Letter from the Game Director: 14 January 2008

[cacat]

i realize what you guys are trying to do with the team pvp.

But a good team(with people who are good pvpers) in BS will rule it without any problem.

I made teams like that with some very good players,the result of that BS?

6 of us(engi(arato)/crat(cratpappy)/trader(laydne)/keeper(nemesis)/sol(Hakkys sol,can't remember the name)/advy) moved to A and held the portals for an entire BS round.

Its not that omnis didn't have good pvpers there,they just couldn't do anything against us,because we had:

-3 spec blockers
-Reflects
-310 aad+300 aao from the crat+Overrule(someone actually uses that o.0)
-151 umbral+QU
-Keeper auras
-Leader of the pack
-ASx3,SAx1,FAx1 with another possible AS,Dimach


That team setting made us invulnerable.
The keepers couldn't be perked,the advy couldn't be touched,the sol needed to AMS 3(THREE) times(and twice it was pointless because the people were dead before AMS was out) during that BS.
Although i did have to use bio rejuv 3 times.

2-3 more people came to the portals before the BS ended.
The end result?

500-9

It was over in less then 10 mins.

Omnis left after that.

Oh well,guess the odds of people making such a team will be rather small...

PS i perked fixers and advys with DoF up,3.5k AR is sweeeeeeeeeeet.

[lazarus]

i realize what you guys are trying to do with the team pvp.

But a good team(with people who are good pvpers) in BS will rule it without any problem.

I made teams like that with some very good players,the result of that BS?

6 of us(engi(arato)/crat(cratpappy)/trader(laydne)/keeper(nemesis)/sol(Hakkys sol,can't remember the name)/advy) moved to A and held the portals for an entire BS round.

Its not that omnis didn't have good pvpers there,they just couldn't do anything against us,because we had:

-3 spec blockers
-Reflects
-310 aad+300 aao from the crat+Overrule(someone actually uses that o.0)
-151 umbral+QU
-Keeper auras
-Leader of the pack
-ASx3,SAx1,FAx1 with another possible AS,Dimach


That team setting made us invulnerable.
The keepers couldn't be perked,the advy couldn't be touched,the sol needed to AMS 3(THREE) times(and twice it was pointless because the people were dead before AMS was out) during that BS.
Although i did have to use bio rejuv 3 times.

2-3 more people came to the portals before the BS ended.
The end result?

500-9

It was over in less then 10 mins.

Omnis left after that.

Oh well,guess the odds of people making such a team will be rather small...

PS i perked fixers and advys with DoF up,3.5k AR is sweeeeeeeeeeet.

gz for ownings gimps/clueless

[Ober]

Everyone in the team should get the credit for the kill, so its was referring to which team in cases where two (or more, or combination of team and solo player) teams contribute to the kill.

Finally some doc lub!

Great stuff

Don't like the solo titles tho, they would look silly on my doctor atleast.
I'm no ninja or whatever, even tho I ninja people buffs, I mostly heal stuff

Profession based titles ftw.
(A job for the prof. forums + profs? )

[Xaun]

gz for ownings gimps/clueless

huh? I am not really into the whole troll fest thing but I have to say.. you really do appear to be one.

[Regression]

how about the next question that pops up after /duel? is /wipebuffs? that way people who want a clean fight and those that need out side buffs can chose. but both have to click the same thing

Bump for this.

The solo title names are bad simply because they don't make any logical progression that somone would recognize unless they memorize the list.
Ex. Freshman is obviously lower than master etc..

[lazarus]

huh? I am not really into the whole troll fest thing but I have to say.. you really do appear to be one.

eh?... so the truth is not liked?

So explain to me why omni did get powned by only one team?

This just show that solo people fail vs a team.

and that clueless people try to solo em.

[Kestin_Doxa]

The solo title names are bad simply because they don't make any logical progression that somone would recognize unless they memorize the list.

Ex. Freshman is obviously lower than master etc..

For non-native English speakers, Freshman being lower than Master may not be an obvious logical progression.

Much the same way that the proposed solo ranks don't make sense to you. I agree it needs to be changed, but it's currently in the form of: Rank # - "Rank" (e.g. Nidan = Second Rank). It's Japanese, and if you know the #s 1-10 you'll know who ranks higher.

[BigT]

huh? I am not really into the whole troll fest thing but I have to say.. you really do appear to be one.

It wasn't really a troll, if the other side had coordinated as well as they had team-wise, they would have stood a chance against them. It would seem they didn't, so they ended up getting stomped. When teaming is looked at as novel and overpowering, it sorta tells you the common state of mind in regards to PvP doesn't it?

[cacat]

This just show that solo people fail vs a team.

and that clueless people try to solo em.

