Massively

PvP

Another basic component of MMOs almost since the beginning, Player vs. Player combat is in some ways the ultimate experience in online gaming. It pits players against each other directly, breaking down any artificial barriers between your personal gameplay experience and the game world. It's also been around for a good, long time; the real grandaddy of 3D MMOs, Meridian 59, featured PvP fairly heavily. Of course, games that have attempted to focus solely on vs. combat have not done terribly well in the states. Shadowbane and Fury are two of the more spectacular examples of why not to abandon the PvE playstyle. Dark Age of Camelot addressed the needs of this group by planning for PvP from the outset, and providing vs. players the proper context in which to battle. Modern games tend to view PvP as an e-sport, as in the case of Guild Wars and (of course) the World of Warcraft Arena/Battlegrounds. Future titles have taken the success of WoW's PvP as and invitation, with everything from The Agency to Warhammer Online heavily investing in a vs. mode from the get-go.

Guild Wars

12/03/08