Archive for April, 2008
PvP vs. PvE
0There’s an age old debate that goes on amongst PvPers and PvEers: which is more difficult? For some reason, people think this comparison is pivotal. But, really, it’s not. However, each can affect the other. For example, Archimonde is made easier if everyone in your raid has a Medallion of the Alliance. And rogues are far more potent if they’re using warglaives over s3 weapons. So discussing each in relation to the other is an important point of contention.
However, on a general level, comparing PvP and PvE is like contrasting Zelda and TF2. They have entirely different dynamics. They are almost entirely different games, even. PvE has mechanics you simply don’t see in PvP. And it’s a simple reason why: bosses have abilities players don’t. So when you come up against a boss with an ability you’ve never seen before (which is almost always the case), you’re forced to figure out exactly what it does, when the boss uses it and how to cope with it given the context of your class and raid composition. It’s similar to the approach necessary to beat any boss in a Zelda game, except there’s only one class and one person in the “raid.”
Here’s the thing. If Blizzard wants to go the route of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out or Battletoads, they can make Kil’jaeden nearly impossible and leave him that way. But everyone knows frustrating your PvE playerbase is likely to lose you customers. The playability value of the PvE game in an MMO comes primarily with experiencing new content, rather than its difficulty. So they don’t make them impossible. And thus the difficulty lies primarily in mustering up a force of players built for beating each specific boss, and maintaining this group of players. This is something even Ming understands.
Likewise, the difficulty in PvP is entirely different from that of PvE. Hell, difficulty in various types of PvP are not entirely comparable. For example, with BG’s, you have different tools that add to the dynamic of gameplay. When these tools exist, the degree of difficulty changes based on the complexity of the systems involved. But arenas are the basis for discussing PvP these days, and its difficulty is based entirely on class composition, player skill and what each team matches up against with high frequency. But one thing is certain: you’re not going to waltz into an arena match and suddenly discover that someone on the other team has Doomfire or Flame Wreath. But that has nothing to do with PvP vs PvE. Rather, it’s an example of why they are too different compare.
The dialog should focus on how each affects the other, not whether PvP or PvE is more difficult. And it’s imperative to hold this discussion, because there are players who dislike participating in one or the other. At the same time, however, it’s important for Blizzard to maximize people’s enjoyment of one side of the game without stepping on the toes of others. And I mean this in the sense that there are players who enjoy both sides of the game, myself included. It’s not like you can just disallow warglaives in arena, because it would force these rogues to go out and get a new set of weapons. And good luck to them staying on top of the ladder using some blue or S1 maces! So some of these problems need to be fixed either with the new season or with WotLK. Design concepts need to be adjusted with the addition of new PvE content, new arena seasons, new types of PvP, etc.
That said, however, bickering over whether or not PvP is harder than PvE and vice versa is pointless. And anyone who tries to generalize a specific demographic of players is simply a douchebag. No matter what side of the fence they stand on.
My Newest Source of Amusement
0This has been my source of amusement for the past several hours:
It makes a funny noise, much to the chagrin of my guildies. It also pretends to fly.
Regarding “Fury of the Sunwell and Beyond,” Part 2
0If there’s anything I think Blizzard has learned from its past experiences, it’s how to refine their games. Definitely, the production of TBC has shown steep improvements made to the leveling and 5-man side of the game. It always surprises me how they can reinvent parts of a game without fundamentally changing them. Though, not always, considering how the PvP system has progressed. But I’ve already killed that horse. So let’s focus on raid instancing and what Blizzard has done. There are some flaws in this area, but mostly positives.
Upon Karazhan’s release, it seemed Blizzard would repeat some of the same mistakes of old. Here you had a raid dungeon with myriads of encounters only mildly immersing. However, that’s not to say the potential wasn’t there. Rather, Medivh and certain bosses of Karazhan were rife with possibilities, given their backstories. Unfortunately, however, this was only exhibited with the cut-scene involving Arcanagos. But imagine taking a scrying gem from one of the mages outside and witnessing a cut-scene between Moroes and Ebonlocke. Or Aran’s death scene. It would have also been nice to know why Prince Malchezaar makes an appearance.
