Casual overview of PvP

PvP – Just seeing those three letters triggers an involuntary response in people.

I am not a huge PvPer. I played UO and did kill some people on occasion, but usually it was a distressed blue-pker or a thief.

Some of my favorite gaming memories involved PvP situations in UO where I was not the aggressor. We should not diminish this aspect of gameplay because of the involuntary responses some people have.

• For example, on Pacific shard, my friends and I made a bunch of identical characters named Bob dressed in grey pirate gear that would stand on top of each other outside Britannia, turn grey (commit a criminal act and be open to attack without repercussion) and wait for someone to attack us. Once that attacker went grey, 5 Kal Vas Flams were suddenly lighting up

• We also poisoned wedding cakes and left them on the road. Sure enough someone would pick it up and eat it and become wracked with pain and die (while trying to run to the bank to drop off their gear).

• I remember killing a notorious PKer (who had turned blue) in Terathan Keep Balron Room. Great satisfaction was had.

• And many times my miner was running like mad trying to get off screen so he could hide and stealth away from a nearby PKer.

There are so many examples of how PvP makes the world more dynamic – and yes, some of the experiences can be frustrating.

With UO full loot, non-consensual PvP, players had to learn to be wise and not carry their most valuable possessions with them while adventuring. Players also had to keep aware of their surroundings (and not watch a movie while pressing button 4, 3, 3, 1 and repeat). This constant awareness made the game more alive. The danger of traveling to a known PvP area to gather a rare resource or slay/tame a rare monster made that accomplish greater. However, sometimes it led to frustration. Players also learned who to trust and that trust turned into friendships.

While PvP should be open, full loot and non-consensual, we do need mitigations to avoid turning SotA into a first person shooter. Despite all of the horror stories people tell about UO PvP, my experiences on pre-Trammel Pacific Shard were a far cry from the hordes of bloodthirsty griefers bent on depriving anyone else on the shard having fun EVER! that we hear about so much in these forums.
The following mitigations will handicap and reduce the desire to play a Player Killer (PKer), but not eliminate the playstyle.

Mitigations
One Character Accounts
This will have a significant impact on the number of Player Killers, whose sole intention is to kill and/or grief the typical adventurer. Multiple accounts can and will be purchased, but this still has a significant impact.

Reputation
With only one character per account, reputation becomes more important. A nuisance will not be allowed to join other players in dungeon hunts. People will try to keep their reputation solid.

Recognition
A murderer should have their name change to red so everyone knows that they have killed numerous innocents. The time to work off a red name tag will have to be reviewed.

Playstyle
Instanced areas permit the game to place characters with similar playstyles together. One filter could be the number of murders or criminal acts done by that character. If you have never stolen, looted a blue corpse, attacked a blue character, etc … You would see far fewer scum in your instance.

Safe Zones
The majority of cities should be safe to everyone except a murder (PKer, red name). A couple cities should be murderer havens so they can bank and craft in safety. No attacks allowed in any city, even PKer ones.

Newbie Protection
Until a player has X amount of experience, they will never be placed in an instance in or adjacent to a starting town along with a murderer. You have to make sure players don't take advantage of this invulnerable state by limiting this protection only to starting area and not a dragon lair.

Bounties
Player run justice is awesome. You can place a bounty on the head of a murderer, and rejoice in their death at the hands of someone else.

Death Penalties
UO had a 20% stat/skill loss for any death taken by a murderer. This is a massive deterrent, especially with one character per account. When you kill a red named person, you KNOW you hurt them real bad (especially with one character per account).


UO only had Reputation (per character, not account), Recognition, Safe Zones, Bounties and Death Penalties. SotA could include all of those and add One Character Accounts, Playstyles and Newbie Protection. I see no reason why full loot non-consensual PvP should not be allowed in SotA. It adds an enormous extra element to the game, but won’t be nearly as prevalent as classic UO.

 

That involuntary response you mentioned is other people realising they are in the presence of someone who has cognitive dissonance. And it isn't the phrase "PvP" that triggers it, it is the phrase "non-consensual". You casually say it like it is an obvious conclusion whereas it isn't even on the table.

The vast majority know this, which is exactly why they go "Ugghhh" and roll their eyes.

There is so much that could be talked about with PvP - but it always get derailed on the same thing, again and again and again.

 

Sigh. If we build a really bad system and wrap lots of band aids around it....we'll have...a really bad system with a lot band aids wrapped around it.

 

There are a huge amount of threads on this...a lot of us miss the excitement of early UO...a lot also don't.

If there was an NPC city in the far reaches of new Brit full of NPC murderers and thieves and you had an encounter with random NPC killers/robbers it would be GREAT! But make those same NPCs into actual players and you will have ruined the game...I certainly understand the trepidation the ridiculous amount of griefing in early UO is undeniable.

You like me are just going to have to wait and see it looks like a shitstorm is in the making no matter what "side" the Devs take someone is going to feel betrayed.

I'd love to reprise my role as a PKK but that has even less of a chance to happen.