FFA PvP Games

Isn't it quite funny that some of my first longer posts since a looooooong time is about gaming not painting? Well it is kinda logical since I haven't really painted in almost over a year, gaming however I never stopped. Quite the opposite. It provides me with a welcomed emptiness of my brain while playing or grinding - being totally involved into something without having to really deal with anything else that might occupy my mind otherwise.

So, yeah. That means I have been downloading every free MMO I could the past few month - also included going back to Vanguard for a short visit to my lvl 60 monk and other trips down memory lane (like DAoC and AO for example). My I-net is currently also busy with downloading all the patches for WoW I missed since playing back in 2006 (yeah yeah I know....wow sucks)

Anyway, the reason for this post is actually something slightly different but reading a lot of forums linked to MMOs is a huge hobby of mine and I just find it slightly amusing how many people are linking FFA PvP games immediately with griefing.

For the not so geeky: FFA PvP = Free for All Player vs. Player Games (in this case I am talking about MMOs btw).

So, imagine you can attack any player anytime and try to kill him or her. Sounds like a huge fun breaker to you, doesn't it? Asshat player xy is just out to ruin everyone elses game experience with just randomly killing them left and right.

So, well. That is what we would call griefing, right? Ruining someone elses gameplay fun with being a total idiot.

All right, let me look at normal games without any pvp:
I am sitting at my favorite hunting spot killing rats (yay for rats!) Player x comes along who has the same quest or is grinding on the same mobs. So he goes on taking my kills because he thinks it's fun. Nothing I can do about. Well I can report him/her but that rarely does any good.

Or

Player xy is annoying as hell over public chat. Insulting Countries or making racial jokes. Some think it's funny, I don't. Nothing I can do about that. Report him maybe..

Or

Idiot xy is cheating on a trade - nothing I can to do prove it to the GMs (most probably).
I could probably think of more examples of griefing in a normal non pvp game but I think you get the point.

Let's now move on to pvp games with factions and level areas within which you can attack other players (WoW, Vanguard or EQ2 for example)

The same as above applies if you have a member of your own alliance/faction grief you.
On the other hand you might be able to get back to that idiot who is in the opposed faction.

But behold and beware if he/she has better gear and higher level you get your ass handed without a chance. Besides what would keep that person from doing it again? Being killed in any of those games doesn't really hurt so is no incentive to play nice or not mess with the wrong people, right?

Now take FFA PvP Servers for Games with level and classes.

On those you are mostly restricted to be able to attack people say within 10 level range. Good thought initially but the problem is that:

a) you see the other persons level and most  griefers pray on the weak. Making sure they only attack people they overpower in level (and thus in pretty much every game - in skills. Since skill gain is linked to level).

b) Try to be sure to get the overhand in gear - too many variables that can just ruin the outcom of a "fair fight"

Once again, also hardly any loss for dying thus no real danger in actually attacking someone.

All those example in my opinion don't do anything against griefing - if anything they encourage or at least don't fight it hard enough. Luckily there are not that many idiots playing those kind of games but nevertheless every MMO, no matter what kind of has those.

Now take the FFA PvP approach without level and class.

I can attack any person I want but do I want to do that?
First of - I have absolutely no indication of what skills that character/person has. No idea how skilled that person is or how long he or she played. I also might have a harsh penalty if I die. So I am really thinking about the decision of just randomly attacking anyone I see or pissing them off for that matter.

Not to mention, that person might have many friends to backup on at a later time.

The other way round, if you decide to attack me without any reason whatsoever, maybe even being the same race as I am then be assured that I will call in my friends to hunt your sorry ass down for that.

Don't you think that in ffa pvp your actions count much more then in a normal non pvp class and level based game exactly BECAUSE you could attack but you also know that it will have consequences which in most other games it doesn't?

I am by no means a hard core pvper. Not at all - but I just don't understand how people can be afraid of it. Actually - I guess it is because they experienced the incidents I listed above in games that were not really laid out for pvp, maybe?











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