I am trying to decide the best way to handle unbalanced game pieces for the game I am working on (if you have not seen it mentioned elsewhere by me, it is a miniatures game).
I am working on setting up the first official release and play testing on my end has gone well. Needless to say, I know once I open it up to others they will find loopholes and abuse some mini's. That said, what is the best way to handle the figures that make it through playtesting but are later found to be broken or powerful? I figure there are three options, I have considered the pros and cons of them, but if you were a player (or do play a game that does something like this) what do -you- prefer?
Hotfixes (The stats / rules are changed on the unit itself permenantly (or until it needs fixing again. This often leads to players calling the subject in question to be 'nerfed')
Banned (Allow the unit to be only used in casual play and offer 'house rule' ideas on how to balance it. Essentially letting players deal with it. I have seen this lead to a lot of arguments and frustration, or new players not realizing the unbalanced factors and becoming the victim).
Limit (Simple limit the times the unit can be used or included in the army. I have a standard limit of no more than 4 of a single unit. This could be lowered in hopes of balance. Generally not a great fix, but could work.)
New Version (Sort of like a hotfix, but in this case stop production / sale of the broken unit, allowing the players who have the old version to still use it. A new unit with the hotfixes in place would then be released, probably with a new name to avoid confusion.)
Any other ideas? What would you like a game / company to do if you were a player? What would be the most fair option?
Thanks Fhizban! I am leaning towards the hotfix option at the moment. It seems like the easiest way to handle fixing a balance issue, for me anyway. I know that in some cases people get annoyed by that. For example if somebody finds that loophole and goes through the time and money to buy the pieces to use them, then the rule is fixed...they may get frustrated. At the same time, I think that if a player does something like that, just to exploit a rule imbalance, then it is their problem. Especially if they know that it is going to be changed soon anyway.