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RvR the way forward for MMORPG?
It doesnt take a genius to work out that there's something fundamentally flawed about the approach to MMORPG developing in the current market (the exact symptoms won't be highlighted here). It always escapes me why there aren't more MMORPGs being developed upon a Realm vs Realm/Nation vs Nation/Faction vs Faction basis. It seems that the MMO platform is perfectly made for mass scale warfare and political maneouvreing. Instead it's been the browser based MMOGs that have taken to lead to develop and polish complex political mechanisms set in a deeply warring environment. But there is hope... with upcoming titles featuring a heavy RvR element, it seems that finally the great potential and freedom of the MMO platform is being realized. Below i will give a quick overview of why i think RvR element is essential to a great MMORPG.
1) Tangible enemy
Instead of fighting mobs after mobs of brainless AI monsters, the real enemies are the players from the rival Realm/Nation/Faction. It creates a mass-scaled version of Counterstrike and an us vs them scenario where killing the enemy actually make an impact on the game world.
2) Consequential PvP
One problem with the current trend of pvp is that they don't have any real consequences. You kill, you die, you respawn. But under a RvR system, killing a player from the rival Realm/Faction/Nation has a real consequence in strengthening your own Nation and weakening the opposite Nation. And if there's is one common objective that the rival Factions are aiming for i.e. access to a specific mining ground (RF), then winning a RvR even more consequential.
3) Mass-scaled PvP
Instead of versing one player, or versing a team of players with your party, you are versing against 100, 200, 300 players at the same time. Combat is no longer linear but dynamic. Everyone is either an enmy or an ally. I't not a battle but a warfare.
4) Teamwork and tactics prevail
PvP is no longer just based on gear and level, but on teamwork and tactics. Planning and using the terrain to your advantage is every bit important as the player's levels and gears. Sneaking around, ambushing, ganking, killing the weak healer or the mage first becomes a part the combat, rather than auto target and spam the skill hotkey.
5) Strategic and political gameplay
With an RvR system, there's more room to implement strategic and political aspects gameplay features. Guild may invade enemy territories. Castles are seiged and lost, leaders are assinated, land and resources are gained. Warfare become organised and co-ordinated, not merely arena based duels and fights.
6) Strong community
Since every player within one Realm/Nation/Faction has a common enemy and a common objective, the community therefore is already inherent. Players from the very start is placed into a sense of belonging that overides the solo experience and thus makes gameplay enjoyable from level one.
7) Story driven
No longer do players fight hordes after hordes of an invisible enemy, but rather players of the other Fractions. A nation in conflict makes the storyline much more exciting and engaging. The player is thrown into war and must defend his own nation. Because the enemy now is no longer the NPC but the opposing Faction/Realm/Nation, the quest are much more likely to be dynamic and player influenced. Quests such as go hunt down xxx player from the opposing fraction is not as far fetched under a RvR scenario.
All and all, in my opinion RvR is the way forward for MMORPG and i hope games such as Aion, Warhammer and Age of Conan live up to their expectations
1) Tangible enemy
Instead of fighting mobs after mobs of brainless AI monsters, the real enemies are the players from the rival Realm/Nation/Faction. It creates a mass-scaled version of Counterstrike and an us vs them scenario where killing the enemy actually make an impact on the game world.
2) Consequential PvP
One problem with the current trend of pvp is that they don't have any real consequences. You kill, you die, you respawn. But under a RvR system, killing a player from the rival Realm/Faction/Nation has a real consequence in strengthening your own Nation and weakening the opposite Nation. And if there's is one common objective that the rival Factions are aiming for i.e. access to a specific mining ground (RF), then winning a RvR even more consequential.
3) Mass-scaled PvP
Instead of versing one player, or versing a team of players with your party, you are versing against 100, 200, 300 players at the same time. Combat is no longer linear but dynamic. Everyone is either an enmy or an ally. I't not a battle but a warfare.
4) Teamwork and tactics prevail
PvP is no longer just based on gear and level, but on teamwork and tactics. Planning and using the terrain to your advantage is every bit important as the player's levels and gears. Sneaking around, ambushing, ganking, killing the weak healer or the mage first becomes a part the combat, rather than auto target and spam the skill hotkey.
5) Strategic and political gameplay
With an RvR system, there's more room to implement strategic and political aspects gameplay features. Guild may invade enemy territories. Castles are seiged and lost, leaders are assinated, land and resources are gained. Warfare become organised and co-ordinated, not merely arena based duels and fights.
6) Strong community
Since every player within one Realm/Nation/Faction has a common enemy and a common objective, the community therefore is already inherent. Players from the very start is placed into a sense of belonging that overides the solo experience and thus makes gameplay enjoyable from level one.
7) Story driven
No longer do players fight hordes after hordes of an invisible enemy, but rather players of the other Fractions. A nation in conflict makes the storyline much more exciting and engaging. The player is thrown into war and must defend his own nation. Because the enemy now is no longer the NPC but the opposing Faction/Realm/Nation, the quest are much more likely to be dynamic and player influenced. Quests such as go hunt down xxx player from the opposing fraction is not as far fetched under a RvR scenario.
