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WildStar opens up free, indefinite megaserver transfers
How's your server's population in WildStar since the switch to megaservers? Does it still feel a little empty? Community manager Tony Rey says that the team has heard the complaints that the PvP servers are quiet, and the team is responding by opening up indefinite free transfers between the PvE and PvP megaservers in both directions. You can move your PvE character to the PvP megaserver as you wish, and vice versa. Rey says that while the team was initially happy with the stats on the PvP realms, the EU PvP megaserver in particular had certain difficulties with player numbers after PvP-to-PvE transfers were opened up but before the megaservers went live. Having free transfers in place does carry the risk of allowing people to level on a PvE server only to transfer over at the level cap, but players are assured that the team is watching for shenanigans and will shut down untoward transfers. These transfers are currently open for an indefinite period of time; Carbine will decide whether or not these free transfers will remain in place after monitoring the health of the server system.
Gamasutra examines character names in World of Warcraft
What does your character name say about you? Gaming website Gamasutra asked that question while performing a massive investigation on player names in World of Warcraft, and came up with some interesting answers. Obviously a game like World of Warcraft is going to have a ton of unique character names, simply due to the limits on names per server -- but WoW boasts a whopping 3.8 million unique names, which actually makes the game far more diverse than real-world names. As can only be expected, there was a much larger variety in names on RP servers -- while on average, 58% of names were unique, on RP servers that number jumps to a staggering 83%. But what is unexpected is the correlation between class, race, and name ultimately chosen to represent the character you play. Other information painstakingly investigated included represented regions, name origins, common threads between popular names, and an all-too-interesting look at the differences between negative, positive, and neutral names. It's a fascinating glimpse into one of those things that players tend to take for granted. While you may think you're creating a name that's completely unique and carefully chosen, there's a strong likelihood that somewhere out there in the far-flung reaches of the global playerbase, there's at least one person who's had the exact same idea as yourself. Take a look at the full article for more interesting tidbits about the curiosity of character naming on Gamasutra's site.
Let the blood be spilled
Blizzard Community Manager Daxxarri has taken again to the forums to weigh in on a thread bemoaning level 90s ganking on PvP servers. While it is hardly news that max-level players will occasionally take the opportunity to grief or gank lower level players, indeed, it's been a state of play that's existed pretty much since the game began, CRZ has likely increased the regularity and severity of these occurrences. There seem to be two vying camps of opinion on this issue, and it's pretty clear from his posts which one Daxxarri falls into: Daxxarri This is going to sound weird, and while I do empathize with the frustration that's being expressed in this thread, this conversation still warms the cockles of my black little heart. Why? Because for too long there was very little distinction between playing on a PvE realm and playing on a PvP realm. We had inadvertently created a situation where there was little risk when leveling in the world on a PvP realm. The experiences were, for all practical purposes, virtually identical, but that wasn't what we had in mind. Life on a PvP realm can be nasty, brutish and short. Justice is in very short supply. Every action you take in the world carries with it an added level of risk, from questing, to hunting down profession materials, to simply traveling from place to place. You can be attacked at any time, sometimes by an overwhelming force. Of course, the shoe can also be on the other foot, and you'll be able to turn the tables on your attacker, or find clever ways to delay them or escape from them. Some will become roaming slayers, seeking out enemies to destroy. In short, the experience on a PvP server is different. We want it to be different, and that includes everything from honorable conflict on the field of battle to horribly despicable ganking. It's all part of the fabric that makes a PvP server what it is. Let the blood be spilled. source
Reflections on moving from a PvP to a PvE realm
Truthfully, I had no business ever rolling on a PvP server. I only went there because some friends went there, and I stayed there out of habit. For years, I moved in the shadows, keeping one eye warily over my shoulder, with all buffs active at all times and the button for my flying mount at the ready. When I left cities, it was only to touch ground for the briefest of moments -- grab the herb, pick the ore, kill the mob, and get the hell out. Indeed, there's a certain pride in surviving on a PvP server, like a rabbit reveling in its luck of returning to the burrow at the end of a long, perilous day. I've been through multiple expansion launches and patch events and been ganked at exotic locales from Hellfire Peninsula to Quel'danas to the Molten Front to Mount Hyjal. Over time, you learn to subsist from that extra adrenaline. Even if you loathe world PvP, your body feeds off of it. The heightened sense of perception becomes exhilarating. That first terrifying moment when you realize you are under attack and fight or flight instincts kick in -- there's something in that emotional response that resonates with our most primal underpinnings. And yet, a month ago, I gave it all up. I transferred from a PvP realm to a PvE one -- and immediately, it felt like an alien landscape.
