Should I roll a custom PvP server and what kind should it be?

[azxten]

Things are going well infrastructure is worked out to support easy maintenance and deployments. I've had the server listed on the eqemulator login server but just to work out deployments.

I'm starting to think about a world wide randomized classic experience. Identifying like items and swapping them between like mobs. Same for quests and other things. Could I effectively create a randomization of drops, quests, and mobs to where everything is still "classic" but all existing world knowledge isn't helpful? It doesn't have to be much just enough so players don't know where to go to get certain drops or which quests to abuse but all the same drops and quests exist somewhere. Legacy drops become quest items from novel quests. Raid mob difficulty adjusted to be roughly the same but novel in some way so existing strats don't work.

[azxten]

Uh oh bros... it looks like EQEmu only has support for FFA PvP. The VZ/TZ, Sullon, Discord rulesets supported do nothing except enable client side display of team names. I might need to fix all this and submit a PR to EQEmu.

That unfortunately throws a wrench in an idea I had for dynamically changing PvP racial teams in order to balance things.

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[azxten]

VZTZ ruleset works now but says attacks are from "pain and suffering".. needs more work

So for different color names to be dynamic for races would require a client side change but could probably be done. Alternatively everyone is PvP red name flagged and just implement racial limits. Another option is blue/red names represent two teams which could be hacked together.

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[azxten]

Here is an attempt at a rule set…

Classic progression
10x experience
Slightly adjusted raid mobs to make encounters more unique/require new strategies
Two teams, everyone (blue name) vs evil (red name, gnome, dark elf, ogre, troll, iksar)
Akanon/Gnome factions are adjusted to fit with the evil races, this provides a city base on Faydwer
Paineel/Warrens/Stonebrunt/Hole open at server start to serve as evil city base on Odus
Capitol cities Freeport, Erudin, Felwithe and Neriak, Paineel, Akanon
Capitol cities are safe zones for their team, other team may be attacked
Language barriers between teams and can't be learned (common/dark speech)
Teams can't trade, group, guild, or cast beneficial spells with each other
World wide chat channel for your team
Turning in a Tome of Order/Discord lets you switch teams regardless of your race but with no faction help in cities, some kind of limitations on this but will help with balance
Everyone get items to teleport them to any of their 3 capitol cities (Antonica, Odus, Faydwer)
Weekly rotating ZEMs where players know which zones are the hot zones
Top PvP players each week are “commanders” for the next week, get some kind of bonus
Top PvP players may be asked by GMs to switch teams for balance in exchange for legacy/artifact items (the evil team would like to bribe you to join them, they offer you a Manastone)
Everyone return to a capitol city on PvP death, PvE death/binding works as normal
No gating for 5 minutes after PvP death (no bind rushing from capitol back to zone)
Instanced dueling within/cross team from NPCs in capitols
PvP scoreboard with something to spend points on both open world and dueling, PvP kill broadcast
Possibly raid kills result in no loot. Instead whatever would have dropped becomes buyable with PvP points for your team. Reduced raid loot drop rate to account for this. Some kind of function like this to make teams cohesive not competitive with each other for raid mobs.
All player corpses are fully lootable by the other team at any time
If you /consent your own team members they can loot your corpse
If you zone you can’t zone again via zoneline for 20 seconds, pulling plug while zoning you pop out LD on other side
Nothing is no drop except epics
Bagged items are safe
Full level range PvP with damage scaling bonus/penalty based on level difference
Lose a certain amount of experience on PvP death equivalent to several levels, not static level because losing "10 levels" is a lot different 60-50 vs 20-10 even at 10x experience

I think this achieves a lot of stuff that I determined is necessary to attract more people to a PvP server. If necessary I would add buying instanced raids with PvP points and/or more safe zones possibly dynamic control based on PvP where there is a "frontline" and behind that the teams are safe. This allows more casual interest and PvE player interest as they can actually level entirely in safety without ever having to PvP and still being able to be a "defender" who can attack enemies in their safe zones who can't fight them back. Dumb PvE player camps in safe zones just trying to catch enemy team players so they can one sided gank them and take all their items.

I'm thinking maybe something to increase itemization as well. Losing all your items on death shouldn't feel like a horrifying penalty because items should be plentiful. Either through increased drop rates or some other mechanic. Probably PvP points which you get win or lose and can easily get you a basic set of gear for your level.

[Gustoo]

You're way past dueling server now

[versacesmurf69]

In b4 dead on arrival.

[azxten]

Dueling is phase 1 leading to an open world PvP server of some kind. The above ruleset is basically stealing a lot from WoW. As the only game to successfully bring RPG PvP to the masses I think we should learn from it.

[Tradesonred]

Pretty interesting read, wish EQ was more popular and there was the pop for these kinds of servers to hold a 500 player population.

[Knuckle]

I always thought it would be cool to have a Neriak only PVP server,(3 city zones), and try to make it like menzoberranzan from the forgotten realm novels. You pick a house faction, and kill enemy house faction guards for level appropriate loot. Dark Elf Only.

Always thought neriak had a ton of potential as a PVP hub if you shaped the faction areas appropriately, neriak commons for example, you have all those cool winding tunnels and secret areas. Wizards blasting from above, rogues sneaking around. The gear/item/spell balancing would be critical but its just a fun idea that will never exist.

[Gustoo]

Ya that would be awesome.

I love all the custom map ideas. Less so the wow rule set but I like em all