The developers over at Spellborn NV in cooperation with Frogster Interactive have posted a new development diary to update everyone on the progress of their upcoming MMORPG The Chronicles of Spellborn. This week, they gave us hints on how they're balancing the video game's job classes and how they're working out a level playing field for the PvP aspect.

To the uninitiated, balancing is a make or break factor in competitive game genres such as MMORPG and FPS. Nothing drives subscribers away faster than a virtual world where a useless class exists. At the other end of the spectrum, a virtual world where one class or weapon dominates everything else can be just as irksome.

To achieve the next level of balance possible, polishing and testing is done extensively. That's where Spellborn NV is at right now: they're doing all they can internally to make sure that there will be as few whines and moans as possible by the time The Chronicles of Spellborn launches. Afterwards, patches should address what Spellborn NV overlooked.

El "Selachii" Drijver, who writes for The Chronicles of Spellborn's official fan page, has posted an extensive report called "Combat Balance" which you may want to see. Details on the rationale behind the damage system are right there so you'd know why certain whacks hurt more than others.

El "Selachii" Drijver's section on Basic Balancing explains how tough it can be to refine what seems to be a pretty simple model. It takes a lot of trial-and-error work to determine the best setup possible, making this aspect of development both time-consuming and painstaking. If you want to see the full post, feel free to click on the "Via" link below and be immersed in the nitty-gritty of The Chronicles of Spellborn.