Post by Scarybooster on Jan 5, 2012 15:45:21 GMT -5
www.scaryworlds.com/
This is a post I just put on my blog about PvP in SWTOR. I asked SLURMS if I could post it here because I know 90% of you slackers don't read me. You are jerk bullies! Here it is:
You might have heard about PvP in SWTOR being lackluster or boring. Those things might be true if you don't know how to play N00B! All joking aside (for now), the fact that you are stuck in Huttball 39% of the time or you find Ilum and Outlaw's Den empty, you might be getting burnt out on the lack of PvP choices. It is even worse if you are on a PvE server and you can't go around ganking lower characters just to get your rocks off inflicting depression and sadness in others' lives. I'm here to tell you about alternate ways to find joy in SWTOR PvP.
A recent press release for SWTOR stated over a million PvP matches were played since the release of SWTOR and 39% of them were spent in Hutball. Unfortunately, Hutball sends razor blade chills down most people's spines at the mention of it. Mainly because, 39% of the time you ARE in Hutball. It happens that way because you can fight against your own faction. That adds 33.333333...% more players to the PvP pool... I think... Might be 50% or 100%, math SUCKS! No matter what, you have a shitload more people to kill. That is why almost 4O% of the time you can count on Huttball.
Huttball started to wear on me too, until I discovered my guild. We had our first PvP night and with 2 groups of PvPers, we queued up for some PvP fun. When we finally got in a match this is how Vent went:
Guildie group 1: "Arg... We just got into Hutball... Again"
Guildie group 2: "Humm, we did too. I don't see you. You must be in different Huttball... Oh gawd, we are fighting each other-"
Guildie group 1: "KILL SLURMS!!!"
That was the most fun I've had in Huttball so far. Nothing like killing Slurms over and over to make a great night. The PUG players that filled our group were a bit optimistic seeing how we were a premade, but when they saw our guild tag on the other side of the field, they knew this was going to be an orgy.
Fortunately for our team, we won 5 to 1. Not because of us, mind you, but because we had a crazy awesome PUG Jedi that kept scoring while we had a killing conga line in center field. Slurms was playing pivot snail the whole match leaving bloodied snail tracks everywhere.
In my opinion, Hutball is the best Warzone out of all them. I just wish there was an option to fight each other on purpose if we wanted too. Maybe, have it set as a practice match and only give 1/2 the commendation medals as a way to keep people from exploiting the system. Shoot, I wouldn't even mind if it was for nothing but practice purposes. It would be an awesome feature for allies/adversaries to get to know each other while they practice their skills.
Another part of the press release mentioned a new Warzone that is factionless based. I think this is a great way for PvP instances matches to go. It adds more players to combat long wait times. Not to mention, the lack of level brackets SWTOR PvP is based on. So far, the bolster system seems to be working good. I had a level 14 hand my ass to me in a Warzone the other day. It's nice to not worry what level a player is in a Warzone and just fight.
I'm sure if I peek at the forums I can find pages upon pages of unbalanced bitching. As for me, a weekend warrior, I am very satisfied with how BioWare is handling PvP. I dare say... It's better than WAR RvR. I can see SWTOR having a great future with the PvP game if they keep with the current direction they are going. I do have a few suggestions though:
1. Remember quality over quantity. I hate when games get flooded with meaningless PvP junk. Keep the Warzones unique and not fall into the more, more, more trap. WoW survived for 6 months with 0 PvP anything. Slow and steady.
2. Focus more on factionless PvP. I know it breaks some Star Wars lore, but making PvP a gladiator type thing is more fun than always fighting the same Inquisitor douchebag. I have more fun killing my own faction
3. Have a Sarlacc Pit Warzone. Have 4 ships surrounding the pit. Each ship has 2 levels. All are connected by several planks that you can get knocked into the pit with knockbacks. It is kind of the point to try to knock your opponent into the pit. Each ship has a timer to capture it. Think of each ship like a tower in the WoW BG, Eye of the Storm. The kicker is everybody starts on the mothership (think of Jaba's ship in Return of the Jedi) at the center of the pit. There are several planks leading to the ships you need to hold to win (gaining points for time held).
I haven't figured out if the center ship should unflag you for PvP (this is my BioWare reads me fantasy) as a safe zone or you are only unflagged as you rez and set foot on a plank. It would be interesting to have a central rez point that instantly dropped you back in the action. They could even put people on a timer like the remote rez probe in PvE. It would give you 8 seconds to sneak to a plank.
4. Make Ilum and Outlaw's Den easier to get to. Maybe have an instant shuttle able to take you there; like the Emergency Fleet Pass on an 18 hour timer. They need to make world PvP more accessible if they want people to do it as an end game thing.
5. Do something... anything, for allies/adversaries. Right now I feel like that prerelease hyped feature was worthless. It has no point in the game right now. I would like to see some kind of feature to help coordinate events. Maybe a tab in guild section that shows who is on for allies and what they are LFG for. Kind of like the social panel LFG tool.
Before this weekend I wasn't too into PvP in SWTOR, now I am. It is a very fast paced game play and I never feel like I am getting 1 shotted by anybody no matter their gear or level. Most of all, I love the different ways BioWare is handling PvP Warzones. Each Warzone has a unique feel to it and feels different from the normal "capture the flag". I also like that the PvP gear is fully mod-able. I can get the super cool PvP look and mod it with PvE stats if I want too. I can't wait to see more mods geared toward PvP to expand the options. All in all, I think PvP in SWTOR is fun. Not perfect, but it is a lot more fun than most MMOs out right now.
