Lets start from this: are we sure that xp loss is the main concern of those who dont PvP?
Im sure its not. Sure its an important aspect, but please trust me when i say that for someone who doesnt PvP, its much better to be hit once on a while losing xp, than being regularly hit losing nothing. The worst thing that can happen to someone who doesnt PvP is to log in everyday and see his log with received attacks. Its an aspect of the game they dont play, so the first reaction is "leave me alone and let me have fun with my game". So a random hit once in a while causes less damage than constant farming hits. Please trust me, cause i know this is what happens. (and im excluding from the equation gold hits: if you get hit for gold its your own fault, but im pretty sure everyone agrees with that). So the first thing is: being hit regularly for random reason, prestige, farming etc. is much worse that a single sporadic hit, even if you lose nothing. Please dont forget this, cause it very very important and it created BIG problems in the past.
The second aspect is: why they dont PvP and how can they be involved in PvP.
And excluding a small percentage of players who might get involved with rewards or medals, the answer is: they dont PvP period. And you cant have them involved, there is no way, they just wont do it.
Its a part of the game? Yes. Its a part of the game they will actively play? No way.
An every attempt in involving them will relentlessly fail. And their chance to have fun in the game will go down.
So for someone PvP is the most important part of the game, for someone else is the best way to enjoy the game less. It has always been this way.
When PvPers hit each other and randomly hit non PvPers once in a while, everything works. Every time there is an attempt to change this, it doesnt work anymore. It already happened too many time in the past for not being true.
Lets consider then, that players who dont PvP are not one or two. There are many of them. If you take a look at PvP medals in profile, or the number of players who played the ladder, or the amount of prestige in players profile, you will notice that there is a high number of players who dont PvP (and as said, for many of them, there is nothing you can do to change the situation).
That said, i have a big concern about this proposed update: i read about adding quests, global events, or other kind of events.
Quests: the main thing i do in this game is completing quests: if there is a quest in my quest book, i have to complete it, if there is an adventurer medal, i must have it. Almost an obsession. Now if you add PvP in quests what will happen? Will i make them? The answer is simple: not a single chance. And if i cant complete my quest book, if i cant get the medal as soon as its possible, i have no more reason to complete quests. My main goal in the game is ruined.
Same goes for global events, where the goal should be to work together to achieve a result, not to work one against the other. I dont miss a single event, i want them all and be the first to get the medals. If you add PvP will i take part in global events? The ans wer is still the same. Its not going to happen, and another aspect of the game would be ruined.
So are there ways to improve PvP? Probably yes, even if, if you look back, probably PvP in old days was working fine, probably better than now, after dozens of changes and updates. In fact the main problem in old days was only that PvP rating was gained by just a few high level players (mainly cleaning friendly bounties), cause there were just a couple of PvPers in high levels. If you apply the old system to the current situation, where there are probably more PvPers at EOC than in the rest of the game, that problem would have solved itself.
Please also consider, that there is a large part of the community that never read forum. Here we are planning a HUGE change in the game, and only a very small part of the community is involved in the decision process. An announcement in home page would be nice. But i can tell you which the main reaction will be, cause i have seen it happening already too many times in the past (i started to play almost 7 years ago, so i saw it many times). Every year we start over with a new PvP system. Trust me when i say that the main reaction will be: "Oh my god, again?"
The conclusion (cause i already wrote too much) is: PvP can be improved, but it should be improved by having more PvPers competitively hitting PvPers. Any attempt of trying to involve more that part of players who dont PvP, is destined to fail, or to ruin someone game experience.
And so will be any attempt of linking to PvP other aspects of the game. Quest, Events, Buffs, are a part of the game that is working fine. Make the adjustment you think can improve the PvP apect, but please DO NOT, fix PvP by touching what is working in the game. The result would be much worse that expected.
- mimdala, Maury Bund, avvakum and 3 others like this