Some questions about Spellborn PvP

Anubisan

I played the beta for this game for a few days and I have to say that I loved the combat system, art style, sound, and overall feeling of the game.

Unfortunately I never really made it to the PvP while I was playing and the beta ended too quickly for me to do so. I am the type of player who absolutely loves PvP, but I am very tired of PvP without purpose. By this, I mean that I don't consider PvP for the mere sake of PvP to be any fun. I need to have some objective and some overarching reason for conflict. In most MMOs that have been released in recent history, there is no real reason to PvP other than the fact that you can.

The most fun I ever had in PvP was in Ultima Online specifically because of the red vs. blue conflict and the fact that guilds were at war with each other with real political conflict between them. I have hoped that something similar to this would occur in every other MMORPG I have tried since, but most of them have fallen short of this feeling of purpose. AOC promised to have something similar, but failed miserably at implementing it IMO and Darkfall was just plain crap (again, in my opinion). I don't consider the PvP in RVR games like WAR to be meaningful because the factions are so large and hard-wired that being a member of them means absolutely nothing...

My question is: Is there any REASON for the PvP in Spellborn? If it is just another MMO with FFA pvp zones but no real purpose to the conflict, I don't think I can invest my time in it... no matter how good the combat mechanics are. From everything I have gathered so far, it seems like the game is following the same model of meaningless PvP that is implemented as an afterthought rather than a core game feature.

I have heard rumors of house on house warfare (which sounds very fun), but I have not found any official word from Acclaim about this. If any of you have the answers to these questions, PLEASE let me know! I have been looking for another game with meaningful PvP (that doesn't suck) for a long long time...

geldonyetich

It's a tricky question to answer, because one man's "meaningful PvP " is another man's "complete waste of time."

Here's the thing: everybody joins one of 5 high houses in the game, and from level 35 onward all the maps are PvP whether you're on a PvP server or not.   Typically, this will be house-on-house conflict.   So, along the lines of providing ample amounts of PvP, you're covered.

What purpose is there to PvP?  Well, right now, there's no physical incentive to PvP: you lose nothing, you gain nothing.  Maybe this is your idea of "not meaningful."  Other people would find the fact that they can defeat another player at all to be incentive enough.

Later, they're planning on adding shard control to the game.  Basically, houses can go out and claim shards (which are floating islands in this game, not entire servers).  About as close to dynamic world-impacting PvP as MMORPGs get, really.  How much later?  I don't know.  Maybe weeks, maybe months, maybe never.

I think perhaps a better reason to savor PvP in Chronicles of Spellborn is because the balance is very much in favor of player skill over persistence.  You can't just grind to 50 and dominate everybody.  Even a 1 level player can hurt a level 50, and a level 25 player who gets the drop on a 50 may actually have the uper hand... unless that level 50 guy is a better player, then look out.

For me, Spellborn's PvP is meaningful because, unlike the vast majority of MMORPGs, it's not just a baseless popularity contest, you can actually derive meaning from becoming a better player as opposed to being the more persistent grinder or winning because you know more people.

Distaste

Originally posted by geldonyetich


It's a tricky question to answer, because one man's "meaningful PvP " is another man's "complete waste of time."
Here's the thing: everybody joins one of 5 high houses in the game, and from level 35 onward all the maps are PvP whether you're on a PvP server or not.   Typically, this will be house-on-house conflict.   So, along the lines of providing ample amounts of PvP, you're covered.
What purpose is there to PvP?  Well, right now, there's no physical incentive to PvP: you lose nothing, you gain nothing.  Maybe this is you're idea of "not meaningful."  Other people would find the fact that they can defeat another player at all to be incentive enough.
Later, they're planning on adding shard control to the game.  Basically, houses can go out and claim shards (which are floating islands in this game, not entire servers).  About as close to dynamic world-impacting PvP as MMORPGs get, really.  How much later?  I don't know.  Maybe weeks, maybe months, maybe never.
I think perhaps a better reason to savor PvP in Chronicles of Spellborn is because the balance is very much in favor of player skill over persistence.  You can't just grind to 50 and dominate everybody.  Even a 1 level player can hurt a level 50, and a level 25 player who gets the drop on a 50 may actually have the uper hand... unless that level 50 guy is a better player, then look out.
For me, Spellborn's PvP is meaningful because, unlike the vast majority of MMORPGs, it's not just a baseless popularity contest, you can actually derive meaning from becoming a better player as opposed to being the more persistent grinder or winning because you know more people.

You forgot to mention the Arena system(2v2 and 4v4) that is coming in the next few weeks and the Demon chest that is being added along side that as well. Arena will get you gear/sigils and the demon chest will probably do the same OR a spawn a big ass demon that kills you...

Personally I like Spellborn PvP, especially when you get a nice brawl going. There is no pressure to win so it is all for the pure fun of it.

geldonyetich

Hey now, I didn't forget to mention that, I was completely oblivious to that.

Where are you informed players getting this information from, anywho?

I found the official forums, but I'm not sure where to look.

Anubisan

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like Spellborn has some interesting things to offer, but it does sound lacking in the meaningful PvP respect (based on my definition). When they implement the arenas and the shard control, I think I will be much more interested than I am now.

Still, I think I may give it a shot. I did find the combat mechanics to be very refreshing when I played the beta and hopefully that will hold my attention until they implement the other things I am hoping for.

I really wish they would have implemented these PvP systems BEFORE release though... Is the PvP crowd really that much in the minority??

Cablespider

Originally posted by geldonyetich


Hey now, I didn't forget to mention that, I was completely oblivious to that.
Where are you informed players getting this information from, anywho?
I found the official forums, but I'm not sure where to look.

eu-players.tcos.com/forum/showthread.php