Luckily, however, Blizzard made improvements in these concepts with both the Black Temple and Sunwell Plateau. Akama personally relates the storyline concerning Illidan and the Black Temple, with voice acting no less! You help him rise to the occasion and rebel against Illidan’s rule. You help him defeat his shade and regain control of the Ashtongue warriors. Maiev’s presence and involvement is also made evident before you enter BT for the first time. And, concluding this story arc, Akama and Maiev are both there to assist you in defeating Illidan. It’s a truly engrossing experience, if you’re into that kind of thing. Something similar is happening with Kalecgos and Anveena in the Sunwell. And it’s heartening that Blizzard is rather cognizant of the progress they’ve made and how they want to produce storytelling in the future. As J. Allen Brack states in the “Fury of the Sunwell” interview:
We now feel that the main villains of The Burning Crusade could have been a little more visible from the moment you entered Outland. For example, players could go all the way to level 70 without catching a glimpse of their nemeses. In Wrath of the Lich King, we’re going to engage players in the conflict with the primary antagonist from the beginning.
Additionally, the game is shedding its mediocrity in style. The Black Temple is definitely the pinnacle of musical development in WoW. Sunwell Plateau is, in my opinion, the pinnacle of WoW visually. And, personally, while its not an achievement in difficulty, Karazhan was a pinnacle of enjoyable raid encounters. There’s nothing like getting turned into a gnome with a red hood and being chased by the Big Bad Wolf, or experiencing such quotable gems as Moroes and Aran.
I’ll leave it to Chris Robinson to close it out:
An important lesson for the artists was that it’s okay to take chances. The art style of The Burning Crusade was very colorful and high concept – a significant departure from the familiar geography of Azeroth – but the response we got was overwhelmingly positive. We took a chance, but ultimately it paid off. If we go far out there, people will respond. Hopefully, we’ll see another positive reaction to the quite dramatic departure in visual style that Northrend represents.
My problems with other parts of the game aside, I look forward to it!
Regarding “Fury of the Sunwell and Beyond,” Part 1
0I’ve read over the recent Insider interview “Fury of the Sunwell and Beyond” several times now. And there’s always a few quotes that stick out in my mind given what we know about Wrath of the Lich King. Let’s start with a statement made by J. Allen Brack:
Naxxramas comes to mind as an example of what we’re aiming for with the Sunwell. Despite being the pinnacle of PvE raiding before The Burning Crusade, Naxxramas didn’t actually complete that many of the story arcs presented in the original game. While Naxxramas remains one of the best designed high-end dungeons in World of Warcraft, it still felt like there was untapped potential for what high-end PvE storytelling could be. That’s what we set out to do with Sunwell Plateau and Magisters’ Terrace: create a dungeon experience that features spectacular gameplay and an awesome conclusion to the expansion’s story arc.
This quote highlights the specific line of reasoning as to why I think moving Naxxramas to Northrend and retuning it to be an entry level dungeon in WotLK is a huge mistake. I know what you’re thinking, “Woah, wait, what? Moving Naxxramas and reintroducing it is an awesome idea! It’s a great dungeon!” Is it? Hear me out.
First, consider the key points in this quote. Naxxramas was the pinnacle before TBC, and it had problems concluding the storyline of vanilla WoW. When I consider all of the bosses in Naxxramas, the only three that have any real connection to previous story lines are the Four Horsemen (specifically Mograine), Sapphiron and Kel’Thuzad. So it’s not until the last three bosses in a fifteen-encounter dungeon that you have any emotional investment in the characters of the dungeon. You have to endure twelve nearly irrelevant encounters before you get to the proverbial meat of the dungeon’s lore. And how is this going to be any different in WotLK if they simply retune it?
In contrast, Sunwell’s encounters are presented extremely well. You’re invested in Kalecgos because he introduces you to the perils of the current situation in Magister’s Terrace. So, naturally, when you see him being corrupted, much like Vael in Blackwing Lair, you become invested as a player in the story being told. Also, when you see the battle between Madrigosa and Brutallus, you become invested there. Similar concepts apply to M’uru with the blood elf corruption, and especially with Kil’jaeden, who has games worth of lore relevant to his appearance in the Sunwell. The only encounter I don’t really feel invested in is the Eredar Twins.
