The announced PvP model came as a surprise and was a shock for many who were looking forward to the MMORPG Bless. What are the players’ reactions to the PvP model?
During an interview, the developers at Neowiz explained that there will be no separate servers for PvE and PvP because PvP is integrated into the game and is an important component.
Bless, like World of Warcraft, relies on two factions that are in conflict: The Imperium of the North, Hieron, and the Peoples of the Union, in the South. Conflicts between these two factions are important for the MMORPG and are unavoidable. Bless offers open PvP between members of the opposing factions. Player versus player combat is essential for the endgame.
Unlike WoW, Bless does not give the option to hide this part of the game by playing on a PvE server.
PvE with PvP does not fit
Bless is not a pure PvP game; it also offers a lot of PvE content, including quests – and it is precisely this combination that causes a lot of friction in the community. PvE and PvP do not fit together for many.
- Imagine wanting to complete an important quest but constantly being attacked by other players
- You just want to gather resources to craft items, but players are attacking you
- Exploration tours through the world become dangerous as you might be ambushed by teammates at any moment
- Open PvP always opens the door to “ganking”, which means repeatedly attacking weaker players to take away their enjoyment of the game
PvP is a competition
PvP fights are also different from fighting AI enemies. It is harder to defeat a human opponent, which is why you also have to train specifically for it. In a game that offers open PvP, you need to deal with it and compete with other players.
However, those who only want to focus on PvE are “forced” into something they actually do not want. And a game that wants to force its customers into things they do not want always has a hard time.
In Bless, you have the option to bypass PvP. However, it is somewhat complicated:
- You craft a special item that protects you from attacks from other players
- This item can also be purchased in the cash shop
- The item can only be used as long as you have not yet reached the level cap
- Since the endgame of Bless is geared towards PvP, the developers want to encourage you to experience it
- Those who have reached the level cap but still want to avoid PvP need to acquire another item that is only available in the cash shop (cash shop currency should also be earnable in-game, but no one knows yet how easy or hard that will be)
Players are disappointed
When this became known, criticism poured in. Many players are disappointed that Neowiz apparently wants to make Bless into an MMORPG that focuses on PvP. Many believe that PvP and PvE simply do not fit together (among other things for the reasons mentioned above).
Some simply do not want to engage in player-versus-player battles because they want to explore the world and complete quests without being ambushed. They now feel forced to participate in PvP, which they do not want. Many are now concerned that Bless will become a ganking zone.
- In general, this tone often appears in criticisms: There are a lot of PvP games out there. I was looking forward to Bless specifically because I thought it would be a PvE MMORPG.
- While others calm down: Just wait and see how our version turns out.
What do you think about the situation?
