Valkk posted:
I think the most detrimental part of GW2's PvP ideas is the rotating cross-server RvR. It will leave out two important experiences: getting to know (and fear, hate, respect, etc) the players that you fight against, and having a distinct, identifiable enemy faction(s) to fight against. In DAoC, especially when the game was on the upswing years ago, many players gained name recognition, renown, and infamy with members of the opposing realm. Wen you saw certain enemy players you could either be so terrified that you ran away, so enraged that you hunted them down mercilessly, or respected them enough to ensure that you fought them fairly. Each realm also gained specific identities on each server and emotional connections to those identities. For me as a Hib, Mids were respectable but Albs were dirty zergers with all of the easy classes.
These two experiences are what give character to the fight that players are directed to engage in. Fighting a faceless enemy without definitive differences in faction 'culture' who gets recycled every two weeks may not appeal to many players, and even those who do get involved in the cross-server PvP might burn out quickly without those meaning-creating connections to the enemy.
I think the most detrimental part of GW2's PvP ideas is the rotating cross-server RvR. It will leave out two important experiences: getting to know (and fear, hate, respect, etc) the players that you fight against, and having a distinct, identifiable enemy faction(s) to fight against. In DAoC, especially when the game was on the upswing years ago, many players gained name recognition, renown, and infamy with members of the opposing realm. Wen you saw certain enemy players you could either be so terrified that you ran away, so enraged that you hunted them down mercilessly, or respected them enough to ensure that you fought them fairly. Each realm also gained specific identities on each server and emotional connections to those identities. For me as a Hib, Mids were respectable but Albs were dirty zergers with all of the easy classes.
These two experiences are what give character to the fight that players are directed to engage in. Fighting a faceless enemy without definitive differences in faction 'culture' who gets recycled every two weeks may not appeal to many players, and even those who do get involved in the cross-server PvP might burn out quickly without those meaning-creating connections to the enemy.
At the same time, these are going to be the things that make the PvP great.
I understand and agree with you completely, but I also disagree at the same time (if that makes sense)
What I like about the system is that you wont have servers where 1 realm dominates time after time due to population or "elite" guild advantages. While the name recognition goes down, it also provides for a rotation of balance where it isnt one realm always winning or the two lesser realms always being forced to team up.
The other thing that will make it interesting is that you will hopefully develop a kind of server pride hitherto unknown. You will have message boards aflame with which server is the best, and a way to back that up.
I also am excited for the opportunity to go up against everyone, not just the enemies that picked my particular server, but the best guilds from across the game.
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