Cataclysm Countdown: Areas of Contention
Posted by 
Amatera on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 11 Comments Tags: Alliance, Horde, PvP, cataclysm, expansion, forsaken, garrosh, hillsbrad, jaina proudmoore, objectives, thrall, varian wrynn, wintergrasp, zones
Amatera on Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 11 Comments Tags: Alliance, Horde, PvP, cataclysm, expansion, forsaken, garrosh, hillsbrad, jaina proudmoore, objectives, thrall, varian wrynn, wintergrasp, zones
Cataclysm Countdown is a series of informed speculative articles concerning things we might see in the next expansion that I will be posting every day this week, leading right up to Blizzcon. In the interest of thought purity, I will do my best to steer clear of recent “leaked” material, relying upon it only where it logically connects with the existing lore. Nothing hereafter is official or has been confirmed/denied by Blizzard at the time of its writing.
The Lich King falls. The Argent Crusade's task of defeating the Scourge is over, and with it the tenuous cooperation between the Alliance and the Horde. A new threat arises from the depths of the ocean and brings death and destruction to both sides. Jaina Proudmoore and Thrall take it upon themselves to protect the world at large, ascending from their positions as faction representatives.
In the interest of self-preservation, the remaining forces of the Horde and Alliance cease any remaining ties. Instead, tempers flare as Garrosh, the new Warchief of the Horde, and King Varian Wrynn bare fangs at each other and decide to drag their people, once again, unto the brink of all-out, bloody-nosed WAR.
The stage is set for a conflict greater than Azeroth has ever seen before. But how will we experience it?
Ahh... the way things used to be!
World of Warcraft, despite its name and pedigree, was not built from the ground up for PvP play. Ever since the game's release, Blizzard has added more and varied ways of engaging the enemy, but it's always been compartmentalized and shoved just to the side of primary content. Even Lake Wintergrasp, arguably the crowning jewel of PvP combat at the moment (it both maintains the scale of a Battleground and affords access to certain rewards typical of World PvP).
Though it's far from perfect, Wintergrasp will likely be the template for this part of the game moving forward.
Let's stop for a moment, though, and let our imaginations run wild, yeah? WoW, at its pinnacle, should emulate the large-scale, world-wide conflict that the series is known for. Ideally, that means bunkers, forts, and whole armies fighting with each other in all zones across Azeroth. Players would be able to not only construct siege vehicles, but hire mercenaries, create defensive buildings, and upgrade units.
OK, have a good image in your head now? Well, hold onto it, because that's only a dream. With the changes we are expecting to see to the rest of the game, PvP on that level would be near impossible to implement. Let's not forget all the balancing that would be involved in the creation of so many new game systems. We've got to face the reality that World of Warcraft just can't support such an overhaul in its core gameplay. Will we see something approaching that near the end of the series? Quite likely, through patches and incremental additions along the way, but not right now.
Still, that doesn't mean we won't see PvP combat expand in Cataclysm. The key really is just to find a happy medium. I see this as taking at least one of two forms:
But then again, who knows? We may just see a few new Battlegrounds and Arenas to fight in. I'm sure PvP will move forward in certain respects, but at the end of the day, the balance between fun and fairness is what needs to be maintained. Considering either of these ideas, servers with already lop-sided populations would potentially see one faction completely shut out of rewards.
Objective-based gameplay may be more suited to accessibility, considering that when more capture sites are placed in the world, it becomes harder for either side to dominate completely. Covering every objective would quickly spread forces thin, but it would allow the opposite faction to rally up and take a few of their own. The only difference in this case would be that one side would gain points, and thus rewards, at a faster pace. However, this approach runs the risk of placing less importance on any given objective. It would be less lore-centric, and some out-of-the-way objectives would fall into disuse.
Zone-based PvP would certainly centralize the conflict, and the consolidation of forces would allow Blizzard to do more interesting things within each area. While balance is a greater issue here, Wintergrasp-style buffs could preserve the spirit of competition.
So what are you guys looking forward to in terms of Player versus Player action in the next expansion. Are my ideas too far-fetched? What about ideas of your own? Do you think PvP might get the shaft as Blizzard focuses on expanding the lore and PvE content? We've only got a couple more days until we find out for sure!
The Lich King falls. The Argent Crusade's task of defeating the Scourge is over, and with it the tenuous cooperation between the Alliance and the Horde. A new threat arises from the depths of the ocean and brings death and destruction to both sides. Jaina Proudmoore and Thrall take it upon themselves to protect the world at large, ascending from their positions as faction representatives.
