PvP:
It seems to me that many times a game gets "balanced" (nerfed, etc.) because PvP players complain that X or Y or whatever isn't fair & then the game is beaten by the nerf bat to "balance" the powers/ATs/etc. for PvP play. Perhaps that is because they are the only ones who are vocal about something & so perhaps the devs could be led to believe that this is the opinion of the entire player base. I'm not dev-bashing here. To me, the PvP crowd seems to be vastly smaller while the PvE crowd seems to be an overwhelming majority. The PvE folks seem pretty much happy with the ATs & powers that they were originally given & aren't really complaining about them at all yet they later get pancake-slapped with "balances" for the sake of PvP.
Regarding the posts above about the lack of anyone in the PvP zones, that should have been a good clue that the player base of CoX did not find PvP to be something they were interested in.
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I am not advocating against PvP. I would prefer a game that uses one set of rules/algorithms/etc. for PvE & a different set for PvP. When you enter PvP, your "PvP build/etc." is loaded & when you enter PvE, the "PvE build/etc." is loaded. That way, the PvE folks are not contending with things meant to be "balanced" for PvP and vice versa. I realize that is like building 2 different games. Well, to me, they are separate. PvP really IS different than PvE. They have different goals & objectives.
You do realize that pvp did NOT affect pve in coH right? The "nerfs" to powers in CoH in pve context were for pve context. In pvp powers behaved differently than they did in pve (and received multiple nerfs themselves).
You could also have multiple builds in CoH. So you could have a pve and a pvp build. CoH already has what you asked for... different rules in pve than pvp. That 30 second hold you have in pve...works for 2 seconds in pve etc etc....
Yeah, PvP and PvE were already separate in CoH. Which is a good thing. HOWEVER, the changes that were made to PvP killed the community. I had a BLAST in PvP, and LOVED it. I went away from the game for a while, some changes were made to PvP, and when I came back, PvP zones were ghost towns. It was VERY disappointing. So I think that what you (Neutrio) are saying about the lack of people in PvP zones indicating a lack of interest is false - it's not a lack of interest in PvP per se, it's a lack of interest in PvP AFTER changes were made to it. I do whole-heartedly agree that PvP and PvE need separate powers:
As far as PvP vs. PvE, it's my opinion that an MMO absolutely NEEDS to have the powers separate, as CoH did. This becomes especially important with cash shop games. I played STO for a bit, and there is a huge
artificially created divide between PvP and PvE players. Why? Because of the cash shop. Here's what happens: PvP is theoretically supposed to be skill based. You and other players go in to a match, having access to the same gear and skills, and whoever plays better wins. It's part of the basics of
any game, from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan to Call of Duty to physical sports. Everyone starts with the same basic stuff, and through skill and training becomes better at the game, and when facing off against opponents can bring their skill and training and work that they've put in to defeat their opponent. BUT, because some items in the cash shop effectively become "I win" buttons, they give certain people an unfair advantage in PvP. When a game is supposed to start with everyone on a level playing field, but some people are able to spend money to get something that guarantees them a win, you're darn right PvP players will call for a nerf.
And so in STO, you get people who are primarily PvE complaining when the item that they
paid money for gets nerfed - it feels like a bait and switch. And those complaints are completely justified - if an "I win" device sold on the store that can eliminate a whole map of NPCs suddenly becomes a generic AoE attack, that's upsetting. But the PvP complaints are
also justified, for the reasons above - "Pay to win" doesn't really matter against NPCs, since there's nothing to "win" other than perhaps a slightly faster leveling pace. But in PvP, where the game is supposed to be level for all players, it becomes a HUGE issue, as people with more money can buy wins for themselves. And that's not fair.
