I am an avid MMORPG gamer. I am currently playing World of Warcraft but I am also signed up for several others to test out in beta. World of Warcraft just released a new patch last week with the fabled PVP Honor System. This system is going to add endgame content and rewards for people who participate in Player vs. Player combat. The main idea is that when a player kills another player of the opposing faction and the two are relatively the same level, the winner receives honor points. These points contribute to a ranking which then allows players' access to special items available to their given level. The system is going to evolve overtime as you need to continue to participate in PVP or eventually your rank will degrade.

I think this is a good idea; adding more content and allowing players to compete in a more direct way. My question is this: Why is there no penalty for dying? The winner gets honor points but the loser doesn't even lose durability of their items (in death to mobs or NPCs the player receives a 10% durability loss to all items currently equipped, and in turn it will cost money to repair those items). To examine this further I think we need to address some other issues first.

Many people may wonder why there should be a penalty at all. I agree that having a penalty could pose problems in this “Honor System” because a group of players can receive honor points from killing a single player. However, I think there should be a reason to win in these battles but also a reason to not lose.

To explain this further I will use the mindset of a typical exploiter. Let's say I am in a very high level guild and I know people in the opposing faction high level guild. We meet up and do nothing but take turns killing each other. We do not actually fight, I let him kill me then I kill him. Blizzard has attempted to stop this by making each consecutive kill of the same character after the first one worth fewer points. The way around this is to rotate through the guild taking turns killing different characters. This gives both guilds honor points and eliminates the need for hunting down other players. We could do this for a few hours and every time our rank starts to slip we could meet up again and do the same exploit. There is no reason not too. I know that I would personally like a penalty for dying.

When Diablo II first came out I was amazed that people actually would play the Hardcore rule set. I didn't understand why people would want to do this knowing full well they will end up losing everything at some point. Eventually I created a hardcore character. The difference was amazing. Now there was something on the line, I had to think more, I had to use more strategy, and I needed to play with a good team. The bottom line: I needed to be a better player.

The reality was that if I did not play better I would lose all I had just worked for. This made the game much more exciting, it was like joining the high stakes table in Vegas where you know if you don't play your cards right you could lose it all. I was hooked right away.

This idea has very rarely been used in modern MMORPGs. I could think of a couple of applications where penalties or high stakes gaming could really add to the overall feel of the game content.

One idea is to have a special encounter inside the game world where there is a penalty if you fail. You enter a cave and before you go in a warning appears telling you that this is a high risk area. During the encounter if you die the powerful mob holds your soul for one hour and you can not play that character until that hour is up. But if you live and defeat this monster the rewards are great. I think content like this could add a new edge to most MMORPGs out right now.

Adding high risk content will create a new aspect in any game. It will also give players a chance to sharpen their skills. This would be great for endgame players that would love a new challenge.

Bring back Hardcore.

-Seth (27-Apr-2005)

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