Hello devs and anyone else reading.
I lead a hardcore pvp guild in Aion for the better part of a decade, plan to do so again in Ashes, and focus on pvp in every game I play. Here's my thoughts on flagging;
There are often many reason to flag on a non-combatant player.
- they move into your farm spot
- they intentional train mobs onto your group
- they're a rival who you know wants to flag on you, so you do it first to get the jump
- maybe they've just got items you want
Despite the reason, flagging is a form of pvp and this is a pvp centric game. I believe any activity you're partaking in while playing should feel rewarding in some way or another.
If I flag on someone, lets say the group that trained mine, and I win, that should feel like a victory. My reward for being victorious is the glint/drops from the trainers, and the risk/reward factor is I need to survive a timer or more enemies coming to my now broadcasted position.
That's not the case though. There's no escaping, laying low, waiting out my timer. There's no fighting off seemingly wave after wave of players trying to kill me, with larger numbers every time. This is how Aion's version of corruption went when rifting to the enemy faction's zone. It was some of the most fun I've ever had in an MMO, regardless of what side I was on.
Instead, I'm met with nerfs to my character which debuff me so much that anyone can kill me, sure they get the kill but it's not engaging or fun for either party. Plus I lose my gear.
Now before anyone replies with
"bUt KiLLiNg wHiTe NaMeS iSn'T pVp". Yes It is. I'll use Aion as an example again because that's where I came from; often time's the spark that ignites huge pvp battles is when you kill enough farmers that their guild/friends come out to help them. And as I listed before, there are plenty of justifiable reasons to PK someone.
My solution: Give corruption a timer and severely reduce the nerfs you get for higher corruption levels. Maybe level 1 is a minute, level 2 is 3 minutes, level 3 is 5 or even 10 minutes. Allow us the earn our victory by surviving our corruption timer.
If you've ever played The Division, it's like going manhunt. Your position is broadcasted, you can loose your loot, but let the players take you down, because they grouped up or maybe they're just better than you. Not because the game nerfed you so much that anyone could do it.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