All and all, in my opinion RvR is the way forward for MMORPG and i hope games such as Aion, Warhammer and Age of Conan live up to their expectations
Comments
You should try out PlanetSide, it has alot of what you describe, though it is not a RPG, it is a MMOFPS.
I havent played the game for a long while, and the reason was the outfit(clan/guild) disbanded. We were a little group of 15-20 members, and had 2-3 times a week where we did our co-op's, which were really fun, as 10-15 of us could hold back a zerg on up to 300 people.
The game weren't that advanced, and gave alot of freedom for you to make tactics, sorta like in Counter-Strike. You had 4 armor classes, and each class was restricted to a different set of vehicles and flights. You had 1 point per level, to put into a specialization, which enables you to use one or another vehicle. If you removed a point, it will take 24hours to get back, meaning you can respec fully within a day, for free.
The game has no credits, as the only thing matter, is to have a high rating.
It is long time since i've played the game, but i heard they have made alot of changes to it, and added alot of content.
Can't say much about the community, as the only community i was involved was within the Outfit.
No much story or roleplaying... But you do live into the role as a soldier and execute the orders as if you tried your best, as the death consequences would be you had to respawn far away, and may lose the tower you had just captured, or were to.
Futilez - Mature MMORPG Community
Correcting people since birth.
I've found the only way RvR to work is if there is significant incentive to clash, constantly. Otherwise, people just stay on their side of the border and pretty much just never see the enemy.
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Hemingway
I agree. RvR has become the main motive for me to play mmo's. I played a faction based game and i very much liked it for the reasons you posted. I'd like to jus add one.
Experiencing the Persistant World.
If your realm or faction is linked to parts of the world you will also be going to identify with the world. Just like die hard mmorpg players like to have a custimizable home. Having a world for your faction and the changes it will undergo through the strugles and other initiatives is a nice way of roleplaying and combining it with the story, politics, events etc.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
if I were to kill a titan tomorrow and no CCP employees showed up to say grats I would petition it.
Waiting for: the next MMO that lets me make this macro
if hp < 30 then CastSpell("heal") SpellTargetUnit("player") else CastSpell("smite") end
The short reply...
No
RvR is one style of MMO, it is not and never will represent all MMOs anymore than Carebear will be the future of MMOs. RvR deserves it's own category, and I believe it is the future for those who want a strictly PvP universe. From the standpoint of PvP MMOs, all of your points are valid.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Make the grind fun and lasting and they will come, I think WoW was one of the first that made the grind somewhat fun, but it also made it solo, very quick, and took a lot of mmo elements out of the game until the "end game". The end game is just the same old boring raid grind that is plaguing every mmo.
Daoc RvR was a pvp grind that was quite fun, but it was blocked by the normal pve grind that someone had to do to get to the rvr.
What WAR will do I hope is make their grind a pvp grind which they say they are trying to do.
All RvR dose is make it easier to find a group because you have assigned teammates
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Achiever 20.00%, Explorer 86.67%, Killer 60.00%, Socializer 33.33%
EKSA
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Hense i said MMOFPS... l2read
Futilez - Mature MMORPG Community
Correcting people since birth.
RvR combat especially is something of a niche experience in MMO's these days. Thanks to the blessings f hte EQ's an WoW's of this world the majority of MMO gamers do not see their game as a competitive game but purely as a relaxing timesink.
RvR assumes competition, competition assumes loss, loss inherently means losing time in MMO's, since MMO's tend to have some form of timesink embedded in them. That can be skill/levels, money, rare items, honour or whatever. It seems that only a minority of players is willing to accept loss as a possible outcome of theri gameplay these days. People are simply not in it for the competition anymore, at least, not those that are sitting happily in teh mainstream.
There are two good MMORPG's out there yet with all of the traditional ingrediënts within an RvR setting (pvp combat, crafting, economy, pve): DAOC and Eve Online.
Both are and will stay niche games. But if you enjoy competitive play with tangible loss and a persistent game world created by your own actions, then I'd say Eve-Online is your best bet atm, and DAOC a second if you consider fantasy settings a must.
As far as any RvR-oriented titles becoming the next big hit in the genre goes, forget about that. Unless someone comes up with a formula that allows you to 'win' that RvR competition without the other side losing it that is, and such a formula wouldn't appeal to those that RvR appeals to currently, so either way there's not much chance of it becoming a hit.
A group of kids ganging up on some soloing person, give him no chance of retaliation, steals his loot, takes away his exp and have a laugh about it afterwards.
That's just plain PK no PvP element to it.
I like the RvR play style. One of my favorite moments when I was playing DaoC was that I was soloing and got ganked by a bunch of high levels. Release, /shout there was a raiding party and next thing you know, I'm getting /tells from all these level 50's who were willing to go out and wipe up the people who jumped me. People I never even knew volunteering to come help out. That made dying all worth it to me.