This is a post I just put on my blog about PvP in SWTOR. I asked SLURMS if I could post it here because I know 90% of you slackers don't read me. You are jerk bullies! Here it is:
You might have heard about PvP in SWTOR being lackluster or boring. Those things might be true if you don't know how to play N00B! All joking aside (for now), the fact that you are stuck in Huttball 39% of the time or you find Ilum and Outlaw's Den empty, you might be getting burnt out on the lack of PvP choices. It is even worse if you are on a PvE server and you can't go around ganking lower characters just to get your rocks off inflicting depression and sadness in others' lives. I'm here to tell you about alternate ways to find joy in SWTOR PvP.
A recent press release for SWTOR stated over a million PvP matches were played since the release of SWTOR and 39% of them were spent in Hutball. Unfortunately, Hutball sends razor blade chills down most people's spines at the mention of it. Mainly because, 39% of the time you ARE in Hutball. It happens that way because you can fight against your own faction. That adds 33.333333...% more players to the PvP pool... I think... Might be 50% or 100%, math SUCKS! No matter what, you have a shitload more people to kill. That is why almost 4O% of the time you can count on Huttball.
Huttball started to wear on me too, until I discovered my guild. We had our first PvP night and with 2 groups of PvPers, we queued up for some PvP fun. When we finally got in a match this is how Vent went:
Guildie group 1: "Arg... We just got into Hutball... Again"
Guildie group 2: "Humm, we did too. I don't see you. You must be in different Huttball... Oh gawd, we are fighting each other-"
Guildie group 1: "KILL SLURMS!!!"
That was the most fun I've had in Huttball so far. Nothing like killing Slurms over and over to make a great night. The PUG players that filled our group were a bit optimistic seeing how we were a premade, but when they saw our guild tag on the other side of the field, they knew this was going to be an orgy.
Fortunately for our team, we won 5 to 1. Not because of us, mind you, but because we had a crazy awesome PUG Jedi that kept scoring while we had a killing conga line in center field. Slurms was playing pivot snail the whole match leaving bloodied snail tracks everywhere.
In my opinion, Hutball is the best Warzone out of all them. I just wish there was an option to fight each other on purpose if we wanted too. Maybe, have it set as a practice match and only give 1/2 the commendation medals as a way to keep people from exploiting the system. Shoot, I wouldn't even mind if it was for nothing but practice purposes. It would be an awesome feature for allies/adversaries to get to know each other while they practice their skills.
Another part of the press release mentioned a new Warzone that is factionless based. I think this is a great way for PvP instances matches to go. It adds more players to combat long wait times. Not to mention, the lack of level brackets SWTOR PvP is based on. So far, the bolster system seems to be working good. I had a level 14 hand my ass to me in a Warzone the other day. It's nice to not worry what level a player is in a Warzone and just fight.
I'm sure if I peek at the forums I can find pages upon pages of unbalanced bitching. As for me, a weekend warrior, I am very satisfied with how BioWare is handling PvP. I dare say... It's better than WAR RvR. I can see SWTOR having a great future with the PvP game if they keep with the current direction they are going. I do have a few suggestions though:
1. Remember quality over quantity. I hate when games get flooded with meaningless PvP junk. Keep the Warzones unique and not fall into the more, more, more trap. WoW survived for 6 months with 0 PvP anything. Slow and steady.
2. Focus more on factionless PvP. I know it breaks some Star Wars lore, but making PvP a gladiator type thing is more fun than always fighting the same Inquisitor douchebag. I have more fun killing my own faction
3. Have a Sarlacc Pit Warzone. Have 4 ships surrounding the pit. Each ship has 2 levels. All are connected by several planks that you can get knocked into the pit with knockbacks. It is kind of the point to try to knock your opponent into the pit. Each ship has a timer to capture it. Think of each ship like a tower in the WoW BG, Eye of the Storm. The kicker is everybody starts on the mothership (think of Jaba's ship in Return of the Jedi) at the center of the pit. There are several planks leading to the ships you need to hold to win (gaining points for time held).
I haven't figured out if the center ship should unflag you for PvP (this is my BioWare reads me fantasy) as a safe zone or you are only unflagged as you rez and set foot on a plank. It would be interesting to have a central rez point that instantly dropped you back in the action. They could even put people on a timer like the remote rez probe in PvE. It would give you 8 seconds to sneak to a plank.
4. Make Ilum and Outlaw's Den easier to get to. Maybe have an instant shuttle able to take you there; like the Emergency Fleet Pass on an 18 hour timer. They need to make world PvP more accessible if they want people to do it as an end game thing.
5. Do something... anything, for allies/adversaries. Right now I feel like that prerelease hyped feature was worthless. It has no point in the game right now. I would like to see some kind of feature to help coordinate events. Maybe a tab in guild section that shows who is on for allies and what they are LFG for. Kind of like the social panel LFG tool.
Before this weekend I wasn't too into PvP in SWTOR, now I am. It is a very fast paced game play and I never feel like I am getting 1 shotted by anybody no matter their gear or level. Most of all, I love the different ways BioWare is handling PvP Warzones. Each Warzone has a unique feel to it and feels different from the normal "capture the flag". I also like that the PvP gear is fully mod-able. I can get the super cool PvP look and mod it with PvE stats if I want too. I can't wait to see more mods geared toward PvP to expand the options. All in all, I think PvP in SWTOR is fun. Not perfect, but it is a lot more fun than most MMOs out right now.
