i think that balance is objective, there are no many different versions of it
balance is equality combined with a variety
balance is every class being able to beat every other class
that never existed in lineage from the very first day it opened it was unbalanced
no one ever managed to make it possible coz everyone accepted how the game was made and never dared change the formulas and the skills some classes have.
no one ever bothered to remove stats and rework how things like damage are calculated.
Why no one ever did it? coz there is that argument " this is lineage and if you don't like it go make a new game "
I personally disagree with that notion, you can have something given to you and if there is something you don't like about it you can change it and improve it without turning it into a different thing ( game in our case )
On Topic, you do need a good developer to achieve balance but you need to know what you need done, he will do what you want him to do, he will not tell you what balance is.