For all the PvE players, what (if anything) would make you willing to flag for PvP?

After reading the forums for a bit and listening to the deep dive on PvP, it seems that flagging for PvP is definitely going to be consentual and optional.

So to all you PvE players out there, what kind of rewards would make you willing to risk flagging for PvP?

Things like better chance to get materials, using a special crafting station, special loot, reduced penalty for dying, quests and PvP related story, something to increase your guild's standing, virtue, etc?

Perhaps we can find some middle ground here if we can make PvP optional but really, really rewarding to the point more PvE people are willing to at least give it a shot.

 

I would flag for PvP if it was fun.

Not if it was cruel, or pointless or a grind for loot.

 

This!

If it is a fun part of the game, I'll do it. If its just another grind, or if the players I encounter who are PvPing are jerks, I wont. Far too often, its either one or the other, and often both; in fact, I havn't played a game where I actually enjoy PvP. Looking forward to giving it a try.

 

(My usual PvP disclaimer: I consider myself about halfway in between "PvEer" and "PvPer". I enjoy it sometimes, and want it to be my choice whether I participate at a given time or not. However, in this community, that usually gets me painted as a PvE pacifist XD )

Much like Ned, my main priority that would bring me to flag as PvP is if it was fun.... which, honestly, has as much to do with out-of-game considerations as in-game ones. Am I able to concentrate on just the game for some amount of time? (Not cooking, or multitasking for work, etc.) Am I fully awake, and feeling okay/able to focus well/decent reflexes? (I have a lot of health issues, so the question to this too often is 'no'.)

A sense of it being a "friendly fight" instead of a gangwar of people that genuinely hate each other is also critical. I don't mind PvP that afterwards you can congratulate each other on particularly good moves then go grab a beer. I very much dislike PvP where the victor dances on the corpse of his victim while slicing off body parts and slinging taunts and insults. (Both are extremes, I realize, but I am trying to make a point, not provide "real examples".) So really, the best way to convince me to PvP, is for the hardcore PvPers to treat others as friends taking on a challenge together, rather than a potential target at all times.

 

There are always going to be people like that no matter what you do. If there is a game where competition is an option, there will be competitive people and those people don't always handle things well.

Can't people just ignore this behavior? It's the internet, it's always been that way because people have the ability to be anonymous, and it's probably never going to change.

Sometimes we can go a little too far trying to be over-protective of ourselves when it comes stupid people on the internet and lose sight that, when we have that mentality to make it "safer," usually the price we pay is the amount of fun the game is.

For example, when I was a kid there was the most amazing playground near my house, made out of wood. It was epic and I have tons of fond memories. I think ONE kid got hurt at some point, and then ended up demolishing the whole thing and making some plastic piece of junk. It's abysmal and I wouldn't even bring my own children there if I ever have kids.

I just don't want to see SotA turn into that awful plastic "playground" in the area of PvP because people are afraid of being hurt.

 

PvP needs a point to it. That's what were hoping for with the castles. People want to get together to capture and hold something of value.

PvP over nothing just doesn't work. You either get a zerg or people looking to stealth / ambush...with nothing to ambush.

 

I would PvP:
To roleplay a grudge match or player made event
To take part in a war.

To respond to a call to arms from people I liked because gatherers were unable to gain a foothold in a contested area
To kill my husband's avatar and collect his head as a trophy to display in my yard so that all husbands will know that when I say put the seat down, I mean it!
To see who can make it across a meteor strike hex with nothing on but a club and a smile the fastest while drunk (after seeing who can hold their breath under water the longest.)
To smack the snot out of people on these forums who annoy me (don't lie you want to do it too.)

I will not PvP:
To rob people.
For a quest if it goes against my Avatar's code of ethics which are TBD.
To grief anyone other than my husband and close friends who can take a joke.
For my guild because I can't picture MGT470 being at war with anyone.
To attack people for being jerks on the forums... again.
For the sake of PvP.
I might not even bother at all if there's only a chance of me getting one item.

sent from the future using my Coleco Adam

 

Community is a draw for me - and like PrimeRib PvP with a purpose

Naturally I want gameplay to be fun but

I'm too old to deal with "poor sports", "overblown arguments" or "vindictive players" ... even if PvP is fun and I run across these folks I just find others to play with or head to PvE land.

Also some folks take PvP too seriously - when you get that "yelling commander" or it feels like I'm in the military I usually opt out ... sometimes playing like this is fun but its not my prefered gaming environment

I can be very competitive but I do it in a subtle, calculated ... tactical manner ... I take more pleasure in learning "play strategies" from opponents and turning them against them ... more fun and gratifying ... always looking for a reasonable challenge ... if someone is just too good, I just walk away and don't sweat it

It's not about "protecting" myself - its about surrounding myself with people that will maximize my fun with the least amount of hazzle.

So to answer the question I don't need an incentive - the folks that play determine if I stick around or leave - It's not like elementary where you're stuck with your classmates ... if they are not fun / mean spirited - you leave - because the game is no longer fun

 

But he asked what would entice us to PvP/PvP more. That is what would entice me. I'm not saying if I see one person being nasty I will never PvP again, but the lower the incident of the nasty PvPers, the higher the chances of me participating.

 

I would PvP if I found some nice people to do it with as a group, who are not overly competitive. I am not a great PvP'er - I don't have the nerves or the resolve for it, so I need to be allowed to die in clumsy and comical ways. People must be OK with me littering the battlefield with a hundred corpses, and coloring rivers red with gushing arteries. This also means that for me, if the price of failure is too high (i.e. lose all your gear), I will stay away.

I would be most motivated to PvP if I could hunt "reds" or agents of the dark lords. That's fun, because success would mean killing someone who has it coming. I PK'ed someone once in Ultima Online, and felt so bad about it that I returned all the stuff I robbed from my victim. Reds I will not pity.

