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How important is competition to you in an MMO?
SwampRob
Member UncommonPosts: 1,003
I see a lot of threads about being in top guilds, or being at/near the top of the pvp ladder, or being the first guild to defeat boss X, etc.
For me, I just want to play and have fun. I have zero interest in competition of any kind. I simply want to enjoy the game and see my character steadily progress to becoming more powerful than he was, with no thought towards how powerful he is compared to another player. I find this kind of 'rating' somewhat distasteful, particularly when being eyed by some pug leader who feels that you must meet a certain standard in order to join his group.
When forming such a group myself, I never bother to look at gear, but rather at the class(es) I need to fill out the group, and perhaps maturity of the player seeking to join.
Even in a mostly pvp game, it doesn't have to be about competition, at least, not in the sense of comparing what you have compared to others.
I think this may be a source of frustration for a lot of players.
So, does it matter to you how you are doing compared to others, or are you in it just to have fun, or is competition a big part of that fun?
Comments
I have no interest in competition for the sake of competition but I do want some conflict.
so, I don't care about "first at this" or "top that" but nor do I care to always win (don't mind losing at all) but I always want to engage in some sort of conflict if I am in the mood for it.
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I don't mind a little competition, but when it becomes exclusionary I lose all interest in it. A little competition is a good thing. It keeps you motivated to reach a goal.
That said, I'd much rather just enjoy a game without worrying how I stack up compared to other players.
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I don't want an end game. That doesn't mean I don't want an end to skill/level gain, because when you have an unending system of skill/level gain characters just keep moving up in power.
What I want is a game where the world continues, and what I do continues in that sense. I might become richer, I might lose some wealth, but I have a never ending game in that. I might also discover a new spell, not more powerfull, just something that allows me to do a new magical thing. I might build a library, and get new books to place. I might discover the secret to making a ship that's just as fast as another of it's kind, but can hold more cargo while being slightly less manueverable. I might discover the means to breed a horse that's a bit faster yet just as strong, or can run for longer periods of time before tiring and losing some speed. I might discover a new weapon special attack skill. I might find a new ancient artifact to decorate my home with. There are millions of ways to keep a game going after a player reaches maxed skills/levels by building the right game so that the world and the story continues. And by doing so, you can remove the level grind and all the bad associations with it.
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I like to PvP, but not on a fiercly competitive level, and certainly not on a 1 v 1 basis. I like to help my team out, and when my efforts help my team, I am happy. Other than that, competition is probably the least important thing to me in an MMORPG game.
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I really don't care all that much about competing with other people in MMORPGs. If I want to compete....that isn't the genre, in my opinion, that I would choose for it. Not to say SOME MMOs (NOT MMORPGs) are very well tailored for competition....such as GW or even the up coming The Agency...things like that. (in my opinion)
When I'm feeling "competitive," I go play a mutli-player round or two of Painkiller, CS Source (if I'm feeling particularly masochistic), or something else that is equally aggressive and visceral.
To ME....MMORPGs are for exploring, questing and seeing a story unfold, community, PvE (primarily), crafting, making plat/gold, working on my house and the guild hall, and forming a little virtual life for my character. MMORPGs, to me, are more for living a journey. IF that journey happens to have some competitive elements in it...I'm okay with that....but it's not my primary concern.
As far as gear and stuff goes....I always ALWAYS strive to have my characters in great gear, BUT...I don't compare myself to others. I set my own personal goals (including some for specific items of gear) and then strive to reach those goals. I guess when it comes to those kinds of things, I'm more about "self-improvement," than competition. I'm always always working to make my character better. It doesn't trouble me when someone has better things than I do. Chances are...I probably already have goals in mind for items that are entirely different from what they've chosen ANY way.
I play to have FUN. Period. To me...that is what games are about. To some people...heavy heated competition IS fun. To me....bettering mySELF is fun and it doesn't require my being dominant over someone ELSE. I'm pretty self secure....in game and out.
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I don't care for competition in video games. When I want competition I'll play sports. Competition in mmos, in my opinion, is especially poor. There are so many imbalances in mmos that competition is just not an ideal goal.
A lot of cultures are naturally competitive; "My girlfriend is hotter than his," "My lawn is greener than theirs," or "My sports team kicked his team's a$$." Gamers are yet another competitive crowd within that. Some are not interested in being at the top of the ladder, the highest level or a member of the most advance raid guild, but they want to be the one with the most gold, the most social status, the most popularity, the most 'correct' forum opinions, the most insightful changes or the most friends.
This competition varies greatly between individuals, not just in what they're competitive over, but who they're competitive with. In most cases, we tend to assume a competitive PvP player, for instance, wants to be the best in the world - but perhaps they only want to be the best on the server, or the best at school. There are as many ways to compete as there are differences between us.
Frankly in the last decade of MMO playing I've run into a miniscule minority that sincerely didn't seem competitive. I find anyone else that claims otherwise either doesn't realize they're competitive or doesn't want to admit it, but there's always something they feel competitive about. In most cases, when we say we don't want competition, we just mean we don't want to hear about someone else's competition - everyone gets sick of a braggart - but that's not the same as avoiding or being repulsed by competition itself.
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I think it´s the bittersweet of the mmorpg cake.