TERA's senior producer looks at the game's past, present, and future
Saying that it "feels as though a giant weight has been lifted off [his team's] shoulders" now that TERA has launched, En Masse Senior Producer Brian Knox has turned his attention to the immediate and far future of the game. He says that the team is hard at work ironing out "pain points" for players, but his big passion is working to make the PvP experience even better and to roll out the battlegrounds this summer. "I want to continue to slowly iterate our PvP-server rules," Knox said in an interview published yesterday. "I think TERA's skill-based system is a natural fit for PvP players, and I want to develop a system that encourages and rewards PvP participants." Knox addressed the pace of the leveling experience (he says it should be a "smooth and even ride" if players follow the story and do all the quests), the price of teleportation scrolls (expensive for lowbies, affordable for veterans), and what to do at the endgame (answer: a lot). As more players reach the high levels, En Masse is preparing to juice up its nexuses and political system, both of which require a decent amount of participants to work.
The Anvil of Crom: Blood, glory, and some Deathwish impressions
Oy, Funcom, you're absolutely killing me here. Last week I had a column written prior to a guess-what-we're-launching-Unchained-today announcement. This week I was typing away on a review of some of the new instance content that showed up alongside the F2P update when the hey-Blood-and-Glory-launches-tomorrow bomb dropped. A veritable mad scramble ensued here at The Anvil of Crom offices, and as the piles of wadded up loose-leaf and discarded notes fluttered about, I was left wondering when my previous two pieces were going to see the light of day. If I sound somewhat perturbed, I'm not really, as this is a fantastic spot for any game columnist -- or Age of Conan fan -- to occupy. There's a lot of new content and not enough time to write about it; really we should all be so lucky. Sooo, that's my lengthy way of saying won't you join me after the cut for some initial impressions of hardcore PvP, AoC-style.
Age of Conan game director talks Blood and Glory server rules
Age of Conan's game director has penned a new developer diary at MMORPG.com. The subject is the new Blood and Glory server ruleset, and if you haven't been keeping up with Hyboria lately, suffice it to say that the initial announcement made a lot of waves last February due to its player looting and free-for-all components. Craig Morrison's new post talks about how the desires of MMO veterans are often mutually exclusive with the industry-wide accessible design trend, and he goes on to outline Funcom's desire to give its displaced PvP fans something to sink their teeth into. In terms of ruleset specifics, they include no transfers, no offline levels, no guards, no Shrines of Bori, limited player looting, and open PvP restored to White Sands and the Underhalls. PvP kills will also grant additional XP in comparison with the game's normal servers. Finally, Morrison says that Battlekeep rewards will be adjusted, though he gives no specifics as of yet. For additional coverage, check out our March 2011 Blood and Glory interview with Morrison as well as our server ruleset and sharding discussion.
Bring it on: DCUO launches new PvP servers
We can only assume it's a good day for Sony Online Entertainment when demand for its new superhero MMO, DC Universe Online, creates a need for more servers. Starting tomorrow afternoon at approximately 6:30 p.m. EST, two new PvP servers -- appropriately titled "Cry for Blood" (PC) and "Blood Will Run" (PS3) -- will be available for bloodthirsty superpeople everywhere, bringing the total number of North American servers up to 16. That's not a shabby number for a new release or for SOE in particular, which has in recent years seen a slew of server merges and closings across some of its older games. On PvP servers, villains and heroes are able to duke it out via open-world factional combat while blasting through storyline content as well as in special PvP arenas. Word to the wise: Red means dead! Massively is interviewing DCUO's Game Director Chris Cao this very evening, so expect an exclusive interview on this and other new content goodies en route for DCUO players tomorrow!
Free realm transfers to lower-population servers
It's that time of year again -- the time when certain realms are filled to the brim, making them nigh unplayable. The release of Cataclysm has hit specific U.S. realms hard, and Blizzard is offering to help balance out population issues. To make life easier on these servers, Blizzard is offering free realm transfers to lower-population servers. The high-populations realms are: Barthilas (Oceanic-PvP) Blackrock (US-PvP) Frostmourne (Oceanic-PvP) Illidan (US-PvP) Kel'Thuzad (US-PvP) Kil'jaeden (US-PvP) Tichondrius (US-PvP) The destination realms are as follows: Altar of Storms (US-PvP) Arathor (US-PvE) Fenris (US-PvE) Garrosh (US-PvE) Grizzly Hills (US-PvE) Gul'dan (US-PvP) Gundrak (Oceanic-PvP) Nazjatar (US-PvP) Shattered Halls (US-PvP) The Forgotten Coast (US-PvP) Blizzard has stated that while these transfers are still free, they are subject to end once the destination realms fill up. So if you or your guild are planning a move, you should start now to avoid any complications. Most questions on free realm transfers should be on this handy FAQ. As always, a realm transfer to any of the ones not listed still requires a paid character transfer.