I see Sunwell Plateau more as an evolution of what we did with Naxxramas.
So do I. And I would rather see this evolution continued starting with the very first dungeon of WotLK. And this isn’t going to happen if they simply move and reintroduce Naxxramas. I would much rather see Kel’Thuzad reintroduced in a manner similar to Kael’thas in Magister’s Terrace, except on a 10- or 25-man level. I would rather see resources involving encounter design and testing used to create new encounters, as opposed to the retuning of old encounters. Especially because I don’t actually enjoy a lot of the encounters Naxx has to offer. Anub’rhekan? The concept of out-ranging abilities is not innovative or enjoyable. Faerlina? Another reason I hate RoF. Razuvious? I’m sure the priests loved it, but most of us were reminded of Firemaw given the LOS mechanics. Noth? Decurse, decurse, decurse! And don’t get me started about Loatheb. I don’t know anyone that didn’t hate that fight at 60.
When I sit down and actually think about the encounters, Naxxramas wasn’t actually all that great in its entirety. It’s simply fortunate for Blizzard that they also made some incredibly innovative and difficult encounters to fit into Naxx. Heigan is extremely enjoyable, and the Four Horsemen extremely difficult. Sapphiron was also well-designed, if you ignore the annoying debuff removal mechanic Blizzard professed its love for all throughout vanilla WoW. So there were some gems in the rough that often influence people’s opinions of the dungeon.
… at the same time I think its size made it difficult for some players to fully experience [Naxxramas]. Sunwell Plateau’s smaller scale will let more players access the raid and give them a reasonable chance of clearing it before the launch of Wrath of the Lich King.
No doubt. Even at level 70, one-shotting all of the bosses, the instance takes a long while to clear. Fifteen is too large a number of encounters for a single instance, especially because the last two bosses require you to clear the entire dungeon if you want to experience them. In contrast, you can easily do Hyjal or BT in a single night. Hyjal only takes a couple hours if you do it right. Comparatively, only a very small percentage of guilds cleared Naxxramas in a single night. So, if Blizzard really wants to reintroduce Naxx, they should consider removing some of the boring or annoying encounters. Let’s start with Faerlina. Maybe Loatheb. I wouldn’t mind if Grobbulus and Gluth got the boot, either. And I think only the priests would mind if Razuvious was kicked to the curb. But let’s leave Patchwerk in, because his sayings make me smile. And then let’s remove some of the most annoying trash the game has ever had to offer. That would trim the dungeon down to a manageable size.
Then I consider the atmosphere. For its time, Naxxramas was revolutionary. It definitely outdid the likes of MC, BWL and TAQ. However, I think every single 25-man dungeon in TBC outdoes it aesthetically. Why? Well, the only interesting room in the entirety of Naxx was, in my opinion, Sapphiron’s Lair. The rest was simply the Undercity 2.0, and the room leading up to Heigan was basically a brief foray into Plaguewood. It didn’t add the same amount of flair to its Undercity elements that Sunwell adds to what it borrows from Silvermoon City. Furthmore, I only enjoyed two pieces of music from the entirety of Naxx. Every other piece was simply a random mash-up of creepy orchestral sounds. The Black Temple, meanwhile, has an awesome suite of music that fits its storyline and artistic style perfectly. Compared to the two minutes of Naxx music I have on my mp3 player, I have nineteen from BT.
All of my opinions regarding the reintroduction of Naxx aside, the rest of the interview has a myriad of positive points, and I’ll get to those in the second part of addressing this interview.
Proudmoore Wins the SSO Race
0My server, Proudmoore, activated the epic gem vendor last night. This means we’ve won the SSO race.
It’s a bittersweet accomplishment. While I’m glad we’ve won, after having lost the AQ race despite our initial lead, it’s ultimately insignificant. It’s not going to attract top raiders or PvPers to our server. The only thing I’m genuinely happy about is the fact that my guild will no longer have a gem supply problem. If we’re out of spinels, people can run Karazhan and buy what they need.
