Warhammer Info - Mailbag - Mailbag #4
INSTANCED PVP FTL! IT SUCKED IN WOW IT WILL SUCK IN WAR
Part of the reason I'm so interested in WAR is that no one is forced into one particular playstyle. Practically any playstyle you undertake will directly help your side gain Victory Points (VP) and capture zones.
- Fight in an instance
- Capture a battlefield
- Kill an enemy
- Complete a PvE quest
- Roll an alt and play it in the lower tiers
- Roll an alt and level it up
All of it helps your side win the war, so if you have a burning hatred for instances, you never need even set foot in one.
On top of that, WAR instances are shaping up to be quite different than WoW instances. One of the biggest complaints I always see about the WoW Battlegrounds is that there are only a small handful available. Instead of grinding on the same 3 or 4 instances as in Warcraft, WAR is planning for 40+ different instances at launch. Instances are exclusive to a particular zone, so as the war progresses from zone to zone, so do the instances that are available to fight in.
Another issue with Warcraft's instances is that they have no impact on the outside world. So you made the heroic last second save and then single handedly captured the enemy's flag for the win - big deal. Here's a few bonus reputation points, off you go. Not so in WAR with Victory Points. If you haven't already, go read up on RvR in WAR and watch the informational videos by Mythic. If anything, it is being debated that instances may have too much of an effect on the outside world.
A third issue that seems to be addressed regarding instances is that of the "freeloaders". Because there is no penalty for losing an instance in WoW, bots and/or lazy people join instances and then AFK for the free honor points at the end. Obviously this extremely hinders a side's chances of winning when they are forced to play with a man down. In WAR, the penalty for losing an instance is fairly obvious. The other team walks away with tons of VP while you get none. Also, while it is not confirmed, the personal PvP reward (RP) for WAR instances is expected to be given out directly proportional to your performance in the instance. If you got the power up and won the game, grats, you've got a bunch of bonus RP coming your way. If you sat in the corner AFK while watching Everybody Loves Raymond on TBS, you get zilch.
And of course, Warhammer Online has the NPC controlled Dogs of War to help balance sides and reduce queue wait times.
If you can get into the beta, I'd give WAR instances a try before writing them off. Mythic is hoping to change the MMO community's stance on PvP instances - you might be surprised how this turns out.