by JR Cook - 10 years ago     show comments

World PVP in Azeroth has a complex identity. In terms of large-scale World PVP, it has existed as a lag-filled dilemma where players simply spam AOE spells. Yet small scale World PVP has definitely succeeded in Pandaria and significantly increased with the implementation of cross-realm zones.

Some may say that the servers weren’t meant to handle large scale wars, and they are right. Once battlegrounds and arenas came, the world PVP inside the world of Azeroth was hit by the instant gratification and gear-getting success that these types of instanced PVP brought. Even when zone design offered PVP objectives meant to draw players back into world PVP, players stuck with battlegrounds; instead of fighting inside the giant mushroom-filled region in Zangarmarsh or the the grassy Grizzly Hills, players stole flags and took them back to their bases, or  controlled nodes in maps like Eye of the Storm.  Each step Blizzard has taken never addressed the problems inherent in world PVP, but instead they’ve added more methods for players to avoid it. Despite this, there are players in Azeroth that are struggling to make do with what they have.

Emerald Dream, an RP-PVP (Role-playing and player versus player) realm, hosts just such a community. Last weekend, there was a huge event that brought together two armies that clashed while defending their territory. On each side, there were guilds that brought only their finest warriors to the battle (a few people got kicked out because their gear wasn’t strong enough). On the Alliance, there were the infamous dwarves of Clan Battlehammer, and the humans of Kingdom of Arathor. On the Horde there were the Forsaken of the devious Shadows of Lordaeron, the greedy goblins of Gyrofuse, the stalwart trolls of the BrokenTusk Warband, and the valiant blood elves of the Phoenix High Guard who sat atop their red-plated horses.

First, the Horde forces traveled in an organized line to a lone tower centered in the Hillsbrad foothills. Their line of troops seemed to stretch past even the highest view distance of the in-game camera. The goal was to defend horde-controlled Hillsbrad territory, and when the Horde forces reached the tower, they placed smoke bombs outside the location and within the main entrance to provide a covering fog. It wasn’t long until the Alliance forces gathered outside on their steeds, and the battle was joined.

This battle is only one example of how role-playing can create truly unique experiences. While the instanced PVP modes in World of Warcraft are fun, there still lacks a spot made for players to compete through their own devices in larger battles. These battles are prone to heavy lag, and they have become less and less prominent as they depend too heavily on player motivation. Blizzard has made attempts to facilitate wars between alliances, but more in terms of smaller-scale PVP. In the more recent case of patch 5.2,  players were pitted against each other in the Isle of Thunder series of daily quests. While these models did foster competition between players during that patch, the content was isolated on the far west of the Pandaria map and placed behind a large series of solo scenarios. Since 5.4, many players gravitated instead to the Timeless Isle, where countless frogs and snakes seek to steal killing blows, or the same faction decides they want you dead.  There are also a lot of PVE players seeking to attain their rewards, and while the new Prideful gear is helping to decrease the gap in terms of item level, they still seem to hit like raging dire horns.

But while these certain locations might deteriorate over time, Pandaria as a whole has still offered players a more unique and satisfying World PVP experience than in previous expansions. Pandaria is littered with rares and thus unique items, which let players battle for loot. A few areas are basically made for World PVP. There are great hilly areas and steep drops in the Townlong Steppes, and the great wall in Pandaria hosts PVP vendors that are wide open for attack . These vendors do not have guards which provides for a great invasion point for larger-scale World PVP.

Overall, the most effective model implemented in World of Warcraft  in terms of replicating and almost replacing large-scale world PVP has been Tol Barad and Wintergrasp. These modes both foster communication and competition, while maintaining the sense of a large-scale battle, all with players that exist on the same realm. However, these zones are behind timers and require joining a queue in order to get access. A player cannot just wander in, but they have to wait and have permission to join.They don’t have the heart or spontaneity that gives World PVP its energetic allure.

In Warlords of Draenor, Blizzard is adding a new PVP-oriented zone where instance-like PVP is available without a queue, inside the world. This area is called Ashran, a place that will implement a new type of instanced technology where the player will not have to go through a load screen, and in combination with CRZ, the zone will theoretically always have an equal balance of Horde/Alliance players. Perhaps this is the answer to the complex dilemma of large-scale World PVP that has existed throughout the game’s history. If this new type of instancing within the world can take the smoothness and reward systems of battlegrounds and instanced PVP while maintaining the spontaneity and open format of World PVP, then large-scale PVP can perhaps mirror the success of smaller scale battles. Server communities would become tighter, and player interaction within the world would become more meaningful.

In order to widen their audience, and give this experience to all players (not just the end-game players), Blizzard could also implement this system within the whole of Azeroth. If Crossroads in the Barrens were to become this type of instance, and maintain rewards for players for participating, players would flock there to enjoy the fun; not just for nostalgia, but for a chance to defend their territory, especially since the Alliance now has more holdings in the Barrens.

World PVP has always been an integral and unique part of World of Warcraft. Blizzard innovated with player motivation in terms of small-scale PVP, and now, with the new tech solutions being deployed in Ashran, they seem to be innovating on a larger scale. Warlords of Draenor might just be the answer we have all been looking for.

How do you feel about world PVP? Is it something Blizzard should emphasize more, or should players keep their PVP to the instances? Let us know what you think in the comments.