Quote:
Originally Posted by Desx  I wanted to analyze, what makes a PvP system good? Is it the ability to PvP more? the gameplay? the quality? individual/team development?
Gameplay and quality has always been the issue for me. WoW felt like a never ending zergling rush with low quality pvp. It was always the quality of the kill that excited me, even if it was once a day or once a week. Running the same battleground or arena day after day is boring.
In my opinion, the essence of PvP was lost when penalties ended. Before penalties you had a player base that was strictly against PvP (this usually inclued the non-risk takers, which was 90% of the MMO population). These people avoided engagement to the fullest extent.
No more looting?
This is what gave PvP its true essence. You died and paid a price and generally it wasn't very big. The idea of losing something you worked for shines light on the true essence of death - which is losing everything. This type of concept in games made PvP more exciting. It also showed a true hierarchy of power.. obtaining something is one thing, but maintaining it is another.
I think this is where the foundation of PvP begins and where it was lost. |
What the fuck are you talking about?
Your post has all the trappings of fail made manifest. You have some made up statistics, some really "no shit" observations, and then a proclamation from oh high that really doesn't tie in to your previous points.
First you say gameplay is paramount, which I think most of us here can get behind. It is the heart of the game and the main force that drives re-playability. Then you go on to say something about the quality of a kill but don't both explaining what the fuck you mean by this. Overcoming great odds? Beating a better geared player / team? Good play on your part? Then another stellar observation that running the same 4 battlegrounds for 2 years gets old. Moving along . . .
Random made up statistic. Enough said, I think.
Ok, now we seem to get your general point: penalties are good. Who doesn't love being penalized for engaging in content? True, allowing someone to loot your shit when they gank you adds excitement, but so would administering an electric shock every time you died. Doesn't mean they are good gameplay mechanics. PvP (in pretty much any game, not just MMOs) involves dying . . . a lot. Even if you aren't a scrub you are still going to die, it happens. It has to for there to be any meaningful pvp taking place. Adding any sort of penalty beyond time lost waiting around to spawn is usually a very bad idea. It creates a situation where people say "fuck this" and look for a game where they can actually participate without getting fucked over. Even though you made the number up, you even think yourself that adding penalties drives players away.
Even in WoW, can you imagine how unfun the game would be if you took durability loss from pvp? A very minor penalty, yet it would make pvp almost unworkable.
Pvp should be fun without the dread of some exterior penalty being inflicted upon you. If they gameplay is good enough I don't need the fear of losing my corpse to keep me logging in.
