Remembering World PvP

only gained entrance into the World of Warcraft beta in the open stage, but when I did, I fell in love with the game. At the time I was a hardy supporter of EverQuest II; I was firmly entrenched on the Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) bandwagon, thinking they could do no wrong and Blizzard was the spawn of Satan. That all changed, as all of you can imagine, and I've been playing World of Warcraft since its launch. Well, not really, I've taken my breaks here and there but the game has always occupied a place in my heart.

I will not lie, either, I'm a big supporter of player versus player (PvP) combat in MMORPGs with some exceptions. I've made it quite public that I don't care for the PvP in Guild Wars, but in titles such as Asheron's Call 1 / 2, Star Wars Galaxies and World of Warcraft, I love it. I can't get enough of it. That said, I am a "carebear" -- I scorn the PvP servers to avoid the inevitable griefing of ganking. Put aside that, I'm about as hardcore as you get. I carried this mentality into the first few months that I played World of Warcraft.

For those who only started playing the game in the last few months, what I am about to describe to you may be a little strange. At the game's launch there was no honor system or Battlegrounds. Essentially there was no incentive to participate in PvP - past the thrill of it I suppose - and there was no ranking or scenarios (the battlegrounds). Despite that, the PvP was frequent and exciting, much more then it is today. How you may ask? A simple term called World PvP explains it quite well.

So what is this World PvP that I speak of? It's quite simple really, and that is PvP action in the non-instanced, seamless world. Often this PvP took place between towns - Southshore and Tarren Mill notably - but it even included the capital cities, such as Stormwind and Orgrimmar. Being outside in the seamless world, there were no limits at all. Often times when the Alliance would storm through the gates of Orgrimmar, there would be hundreds of us, and, much to our dismay, hundreds would be waiting on the other side of the gate.

An initial observation to this activity might be "how could the servers handle it?" I have often asked that question myself, but being tech inept, I didn't put too much thought into it. Sure there was lag here and there; occasional deaths resulted from it too, but by and large it was relatively stable and enjoyable.

Another observation could be: isn't this a form of griefing to those trying to level? Out of any possible observations (and this will be the last one listed) this one carried the most credibility and validity. While the answer irrevocably could be yes, most didn't mind it. In fact, I can remember the lower levels in say Crossroads for example - the very players who would be affected negatively by the raid on the town - were the most aggressive in pushing out the attackers. In sum, everyone dropped what they were doing and rallied to the defense of either the Horde or the Alliance, nothing else mattered.

With all of that considered, I have often disregarded any negativity towards World PvP before; the pros vastly outweighed it. It was an incredible experience to be a part of and really drove home the theme of this title: war. Simply by going from the previous paragraph you can see it in full: nearly everyone dropped what they were doing to defend their town, to defend their faction, against the ruthless and cunning invaders. It brought people together, regardless of guild or personal affiliation. In essence, it felt like total war; it was very unique to the World of Warcraft experience. All of that changed when we moved into the modern age of World of Warcraft.

I can remember visiting the official forums for World of Warcraft when the honor system was not only being developed, but tested in the public test realms. PvP combatants (myself included) demanded some sort of incentive to the activity, to make it more worthwhile. We wanted tangible rewards, we wanted to be ranked for our accomplishments and we wanted to stand out. Oh and we got that, and more then we bargained for.

While I've kept my opinion of the honor system reserved for the most part - as I'm split on it - I will do so no longer! I do like the honor system in the respect to the benefits that it offers. I like the fact that it tracks our kills, ranks us against our fellow combatants and inevitably offers tangible rewards for our high end accomplishments. What I don't like about it is the way rank is calculated (especially at the higher echelons but that is beyond the scope of this article) and dishonorable kills. Ladies and gentlemen, let it be known that yours truly has blamed the death of World PvP on the vile, vulgar evil that is dishonorable kills.

