All the recent talk about a possible new PvP Teams server has been very interesting. I’ve read through all the threads, and most people seem to be in favor of a ruleset similar to the one that existed on Sullon Zek, although a sizable minority doesn’t have faith in the SZ rules. In this post I will go into detail on why a slightly modified SZ ruleset is the best bet to go with. I do this to hopefully establish some kind of community consensus that can be presented to Rogean/Sirken/nilbog as they consider what to do about a possible PvP Teams server going forward. I base the following ideas on my personal experience playing on SZ back in the day and doing a ton of PvP, my experience playing casually on Blue for the past couple of years, as well as lurking this forum like a motherfucker and getting an idea for the pulse of Red players and their attitudes/experiences with the existing Red server.
To begin with, a quick overview of the SZ rules: there are three hardcoded teams to prevent cross-teaming. Teams based on deity choice (Good, Neutral, Evil). PvP level range was almost entirely unrestricted (a level 60 could kill a level 10, for example, although XP loss only occurred within a 5 level range). No play nice policy, trains, corpse camping, griefing allowed etc…
Although it may strike the uninitiated as strange and even counter-intuitive given the harshness, this is the best PvP ruleset for a number of reasons. Anyone who played on SZ can verify that this ruleset produced the best and most memorable MMO gameplay they ever experienced. Teams allow for a built-in method of providing leveling safety for new players, and promote intense community unlike anything on a Blue server or FFA PvP. It’s very much an “us versus them” dynamic which is impossible to reproduce under any other ruleset, and which results in both the most meaningful PvE and the most intense PvP. Teams have to look out for each other. High level players have to protect lower level zones. Everything is heightened. And meaningful PvP actually occurs with much greater frequency than on an FFA PvP server, because people aren’t worried about earning a PK rep with their enemies, they just kill them. But at the same time, teams provide a safe haven for new and lower level players. It’s the best of both worlds: more PvP and more accessible leveling at the same time. What did I do, you ask? I whistled for a cab, and when it came near, the license plate said “fresh” and there were dice in the mirror. If anything I could say that this cab was rare, but I thought “naw forget it, yo home to bel-air!” I pulled up to the house about seven or eight and I yelled to the cabbie “yo homes smell ya later!” Looked at my kingdom, I was finally there. To settle my throne as the prince of bel-air.
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11-10-2013, 01:54 AM
The only truly viable Teams Ruleset (Email from McQuaid inside)
Hybrid Mode