The drama of guilds clashing each other to top the ranks, watching behind your backs, thinking a new estrategy to conquer the enemy territory, make new allies to dethrone and old tyrant guild... good memories
Of course things can get a bit out of hand like those "black list" that pop up now and then, but like any human social activity a little of competition, having a rival, boost up the best we have
ps: that surely should be a spotlight thread OP
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My time is split 50/50 on PvP and PvE. I'm a very competitive person, and I play to win. When I am part of a team, I strive to be the strongest link. I don't verbally call out or abuse people who don't share my conviction though, unless they are going out of their way to hurt our team.
There is my 2¢
The notion of competitive PvE kind of baffles me, though there seem to be a lot of vocal advocates on forums. It just doesn't interest me at all, having the shinier whatsit than that person, or the bigger mount than this other one, or whatever. I just do my own thing and want to let other people do theirs. I'm competitive with myself!
I just want to have fun in an mmo. I f I want competition I go play a few different sports.
There is a stereotype stating that people who have a competitive attitude in long-term games, such as mmorpgs, are not successful in real life.
I don't know how true that stereotype is.
I agree with Zarcob that most people are competitive to some degree. But in my opinion it's a characteristic that doesn't blend all that well with MMORPGs. You can enjoy these games a lot more if you don't become aggravated every time something 'unfair' happens to you, or you can't join a raid because you're not high enough level yet, or you didn't waste weeks of your life getting that uber weapon of pwnage, etc..
And besides all this, playing MMORPGs has also taught me the ultimate truth of that old cliche. "There's always a bigger dog out there somewhere."
Well, for me MMOs are not necessarily as much about the competition. I really enjoy just being able to level and become the best character in the game that I can be. I want to inevitably be the strongest player in the game, but I know that it is an unrealistic goal and that I should just strive to do my best as opposed to challenging others.
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Well, a little competition in MMOs is fun.
I like PvP, PvP is competitive, but I can care less if I am anywhere near being the best or not....I can care less if my guild is considered the best...
...but I can honestly say, I generally play a healer, and I enjoy knowing I am top healer in raids. I mean if I don't have top heals in a certain raid it's no biggie, but it's fun friendly competing with other healers in that sense.
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I'd have to say, there's more competitive players out there than me 8/10 in PvE and PvP. But the flipside to competition, cooperation in RvR pvp that leads to a sort of competition with the other realm, I'm happy to be very competitive in groups.
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I couldn't care less about competition in any facet of games tbh. I'm like you, OP: just playing for fun. I have my fun through non-competitive activities like exploration, seeing the content (sometimes cooperatively with a group), and sometimes messing around in open pvp.
There was a time when I cared (or those around me encouraged me to care) about whether I was the best geared or most raid progressed or highest pvp rated player on the server - and the metagame ended up killing all my fun and burning me out.
That has nothing to do with competition, but whether you can actually complete the encounter.
I don't know about you. I hate to group with under-gear people who don't know the fights .... when they are costing lots of wipes.
Wiping is only fun if the whole guild is working towards a hard encounter, and not on easy fights like VoA.
Carrying some low dps who cannot contribute much is ok (cause there are always more dps than needed, at least on easier fights). But i don't want a tank who can't survive, or healers who cannot keep the tank alive.
Very important....not so much competition as in rating or rankings, but rivalries. Enemies I know, understand and hate/respect. Rivalries that make me look forward to the next big PvP.
I want to fight for real things in the world, even if it's just my party fighting for our questing/leveling spot. I don't want random, impersonal instanced fights the mean nothing. I don't want to farm for rating or points to spend on gear...I want to compete and fight for things that matter....
But apparently games like these are too "hardcore" for the western market, seems western players are content with automated systems that do everything for them, the most diluted and watered down experiences possible.
I am extremely uncompetitive...so, not at all important is my answere. I have an odd code I live by, but I won't share it here cause...well, cause I don't want to. But being uncompetitive is a big part of it..
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I'm with this guy. "Server firsts" and ranking systems mean jack to me.
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I have zero interest in any kind of player competition, I'm playing to have fun, not to win because there is no victory in an MMO. Being victorious means surviving. You never reach a point where you win the whole game so it's foolish to pretend that you ever can.
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It's not important at all, the whole reason I play an mmo is for Co-op play with others.
If theres any form of competition in the game, i'm usually fine with it, but i'm not looking to play a game solely to compete against others unless it's a form of RvR/fighting over something worth value for a faction. It doesn't have to be direct conflict either, I particularly enjoyed the conquest system in FFXI for example.
I disagree, grouping up with 50 or 100 of your friends that you play and talk with everyday to fight against your rivals, opponents you know very well, either respect or hate (probably the latter) having a huge epic fight for control of a raid boss spawn lasting 10 minutes. Winning it, getting to kill the raid boss while they get nothing...
That is victory and nothing else in a MMO compares to it.
I can feel very competitive in PVP in MMOs. But only in group vs group PVP that are balanced well. I dont like to boast myself, but I do like winning from a team that played very well. In this kind of PVP, I also have a higher tolerance towards boasting players.
In PVE or siege type PVP I never feel competitive. I usually dont even bother with duels in gearbased MMOs, except sometimes with events.