I’m an oddball carebear who generally resists PvP and gravitates toward PvE. When I play RTSs or MOBAs, even if I did really well, won and had fun in the last round, it’s hard for me to build up the motivation to play another round. In EVE I kept winning my alliance’s PvP tournaments but I otherwise stayed in safe systems and fought NPCs, almost always resisting the risks and rewards of low or no security space.
So you’re like “Yeah? That’s a normal carebear, what makes you an oddball?”
Well, with no intention of bragging, it’s because I do pretty good. It’s not losing that drives me away from PvP in games.
So I’ve got the knack, why do I quit and go back to PvE or resist playing altogether? Why don’t I have that problem with GW2’s sPvP?
I think it’s the way goals are presented. For one, sPvP is quick. The only times the rounds get lengthy is when they are good rounds with a lot of back and forth. I don’t mind losing to a good fight. While a quick win isn’t always fun, GW2 rewards me with Arah tokens and such so I can just play it off as a quick farm.
There’s that PvE mindset kicking in. Risk vs Reward.
The second thing is the way the goals are obtained. Guild Wars 2 sPvP is about on-your-feet strategy. It’s positioning and movement, yet you don’t have to break the sound barrier to do well. However, the controls are loose enough to allow room for twitch/micro-management improvement for each player. The combat system in GW2 is fun. I like it a lot.
Thirdly, playstyles aren’t locked to your profession or even build. One ele might zip around a point knocking everybody away while another may hang around long enough to get that brutal burning condition up only to retreat and watch his enemies slowly but certainly reach downed state. One zerk ranger may repeatedly flatten the enemy zerg while another may rush the guild lord with the intent of distracting enemies where they can’t capture points.
Finally there’s the take it or leave it mentality. I started disliking sPvP before the daily AP was capped. I had to get in every day, compete with my own teammates for daily top player, point captures and kills and hopefully get them all within 3 rounds. It became an annoying part of my daily life. Now that I don’t HAVE to play it, I look forward to it every day. It’s fun, it makes for some good memories, and the occasional close match can really turn a day around. I’m there because I want to be there, not because I have to.
I’ve heard opposition to all of these points. I can understand that. They all, in a way, cater to the casual. However, I am having a great time. I have not been doing poorly, yet I still feel there is much room for me to grow.
I think it’s a great base system.
^ Uses Guild Wars 2 character screenshots for desktop wallpapers.
Thank you. I too love the combat system. Also the lack of need makes it fun for me as well.