I am going to make some speculations into Verant's logic (some may claim
this is an oxymoron ;-> ) as to why they gave some classes bind and others
not. First, I want to make one point: most deaths occur 2 to 3 zones from
the bind point. In cases where the character reloads more than 3 zones
away, there is generally a safe bind point within 3 zones where the player
could have been bound. I recognize that there are some few zones -- all in
the South of Antonica -- where safe binding points are farther away, but in
almost all cases the above is true.

NOTE: Yes, I know, everyone has a sob story about dying 17 zones away from
their bind point when they couldn't get a bind in Highpass/Rivervale/Erudin,
but those are rare exceptions. I have never had any trouble getting bound
where I need to with a little patience, good humor, and a little cash.

With those points made, I believe that Verant gave magic-users and priests
the ability to bind anywhere because making the 2 - 3 zone run to fetch a
corpse can be darn near impossible. Magic-users are roughly 40% less
effective in melee combat because of their reduced OFF/DEF, and priests are
down 20%, and neither group has any special melee attacks like the melee
classes.

Having played a wizard up to the mid-teens before becoming a full-time bard,
I can tell you how hard it can be for a naked wizard to handle a tough blue
that has latched onto you when you are making the run-of-shame to your
corpse -- and this is with the best root and DD spells in the business.

For a melee class, the run is an inconvenience, but without nearly as much
risk, as you can either outrun any problems that may arise (bards), hide and
sneak from them (rogues), or have enough varied attacks that do not rely
upon weapons alone that you can defend yourself adequately (warriors, monks,
et.al.).

The argument I make is that there is a compelling need for magic-users and
priests to be able to bind and bind anywhere. That need is not present for
fighters and hybrids; rather, it would simply be a convenient ability to
have.

With all the work that Verant has done to balance the various classes, I do
not believe that one can reasonably expect them to make this major change to
the game without a compelling need. I believe that it is also important to
consider the outcry Verant would get from the seven classes that can bind if
they let everyone bind. Can't you already hear Namby Pamby the Necromancer
shouting across the zone about how badly Verant nerfed the casters, and how
they are owed some special 'hot death from above' spell to offset the loss?

My parting thought is this: sure I'd love to have bind. I'd also like to be
the flying cuisinart of death, but I'm not. I'm a bard. I've been endowed
by my creators with a wide variety of marvelous abilities (most of which
work), but bind is not one of them. Being adaptable, I make do with what I
have, and frankly, I do pretty well.

Ranulf
Tunare Server