In the interest of self-preservation, the remaining forces of the Horde and Alliance cease any remaining ties. Instead, tempers flare as Garrosh, the new Warchief of the Horde, and King Varian Wrynn bare fangs at each other and decide to drag their people, once again, unto the brink of all-out, bloody-nosed WAR.
The stage is set for a conflict greater than Azeroth has ever seen before. But how will we experience it?
Ahh... the way things used to be!World of Warcraft, despite its name and pedigree, was not built from the ground up for PvP play. Ever since the game's release, Blizzard has added more and varied ways of engaging the enemy, but it's always been compartmentalized and shoved just to the side of primary content. Even Lake Wintergrasp, arguably the crowning jewel of PvP combat at the moment (it both maintains the scale of a Battleground and affords access to certain rewards typical of World PvP).
Though it's far from perfect, Wintergrasp will likely be the template for this part of the game moving forward.
Let's stop for a moment, though, and let our imaginations run wild, yeah? WoW, at its pinnacle, should emulate the large-scale, world-wide conflict that the series is known for. Ideally, that means bunkers, forts, and whole armies fighting with each other in all zones across Azeroth. Players would be able to not only construct siege vehicles, but hire mercenaries, create defensive buildings, and upgrade units.
OK, have a good image in your head now? Well, hold onto it, because that's only a dream. With the changes we are expecting to see to the rest of the game, PvP on that level would be near impossible to implement. Let's not forget all the balancing that would be involved in the creation of so many new game systems. We've got to face the reality that World of Warcraft just can't support such an overhaul in its core gameplay. Will we see something approaching that near the end of the series? Quite likely, through patches and incremental additions along the way, but not right now.
Still, that doesn't mean we won't see PvP combat expand in Cataclysm. The key really is just to find a happy medium. I see this as taking at least one of two forms:
- Zone-wide PvP -- With many zones being re-purposed in the expansion, it stands to reason that a few of them could play host to open fighting. Those with high amounts of resources, or those that straddle the border between core Horde and Alliance territories will be the ones most impacted. The first that comes to mind is the Hillsbrad/Arathi area of Eastern Kingdoms. With the Scourge threat defeated and the Plaguelands theoretically in the process of returning to normal, little stands between the Alliance reclaiming Lordaeron than the Forsaken. With his new found allies, the Worgen of Gilneas, on Undercity's doorstep, Varian is in a good position to retake the former Human kingdom. The Forsaken, with some help from the Blood Elves, would fight back to protect the only place they can call home. Several areas like this can be spread throughout the world map, with control of them affording certain buffs or rewards.
- Objective-based play -- True World PvP would be hard to manage. Imagine a full PvP server, but one where control of the world actually matters. Instead, what not have a series of smaller objectives that each side needs to take and hold. Holding a number of these sites at any given time would afford lesser rewards, perhaps some sort of points or honor to every player in the general area. These points could then be used to purchase faction rewards in the main cities. Final Fantasy XI did something like this with crystals needed for crafting professions, and so has WoW to an extent (with Stone Keeper Shards and the like), though it was necessary to engage in PvE content to obtain those items.
But then again, who knows? We may just see a few new Battlegrounds and Arenas to fight in. I'm sure PvP will move forward in certain respects, but at the end of the day, the balance between fun and fairness is what needs to be maintained. Considering either of these ideas, servers with already lop-sided populations would potentially see one faction completely shut out of rewards.
Objective-based gameplay may be more suited to accessibility, considering that when more capture sites are placed in the world, it becomes harder for either side to dominate completely. Covering every objective would quickly spread forces thin, but it would allow the opposite faction to rally up and take a few of their own. The only difference in this case would be that one side would gain points, and thus rewards, at a faster pace. However, this approach runs the risk of placing less importance on any given objective. It would be less lore-centric, and some out-of-the-way objectives would fall into disuse.
Zone-based PvP would certainly centralize the conflict, and the consolidation of forces would allow Blizzard to do more interesting things within each area. While balance is a greater issue here, Wintergrasp-style buffs could preserve the spirit of competition.
So what are you guys looking forward to in terms of Player versus Player action in the next expansion. Are my ideas too far-fetched? What about ideas of your own? Do you think PvP might get the shaft as Blizzard focuses on expanding the lore and PvE content? We've only got a couple more days until we find out for sure!
Reader Comments (11)
1337
first a pvp should get a boost i mean come on we had all these bgs for a long time and now u can stop exp now wheres the fun in that
1. Get rid of arena
2. Get rid of Wintergrasp
3. Get rid of Battlegrounds
For those that remember world PVP used to happen before any of these were in the game, and it was gooood.
