(Idea) for Spontaneous Incentivized World PVP

[OmySpy]

SWTOR is lacking on World PVP right now (as everyone knows), and the problem is that there is no incentive to do it. This is not to say that running around with your guild taking out another guild isn't fun, it's just that it's hard to organize. People need to actively find World PVP to take part in it, and as such, many new players don't get drawn into it either because they don't have support or they are outmatched/afraid. Since there is no inherent reward for seeking out World PVP, new or casual players have no reason to do it. We need to give them (and everyone else) a reason.

 

Idea: Have Bioware use an Announcement channel to announce the following- [7:30 PM] Announcement: An unidentified object has been seen headed towards [Planet]. It is expected to impact the planet at approximately [Coordinates] in 30 minutes. Retrieval of the object will be rewarded.

 

Broadcast this to both factions on every server with reminders, and at the appointed time spawn a chest or something at that location. Make it so the object has to be either opened simultaneously by a certain number of people, or has to be faction controlled for a certain amount of time in order to open/be captured. Have capture of the item either give a faction-wide buff to the faction that retrieves it, a few pieces of unique-set gear, Daily/Black Hole commendations etc. and/or straight up credits.

 

Do this every day or two at different locations and I believe that players would attend it for the rewards, both World PVPers and randoms that want the reward. I feel that this would bring players on each faction together to form a sense of community, as well as gain infamy towards the opposing factions players who attend.

 

Please respond if you think it is a good idea, and if you think it is flawed please point it out and maybe share ideas on how its problems could be fixed. Please don't make the joke "this idea can't work because I only have 3 people on my server lol lol lol", everyone has heard it before and after server transfers this would not be a problem. Thanks for reading!

 

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Spiderbubble suggested having a moving objective instead of a static one for a more dynamic event

Terrorble posted many possible variations on this idea including using NPC droids to recover objectives, which could be destroyed by the other team

wolfmith pointed out a thread that I hadn't seen (http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4437002#post4437002) which has more brainstorming for World PVP!

Edited May 27, 2012 by OmySpy

[Aehgo]

Haven't you heard?Bioware will ban you for any world pvp.

[OmySpy]

I would appreciate some feedback here, or perhaps someone reading it. If it helps I can repost it with a more inflammatory title like "SCOUNDRELS OP" or "Bioware eating lunch at Subway instead of working?"

[OmySpy]

Haven't you heard?Bioware will ban you for any world pvp.

 

Well, thanks for coming in Aehgo

[myolinyr]

This would be a great idea. on another note, if i can still land on ilum i will be waiting for any and all challengers! hoo-hah! (i honestly don't know cos i haven't tried to go there)

[OmySpy]

You're still able to go there, it's just mostly empty. What server are you on?

[Terrorgirl]

I would appreciate some feedback here, or perhaps someone reading it. If it helps I can repost it with a more inflammatory title like "SCOUNDRELS OP" or "Bioware eating lunch at Subway instead of working?"

 

 

you dont want open world pvp read here

[SpoeMeister]

I really like the idea! It's also pretty well thought out. Thumbs up from me!

 

And lol @ trolls...

[Spiderbubble]

Something like that would end up being a zergfest: Everyone rushes to that same general area and fights there.

 

A preferable idea would be to make it a moving NPC that you need to protect/escort or something, that way it's never in just one area.

[OmySpy]

Something like that would end up being a zergfest: Everyone rushes to that same general area and fights there.

 

A preferable idea would be to make it a moving NPC that you need to protect/escort or something, that way it's never in just one area.

 

Thanks for reading! I suppose the zergfest was the general idea I was going for; a bunch of people fighting over one point. I'm not opposed to a moving objective, but why do you think that would make it better? And do you have any ideas for the story-reason of why people were fighting or defending it?

[chimex]

I really like this idea, i say thumbs up

 

x

[Gren-Aluren]

Haven't you heard?Bioware will ban you for any world pvp.

 

lol. My guild camped Imperial Shuttle on Ilum many times on a PVE server and never had any action taken against us. This is an outright lie.

[Terrorble]

I like it: simple with potential for being quite fun. A natural incentive to bring people together and promote prolonged carnage.

 

It may need some sort of faction balance however - so that one side doesn't quit showing up because they get hammered everytime.

 

I wouldn't even say that every incoming UFO would necessarily have to have a fantastic reward every time - make that possible, but random.

 

I am not the most creative person around, but I can see many possible scenarios being done.

