What fascinates about open PvP? Are all those who demand this so-called griefers and gankers who only want to attack low-level players and ruin their fun?
One of my first gaming experiences with an MMORPG was when I created my first character in Ultima Online in 1997 and wanted to explore the wilderness. Two players approached me and asked if I wanted to accompany them. They had discovered an interesting cave. I followed them and was attacked and robbed in this cave while they laughed at me. This experience shaped me, so I am not really an enthusiastic PvP player even today. Nevertheless, I am fascinated by this topic.
Player killing ruins the fun for others
In Ultima Online, this “ganking” and “griefing”, meaning the attacking of newcomers or weaker players, became so rampant that Electronic Arts eventually had to introduce a second game world where no player killing was allowed to protect the players. For EA feared that too many players would lose the fun of UO if they were constantly ambushed and robbed by other players. This, in turn, had a strong impact on all upcoming MMORPGs. Fewer and fewer are relying on open PvP with full loot, meaning the ability to take all items from defeated players.
PvP became more of a system where players duel each other and must essentially agree to the duel. Or they fight openly in designated areas. But this is too little for many PvP fans. There is a constant call for open PvP, preferably with full loot. Here, the question arises as to why. Is it not a greater challenge to only face players who actually want to PvP, train, and are thus on par with the attacker? Why do we need the option to attack those who do not want to participate in PvP?
Not every PvP fan is a griefer or ganker
Many PvP players state that it simply belongs to a realistic sandbox that you can attack everything and everyone. If you want to play as a bandit who robs others on the streets, you wouldn’t choose a heavily armed group of players for this ambush, but rather those who are as unprotected as possible. This would simply be realistic and the way of things. It would not be about annoying anyone, but rather about creating a realistic world and gameplay situation.
Nevertheless, there are of course always those who take pleasure in annoying others. These people want to ruin the fun for others. Therefore, an open PvP system can always be exploited. It only takes a few players who do this to frustrate others so much that they leave the game. Apparently, systems like player police or legal systems do not help much here.
Andreas says:
Introducing an open PvP system is always associated with dangers, even if not every PvP fan is a player killer, griefer, or ganker. MMOs that offer only open PvP anytime and anywhere will therefore likely remain niche titles, as human nature and behavior in a game are unpredictable.
