Community Talk about PVP - Opinions, Ideas and Suggestions (Poll inside)

I'm pretty much a PvE player and enjoy the game mostly in single player going into Multi for special events. I was never a fan of PvP in UO because of how it was utilized by the players (mainly to PK/gank people and take what they had earned).

That being said, I think there should obviously be room for PvP options in the game. I think if the Obsidian Trials work as a popular PvP outlet, then great!. I think there needs to be the option to align yourself with Lord British/The Oracle/Order or the Obsidians/Chaos and use Control Point scenes accordingly. Create a PvP-based resource found in Shardfalls. Whatever, but give a reason to PvP. Simply coming up with "punishments" for preying on the unwilling isn't going to cut it, neither is a "separate full loot server".

Even as a non-PvP player I'd like to see PvP given a proper amount of content, and, yes, purpose.

 

Too many options makes this confusing and increasingly difficult to get an accurate view.

 

8 people voted for pvp to be removed from the game? You know, live and let live.

 

its a good start but there should also be an option in there, i love to PVP but i dont due to the way PVP is set up as of now.

I love PVP i started out PVP, then i stopped based on the balance, then the loot wasn't worth the time etc.... PVP is really not as good as it could be in this game. I still play but i dont PVP to often. I would love to be PVP all the time, but it just doesn't work with the current set up in my opinion to make it enjoyable.

 

The poll is not going to be reflective of the community at all, because for the most part, its only people who are [deeply] interested (in PvP) that are even going to participate in this poll (remember I said for the most part). So this is really more of a reflection of the PvP hardcore community (I consider anyone that takes the time to actually engage in community discussions like the forums has to be somewhat hardcore since theiy're such a teeny tiny percentage of the overall community who don't like or want to bother with being on the forums, even for lurking purposes).

Having said that, I haven't seen anyone point out the PvP system that I think is wonderful for everyone. I used to play on MUDs that used a Clan Warfare system, and some MMOs like Shadowbane and Dark Age of Camelot that utilized siege warfare, realm vs realm warfare, and other interesting PvP options that actually made it fun for PvE people (like yours truly) to relish engaging in PvP combat without the fear of random jackasses ganking you.

I would propose:

1. Get rid of the current PvP system completely (no oracle protection, no PvP only zones etc.)
2. If you belong to a Clan/Guild you can PvP
3. You can set your Clan to be at "War" with others (maybe offer three states, allied, neutral, war)
4. You can attack/lay siege to their primary town/castle/building etc.
5. If you can hire/buy/earn/have Mobs/NPCs to act as guards when you don't have your clan members logged in
6. If your defenses are penetrated, your Clan/Guild lootbox (or some equivalent) can be looted and you lose global ranking
7. You can't attack a clan that has been defeated for 72-hour or 128-hour period or until they've built up defenses, whatever
8. When Elves come on line, let any Humans be able to attack Elven players and Visa-versa
9. Have some sort of realm vs realm where you can be in enemy territory and be able to attack players from the other realm (and visa versa)
10. Siegecraft (buying, crafting, selling, using, maybe even make a couple new skilltree to use them) you can have different kinds of siegecraft
11. No looting of PCs (except for skulls)

This makes it fun for random players to engage in some combat when they see invaders coming (band of elven players, or invader from chapter 2 realm, etc.) to help protect Brittany or Owl's Head or wherever. Let people in Solo/Party mode know when they're in a zone that there's an Invasion/PvP/realm battle starting or happening in their zone and ask if they'd like to zone in and participate.

There definitely has to be some kind of point system (maybe skull collection) so that PvPers can turn them in for items from the Lord of the Land or use them in special crafting recipes for uber-powerful armor/weapons/etc. That way there'll be a demand from PvPers even from the most hardcore of PvE types.

 

I'd love to PVP, I did in every MMO I played so far (DAOC, EVE, GW2) and in those games it was the bigger part of my playtime.
In SOTA it is different, the system of open PVP with the ransom is crap. To learn how to PvP (in every game) you need practice and this system is just to prohibit this practice.

The Obsidian Trials is a great addition to give players the chance to practice and do PvP, but guess what, I almost see no one participating in the trials...in the last 2 months
I went there frequently to check if there are some players there. In 2 of about 200 times I was able to do a bunch of matches in the trials, far away from what I wished for. With the
implementaiton of the trials, I was expecting that I have the possibility to get a match anytime, anyday, like in the most other games that offer arena-style PVP, but thats unfortunately not the case. I don't know why, but I can assume that the SOTA EU-timezone community is so small that there are not enough PVP willing players, to get frequent matches. And I cannot play during the US-timezone, so no idea if it is better then.

