

Make respecs costly or inconveniently placed. The goal is usually not to allow arbitrarily resets at any point in the game, but to allow you to optimize for what the game actually is in practice. It’s not at all rare to spec as a fire mage, and it turns out the game barely features ice monsters anywhere. Or you avoid playing a monk because they have too many drawbacks, but the game eventually throws equipment at you that eliminate most of those drawbacks.

But you usually have to make the specialization choice up front.

Let's turn that on its head:

You've focused exclusively on magic, and now you find yourself in a dungeon where you can either face a huge tanky monster that you can't possibly tank, or you must sneak past him, which - no - you can't do that because you didn't have the clairvoyance to invest in some stealth skills. Now you're unable to progress in the game.

You're a frost mage, and this required dungeon is literally impossible to finish because the boss at the end is 100% frost resistant. Oops. (Actually, this kind of reminds me of the perils of speccing full frost sorceress in Diablo 2)

You're playing a low-charisma class and the only way to progress in the game is to convince an NPC to cooperate, so you spend hours and hours and hours reloading the game, hoping for a natural 100 because that's the ONLY way you'll ever get a successful roll and get past this horrible part.

Why even play at this point, when your success is based on your luck in choosing "the right" skills to complete the game? Or you could use gamefaqs, and lose all the discovery aspect of the game...

You can make arguments like this either way to support your viewpoint, but at the end of the day, different people have different ideas of a fun time. As a game company, you'd be better served to listen to a wider range of gamers.

If you're playing single-player, then why have any restrictions like this? Some players will enjoy the game more if they can avoid them, and others enjoy the game more with them. If the restrictions can optionally and easily be bypassed, then the game will be fun for both kinds of players.

I mean A) it’s not that simple and B) if you would, presented with a button to press to win, press it, then that’s your problem. There are those of us who would say “no thank you,” push the button aside, and continue playing ‘normally.’

Like that’s not an argument against the supposed win button being implemented, that’s an admission of your own lack of self control, you know? It’s nice to have options, with the proviso that you feel capable of making good decisions for yourself.

Here's the fun thing though - you can do that whether the respec mechanics exist or not. But people who don't share your preferences will only benefit from one of those paths.