4/20/14 Repost: PvP. dueling, and a little thing called emergent gameplay

kitchenguy65_ESO

So I posted this way back near launch and was surprised I only received two responses. Seeing as how this has been catching on lately I thought I'd repost just to hear what people think of it now.

It's a little long but TL;DR at end of post.


I hear lots of complaints about no dueling or arena system in ESO. Is anyone familiar with a term called emergent gameplay? Gameplay that isn't structured by the game code or even expected by the dev teams. Its something that is created by the players themselves. This game has so many opportunities for this to happen, which would add a lot of features people are complaining about ESO lacking.
If anyone has played GW2 they may remember that area on the way through the Jumping Puzzle in the EB map. On many servers it became a cross faction hangout where the only fights that occurred were 1 v 1s and 2v2s between different factions that was completely setup and controlled by players. Otherwise it was a place to hang out, talk crap, and show if you can back up your talk.
Why cant we do this in ESO? Cryodiil is so big there are plenty of places where something like this could be set up. Imagine, a section of cyrodiil that everyone knew was the area for dueling and arena fighting. ( location would probably have to change every so often due to trolls etc.) People could bet on their favorite fighter, or team of fighters.
I honestly think the devs left this kind of freedom wide open to see what us, the players, come up with. This is just one of many ideas that i think that would be a great alternative to complaining on the forums about there being a lack of said feature.
Emergent gameplay is what gives some games their longevity and with the amount of freedom in this game and the potential for RP, I really hope to see some great things with this game in terms of emergent gameplay. Ultimately its up to the players, so if anyone might be interested in trying to make this "unofficial" dueling, arena area please include ideas on where in Cyrodiil might make a great place for this.

TL:DR Lets make an "unofficial", player policed, dueling arena in Cyrodiil

TheSunAlsoRises

I like this idea. my 1v1 is lacking. doesn't help that I a healer.

ThatHappyCat

One of the problems with this is the size of ESO's map and the scarcity of fast travel. In Guild Wars 2 the map is small and it's relatively easy to teleport across the map. The Obsidian Sanctum in particular is generally readily and safely available to all factions.

In Cyrodiil however getting somewhere actually takes time and can be quite dangerous, and there's no equivalent to the Obsidian Sanctum: it's impossible to choose a location where all three factions have equal access to, and that's without taking into account changing geopolitical boundaries. Even if there is such a location it would, by necessity, take some time for people to get to, and there's no guarantee they would survive the journey.

Another more subtle snag is the fact that everyone in ESO can become and stay invisible, unlike in GW2 where you can generally see other players coming. Whereas in GW2 roaming players usually approach each other cautiously, allowing time to use emotes and gauge the other's reaction; non-zerg-vs-zerg contact in ESO almost entirely consist of ambushes from stealth. This breeds a strong "strike first, never ask questions" attitude that doesn't lend itself well to any kind of understanding with the enemy.

Having said that, I have had some fun moments; such as when I played the lute in Cheydinhal and a few of enemy players joined in. Although that ended rather quickly when they got jumped and slaughtered by other players from my alliance.

kitchenguy65_ESO

I agree it would be an undertaking to put something like this together and have it catch on enough for it to flourish. Especially considering the way travel works in cyrodiil. Each faction could keep a forward camp at the "arena" for easy travel, but there will always be trolls and such that would destroy them.
I guess my main point here was that with the freedom and size of ESO there are many opportunities for emergent gameplay to exist. It could even entice PvE RPrs into the PvP zone. Even if this doesn't happen on a larger scale it could still easily be possible for cross faction guilds to set up dueling and arena type events in cyrodill at specific times and places and advertise the fights for people to bet on.