Lost Pages of Taborea: What's in a server?
Welcome back to another week of Lost Pages of Taborea. I'm switching gears and answering some reader mail. I'll answer the question to the best of my abilities, and then I want to expand the topic to cover server density and personality. Roger Ringo has returned to Reni from a hiatus which prompted the following question. Roger Ringo asks: I was wondering if you could give me a rundown on the population and community of the servers you have played on. I would really appreciate it. This is a great question about server populations. How populated are the Runes of Magic servers? For that matter, how do we go about finding the number of people on any MMO's server? It never seems to be a cut-and-dried answer with one almighty server-status site to feed us the numbers. A lot of our own perceptions can sway answers to these questions too. What days and times a person logs in, his playstyle, and what he pays more attention to in-game can all affect an opinion of whether a server is a ghost town or a small but happy community. Do my conclusions match with yours? Find out after the break!
Free realm transfers announced
Blizzard poster Turrit announced yesterday that free realm transfers are being made available to address faction imbalance and overpopulation issues on the following PvE realms: Aggramar (Alliance only) Area 52 (Horde only) Blackhand Hellscream Stormrage (Alliance only) Thrall (Horde only) Undermine Destination realm: Drak'thul The free transfer period will run from Tuesday, May 25 (today) to Tuesday, June 1 at 11:00 a.m. PDT. However, Turrit did make a point of mentioning that Blizzard has a transfer goal in mind, and if it's reached, they may shut the free transfers down early. If you're on any of the affected realms and have been considering a transfer, this might be a good chance to save yourself $25. To my surprise, it turns out Drak'thul was actually a PvP realm until very recently, and after a quick look at WoW Progress's list of U.S. realms, I have to agree it looks like the server needs some love. While it's possible the page hasn't been updated, it's apparent that the Drak'thul's raiders are struggling -- and there's some rather illuminating commentary in this thread (I'll grant I can't verify the accuracy) on how some of the server's troubles may have gotten their start. Two things come to mind: Blizzard's observations a year ago concerning only PvP realms being low-pop, and: what's happening on Cho'gall. Interesting. The full announcement is past the cut.
15 Minutes of Fame: Vive la resistance
15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. When there's a dozen of Them for every one of You, life on a PvP server gets ugly. PvE progression crawls when your faction's population is so minuscule that you can't seem to assemble a PUG even during peak hours. You can't craft your way into better gear, because an anemic economy means no materials on the Auction House and no players in Trade waiting to craft with them. Log in on a night when the few of raiding guilds don't happen to be active, and you could find yourself looking at something like 40 other faction-mates online. Welcome to the Alliance of US-Cho'gall. Current player activity levels average an abysmal 1 Alliance hour for every 12.7 Horde hours played -- something like a 1:7.5 player ratio, down from 1:15 earlier this year. An incredible community effort and guild named The Resistance rallied rerollers and transfers to infuse new life into the Alliance-side of this notoriously imbalanced community. While the campaign made an impressive stab at pulling the Alliance community up by its bootstraps, the severity of the situation took its toll, and things are not so bright for everyone on the blue side of the tracks. We visited with Aleksey, GM of another Alliance guild, to find out how the beleaguered Allies are holding up and what might help this Horde-crushed realm.
Jade Dynasty calls out to the PvPer in all of us
Have you ever wanted to smacktard grief everybody in sight until you died from everyone ganging up on you? Have you ever wanted to completely ignore quests in favor of destroying everybody else? Well, if you have, then we just might have the server for you!Jade Dynasty is turning on their PvP only server, "The Wildlands." On this server, all of the PvE only zones have been transformed into PvP zones, meaning that you're a target the second your character hits level 30. Using your Esper's botting function on this server is much more dangerous now, as going on auto-pilot means that you'll be defenseless to anyone who crosses your path.Still, for those who prefer a much more hostile environment in their games, The Wildlands server looks to be exactly what you're looking for. Now, join battle and destroy!
WoW Rookie: 20 tips for PvP realm leveling
New around here? WoW Rookie points WoW's newest players to the resources they need to get acclimated. Send us a note to suggest a WoW Rookie topic.There's no doubt about it: it's trickier and twitchier to level a character on a PvP (player versus player) realm than it is on a "Care Bear," PvE (player versus environment) realm. Some players thrive on the electric anticipation of the unexpected ambush; others wilt under the unrelenting stress. Being an experienced gamer and having the proverbial "friends in high places" can make the experience a lot more enjoyable – so is leveling on a PvP realm beyond the reach of a WoW rookie? Absolutely not! But make no mistake, it's war out there ... and only the savvy will survive unscathed. Sounds ominous, eh? Let's knock off some of the mystery. First, we direct you to Zach Yonzon's insightful introduction to the PvP attitude. Zach explains exactly what is different about playing on a PvP realm, as well as the basics of concepts such as "flagging" and "honor." Soak up the basics, then join us after the break for 20 tips to help you survive your time as a WoW rookie, PvP style.
