Let's start off by taking a look at i50.
Pretty much everyone is Emain. Now at launch I am sure the task zones will be populated, but let us be honest, if not for the 3k free RP bonus would players do tasks?
I am sure many of these players at launch will be suiciding in tasks so they can get back to emain as fast as possible. Once the RP gains drop off in tasks, they might not bother going to them at all.
Now don't get me wrong I like the task system. It is a creative addition by the devs. However, the players on Phoenix are mostly just chasing the free RP bonus. I am not posting this to offer potential improvements to the task system.
I am questioning what RvR do players really want?
If Emain is what players want, maybe the answer is to just give them more Emain. Personally, I never cared much for Emain Macha. I much prefer roaming zones, even if takes me 10 minutes to find a fight. That is not what most players seem to prefer. They like the near instant and constant action they can find in Emain.
Why else is Emain so popular? Well for starters, speed is not as necessary for traveling across the zone. Emain is the smallest frontier, and two of the three realms can port straight in. You aren't as burdened by a lack of speed. You don't need to piece together the perfect 8 man, you can just run from your border keep and find action.
Then you have Hibernia who is constantly complaining about no porting to Emain. If the other realms have to run, then why should we?
Hibernia wants to get right into the battle. No speed and no running across multiple zones.
Which makes me question the entire premise of Old Frontiers. This is classic and we have OF. I get that, but is that players actually wanted? It appears to me that most players just want one big battleground to play in. Something like a Cathal Valley.
I look at the popular games today. While not a strong analogy, I think of Fortnite which is just one big battleground. Then look at World of Warcraft, an mmo that draws more obvious parallels to DAOC. Blizzard ignored open world pvp and created battlegrounds, and one in particular Alterac Valley. For those that never experienced it, it was a 40 v 40 battleground where the objective was to invade the enemy keep and kill the commander. There were capture points, turn ins, and npcs that would aid in the fight. The battleground would sometimes last all day, until one side had taken over enough capture points and eventually raided the enemy keep. Once the commander was killed, the battleground would reset and start over.
In DAOC we have entire frontiers to wage fights like the one I referenced, but for the most part I do not feel the players on Phoenix enjoy taking keeps or fighting over relics.
I look at the keep and relic system on Phoenix and see it as something a minority of players care about. I see the Relic System as something Hibernia zergs will dominate, which will only lead to constant complaints from Midgard and Albion about % damage bonuses in RvR. Players in the beta rarely contested keeps, and why assume anything different during live when Emain is always open.
The point I am making, is that I am convinced that the RvR players really want is some type of battleground. If most of the playerbase prefers Emain, then perhaps they need a bigger Emain, like a Cathal Valley with more objectives. Just have all RvR objectives in that zone, keeps, relics, farming etc...
I guess Mythic realized this and created the New Frontiers. I am not saying New Frontiers was the solution, and correct me if I am just entirely misguided, but DAOC players don't want open world RvR, they just want to battleground.
Pretty much everyone is Emain. Now at launch I am sure the task zones will be populated, but let us be honest, if not for the 3k free RP bonus would players do tasks?
I am sure many of these players at launch will be suiciding in tasks so they can get back to emain as fast as possible. Once the RP gains drop off in tasks, they might not bother going to them at all.
Now don't get me wrong I like the task system. It is a creative addition by the devs. However, the players on Phoenix are mostly just chasing the free RP bonus. I am not posting this to offer potential improvements to the task system.
I am questioning what RvR do players really want?
If Emain is what players want, maybe the answer is to just give them more Emain. Personally, I never cared much for Emain Macha. I much prefer roaming zones, even if takes me 10 minutes to find a fight. That is not what most players seem to prefer. They like the near instant and constant action they can find in Emain.
Why else is Emain so popular? Well for starters, speed is not as necessary for traveling across the zone. Emain is the smallest frontier, and two of the three realms can port straight in. You aren't as burdened by a lack of speed. You don't need to piece together the perfect 8 man, you can just run from your border keep and find action.
Then you have Hibernia who is constantly complaining about no porting to Emain. If the other realms have to run, then why should we?
Hibernia wants to get right into the battle. No speed and no running across multiple zones.
Which makes me question the entire premise of Old Frontiers. This is classic and we have OF. I get that, but is that players actually wanted? It appears to me that most players just want one big battleground to play in. Something like a Cathal Valley.
I look at the popular games today. While not a strong analogy, I think of Fortnite which is just one big battleground. Then look at World of Warcraft, an mmo that draws more obvious parallels to DAOC. Blizzard ignored open world pvp and created battlegrounds, and one in particular Alterac Valley. For those that never experienced it, it was a 40 v 40 battleground where the objective was to invade the enemy keep and kill the commander. There were capture points, turn ins, and npcs that would aid in the fight. The battleground would sometimes last all day, until one side had taken over enough capture points and eventually raided the enemy keep. Once the commander was killed, the battleground would reset and start over.
In DAOC we have entire frontiers to wage fights like the one I referenced, but for the most part I do not feel the players on Phoenix enjoy taking keeps or fighting over relics.
I look at the keep and relic system on Phoenix and see it as something a minority of players care about. I see the Relic System as something Hibernia zergs will dominate, which will only lead to constant complaints from Midgard and Albion about % damage bonuses in RvR. Players in the beta rarely contested keeps, and why assume anything different during live when Emain is always open.
The point I am making, is that I am convinced that the RvR players really want is some type of battleground. If most of the playerbase prefers Emain, then perhaps they need a bigger Emain, like a Cathal Valley with more objectives. Just have all RvR objectives in that zone, keeps, relics, farming etc...
I guess Mythic realized this and created the New Frontiers. I am not saying New Frontiers was the solution, and correct me if I am just entirely misguided, but DAOC players don't want open world RvR, they just want to battleground.