4-10 people a wave if not more is not really solo,maybe the fact they had no engi on their side had something to do with it.
Maybe the fact that the chars were played by good players,maybe because each prof used their whole toolset(ho ho,crats used AOE snares/roots!UNHEARD OF!)

In any case,they had okish and "good" pvpers that left the bs after their side got destroyed and i mean really destroyed.

I am 100% sure that no matter what the opposing side throws at that team(swap sol with doc and we it can trade some kill power for heals) they will live.

[cacat]

For non-native English speakers, Freshman being lower than Master may not be an obvious logical progression.

Much the same way that the proposed solo ranks don't make sense to you. I agree it needs to be changed, but it's currently in the form of: Rank # - "Rank" (e.g. Nidan = Second Rank). It's Japanese, and if you know the #s 1-10 you'll know who ranks higher.

K,so in order to know what solo title i am,i need to learn Japanese or just memorize the whole list? :>

That really helps as opposed to freshman/master analogy lol ^^

[Chrys]

I think the change to orbital strikes will make things better. But the converse also applies: Will setting up APT/AVBs be possible in grace? Because part of the whole problem with chain APT/AVB (which was only partially fixed by rezz) looks like it's going to be back (this is a problem for lowbie NW mainly, because of the numbers involved are so much lower).

[Balneator]

Always open to suggestions These were selected as they denote a personal achievement and we couldn't come up with anything 'cool and sci-fi'ish' that we felt was in keeping with a personal achievement. We also wanted to make the different title lists distinctive and clearly different.

Most definitely open to suggestions though as long as they meet those criteria.

Profession specific titles sound good, although they would require a lot of time with devs with a blank piece of paper and a long table maybe or put it to the communities through professionals to come up with a list of titles, then get a dev to order and select them

[Mekh]

Two questions:

1) Is it by any means possible to lose a title?

2) Does the players' difference in title levels affect the amount of points one gets or only the difference in normal levels?

1) No

2) Just the difference in normal levels

1) Wont that result in anybody becoming grand masters eventually... They just have to kill enough people and it does not matter that they may have died 10 times as often as they have killed?
I don't think that someone with a bad Death/kill ratio can be considered a Grand Master somehow...

What about titles declining over time... Might be worth considering also...

Else I really like what's being done... Looks like it going to help a lot of stuff...

[Kestin_Doxa]

K,so in order to know what solo title i am,i need to learn Japanese or just memorize the whole list? :>

That really helps as opposed to freshman/master analogy lol ^^

His example, not mine. And I didn't choose, nor do I agree with using, the proposed solo ranks posted. I was explaining that it was a logical system, as everyone knows that a 5th rank is higher than a 1st or 2nd rank. Or that by reaching the 10th rank, starting a 1st rank, you're at the pinnacle.

Before you came to AO and memorized the current list of PvP rankings, could you have explained to anyone that Neophyte was a higher rank than Novice, which is higher than Apprentice? I seriously doubt it.

[BigT]

put it to the communities through professionals to come up with a list of titles, then get a dev to order and select them

Would probably be the easiest course of action.

[Rewo]

1) Wont that result in anybody becoming grand masters eventually

...

What about titles declining over time...

Very nice idea actually. Titles could drop one rank every 30 days or something. That also encourages people to stay active in pvp.

[macattack]

As far as titles, I don't think it really matters. I won't change the way I play. I have no problems going in as fodder for peeps to focus on first (trader w/GTH and lasting doc) so that others may score the point and set up apt/avbs. Now if there were benefits that came with the title (ex, +1% XP boost for each lvl, something that won't overpower the PVP game play, or boosts that are only effecting during PvP) that would be a different matter. But as far as titles and death? to me, it makes no big difference if I last, or sacrifice myself so the team/side can accomplish a task (you know... working together) titles are a name with no significance.

I like the changes to NW and will be interesting how that pans out.

[charmant]

Changes seems good.

But the solo titles names...they are so insipid.

[Bluecheeze]

I like the new system...

Only I imagine that fixers will not participate in solo duels.

In that area... our profession is singled out it would seem as the fixer's role is to root and shoot in PvP... But it seems that no one who knows how to pvp is able to be rooted anymore.

[Balneator]

His example, not mine. And I didn't choose, nor do I agree with using, the proposed solo ranks posted. I was explaining that it was a logical system, as everyone knows that a 5th rank is higher than a 1st or 2nd rank. Or that by reaching the 10th rank, starting a 1st rank, you're at the pinnacle.

Before you came to AO and memorized the current list of PvP rankings, could you have explained to anyone that Neophyte was a higher rank than Novice, which is higher than Apprentice? I seriously doubt it.

the logical progression is quite obviously Novice ---> Apprentice ---> Neophyte, as Novice = Nubvice, Apprentice = Epeentice and Neophyte = No Fight (I'm title hugging)