Over the last 12 years of my life, I’ve had the pleasure of trying out many MMORPGs. I’ve played Everquest 1 (EQ1), Guild Wars (GW1), Guild Wars 2 (GW2), Rift, EVE Online, Forge, and World of Warcraft (WoW). In each game (excluding EQ1), I participated in the same activity; PvP. Of all the games I’ve played, I’ve enjoyed WoW’s Rated Battlegrounds the most. Unfortunately, I believe that aspects of PvP are broken in almost all major MMORPGs on the market. As I have the most experience PvP’ing in WoW, I will concentrate on that game the most in this article, but I will make reference to a few other games in the process.

I firmly believe that all PvP should be fair and balanced and solely based on a player’s skill. The only limiting and uncontrollable factor in a PvP match should be the latency. That aspect is, for the most part, out of the control of the game developer and player.

Some of the ideas mentioned below exist in other game genres, such as MOBAs and ARPGs. It is my goal to try to merge the best of all these game genres into one cohesive, 3D MMORPG PvP game that I, and those I participate in co-op games, would like to play.

• A ladder ranking system should be implemented that utilizes some form of a matchmaking system.
• No level requirement to participate in a rated match.
• No gear requirement to participate in a rated match.
• No gear dependence at all.
• Multiple PvP instanced game-types (CTF, Domination, etc.)
• All archetypes start off with the same basic stats, and are given an equal amount of points to distribute across their core stats as they see fit
• Make the stats have relational counterparts; increasing one stat, would decrease another stat. For example, someone who wants to be a tank will have higher defenses at the expense of movement speed. The goal in this example for each player would be to find the right balance of shielding/speed to compliment each archetype and each player’s play-style.
• A passive skill-tree should exist, allowing for variability in character customization (e.g., faster run speed, reduced stun duration, higher magic resistance, etc.)
• An active skill-tree should exist allowing for varying types of game play on the same archetype
• Tweaks/Nerfs to PvE skills should not affect PvP skills. There should be a different system in place for both game types. (GW1 executed this flawlessly, bringing great balance to the game).
• Players should be rewarded within in-game vanity items, achievements, and titles whilst progressing through the ladder.
• If more income is needed for the game-company, turn to micro-transactions for non game-changing additions, just don’t overdo it.
• Charge entrance fees to highly-competitive challenges (e.g., Arena Pass)

By taking away the gear and level requirement, the game becomes completely based on a player’s skill. As I play team-based PvP matches, this fact is accentuated as the game is not only based on one player’s skill, but on cooperative gameplay between skilled players.

Of all the games I’ve played, GW2 fulfills the majority of the points above. They have a level-less, gear-less PvP system, with custom passive-stat allocation. Players are rewarded with aesthetics for progressing up the PvP ladder. You can login from day one and create any character you want and PvP with them right away. Sadly, the game has only one instanced PvP mode, and their active skill-tree system is virtually non-existent, which leads to most players running the same exact build. They also have no dedicated healer or support classes, which, in my opinion, makes the game less of a team sport.

Another honorable mention goes to Rift, as its Warfronts are a direct clone of WoW’s Battlegrounds. Sadly, when the game went free-to-play, it went into micro-transaction hell. This past summer, which is when I last played Rift, I saw that I could purchase every piece of the penultimate high-end PvP gear for a total of ~$120. That’s the definition of pay-to-win. On top of that, they broke up their PvP-gearing system into three or four tiers, taking away all the enjoyment from a fair and balanced game. The game becomes an endless grind, much like the PvE aspect of the game, which brings no enjoyment to those of us who simply want to play co-op PvP in a fantasy setting.

As WoW is my PvP game of choice, I will now focus the remaining portion of this article on that game. Over the last month, I’ve had the chance oto tweet back-and-forth with Brian Holinka (@holinka), the PvP Designer on WoW. He’s done a phenomenal job since he’s started as PvP designer, as PvP, as a whole, has gotten better. He’s done a great job answering all of my questions regarding the state of PvP in the game, and I applaud him for the time and effort that he has given me. Sadly, we don’t see eye to eye in some places. The biggest concern I have is that he believes that PvP’ers should experience the same type of character progression in PvP as they do in PvE.

As a staunch PvP’er, the only progression I would like is in my ladder ranking. The only changes I want made to my character are titles, achievements, and vanity items like tabards, icons, etc. These items should have no baring/modifications to my character’s PvP ability. Most importantly, I don’t want to level as it’s inexorably mind-numbing. I don’t want to quest, as it’s highly-repetitive and boring. I don’t want to upgrade my gear every 6 months. I simply want to login, get a group together, and run battlegrounds to my heart’s content. The whole leveling process is one reason I haven’t really been able to enjoy end-game on more than one archetype. I receive zero-enjoyment leveling a character. I’ve tried doing it multiple times to no avail.

Thankfully, starting with WoW’s next expansion, some of these dreams may come true, as there is a new game mode that will allow for gear-independent PvP. In my opinion, this is a step in the right direction, as it removes the gear-requirement barrier-to-entry that has existed in the game for the last decade. Hopefully, it’s executed correctly, and many in the WoW PvP community will flock to it.

At this time, my only request would be for WoW to adopt a GW1/GW2-style of character creation and progression. Let me create a max-level, PvP-only character, so that I can avoid wasting my time leveling a chracter through content I don’t care about.