SOTA will defently need more love in PvP and especially more amenity for players to participate. Factions war's / Castle Sieges / PvP Rewards (Items, Gold, XP-Points etc.)
could help with that.

 

im all for the incentive side of things if it will get more people involved in PvP maybe we need to have a chart of sorts for say weekly top PvPer as far as kill and or other types of points system sort of how factions was in Ultima Online but also has to have alot more incentive then that because not everyone will be game for this idea therefore it has to give players reason to wanna PvP who arent in the game for PvP in general the castle defense thing was also a good idea i feel some how if we could incorporate that to maybe End game as someone else said like a battle over a said dragon or what have you to get a super rare item that might only drop 2-3 a year or something of that magnitude and yes obsidian trials was a good step in the right direction i just think there needs to be alot more feed back from all the players in general not just people who are some what interested in PvP or those of us who thrive for PvP and PvP Balancing so to speak its a deep Subject as Antrax said and that is the main reason there are so many options the Dev's should bring this up more often during the Live Streams they hold and find out what the Players want as a whole even if its a daily item you get and or a monthly item for participating daily for X amount of days say for example everyone likes shiney for the housing system thats why the Dev's went so hard on it for Persistance giving it was the So called "end Game" push to get more people into the game not that i am Knocking what they had to do to get more players in the game i just feel that we need to see more points of view in general to get PvP to where it needs to be and maybe even to Bring more players to the player base which also is a Win/Win for Players and the Developers and the Game's Development in general and i apologize for the crappy setup with no comma's etc etc im lazy and tbh was never good at writing paragraphs etc but i would love to see all this come in motion if not anytime soon but eventually because i understand there are alot of things that need to be addressed in the game in general thanks for your time and hope you all enjoy my input!
-Mighty Adrien

 

These are just my opinions... take them with a grain of salt.

I am a PVP'er in every other game I have played, but here it makes no sense to me. Can't stand it and have zero interest. Here are some of my reasons:

The engine and the peer to peer networking make it a joke for any competitive pvp player. I played games with better netcode in 1996. Maybe this is worse for me as I am in EU.
The cost of entry is too high - Ransoms prevent new players from dipping there toes in and learning to play.
Balance - If you're not aware of the viable PVP builds/skills then good luck to you
Stealth and Stealing - Stealing equipped items, is that for real?!
Obsidian Trials - Am I supposed to come and be farmed by Antrax Army or other teams of players working together? No thanks. Keep doing your win trading, I am sure its loads of fun.

It really annoys me that certain PVE content in this game you are forced into PVP zones. I have the goal to collect every colour Dragon head in the game. That mean's going to the fall and getting killed by people like DevilCult who I literally have no chance at all of being able to kill..... for whatever reason.

I am a PVP player and I will more than likely never PVP in this game, but hey, thats just me. I wish the rest of you the best of luck and much enjoyment

 

So long as the stealing mechanic exists, I will not be flagging for PVP. That won't be debated.

I generally feel like it's too easy to kill people. Battle royale games in general... you spend 10 minutes getting into a match... then BAM BAM you're dead, without ever having seen the other person. The fun PVP, for me, is when it's not clear who will win, and it takes some time.

I prefer PVP that's more about tactics and thinking and projects, than it is about being quick on your feet. (So basically, campaign-based PVP)

If the game ever forces me into PVP (and I don't think the Oracle quest qualifies, because there's non-PVP ways to get into the ruins), I'll drop the game like a hot potato.

 

This - every time I come back to this thread the options have changed again...

They also seem very biased towards pro-PvP answers with fairly extreme positions stated for the 'don't like PvP answers - a quick summary of the options as they are now :

17 options

6 start with the statement "I love/like PvP" - 5 of which end on a positive note (and 2 and 12 are the same statement worded differently)
2 start with the statement "I don't like PvP" - one of which then says "I don't like PvPers" so is a personal attack on a group of players and unlikely to be chosen

of the other 9 options 8 of which suggest some positive PvP enhancement, the only other opinion presented is remove it entirely.

The way its written its designed to get opinions from people who want PvP expanded and pretty much ignore those who have no interest in PvP and/or want the current system toned down (eg removing the XP bonus and other incentives to PvP)

 

My opinion exactly - I played Eve online for years and loved the PvP in that game, where its all about good tactics / ship setups and especially group coordination. No interest at all in the kind of PvP offered in this game.

 

I like this one:

"I would like the protection of the oracle to be removed from the game adding a Justice system"

Why? because I know the temptation would be too great and I would actually end up PvPing again. I would also like to see titles back in linked to the justice system.

