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A proposed PvP Teams ruleset: Modified SZ (long)
Introduction:
This is a big wall of text, be warned. If your immersion levels aren't high then get the fuck out of here while you still can. All right, you're still here. So let's nerd out for a bit. 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. That being said, SZ did have its weaknesses that subtracted from the enjoyment of the server. Most notable was the dominance of the Evil team and the catastrophic weakness of the Good team. Any effort to replicate SZ must therefore take steps to prevent a similar recurrence of this imbalance. Some changes also must be made given the reality of several other relevant facts: the vastly increased knowledge about the game after 14 years, the smaller population we have to draw from, and the fact that accounts are free and essentially unlimited. Differences proposed for team balancing:
Hopefully these modifications (Evil FFA PvP, Good/Newt stat & XP bonuses) would result in more players rolling Good and Newt. Even then, a perfect 33%/33%/33% population split is impossible. But even a population distribution of 20% Good, 30% Neutral and 50% Evil would be workable and better than what SZ had. Even if Evils comprise half the server, they will be weakened by infighting enough to allow the smaller number of Newts and Goods to have more than a fighting chance once they organize. Increasing Good and Neutral team base stats is non-classic, but in the grand scheme of things it's a relatively minor change that is almost entirely behind the scenes, but which could have the very needed impact of swinging more players away from the Evil team. These modifications should result in a good distribution of players across all three teams. Some more PvE-focused players will go evil to take advantage of the large races, but others will not want to deal with the potential headache of essentially FFA PvP on the evil team. The most hardcore PvPers will go evil exactly for this reason, but if they prey on fellow evils they will basically make themselves pariahs to the entire server and will face the consequences. Overall I would predict a small but persistently annoying level of intra-team PvP within the Evil team, not enough to destroy it but enough to weaken it a bit. The Neutral and Good teams will allow for safer leveling due to no intra-team PvP, which will provide a more natural atmosphere for Blue players to become acclimated to the server. Note that this one simple change to the Evil team also essentially allows for the coexistence of FFA and Team based PvP under the same ruleset. If you want the most hardcore experience, go evil and kill everything in sight. If you want to reap the innate race/class advantages of team evil, be prepared to defend yourself against the chaos of FFA PvP. And if you want a more traditional teams PvP experience with hardcoded allies and enemies, roll neutral or good. Other needed modifications:
This means neckbeards can't race ahead of everyone else and dominate the server from the get-go by simply massively outleveling them, as happened with <Ruin> on SZ. This shifts the focus from PvE to PvP, where it belongs on a PvP server. With the 4x XP bonus in place from 1-20, almost everyone should be able to reach level 20 within a week with even modest effort. From there things will open up a little more, but the caps in place should help keep most players in the same general level range, which keeps things fun, and results in battles for PvE zone control rather than just random griefing. Also, imagining a raid-sized force of level 20s descending into Lower Guk during the first week is just hilariously awesome. Other important considerations:
Most important goals of a new server:
This server should be started this Fall to capitalize on returning players who left over summer, as well as the fact that MANY players from Blue are currently fed up with the high end scene there. Guaranteed hundreds of them would give a PvP Teams server a try if it promised an escape from the dead-end raid scene on Blue. Launching the server soon would also give people time to gear up before Velious is released. If a new server were released to coincide with Velious, most players would simply remain on Blue, because their geared characters are already there. Blue would then remain overloaded and a new server would have a weak launch. If a new server is ever to succeed, it must be launched soon. And if a PvP Teams server is ever to succeed, it must be launched at this point, when people are frustrated with Blue and ready to start fresh, even if that means accepting some PvP. Your thoughts: Let's hear them! | ||
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#3
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sounds like a man with a plan, go make the server please
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#4
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Looks long enough to garner a reAding. Will save thread for next poop time. A+
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#6
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SZ teams or bust.
__________________
Current Games:
Naw | ||
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#7
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Have you guys heard about that new MMO WoW? It's going to have team PvP.
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#8
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Also remove all exp penalties. Good read. Good luck.
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#9
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Quote:
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#10
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Great ideas. I'd play on this server in a heartbeat.
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