Meteorite that can yield nice quantities of rare crafting materials. Or strange substances that can be researched and developped into unique consumables (stims, medpaks). Must locate a fragment, summon droids to the location for extraction, defend your droids while they mine it, repair droids when they go down, destroy enemy players/droids, etc. If one side finds it first, have more NPCs from the other side begin giving info about seeing enemies headed to a certain area.

 

Smuggler's ship carrying specialized enhancements or mods, droid parts, credits, etc.

Imp/pub ships/probes/escape pods crashing to the planet following a space battle carrying defense codes, or becomes a rescue/kill/take prisoners from the crew mission for some sort of commendations or valor.

An incoming UFO breaks up over a planet (already sort of done with the Rakghoul plague and the crash of the Stardream); main storage is intact, requires codes or droids equiped with specialized cutting torches to open. Codes can be extracted and decoded from a certain portion of the ship's systems that apparently landed elsewhere. Players don't know this, but maybe an NPC somewhere says they saw a piece land near their outpost. It might have a functioning terminal from which the codes can be extracted and decoded. Either way, you must defend your droids long enough (takes quite a while) to allow them to get what they need, or destroy enemy droids to prevent them from doing the same. Players work to defend and attack. The wreckage, meteorite, smuggler's ship or whatever can be harvested to produce significant quantities of certain crafting materials. Again, requires droids, time, defense. Players can move in and repair downed droids so they can resume their work.

 

Have a number of possible crash sites setup on various planets, many NPCs that could potentially offer info (text is fine, don't need voice acting for this... meaning, it's not a quest, you just talk to NPCs in hopes of finding info and quest objectives are not marked on the map, you have to search/rely on other players for direction), option of free shuttle transport to the planet involved...

 

*edit*

If one team beats the other there, they could be harrassed for a while by prisoners on Belsavis, White Maw pirates on Hoth, Sand People or Jawas and their droids on Tattooine, Gormak or Voss, Mandolorians, Czerka Corp forces, etc on each respective planet trying to take their cut.

Edited May 26, 2012 by Terrorble
adding more

[Jadenn]

It's a good idea, would be fun, but gotta keep in mind the terrible faction imbalance on alot of servers. Only one faction would literally control the objective every day. Until server mergers happen and more balance is brought in, this idea wouldn't work imo.

[OmySpy]

It's a good idea, would be fun, but gotta keep in mind the terrible faction imbalance on alot of servers. Only one faction would literally control the objective every day. Until server mergers happen and more balance is brought in, this idea wouldn't work imo.

 

Certainly true, but I was imagining a time after server merges were a reality and there were enough people on the server that the losing faction simply had to convince more people to show up in order to outnumber their enemies.

 

Faction imbalance is always a potential ruiner of World PVP, but there has to be something there, you know?

[wolfmith]

I honestly think world PvP uncontrolled and focused at the same place is just failure because people tend to gather in huge groups and storm the few unlucky guys who get pulled by tanks. The game can't support quality gameplay unless it manages how many people are near each other. Zerg fests please no. That's not world PvP, that's even worse than PvE -.-

[OmySpy]

I honestly think world PvP uncontrolled and focused at the same place is just failure because people tend to gather in huge groups and storm the few unlucky guys who get pulled by tanks. The game can't support quality gameplay unless it manages how many people are near each other. Zerg fests please no. That's not world PvP, that's even worse than PvE -.-

 

I definitely see what you're saying, do you have an idea for something that would work in your opinion? I know that other games have had success with large areas where you try to control points/castles etc, which is (at the basic level) what Ilum is, but that didn't seem to work as it is right now.

 

My idea is simply for an easy way to implement PVP outside of warzones that has an incentive and doesn't neccessitate Bioware creating an additional large area or planet for it to take place in, something that could possibly be added to the game very soon. There are enough things that we want them to be working on right now, I didn't want to add "big PVP planet to that list"

[wolfmith]

do you have an idea for something that would work in your opinion?

 

here: Suggestion to encourage open world PVP!

[Olympic]

Do it without any rewards so only the true PvP'ers will show up.

 

We don't need incentive beyond killing the other side.

[LoKiei]

There should be random NPC attacks at different bases etc. In all honesty the entire world feels like unused props.

[Terrorble]

I honestly think world PvP uncontrolled and focused at the same place is just failure because people tend to gather in huge groups and storm the few unlucky guys who get pulled by tanks. The game can't support quality gameplay unless it manages how many people are near each other. Zerg fests please no. That's not world PvP, that's even worse than PvE -.-

 

Agreed on all points. That's a major obstacle.