Nearly every person reading this editorial should know exactly what I mean by dishonorable kills, but for the unaware I will offer a short, yet thorough description of them. Dishonorable kills are negative points towards your honor rank when you kill lower level NPC "civilians." Civilians are often described as everyday NPCs in towns across Azeroth, who are commonly quest givers. What must be taken into consideration as well is that area of effect (AoE) spells are an inherent component to any PvP competition. That said, any town raids that one would be a part of results in, well, a large amount of dishonorable kills. No one wants them either, so the decline of World PvP commenced.

I suppose one could argue that World PvP didn't "officially die" until Battlegrounds, and then surely it did. What must be remembered with Battlegrounds - particularly Alterac Valley - is that a large amount of bonus honor can be accumulated (which is unavailable in regular honor kills in the seamless world). There is then a significant incentive to participate in Battlegrounds alone: you gained rank faster, had access to more tangible rewards and there was virtually no death penalty to speak of. Alternatively, world PvP had no incentive whatsoever: dishonorable kills would be common (thereby decreasing your chances of moving up in rank aggressively, which in turn decreased the tangible rewards), and no bonus honor was attainable. The Battlegrounds, in effect, took over PvP.

I want to be fair as well: I love battlegrounds. Any night that I play World of Warcraft I queue up on Alterac Valley and spend hours of enjoyment in that particular scenario. Commonly there are forty players per side, working aggressively against each other to capture strategic strongholds and inevitably defeat an enemy General. Not to mention there are often mass-conflicts in all of this mayhem. That is to say, you can often find yourself battling it out with ten or more of the enemy at once.

Though it's not World PvP. I miss the times when it was hundreds storming Orgrimmar or Thunderbluff; or even having to defend Stormwind or even a small town like Southshore against the denizens that made up the brutal and savage Horde. I miss the constant action; I miss the fields of corpses; yes I even do miss those Rogues stabbing me in the back as I'm trying to recover mana as a Mage. It's just not the same in Battlegrounds. The numbers are fewer, the waits can be almost unbearable, but most of all it doesn't feel like war on all occasions. Defending your home city, your faction leader, that felt like war. Driving out the brutal and savage Horde from purified streets of Stormwind and from the holy Cathedral, that was war. Not a Battleground that is instanced. It doesn't feel right.

I would also like to state a portion of my ideal MMORPG philosophy. I am a huge advocate of allowing players to not only affect the world, but change it. To make it different and unique. This is exactly what World PvP did. You could walk through Stormwind on a cool winter's morning and all would be at peace, as you bathe in the purity of the bastion of human freedom in the world. But would it be the same at night? Surely not. The streets could be filled with corpses as the savage Horde attempted to defile the purity of the human capital. My friends this is dynamic, player created content.

Battlegrounds, on the other hand, doesn't create this feeling. If, for example, you lose in Alterac Valley, Arathi Basin or Warsong Gulch, so what? It doesn't change anything because it's instanced. On the other hand, if the Alliance fails to repel the armies of the Horde in Stormwind, that changes a lot. The city, in essence, shuts down. NPC merchants cannot fulfill their task, for their deaths would be quick yet painful. It would no longer be a bastion of human freedom, but a pit of evil until the Horde decided that they had enough and left. World PvP creates a dynmic, unique world where anything is possible, where true war can be realized. That's what's missing in World of Warcraft.

The past is World PvP and it might not come back. The present is Battlegrounds, which are simply satisfactory for the time being. What about the future? Are we just going to see minor improvements and additional Battlegrounds or maybe it's something else? My heart tells me we'll see the return of World PvP, but my mind says otherwise. We won't see it, barring some miracle. But could we see major improvements to Battlegrounds instead of minor ones? That would certainly be beneficial.

While I still hold that Battlegrounds are inadequate when compared to World PvP, a number of changes can be made to make it better. Namely the wait times. I'm not one to spread rumors, but I have heard some discussion about cross-server Battlegrounds to help alleviate the wait times. If this is true, then that would be a good first step. Anything to help get people into the action, instead of waiting a few hours in Ironforge would be extremely beneficial. But we'll have to wait and see.

Like it or lump it, the future of PvP is Battlegrounds. Those of you, like myself, who were around during World PvP simply have to be appreciative for the time we had and can only hope that it will return one day in full force.