Keeping Score

Scoreboards for Warhammer Online

People are jerks. It’s a plain fact that really shows in environments where people get together and thus it really shows up in MMO’s. People enjoy spiting one another over the simplest of things and it seems to be even sweeter if it’s people you don’t know; thus scoreboards. Dating back to those old FPS games you used to play back when you were a ‘wee gamer child’ the scoreboard lets you know who’s on top of the heap when it comes to total score. Now the inevitable question needs to be asked; does Warhammer Online need a scoreboard? As a game that’s based around PvP and players engaged in combat, it seems obvious that something will be needed, but let’s go over the finer points of the scoreboard system shall we?

Currently the major MMO that comes to mind when I think of a scoreboarding system is the juggernaut known as World of Warcraft. Used in the popular battleground system as a means to let players know how they’re ranking compared to other players in that particular match, WoW scoreboards are also translated into the overall PvP rankings that change every week. The fact that players can see their score in relation to any other player in WoW by a few mouse clicks is a comforting thought, and something for bored high level characters to do while waiting for their instance run to start. The interesting thing about WoW however is the fact that players who achieved the highest rank on the PvP scoreboard are immortalized in that position; including all available loot and items associated with that level.

While Blizzard has taken a good stance in PvP by adding in the scoreboard system to their games, there is still room for player development as seen by the increased usage of player “damage meters”. I’ve been a part of many raids and have grown accustomed to the fact that at least one player in my party will be running a damage meter and I can expect to see it pop up from time to time. Personally I find the ‘e-peen meter’ an interesting addition to the dynamics of a raid because it will usually lead to some form of taunting from players who ranked high, or an immediate call to have the meter removed from the chat as it’s too distracting. I for one like seeing a damage meter as it gives me an idea of where I stand in comparison to other players. It also lets me know if I need to step up my game when running an instance or if I can relax a bit and let other people do my job for me.

Does Warhammer Online need a scoreboard system so other players can see their ranking? There’s a lot of debate to this topic as I know there are players out there who think that such a system detracts from gameplay and only gives credit to those who play the game far too much. I myself am of the other side of the fence on this discussion and tend to think a scoreboard increases competition and teamwork amongst players of a game, while at the same time fostering a good amount of ‘net rep’ to those who invest time into the game. There’s always been the debate of casual content VS. Hardcore content when it comes to player bonuses and scoreboarding seems balanced towards players who spend more time playing; I for one think this makes sense. If I invest several hours into a game I for one think there should be some kind of ‘geek prestige’ associated with it.

Since Warhammer Online is clearly a game that is based heavily around the idea of player conflict and the continual fighting between factions there is a certain scoreboard that will need to be built into the game. As we know there are already going to be eleven zones per conflict which in essence act as an overall scoreboard for the battles going on across the world. It remains to be seen how this overall world scoreboard will be balanced when it comes to player conflict, and if one side will dominate or not. I for one look forward to seeing if ‘changes’ will be immediately necessary to keep one side from having a distinct advantage or not.

The other major topic that springs up with scoreboards is the eventual ranking system that comes from it. As Warhammer Online is a combat based MMO there will be a certain level of expectation from players who are involved in the game to get some kind of minimum rank. If a scoreboard system is introduced into a game that is so highly based around PvP, then there should be an expectation that some base ranking will be required to get access into PvP based guilds who are active and become the ‘elite’ of the server. Since scoreboards are done largely off activity versus effectiveness any implementation of such a thing in Warhammer Online would give Guilds a good idea of what a player’s online ratio is, and that is not entirely bad. A major issue with guilds is their ability to measure player effectiveness and activity in the game, and a universal scoreboard can monitor this better then most tools.

As a concept scoreboards in an MMO are much like anything; an item that brings both good and bad. With the ability to closely monitor player advancement and overall scoring it will begin to cause a right between the higher end players who invest tons of time into the game, and the lower end more casual players of MMO’s. The casual / hardcore rift that we see now in most other MMO’s such as World of Warcraft could be expected to sift over to Warhammer Online if we get a system that lets everyone know where everyone stands. In reverse to the above, it’s entirely possible a scoreboard would force players to go that extra mile to achieve a greater score so they don’t face the humility of their online peers. I for one am quite interested to see how scoreboarding will work in Warhammer Online, but am worried to see the outcome…