March 2002
Why we need melee PvP
Posted Thursday, March 14, 2002 by
PanzerMagi
Why we need melee PvP
On the whole, Mavralyn and I totally agree about melee PvP. It's dull. It's boring. It has all the strategic beauty of a pair of armless toddlers in a shoving match.
Yet for all of that, I think we need it.
Not because melee PvP is good. Not because it'll be any fun.
We need it, because the folks that want it are never going to stop demanding it. We also need it because one of the major arguments for melee PvP is correct: It doesn't make much sense that a fighter class could get picked apart by a mage and yet never be able to lift their blade in anger.
If you're a pure fighter, or you're feebed, you should be able to (as those fighter types like to put it) lay your smack down.
What we *don't* need, however, is some absurd concept of "balance". Character classes are different. Some are better at some things than others. Fighter types are better for questing, finger wagglers are better for killing players. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that.
Melee PvP is fine. Just make sure that it doesn't work very well.
Smacking another player repeatedly with your sword isn't PvP, it's a slugfest. It'd be the same as a fight where each player only had two spells -- slay living and cause crit, and where they could use either spell as often as they wanted. There's no strategy in a slugfest. Nor are they much fun after long.
There are many reasons PvP worked so well in Neverwinter. One of the important ones is spell slots. Because of spell slots, wussy spells mattered. A fight could come down to the dregs of your grimoire - - like a burning hands, or cause light. Not only did spells allow for dozens of "types" of attacks, the nature of our grimoire *forced* us to make use of that variety.
With melee, you've got two attacks to choose from. Ranged and up close.
Now, don't get me wrong. Melee PvP is going to diminish the quality of PvP no matter what. It will, for instance, do away with the importance of some of those "dreg" spells -- like burning hands. Even a clam could inflict more damage with a weapon than they could with a low end damage spell. Mopping up duty will probably be conducted with weapons, not spells.
Still, so long as we keep our demands reasonable, this will all turn out alright in the end. Yes, fighter types, you can have your melee PvP. Just keep in mind that PvP should be skewed in the favor of those that choose it as their *primary* vocation. If it seems unbalanced, that's because it is. The goal isn't to make us all equal. It's to make the game fun. Spell based PvP is more fun, and that's why it needs to also be more effective.
Don't worry, though. I hear the dragons they're cooking up for you heroic types should keep you plenty busy.
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