Post by Morreion on Apr 28, 2010 7:48:27 GMT -5
PvP is a significant part of Age of Conan. Sure, there are PvE servers where PvP is limited to a few specific zones and to instanced battlegrounds. But I am playing on an RP-PvP server to get more of the PvP experience and perhaps to make things a bit more interesting. Be careful what you wish for!
AoC has FFA PvP, free for all PvP. In all but a few designated zones and cities, you can attack anyone you are not grouped with. There are no factions- Cimmerian can kill Cimmerian and so on. This makes for lively gameplay, to say the least. At this writing, I am level 20, which means I have spent most of my time in the starting zones, so I haven't quite got that outside-of-the-cities-you're-always-open-to-attack feeling yet. But I remember it from when I played back in 2008- it tends to focus you! Eventually, while still taking the precautions that you can take, you go about your business and accept the fact that occasionally you will be ambushed. Likewise, you can ambush others if you so desire. From what I've read, since the population isn't as great as it was in 2008, the mid-level zones are relatively safe- it's the starting zones and the endgame zones that are PvP-active.
The Underhalls, a series of passages and chambers under Tortage, is a classic low-level PvP area. So is White Sands. In White Sands, much of the action is around the entrance area of the zone, whereas in the Underhalls the action can be anywhere. It is a labyrinth where ambush and stealth are the norm. There are PvE mobs in both of these areas as well; players have quests to complete in these zones, adding more of an incentive to go there.
Some general observations can be made about PvP. There are safety in numbers- having a buddy or two increases your survivability greatly. Stealthers are common- Rangers with their ranged attacks, Barbarians with their lethal melee, Assassins with their devastating strikes from the shadows. It is not uncommon for a battle to commence and then another player to unstealth and jump into the action. If you are a PvP soloer, you must choose your battles carefully, and expect to die. It's going to happen. As is true for MMOs in general, PvP is more fun with friends or companions.
Watching PvP fights from stealth can be interesting.
For some strange reason, I've chosen to not attack people who don't attack me first (I do kill those who have attacked me in the past- I keep a kill-on-sight list). This, needless to say, is a handicap in PvP
I die more than I kill. This playstyle is in the spirit of the old anti-PK players from the games of old, a bit of chivalry. You quickly learn that, much as in real-life conflict, you win far more often if you don't seek out a fair fight.
My Ranger has set a trap that a player is caught upon (note animation of him grabbing at his immoble leg). Unfortunately, as I am shooting him with arrows, a Barbarian unstealths behind me to give me a beat-down. Not uncommon!
Ganking is not uncommon, though if you kill players far beneath your level, you are labeled a murderer and can be killed by PvE guards or other players with no penalty (you can work off this murderer designation). A common sneaky tactic is for a murderer to invite you to group with them- this makes you a murderer too, then it's open season on you for a while. Players will often attack others who are in a PvE battle, shifting the odds in their favor. A group of players will kill solo players. Fair fights do happen, but they are in the minority. Life is not fair, and you learn that fast on a PvP server.
That's me dead on the ground, a triumphant Assassin standing over me. I was whacking her hard and made her run through a doorway where I zoned into her giving me a nasty stabbing. Be careful!
Two Rangers shoot at each other; a Barbarian joins in the fun, destealthing right in front of one of them.
The typical PvP playstyle in the Underhalls is one of stalking and stealthy ambush, stealthers patrolling for a situation that is to their advantage. This is a hit-and-run style of nervous swift combat. One way to detect other players is to listen for sounds of combat- weapons clash and ring, shouts and grunts accompany all conflict. This is useful to locating action. There is a Search function that players can use to give them improved chances of detecting stealthers nearby. Perception is also a skill you can train- the higher the skill, the easier you can see through stealth. PvE mobs can spot stealthers on occasion, adding to the fun.
I've been beheaded by a Barbarian!
Another very bloody death at the hands of a Barbarian.
Occasionally, this stealthy hit-and-run style of conflict will give way to gatherings of rollicking combat around a respawn point. As long as you don't move when you respawn after death, you cannot be attacked. But eventually you move, and in these fun free-for-all deathmatches, everybody fights everybody else. Of course you tend to look for people who've killed you before. This is a fun change of pace from the slower-paced stealthy stalking form of play.
A free-for-all kill-in around a respawn point- a veritable Woodstock of slaughter!
Overall, PvP in AoC is pretty fun if you have a thick skin. It certainly is more unpredictable and exciting than PvE. However, if one is used to RvR or faction PvP, the clash of armies, it can be more difficult to get used to. At the higher levels of the game there are guild-versus-guild city sieges and at the mid levels there are battlegrounds to fight over.