@Merctom
It was good, but I think most people expect to get rewards out of PvP. Those that don't play on PvP servers, and that's a truly small portion of the playerbase. World PvP as it was offered nothing beyond the pure thrill of ganking some fools.
I wouldn't mind seeing couple changes to the PVP area.
For example, increased rewards from PVP, but also penalties. Killing too many players at lower levels than yourself (Such as 10 levels or whatnot) could grant some sort of debuff, such as reduced honor gains or inaccessibility to certain vendors.
Another idea is perhaps the Order of Tirisfal playing a role in PVP. The Order is meant to maintain the peace between the Horde and Alliance. Perhaps each zone could have representatives of the Order partrolling the zone, possibly punishing problems of corpse-camping or large amounts of ganking. Or maybe the Order members could give off an anti-PVP aura, acting as "Safe zones" for anyone within a certain distance of the representative.
Lastly, perhaps raids on zeppelins and boats. Transportation in the world of Azeroth is smooth, but in open war wouldn't the opposing factions would have no reason to hold back. Players could take part in vehicle raids, with Alliance players launching assaults on Horde Zeppelins and vice versa. This would result in a new form of PVP, defending your craft long enough to reach your final destination or ultimately failing to reach it. These vehicles could also have defenses available in the form of controllable turrets or smaller vehicles.
Those are just a few ideas of mine. :)
Good blog, I think the focus has been moved away from the conflict betwen the Alliance and the Horde as both sides battle common enemies. It would be good too see this war renewed outside of PvP.
On the flipside I'd like to see something that brings the two sides together in a true alliance like in WC3. That the 'big bad' of the xp pack is so overwhelming that no one side can hope to win on its own. Where the line between them is all but erased, raids can be made of Alliance and Horde players, perhaps such team work is required to face the final boss' of the instance etc.
I think I'd like to see WoW head towards the extereme end of either scenario be it all out war or an uber bad force.
I'd just be glad if Arena was gone. The BG's and WG are fine; considering I don't play WoW for mainly PvP anyways.
I like Tom's idea. For that matter, I had something of a similar idea for a while now. The main difference being that instead of an instance where the Horde and Alliance MUST work together, they may or may not, as they so choose. Sort of a battleground style instance, if you will. Horde starts at one part, Alliance at another. Before the final boss is reached there is a choke point someplace in the middle (likely after the first boss for each side), and the forces meet. But do they help, or do they fight?
With the new Crusader Colosseum scaled rewards, one can imagine a similar set of circumstances for an instance where you may well be fighting players as well as environment. If both sides work together then defeating the final boss results in a sort of 'hope for peace' ending and one set of quest rewards (I imagine turning in a quest, possibly repeatable, and getting a message along the lines of "They actually helped? I can hardly believe it!) If they fight at every opportunity (remember, instance respawn is at entry points), the message is more typical of what we are seeing now (Horde/Alliance is always getting in the way. We should justt wipe them off the face of azeroth once and for all...). in between would be various levels of response, possibly with different gear as well...
Of course, doing something like this (or even a more typical raid with cooperating members of opposite faction in a setting where they can NOT fight each other ) is something of a technical problem. First off, there is NO communication between forces (possibly excepting two morphed Warlocks speaking demonic). Then there's cooperation... Since it's a PVP Instance, it might get difficult for the Human Paladin tanking on one side when the Tauren Warrior wants to use his 'stomp. Or say that one side wants to get through the instance without fighting their opponent (perhaps even following them through, letting them take the enemies out), then kill them for the exp. Since it's PVP, how do you appropriately scale the challenge? (By this I mean, a level 80, 85, 90, or whatever the high end is/will be dragging along characters that only meet the minimum level. Compunding this is future releases making disparity potentially even further). and what if the community deems one set of rewards the 'good set'? Do we all get along because that gear is the desired set, or perhaps everyone chooses every opportunity to fight because the combative gear just rocks that much harder?
Then again, I have always felt PvP a bit limitted. You can duel in your own faction, or go to the arenas, but for "real" PvP you need to find a member of the other faction? These battlegrounds we keep fighting over never fall under one side or the other permanently? And aside from tangential arrangements the battlegrounds don't really add anything to the story (re: It fits into Lore, but doesn't really add anything to it, answer any questions about it, or ask any new questions Lore-wise)??
*gasp* wow pvp will turn into warcraft 3?
good ideas but it wont happen garenteed. if horde and ally worked together than that would kinda eliminate the need for bgs arenas wintergrasp pretty much pvp alltogether.
there might aswell be orcs on ally or gnome on horde or tauren pallies for that matter
Oh great time to force everyone to PvP if they want to or not......Time to un-subscribe and play the PS3 till the new Star Wars MMO