Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

The concept of PvP in MMOs has undergone nearly as many changes as there are titles boasting the feature as a primary element of gameplay. Player driven conflict remains a staple across a multitude ofMMOs, and for many fans its inclusion will be a make or break scenario the moment developers begin to reveal sizable chunks of information about their upcoming MMO masterpiece in the making. But once you begin to dig beneath the surface of all the clamoring for classless advancement systems, permadeath servers and lootable player corpses, there’s typically the telltale silence of a community that demands that PvP content be at the forefront of the design decision process but rarely voices what kind of wrapper they’d like to contain the central conflict.

That said, PvP has been has been at the heart of one of the longest running nerd-rage debates within the industry for years. Some believe that for an MMO to be successful, meaningful PvP content is an absolute must, while still others could care less if a game has any PvP content at all. There are even those who feel PvP cheapens what might otherwise be a solid PvE experience. At the end of the day each of those perspectives carries the same weight, but what ultimately matters is whether or not a given virtual world offers a compelling enough gaming experience to sustain a healthy player population over a longer period within the structure of its business model.

There are numerous trends that may point towards what may or may not work for PvP-centric MMOs. Looking at the sci-fi genre in particular, a growing number of games dot the starry PvP skies. While only time will tell if any of them contain enough of the right mystical components or technological gadgetry to propel them into the stratosphere of success, there does seem to be a string of strong efforts being made to steer things in that direction. Upcoming titles such as Global Agenda, Earthrise and Fallen Earth may very well shape the new face of sci-fi MMOs thanks to a more lore-driven, factional approach to PvP.

But before jumping headlong into what this symbiotic bond between PvE and PvP might mean for the genre moving forward, it’s worth taking a look at what type of hamsters have driven the PvP wheels till now, which elements have worked and which seemingly missed their mark entirely.

The Ghost of PvP Past

Quickly closing in on its 4th anniversary, the highly successful Guild Wars franchise is one example of a PvP-centric title that, at its core, delivers meaningful conflict without a necessary link to any specific PvE goals or objectives. Indeed, the second installment of the series, Guild Wars: Factions, attempted to bridge the PvP/PvE gap to mixed results – a concept that was notably absent from later installments of the series due to lower player participation than may have been expected from the experiment. The battle lines still fluctuate momentarily as new groups of players intent on obtaining a set of elite Kurzic or Luxon armor make their way to the later mission arcs in the game, but on the whole the PvP action still resides primarily in the Battle Isles.