instanced-pvp
Latest
The Crew's closed beta PvP is lobby-based
What's PvP like in The Crew? You can find out if you're playing the PC closed beta this week. If not, you can read the latest news blurb on the racing MMO's website to get the general idea. It says that PvP races are enabled at level 10. Curiously, given Ubisoft's focus on The Crew's open-world design up to this point, the post also mentions that the closed beta's eight PvP races are lobby-based. "The PvP lobbies can be accessed directly from the map," the company says. "The Midwest PvP lobby being in Detroit and the East lobby in New York, both represented by a yellow lozenge."
Take a look at the next Allods Online update, Colors of War
When will players in North America get to see the new race being added to Allods Online? It's hard to say. It's easier to say when they'll see the next major update to the game, however, as the Colors of War update is already live for the Russian server and is being localized for North America and European players now. So you can expect it within a month or so. And what does it contain? Like the name says, war. Players will be able to explore a revamped Kingdom of Elements with several redesigned battle points as well as a new variant style of capture-the-flag in the Training Grounds. The Raid Dominion system has also undergone extensive remaking, adding in new elements like gun mounts to change the face of these battles. That's in addition to major class changes for Wardens and a revamp of the old Tika-Rek's cave. Check out the patch trailer just past the break. [Thanks to K for the tip!]
PAX East 2014: WildStar shows off Warplots at last
Do you want to go to war in WildStar? Then you're going to want a stronghold. No, that's not right, you're going to want a fortress. You're going to want a fortification that makes others quake in terror. And then you're going to want to drop that fortification down on your enemy's front lawn and claim their territories while laying waste to their fortifications. Welcome to Warplots. They're the game's answer to player-made fortresses and high-end battlegrounds all at once. More specificially, they're team-based 40 vs. 40 maps that drop you into a race to tear down your enemy. At either end sits the carefully constructed fortress held by each team, in the middle sit resource nodes, and both sides are pushed together to be the last side standing or the one putting a fortress back together post-battle. Want to know more? That's a good thing. Take a look at the typical WildStar trailer past the cut, and then let's talk details.
The Nexus Telegraph: Courting PvP in WildStar
PvP is pretty darn problematic for modern MMOs. Part of this is a balance issue. Creating a PvP environment that's actually fair is a challenge all by itself, and creating one that's unfair does not exactly foster a spirit of lively competition. But part of this is the nature of players. You have players who run the gamut, from people who don't want anything to do with PvP (mostly due to players on the other end of the spectrum) to players who assume that PvP is a mandate to do nasty things to unaware participants (especially people on the other end of the spectrum). WildStar is stepping into this minefield, and as we all know the game is trying to provide something for everyone from the top down. So today I want to look at what we know about the game's PvP and how various camps can be courted with the overall mechanics of the game.
Leaderboard: Open world vs. instanced PvP
In the great coliseum where PvP warriors go to clash metal and drench the sand with blood, there are two doors. One leads to a place where open world PvP is embraced; the other leads to instanced PvP. Each warrior must make his or her choice which door to step through, and once that decision is made, there is no going back. Except there totally is. Open world PvP has the allure of PvP happening anytime, anywhere. Theoretically, players can vie for control of towns and regions, amassing in large armies to sweep the land of unclean filth. Or they can just zerg a spot and be zerged in return. Instanced PvP is attractive for its tightly controlled setting. The teams are usually evenly matched in numbers, and clear objectives for winning are given. So out of the two flavors of MMO PvP, which is the superior one? Vote after the jump and then back up your decision in the comments!
Ranked PvP to be cut from SWTOR's Legacy patch
Despite extensive testing on the private test server, BioWare has decided to not include ranked PvP warzones in the latest patch for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Although Update 1.2: Legacy will still go live tomorrow with a brand-new warzone, Novare Coast, the new reward and leveling system for level 50 players will sadly be missing. In an announcement on the official site, Lead Game Designer Daniel Erickson stated, "After careful consideration, it is clear that to make Ranked Warzones the feature we all want it to be is going to take a bit more time. I apologize for any disappointment this may cause and ask for your patience as we work to make sure the Ranked Warzone Preseason launch is polished and fun." Erickson did not reveal when we will see see ranked warzones on the live servers, but he did say that the team will roll out the feature in phases, starting with full-team (eight-player) queuing. He also noted that players can still earn the highly anticipated War Hero armor in Update 1.2 through other means. [Thanks to Marc for the tip!]
Age of Conan's Craig Morrison talks conquest vs. competition
PvP is a naturally contentious subject, particularly when focused on its various flavors in the MMO space. Everyone thinks they know best, and whether they're arguing for a three-faction system, full loot, or open-world objectives, the discussion often devolves into verbal throw-downs every bit as violent as their in-game counterparts. Age of Conan game director Craig Morrison recently waded into the fray via his personal blog, and he says that defining PvP in an MMO context involves separating the wish for conquest from the wish for competition. Morrison touches on several interesting aspects of MMO PvP, including a bit of history relating to the arenas and battlegrounds that are usually reviled by hardcore player types. "The needs of accessibility dictated that designers try and find a way to accommodate the appeal of the conquest style of play while also retaining the fairness of the competitive desires of the players," he explains. Ultimately, Morrison offers a bit of hope for those who prefer open-world conflict. "It's great to finish a great story and storm the castle and beat the bad guy. It is something else altogether to get to keep his castle, and for you to become the bad guy for the next would-be hero to try and conquer," he says.
