Originally Posted by Zohath Originally Posted by

I agree. I recently sent feedback to mythic about it. Wall of text inc:



Hello Mythic,



I hear rumours that you will attempt to improve NF for small scale RvR (which has been my biggest dream for many many years) and I would like to offer some inspiration.



As a solo player I am free to go anywhere in the frontiers, but there are no obvious/interesting destinations. My enemy shares the same problem, which makes it impossible for me to predict where he is heading. However, what *is* easy to predict is where he begins his journey. The short run from a keep to a dock is something that most journeys have in common. This is what we know as bridge camping. I run to my own dock (often *hoping* that an enemy will attack me), take a boatride to my enemy's dock and wait for him to do the same. This behaviour has DOMINATED small scale RvR for years, and we desperately need something that can encourage a different and much better use of the frontiers.



Here is my suggestion: "Wood & Stone quest". The theme of the quest is to steal resources from enemy frontiers. This is a simple combination of two repeatable quests. You pick up 5 pieces of wood from one quest area, then proceed to pick up 5 pieces of stone from another quest area. A small reward is given instantly upon completion of each quest, but players must alternate between the two quests. Ok, let's look closer at the design of this quest and what kind of player behaviour it seeks to encourage:



Predictability: It is important to find the right balance of predictability. You want players to be able to find each other relatively quickly, but you also have to avoid obvious chokepoints. The quest areas with wood and stone will define where you want small scale RvR to take place, but the wood/stone will spawn at random locations to ensure that each run is slightly different from the next.



Movement: Movement is a crucial aspect of small scale RvR because you want to create small skirmishes all over the place, as opposed to building up a big battle. Movement also makes encounters with enemies feel much more natural. This is why this quest is based on continuos roaming (both in and between the two quest areas).



Spirit of the game: It is a common misconception that realm pride and RvR must involve massive numbers of players. Many, and I dare say *most* solo players, take great pride in their realm, they just don't have any way to exercise it. This quest creates a small illusion that the frontiers are worth invading/protecting even on the smallest scale.



Key feature of this quest: Wood and stone should *despawn* on a random timer, NOT on pickup. This will allow an unlimited number of realmmates to do this quest together (grouped or not), or simply to cross paths without annoying each other. There are so many examples of quests in DAoC where you are in direct competition with realmmates for quest items, which is such a shame. Players should of course have to pick up wood/stone from 5 different (unique) locations to complete a quest, but I'm sure this is possible to do coding-wise.



Intensity: As a soloer, what I truly miss in small scale RvR is the sense of conflict between realms. You might think that being from different realms is a conflict in itself, but this is NOT necessarily so. Duels are a good example of this. It's a fight, but it's not based on conflict. Small scale RvR (bridge camping) is not based on conflict either. Defenders are not actually protecting anything, and invaders are not intrusive. By giving players the objective to steal or protect resources you create a small conflict which increases the intensity and creates a war-like atmosphere. It also increases tolerance between realmmates.



Simplicity: This quest is meant to be an integral part of the frontiers, just like towers and keeps. You don't have to speak to an NPC to start/finish the quest, you can do the quest impulsively and at your convenience, or simply roam the quest areas without doing the quest.



Structures: The only good thing about bridge camping are the bridges. It's always fun to fight in or near structures that can be used tactically. There are a few interesting structures in NF, but they are generally populated with aggressive mobs/guards, which greatly limits their use. A quest similar to the one I have suggested is an opportunity to bring life to places/structures that have previously not been used, OR to bring *new* structures to the frontiers. An obvious example is the big ruins that surrounds a tower near the center keep in each realm. These ruins would be a hundred times more useful if they were a part of small scale RvR (separate tower from ruins).



Miscellaneous: I think it would be a really nice touch if you had to enter melee very briefly to pick up the quest resources (chopping wood, and mining stone). The quest rewards should not be too big (you want players to repeat this quest, so the reward should not be something that could inflate the economy).



Thank you for listening!