07-18-2004, 03:30 PM
Honestly, I've not really been a huge fan of player vs. player combat in quest-based games. I prefer to work with people rather than against them.
However, when the Faction vs. Faction server started up, I figured I'd give it a try and see if I could give some feedback on the way it was implemented (and I have been :) ). I've got to say, though, thus far I've been far underwhelmed. The way that Blizzard has trumpeted the FvF combat is as a way to put the "War" back in "Warcraft." The idea that I had in mind, going into playing on it, was that I'd get a chance to fight against the horde, giving a tougher challenge that the AI's of the game could not match. Sadly, I haven't really seen any of this.
As an advancement-based game, levels mean a great deal to World of Warcraft. You gain a great deal of strength with every level you gain. Thus, even seemingly small differences in level can mean a great deal to how you work in combat. What this means is that it is much harder to find an even playing field since on an uneven playing field, challenge simply doesn't exist. If one character is vastly more powerful than another, then the end result is nearly predetermined unless there is a HUGE gap in player skill. Thus, to have the Player vs. Player work like you would hope (to add challenge to the game), you will have to be rather close in levels to your opponent.
The main problem I see on the FvF server, right now, is that you almost NEVER have a comparable match-up. It always seems as though you're either finding players far below your level (and, thus, so easy that it's almost pointless to bother fighting) or players far above your level (at which point you stand no chance and can only run). The chance that you're going to find someone who can actually give you a challenge without dealing you instant death is rather remote in most cases.
Thus, the main result that I've seen on the FvF server, as Bolty expected, is annoyances. You're either going around, minding your own business and get ganked or you go out in search of others to fight (and consequently gank others). Also, it seemingly draws a line in the sand with little crossing over to do quests on the other side. I think this is why you see almost no alliance players in Ashenvale or Stonetalon: the rate at which you can quest without being interrupted by random death is lower than other, safer regions. Now, these interruptions aren't really too bad. It just means that you'll need to run around as a ghost for 2-5 minutes, but those are 2-5 minutes that you could have spent finishing up a quest.
Currently, I would conclude that the FvF server is not for me. To me, it just adds a random chance that I'll be questing and then suddenly have to make an unexpected corpse run. In the cases where I HAVE found someone near my level to fight, it has been extremely enjoyable. But those cases are few and far between, being vastly outweighed by the less enjoyable aspects.
Perhaps when Blizzard begins to more fully implement the game mechanisms and rules for PvP, it will do what it is designed to do and add the "War" to "Warcraft." But right now, it's really adding the "Gank" to "Gankcraft."
However, when the Faction vs. Faction server started up, I figured I'd give it a try and see if I could give some feedback on the way it was implemented (and I have been :) ). I've got to say, though, thus far I've been far underwhelmed. The way that Blizzard has trumpeted the FvF combat is as a way to put the "War" back in "Warcraft." The idea that I had in mind, going into playing on it, was that I'd get a chance to fight against the horde, giving a tougher challenge that the AI's of the game could not match. Sadly, I haven't really seen any of this.
As an advancement-based game, levels mean a great deal to World of Warcraft. You gain a great deal of strength with every level you gain. Thus, even seemingly small differences in level can mean a great deal to how you work in combat. What this means is that it is much harder to find an even playing field since on an uneven playing field, challenge simply doesn't exist. If one character is vastly more powerful than another, then the end result is nearly predetermined unless there is a HUGE gap in player skill. Thus, to have the Player vs. Player work like you would hope (to add challenge to the game), you will have to be rather close in levels to your opponent.
The main problem I see on the FvF server, right now, is that you almost NEVER have a comparable match-up. It always seems as though you're either finding players far below your level (and, thus, so easy that it's almost pointless to bother fighting) or players far above your level (at which point you stand no chance and can only run). The chance that you're going to find someone who can actually give you a challenge without dealing you instant death is rather remote in most cases.
Thus, the main result that I've seen on the FvF server, as Bolty expected, is annoyances. You're either going around, minding your own business and get ganked or you go out in search of others to fight (and consequently gank others). Also, it seemingly draws a line in the sand with little crossing over to do quests on the other side. I think this is why you see almost no alliance players in Ashenvale or Stonetalon: the rate at which you can quest without being interrupted by random death is lower than other, safer regions. Now, these interruptions aren't really too bad. It just means that you'll need to run around as a ghost for 2-5 minutes, but those are 2-5 minutes that you could have spent finishing up a quest.
Currently, I would conclude that the FvF server is not for me. To me, it just adds a random chance that I'll be questing and then suddenly have to make an unexpected corpse run. In the cases where I HAVE found someone near my level to fight, it has been extremely enjoyable. But those cases are few and far between, being vastly outweighed by the less enjoyable aspects.
Perhaps when Blizzard begins to more fully implement the game mechanisms and rules for PvP, it will do what it is designed to do and add the "War" to "Warcraft." But right now, it's really adding the "Gank" to "Gankcraft."
-TheDragoon