A WoW player's guide to The Old Republic
Whether you're a longtime World of Warcraft player or someone who's just recently tried the game and fallen in love with it, you're probably aware that there are other MMORPGs out there. Recently, the game that's been getting the most press is Star Wars: The Old Republic. And if you've sat down and tried it out as a veteran on World of Warcraft, you probably had some idea of what was going on when you started playing, with the only initial speedbump being the lack of an auto-attack feature. But there's more to the game than combat and more things that might trip you up in the long run. So Eliot Lefebvre and Matt Daniel are here to help you out with a massive guide to coming into TOR when you're accustomed to the environment of WoW. Take a skip past the break to find out almost everything you'll need to know when converting from the world of Azeroth to the galaxy of Star Wars: The Old Republic.
SWTOR: Warzones whack-a-mole
You cannot make a Star Wars game without some sort of galactic conflict. Subscribers to Star Wars: The Old Republic can play out this interplanetary war in appropriately named instances called warzones. Out of the box, BioWare's MMO includes three of these epic conflicts. The planetary government of Alderaan draws both major factions into its own internal conflict in the civil war warzone. Nar Shaddaa host the seediest death-games the galaxy has ever heard of. Huttball is the prime example of these deadly sports. And the technology of the Voidstar is up for grabs by either the Empire or the Republic, but the question is "who will get there first?" At level 10, you can begin your PvP adventure by queuing up for these battles solo or with a group of four. But as any war general will tell you, the more you know about the battle you're about to enter, the more likely it is that you will win. Past the break, you'll find a rundown of each warzone and a bit of strategic advice before you jump into battle.
New ArcheAge videos show off PvP, dancing gameplay
A couple of ArcheAge tidbits surfaced during the recent Tencent Games Carnival. XLGAMES' sandpark MMO was on display since it is gearing up for both its fourth Korean beta phase and a 2012 beta in Tencent's native China. Two noteworthy videos came out of the conference, and their radically different nature points to the breadth of gameplay on display in ArcheAge. First up is an over-the-shoulder clip featuring some five vs. five PvP gameplay. The action takes place on an instanced map known as the Siege Warfare Training Camp, and MMO Culture points out a couple of lingering bugs relating to character movement (as well as some interesting weapon combinations). The second video comes directly from XLGAMES, and it shifts gears in favor of ArcheAge's social features. While many MMOs feature dance animations, thus far the only title to take a serious stab at dance gameplay has been Star Wars Galaxies. ArcheAge looks to continue that tradition by allowing players to choreograph dances and coordinate with other dancers, though we are scratching our heads a little bit due to the jarring mixture of high fantasy and pop music. You'll find both videos viewable after the cut.
Choose My Adventure: Seriia vs. the Guardians
Writing this article pains me. It's not because I have nothing to write about, although it was a bit difficult for me to compile content that I believed was compelling. It's also not because I had nothing to do in the game. There is plenty of content for me to explore. I do not like to tell obvious fans and creators of a game that I do not enjoy their game. As I have said in the past, RIFT holds some incredible content, and the graphics are the most gorgeous I have seen in a game since Age of Conan by far. So why has logging in felt like a burden this last week and a half? The burden of the grind is not the only thing I would like to talk about this week. I also did some extensive PvP before I hit level 20. In fact, I hit level 20 while I was in the Black Garden. That gave me a chuckle. After the break, I have laid out my whole level 10 to 20 PvP experience. Perhaps that will lighten the mood of this somber article. This might be my second-to-last article for Choose My Adventure, but there is still time to get some last-minute rifting done before I sign off. And... umm... can I get a rez, please? %Gallery-131417%
The Daily Grind: What game has your favorite instanced PvP?
In some ways, it's much easier to design an open PvP environment than an instanced battlefield. All one needs for the former is a world wherein anyone can attack anyone else, but creating an instanced map requires a set of objectives for players to fight over, an interesting layout to create diverse battles, and a balance so that every side within the instanced map will have a fair chance out of the gate. It's similar to creating a solid map for a first-person shooter, but with far more variables at play and much wider ranges of abilities for all participants. Despite the obstacles, the instanced PvP map has become one of the most common features of games with any sort of PvP system. So which games offer the best instanced PvP experience? Is it Warhammer Online's diverse and varied Scenario maps? RIFT's balanced Warfronts with specialized PvP-only character builds? What game makes instanced PvP feel the most vibrant and interesting in play? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Battlestar Galactica Online launches private 1v1 battles
Bigpoint broke all the conventional rules when creating Battlestar Galactica Online as a browser-based MMO. Now, the developers are continuing to improve on this unique title by giving players the ability to challenge other players in PvP matches. These instanced matches can be 1v1 duels or ranked dogfights with members of the same or opposite faction, adding a little bit more excitement in the search for Earth. If you're into PvP for the pure sport of it, you can duel any consenting player of any faction, rating, ship size, or class in a private 1v1 match. However, if your into the rewards or you want to prove that you are indeed the best, join in the ranked matches. The game's matchmaking system pairs up players of similar arena rating, ship size, and class in their own private portion of space for a battle to the death. The top 100 on the Top Gun Leaderboard will be recognized with a special icon above the pilot and ship name. And when you're playing BSGO with the three million other registered players, check out the two new star systems in the Veil Sector: Nilfhel and Muspell. These two areas contain high-level NPCs for you and your allies to conquer. For more information, visit the official website, or better yet, just play the game. It's free!