I would probably never PvP on my own - the feeling of being a team and sharing success and failure is everything to me. As unlikely as it is, I would have very little joy from dominating alone.

 

Amaranthus, I would be more than happy to accompany you.

 

Well, the way they laid out volcanoes and meteor strikes, that would make me want to PVP I was actually interested. I was also told I was wrong for liking that though so....


I don't think I would ever flag open pvp because it would ruin playing the game for me...as it is now I see myself playing between SPO/FPO/OPO as I play depending on my mood.

 

If the PvP is fun, nothing extra would be needed to draw me in.

Also, there should be a reason to fight, not just FFA slash and hack. I like having a clear and easy to recognize enemy, and being able to tell who my allies are.

 

For me, as more of a PvE player it's simple... PvP needs to have PURPOSE. Miner ganking to me is not a purpose. PvP to me is not a purpose in itself. Being blocked from PvE content due to the constant of PvP to me is not a purpose.

Storyline driven systems that create the potential for PvP and hold risks and rewards created by that system beyond the basic game itself has a purpose.

Examples mentioned constantly are Town Sieges (Purpose: Take control of as an invader, or free the town from said invaders) and "Illicit goods" carry quests (Purpose: Carry a valuable/illicit item for a valuable reward at the risk of others knowing an attempting to stop you or seize said item for themselves).

Secondly, it comes down to the option to be involved or not. PvP for me would add to the purpose of the game when it has a purpose. PvP to me has no purpose when I'm out gathering basic resources, building a character, or challenging myself or testing out a character/equipment build in a PvE situation. In those cases, PvP is more of an impediment to the game instead of a fulfillment.

Give me a reason and purpose beyond "I want you to".

 

I enjoy the idea of 'taking' a castle. This could be an easily appointed option for castle owners. Own a castle? Flag it for PvP and set in a king of the hill gametype for a throne/top floor etc. My question to this would be, would it bring a meaningful experience in terms of bringing groups closer together, or would it separate the good from the bad(Affinity)? This being said, I would more than likely avoid a castle full of 63 players, there would have to be a way of evening the odds and making the battle a little better than 63 vs 1.

Consider the individual that stumbles upon this area that is teeming with player characters defending their flagged castle/dungeon/forest/bag of apples, etc. Could this lone traveler recruit a guild or faction of some kind to overtake the area and win for the good of all men and women? As a guild-leader, would I receive tips or letters from a mail-person that entails need of escort or defense of an area?

I ask these questions under the context of what I would consider a meaningful experience of PvP and throwing a few ideas around. What do you all think?

 

Ok, seriously this time, here is one idea that I would very much be in favor of when chiming in on the hot button PvP issue. While it is harder to define what "meaningful PvP" is, I can definitely tell you what is meaningless PvP! When someone of a much higher level stakes out particular areas, waiting for unwary, weaker adventurers to come by so he/she can easily wipe them out. THAT is meaningless PvP and if you ask me, should have no place in such a game.

Far too often I have seen high level, high powered players abuse their unprovoked character by ganking far weaker opponents who have no chance of defending themselves. IMO, such attacks should be restricted to characters oh, say within three levels of one another. Otherwise, the battle cannot be initiated in the first place.

 

After reading all of this I would just like to say that I really don't like this topic at all. Not the topic of PvP, but what you all are saying here.

PvP worked just fine in SotA's predecessor because it was a risk vs reward system. It was dangerous and you had to be aware at all times. Yet PvP was it's own reward. You dont need a system to make PvP meaningful... there's enough system already. SotA has the opportunity to do PvP right since there is a selective multiplayer component to this game we can choose to be flagged for PvP or not.

Try the simple approach... Look at PvP as the same exact world but with the risk that somebody might attack you or you can attack other people. Leave it at that. No need to create a reason for anything. Let the players do their own thing after the game is launched. We don't need developers to tell us why we are able to attack another person. In real life I can walk down the street and beat up an old lady and take her purse. There are consequences for that action but I don't need a set of rules telling me how to go about beating up an old lady, and I don't need an inscentive (either to beat her up nor have a reason to come protect her). Also I can take kung fu and learn to defend myself in real life incase somebody wants to attack me.

Next reason why I don't like this thread is it's asking PvEers what they want out of PvP when we already had a full years worth of PvP threads created by people who activly like to PvP... and they weren't listened to very much either. Now this thread attempts to figure out how to get non-pvpers into a system they didn't want in the first place. So who is the PvP system being made for? People who like PvP or a water downed cheep-ass version of PvP that nobody wants to play. That's where we are now in my opinion.

 

Check the old PvP threads and you'll find a lot of what I just said through out. The reason I say that is that there might not be enough "PvPers" left in this community after the revelations of the PvP mega-post.

They might be gone now and you won't hear their voice anymore, but you can listen to their echoes in the old threads and just know that those are the voices of people who are PvPers. So why not let PvP be something that PvPers actually like to play? Wouldn't that be good for the game's success?

 

Let players decide what to do themselves? I'm not sure about that. The punishments never fit the crime, so no deterent. I don't see it working ala wild wild west here. I mean, from the very start RG has stated he wants to get people to try PVP....it should be another mode to the game not the game itself. I see no harm in asking people what they think.

 

I believe the pvp flag option is great, but there is so much information about PvP that I have missed out on and I have a hard time keeping up with all the hundreds of pages available. The initial direction of PvP was to provide a middle ground for all kinds of players to interact. It definitely isn't possible to please everyone, but there should be some resolving to be done before now and official release. I am just a simple traveler, wandering through the gardens of Novia. I always thought it was either PvP or No PvP. Attack or not. I definitely missed something.