I sometimes wonder if the open world pvp we all hope for is really not attainable for reasons like this; however, I maintain hope that there is a creative solution.

 

The large group is immune to siege, they can rest and heal indefinitely, which allows them to persist. There are no targetted options against them except boredom and queueing for WZs.

 

There has to be natural, strategic options to empower the underpopulated/losing side against the incumbent group.

 

Thinking aloud about how this applies to the random crash site...

Say players have to carry scavenged resources back to outposts (for processing of raw materials to become usable resources for players, and players can only carry 1 at a time) and bring additional supplies (to fix droids) to the site for continued extraction, or gather things from other locations to bring there. This requires some people leave. If they get hammered on their way, they would drop all supplies on death, and a portion of them could be recovered by the other team to take to their outpost, or contribute to their work at the site. So an underpopulated group can at least prevent the larger group from making much progress, even if they can't make progress themselves.

 

If one team dies frequently (and respawns at their outpost), they get the advantage of having many resources carried to the site. One of which could be used to construct turret/artillery placeables that target and do area effect damage to goups at the site. This could penalize the crowd for sticking so closely and keep them moving in/out.

Heck, disallow resting at or near the crash site unless you have a ration pack from the outpost. Say you can carry two at a time, and trade them between players. Healers could be taken out, then the remaining would be on their own to survive on med packs until reinforcements arrive.

[SidisAxis]

I find this idea really thought out and a great idea. I am not sure about a reward though , if pvp offers a reward the pve community usually gets vocal and the idea would get shot down. Maybe no reward and just be random in-game live events , random times during prime time anywhere between 7pm-1am I would say , and like you said random planets. Great idea though hope BW takes the time to read it.

[OmySpy]

Do it without any rewards so only the true PvP'ers will show up.

 

We don't need incentive beyond killing the other side.

 

I hadn't thought of this, can you clarify some things for me? Are "True PVPers" just those who fight for the sake of fighting? Do "True PVPers" not do Warzones because there are rewards? I'd really like many people to get involved, especially those who haven't experienced World PVP before. I feel like an incentive is needed, because if there are many "True PVPers" as you put it, they'd have the capacity to meet up and fight each other now, but everyone seems to agree that World PVP is pretty sparse. I certainly see the argument for not having rewards in order to not give an advantage over those who do not attend, but the reward could be something non-unique like simple credits or a faction buff so that those who don't attend are rewarded also. I wasn't in the game at launch, but all I heard about Ilum was that people traded kills for rewards, and when that wasn't possible they all stopped fighting. (Is that right?)

 

Thank you everyone for all the feedback! I know the idea isn't perfect but I'd rather we all collaborate than just settle for nothing.

[Olympic]

I hadn't thought of this, can you clarify some things for me? Are "True PVPers" just those who fight for the sake of fighting? Do "True PVPers" not do Warzones because there are rewards? I'd really like many people to get involved, especially those who haven't experienced World PVP before. I feel like an incentive is needed, because if there are many "True PVPers" as you put it, they'd have the capacity to meet up and fight each other now, but everyone seems to agree that World PVP is pretty sparse. I certainly see the argument for not having rewards in order to not give an advantage over those who do not attend, but the reward could be something non-unique like simple credits or a faction buff so that those who don't attend are rewarded also. I wasn't in the game at launch, but all I heard about Ilum was that people traded kills for rewards, and when that wasn't possible they all stopped fighting. (Is that right?)

 

Thank you everyone for all the feedback! I know the idea isn't perfect but I'd rather we all collaborate than just settle for nothing.

 

We do war zones because that is how BW decided we would get gear. They are the ones that decided it was necessary to have Expertise. I would have been fine if it was crafted oranges with mods. Yes, true PvP'ers play for the thrill of competing against, and killing, the other side, not sugar treats from the armor vendor.

 

And you are right, world pvp is sparse. But it isn't for lack of reward, its for lack of a system that funnels people to fight each other. We somehow managed to travel from city to city in SWG and kill people without ANY incentive beyond "kill people". You know when that stopped? When they made a PvP zone with incentives.

 

Despite all its shortcomings, Warhammer's RvR was great, something like that for this game would be real nice. (And im talking without the shortcomings of the gear system, I'm speaking strictly to the way the zones were set up). I would say an open world environment like SWG would be better, but this game isn't designed for that, it wouldn't work as the game is now.