This article collects information regarding the conceptualisation of the gameplay of The Mana World
This article is currently only a proposal
The features or design guidelines described in this article are only a proposal made by one or some persons. It has not been evaluated or accepted by the core development team yet. Feel free to add your personal opinion about them or make counter proposals.
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In my opinion Player vs. Player (PvP) is one of the most enjoyable parts of playing an MMORPG. Massive battles between warring player-factions lead to intense intrigue and some of the most vicious power-leveling ever witnessed by man. Implementations of PvP vary amazingly, from not-without-permission to "after you get out of the first city, if you die start a new character." Variations on PvP implementations abound, but I have found in my gaming career one system which seems to give the most choice to the player, and a reward for the daring.
White, grey and black areas
All maps (or more preferably tiles, but take your pick) are designated one of the levels of pvp. To differentiate from the implementation that I have seen, I will call them white, grey, and black.
White areas
In a white area, no PvP is allowed without consent. White areas are not necessarily confined to cities; approximately 1/2 to 2/3's of the world should consist of white area, adjusted to taste.
Grey areas
In grey areas, PvP is allowed, but with the following modification: if you die as the result of a player-inficted attack, you are simply transported to the beginning of the area with 1/10th (or whatever) health. PvP in grey areas gives you the ability to assert dominance over a given zone, and allows for fun matches between players with a relatively low chance of losing anything (although dying to aggressive monsters because a player brought you to the brink of the abyss is not unheard of or even that uncommon). Grey areas award players 1.5x the amount of experience that players would generally receive for a monster of given strength in a white area, and equipment drops from killing monsters should be adjusted to give a slight reward as well. That being said, a player should be able to play and enjoy the game without ever entering grey/black areas.
Black areas
Black areas require a players confirmation before entering, in the form of a dialog box explaining the risks and asking if the player is sure if they would like to enter. Once within black PvP areas, the character is open to attack from any player (although it would make sense to do something like party-lock players so that they could not be attacked by their friends, nor backstabbed. Depends on how you want PvP to go). When a player dies in black areas, all or some equipment is discarded and available for looting, and a level (or levels, depending on experience scales and such) are lost. That player is put somewhere distinct (nearest town, perhaps?) and left to lick his/her wounds. Black PvP is not for the faint of heart. For those that choose to brave black PvP, a 2.0x modifier is applied to experience (against the white PvP equivalent) and the highest power equipment should be concentrated in black PvP areas (not overwhelmingly powerful, but say a good 5-10% on top of the white/grey's best equipment.
Short QA:
- Doesn't that system lead itself to abuse of black PvP?
- Possibly, but that is the risk you take when you click "I will enter black PvP." Black PvP is a choice, and should not create any landlocked areas that aren't in direct correlation with improved gains. To the brave go the biggest prizes, and such.
- What if I don't want to go to grey PvP to level up, but all my friends are leveling up faster than me? I like to power-level, not PvP
- Refer to previous question in regards to being brave and biggest prizes.
- Why don't you lose things in grey PvP?
- Grey PvP should generally consist of goodnatured fun, or territorial harassment. No lasting effect should come from grey PvP, to maintain balance and promote player competition.
- Why can players move easily from black PvP to grey/white PvP? Doesn't that let them get away after killing me?
- Yes, yes it does. You lost the fight, and they got the spoils. Maybe one day you will catch them in black PvP unprotected.