 

@Scanphor
The poll is structured to cover and reflect the various points of view giving the possibility to choose up to 3 options. It's not intended as a election, challenge or race between the 2 different playstyles, but being the argument the PVP there are obviously more options releated to it.
The last options were added under the explicit request of some players so if you notice any shortcomings you could simply request to add a different option.
It is easy to see how the last added options obtained votes even higher than those that were part of the poll from the beginning since users have the chance to change their vote, options can only be added and there is no way to edit/change them.
Users as expressly requested have the opportunity to expand their thinking by adding a message to the thread and explaining their motivations.

The option "I'd like to see PVP only releated gear and loots as reward for PVP" specifies the wish that the pvpers get only rewards related to the PVP, this presupposes there are no PVE advantages since all rewards are PVP releated.
If the idea is instead of not accepting even advantages exclusively related to PVP, I'm sorry but I cannot help you, you have in any case the opportunity to explain to the community any reasons for this choice.

 

As I see it (and I've seen others posting this over time) the most important option missing is to decouple PvP from PvE by removing PvE incentives to PvP (most important being the XP bonus and the story quests leading people through PvP zones)

As I said above, I'm all for PvP reward improvements even if I won't be taking part - it should be PvP orientated rewards for PvP imho.

 

Personally i would like go around pvp, but i have 2 problem about: Even if you are the strongest pvp and ur kill rate is 1 : 50, the 50 time u kill other u loot crap or get nothing, the 1 time you die you loose 50k, and that mean several hour of farming hoping to don't die again.. so, i would like to but… the mats is not an opinion and a game is not a job. The second thing is, why i should flag pvp when risk and go in a pvp zone is like go to any other map? Personally if the risk have a value i will risk, but now i have another problem, i go to farm in a pvp zone cause i have more if i risk, but here i find a lame guy camping; a guy that can do a kill then logout, recall, run out, teleport disappear in any kind of way… and so the game will became a bit toxic. So my ideas about are:

-Improve reward for who risk to go in pvp zones, i mean what they can gather, nothing different but just the rate(25% more then normal zones), and that will make a lot of game, crafters and gatherers who will hire mercenaries, people that guard while other people gather etc. etc. and obiouvsly all the gathered things in pvp zone are 100% looted if killed, and just in pvp zones if you kill mobs you will have 10% more exp.

-abolish the pvp exp buff for who is flagged pvp in zone that are not pvp.

-Give a 10% exp buff for who play just pve, basically who never flagged pvp for a certain time will have an exp buff in each zone;

- abolish the ransom as working now, basically when u kill you get some kind of token/value that you can spend to get things from a pvp vendor;

- if you kill without have a guild war up or an opposite karma, u will get malus some kind of malus till you reach the status of PK and then u can just use bank and npc in bloody bays or full pvp pot and u can't switch at all to party mode but just play in multiplayer.

-if you are pvp flagged u can't teleport, recall, switch mode and if you find someone flagged overamp it will work like random encounter, and last thing if you trigger the map while in combat you will have a 10 second stun when you go overamp or after a map switch.

-Introduce the skill tracking that work for pvp and pve, it will guide people to their target, not exactly where it is but give them a method to follow and find someone or a creature.

So basically some combo of benefit and malus on pvp will for sure make the things more intersting and give more game opportunities.

 

Thank you for the poll, even if it does have a few too many options

 

Factions with a system to support it would be great, town guards friendly to owning factions with a trap system etc.

 

To be fair your not forced into PvP zones if you follow your compass there are shortcuts in dungeons that lead you to the shroud quest locations without setting foot into a PvP zone I did that myself even I can some what hold my own

 

I don't do open PvP in ANY MMO, as too often it is just a system for trolling and disruption. I've tried the Obsidian Trials several times, and although they are less punitive there is a very large barrier to entry in that there is no real benefit for participating if you cannot "win". This goes along with the whole "use a stick instead of a carrot" approach to PvP (and combat in general), which makes me not want to bother.

That said, I know a LOT of people that do enjoy PvP. I would like it to be a solid system, to be enjoyable, and to have some benefits. Factions and true Guild-v-Guild (non-open-flagging) would be a huge step toward this. One thing I can't vote for, however, is PvP-specific loot, as that just increases the barrier to entry.

As far as I can tell, removing the ransom system (or reducing it to only "trophy" drops), adding factions, and providing some amount of participation benefit (since you don't get any xp or coins without getting kills) would make PvP far more attractive to a larger audience, especially those who play more casually.

 

Did not say you were, I am fully aware But if you can show me a White or Green Dragon in a non-pvp zone... Lucky for me I already have 2 Blue Dragon heads, but they are PVP Zone only now too!