AoC has FFA PvP, free for all PvP. In all but a few designated zones and cities, you can attack anyone you are not grouped with. There are no factions- Cimmerian can kill Cimmerian and so on. This makes for lively gameplay, to say the least. At this writing, I am level 20, which means I have spent most of my time in the starting zones, so I haven't quite got that outside-of-the-cities-you're-always-open-to-attack feeling yet. But I remember it from when I played back in 2008- it tends to focus you! Eventually, while still taking the precautions that you can take, you go about your business and accept the fact that occasionally you will be ambushed. Likewise, you can ambush others if you so desire. From what I've read, since the population isn't as great as it was in 2008, the mid-level zones are relatively safe- it's the starting zones and the endgame zones that are PvP-active.
My stealthed Ranger watches PvPers at the entrance to White Sands. Note all of the Demonologist pets.
Death and PvP combat in the Underhalls
The Underhalls, a series of passages and chambers under Tortage, is a classic low-level PvP area. So is White Sands. In White Sands, much of the action is around the entrance area of the zone, whereas in the Underhalls the action can be anywhere. It is a labyrinth where ambush and stealth are the norm. There are PvE mobs in both of these areas as well; players have quests to complete in these zones, adding more of an incentive to go there.
I join a PvP group in the Underhalls- there is more safety in numbers. Unfortunately, group member MrPotato likes to dance.
Some general observations can be made about PvP. There are safety in numbers- having a buddy or two increases your survivability greatly. Stealthers are common- Rangers with their ranged attacks, Barbarians with their lethal melee, Assassins with their devastating strikes from the shadows. It is not uncommon for a battle to commence and then another player to unstealth and jump into the action. If you are a PvP soloer, you must choose your battles carefully, and expect to die. It's going to happen. As is true for MMOs in general, PvP is more fun with friends or companions.
Watching PvP fights from stealth can be interesting.
For some strange reason, I've chosen to not attack people who don't attack me first (I do kill those who have attacked me in the past- I keep a kill-on-sight list). This, needless to say, is a handicap in PvP
I die more than I kill. This playstyle is in the spirit of the old anti-PK players from the games of old, a bit of chivalry. You quickly learn that, much as in real-life conflict, you win far more often if you don't seek out a fair fight.My Ranger has set a trap that a player is caught upon (note animation of him grabbing at his immoble leg). Unfortunately, as I am shooting him with arrows, a Barbarian unstealths behind me to give me a beat-down. Not uncommon!
Ganking is not uncommon, though if you kill players far beneath your level, you are labeled a murderer and can be killed by PvE guards or other players with no penalty (you can work off this murderer designation). A common sneaky tactic is for a murderer to invite you to group with them- this makes you a murderer too, then it's open season on you for a while. Players will often attack others who are in a PvE battle, shifting the odds in their favor. A group of players will kill solo players. Fair fights do happen, but they are in the minority. Life is not fair, and you learn that fast on a PvP server.
That's me dead on the ground, a triumphant Assassin standing over me. I was whacking her hard and made her run through a doorway where I zoned into her giving me a nasty stabbing. Be careful!
Two Rangers shoot at each other; a Barbarian joins in the fun, destealthing right in front of one of them.
The typical PvP playstyle in the Underhalls is one of stalking and stealthy ambush, stealthers patrolling for a situation that is to their advantage. This is a hit-and-run style of nervous swift combat. One way to detect other players is to listen for sounds of combat- weapons clash and ring, shouts and grunts accompany all conflict. This is useful to locating action. There is a Search function that players can use to give them improved chances of detecting stealthers nearby. Perception is also a skill you can train- the higher the skill, the easier you can see through stealth. PvE mobs can spot stealthers on occasion, adding to the fun.
I've been beheaded by a Barbarian!
Another very bloody death at the hands of a Barbarian.
Occasionally, this stealthy hit-and-run style of conflict will give way to gatherings of rollicking combat around a respawn point. As long as you don't move when you respawn after death, you cannot be attacked. But eventually you move, and in these fun free-for-all deathmatches, everybody fights everybody else. Of course you tend to look for people who've killed you before. This is a fun change of pace from the slower-paced stealthy stalking form of play.
A free-for-all kill-in around a respawn point- a veritable Woodstock of slaughter!
Overall, PvP in AoC is pretty fun if you have a thick skin. It certainly is more unpredictable and exciting than PvE. However, if one is used to RvR or faction PvP, the clash of armies, it can be more difficult to get used to. At the higher levels of the game there are guild-versus-guild city sieges and at the mid levels there are battlegrounds to fight over.
