they're balanced around the idea that people are constantly killing them and full saccing them. They do tend to die more than they would otherwise, but in exchange they remain very powerful/dangerous even after they die.
A rager in ragesteel is about as powerful as a fully geared out normal warrior with stoneskin/protection/aura.
My dwarf maran mace/whip, Kernagor, would regularly fight Dhaath (minotaur RBW hour/hand/whip) with stoneskin/protection/shield along with a certain overpowered item that gave sanctuary and 100 hp heals every so often. I won about 50% of our fights, and every single time I won, I was nearly dead. Like, within 50 hp to death, dead.
The only reason I won several of those fights was because he would waste several rounds getting me entwined. If he had wielded his exotics from the start and bloodthirsted, I would have not been able to win at all, even through all those preps and sanc. Only reason he didn't do that was because it would be harder for him to seal the kill, then.
*edit* no offense intended to dhaath's player, he was really cool. I'm just using examples of our fights to illustrate how you managed to beat me down despite everything I could do to stack the odds.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2009 10:52AM by vortex_magus.