Anti-Aliased: PvPissed
It's in the nature of every MMO player to snap at change -- it's what we do. When the patch notes reveal that Class X got a decrease in DPS to make them of a "more balanced power", you can expect all players of Class X to lead a revolt across the forums with pitchforks and torches. This behavior has become so commonplace that we tend to just ignore it after a while.But for once, the intense flaming power of the World of Warcraft forums is being put to good use, if you ask me. Blizzard has announced that they are letting players transfer from standard servers onto their Player vs. Player servers in an outstanding reversal of their original policy on the matter. Now anyone on a normal server can just waltz up past the Gumdrop Mountains to find Queen Frostine and ask her to use her transporting powers to send them to what could be construed as MMO 4chan. (That Candy Land reference was for you, James Egan.)
PvE to PvP paid transfers now available
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/PvE_to_PvP_paid_transfers_now_available_in_WoW'; Ever since paid transfers were introduced, quite some time ago, there has been one very prominent restriction: no transfers from PvE servers to PvP servers. The general reason given for this is that it wouldn't be fair; people who level to 70 on a PvP server have a significantly harder time of it that people who do it on a PvE server, and letting people transfer from PvE to PvP is just going to encourage them to level where it's safe easy and then transfer to go around ganking and raiding and whatever else they want to do. Well, that restriction is lifted: paid transfers from PvE to PvP servers will be available from now on. Blizzard's stated reason for this is that "providing a smooth and enjoyable experience for all players is always a priority for us," and that these transfers are being implemented "to provide players with more mobility and freedom to easily play with their friends." While these are valid reasons to a certain extent, I still think this will be pretty unpopular with players on PvP servers. [thanks, Nega]
Dungeon Runners announces an EU server
For over a year now we've enjoyed Dungeon Runners without a specific European server. This means that Europeans had to put up with Americans for all that time! We're not sure how they did it either, but NCsoft has announced that their newest server -- World 8 -- is optimized for European players. This doesn't mean anyone else from around the world can't play on it, but they might not enjoy the low ping rates as they've had on the American servers, if they are American.This eighth world is a PvP world, making it the second such PvP server in addition to World 5. For PvE players, you have several server choices for free players, plus World 2, which is only open to those who pay the $5 monthly membership fee. One of the beautiful parts of the Dungeon Runners server system is the fact that your characters are available on any of the servers, so you can feel free to check out the new-server smell at the European server any time you'd like.
Breakfast Topic: Gankster Poll
I always roll on PvP servers. I don't know why, but I just don't feel comfortable on a PvE server. There's just something exhilarating about always looking over your shoulder to see where the next attack may be coming from. Since there is such a strong division between Alliance and Horde, PvP just seems natural. Sure, I get ganked, but I can hold my own. When I'm soloing, I very rarely take advantage of PvP in the environment. I'm usually too busy leveling or grinding for cash to start a land war. I've even been known to help out an ally in distress. About the only time I attack unprovoked in the environment is when there is a quest monster close by that I need to fight.
Sunwell griefing runs rampant
Patch 2.4, much like most other things in WoW, has managed to bring the worst out of some people. The mask of anonymity strikes again!No, I don't mean the node-stealing, ninja-tapping, mob-training stupidery(which is a word as of right now) you see all over the Isle of Quel'Danas. I refer to the standing-on-NPCs-while-PvP-flagged griefing. If you're lucky and haven't seen this happen on your server, what most servers are seeing is a bunch of Blood Elf and Draenei players standing directly on top of Shattered Sun Offensive NPCs, so players accidentally, unknowingly, right click on them instead of the quest NPC. This results in inadvertently hitting the player, and then getting destroyed by the SSO guards.
One of the best (and funniest) PVP articles I've ever read
I'm not a PvP guy. People on the staff think I'm a PvP guy but I'm not. Why do people always assume rogues are PvP freaks? I don't know. Anyway. It's not to say I don't like a little bit of world PvP once in a while, but compared to some of the peeps who have more arena points than they have Air Miles, I am for all intents and purposes, a PvP noob.Having said that though, I've been clutching my stomach for a good ten minutes and wiping away the tears of laughter after reading this epic post from Relmstein entitled Lessons Learned From Levelling On A PvP Server. While some of it is side-splittingly funny (yes I know I just invented a word), like all good comedy, it's funny because it's true!If you're considering rolling on a PvP server (something I've tried and failed many times), you may want to print out this article and stick it on your wall. It could save your life!
