Seeing as there are plans for many more lands to be added to the game, I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents about some lands to add.
Being a World of Warcraft player from launch, playing on several (15+), new servers, I can say the funnest experiences I had PvPing, in any game ever, was in WoW, just trying to quest and do my thing and some random guy who thinks he's all that tries to kill me. Sometimes the random guy succeeds, and I come back for revenge, other times he doesn't and I laugh in face.
Alot of what people loved about WoW and what I loved about WoW, was we got to create our own adventures. Many people who claim this or that ruined WoW, they are really saying Blizzard added X(dungeon finder) which took away from people doing Y(Running halfway across Kalimdor to hostile lands for a dungeon), effectively ruining the player's sense of adventure with the game, in other words, ruining the game for them.
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An MMO's purpose is to create an enviroment that facilitates adventure, not direct it.
To the point;
Here's a few ideas I had for facilitating player driven adventures.
Add 3 different veteran areas with 5 zones per area; 2 v1-v3, 2 v4-v6, 1 v7-v10 zones, that provide leveling from veteran 1-10.
Each alliance has access to 2 out of 3 of these areas.
- The lands of Hammerfall and Western Cyrodiil could would available to the Daggerfall Covenent and the Dominion.
- The Western Lands of Skyrim and lands east of Bangkorai, would be available to the Ebonheart Pack and the Daggerfall Covenent.
- And the areas of southwestern Blackmarsh, Southern Cyrodiil, and north eastern Elsweyr would be available to the Dominion and the Ebonheart Pack.
This would provide an alternative to players who are interested in staying to the lore and playing as a part of the other alliances. In other words, players wouldn't feel like they are being forced through other alliance's zones just to reach Vet 10 and Craglorn and have enough skill points for a full build and trading skills.
Keep in mind these zones are not for the light-hearted or the weak.
Most of the quests available to players will be alliance specific near the lower level areas. As the player gets further from their homeland and closer to the enemies homeland, monsters will get higher rank, more neutral quests will start becoming available, and interactions will potentially hostile players would become more common.
--GROUPING-- "Why can't we all just get along?"
Players of different alliances will be allowed to group with eachother in these areas to complete quests with eachother, resurrect (if grouped WHILE player was killed), and even trade. However, at anytime a player can leave the group and kill their former companion.
--BOUNTIES-- "This world ain't big enough for the two of us."
There could even be an option to attack and kill ungrouped members of your alliance. But this would put a huge bounty on the attacker's head with jailing consequesnces when caught. (2-20 hours of being unable to anything but lolly-gag in a cell on that character.)
In the highest level areas, also the most neutral area are often reffered to as "No-Man's Land," there wouldn't be any alliance specific towns, or guards, making it easier for such traitors to escape.
When a player has a bounty over their head, a wanted poster will display for friendly alliance members instead of an alliance marker. If the bounty was applied by the wanted player's alliance, killing that player initiates the jailtime, along with a reward of alliance points and gold equal to the bounty regardless of alliance. Opposing alliance members would be able to see the bounty poster if they are grouped with an opposing alliance member, allowing for bounty hunting parties.
However, players with bounties over their head won't be able to claim bounties for their alliance while wanted and neither will players of different alliances be able to claim that alliances bounties while grouped together.
The wanted player won't be able to return to their alliance's zones while wanted, but can use secret routes to enter Cyrodiil.
While in Cyrodiil, the wanted player would be attackable by all alliances, and can group with any wanted player, or same faction member.
Killing players of the same faction while wanted in Cyrodiil, or grouped with someone who is wanted, will increase the bounty as normal, thus increasing the punishment when caught.
Bounties do not fade away and are active till justice has been served.
You'll never know who will be friend or foe, in what they call; No Man's Zone.
--TRADING-- "Keep the change you filthy animal."
There could even be a function where if a trade was completed, both players have 5 minute window where if they kill the other player, they can take back their part of the offer from the recent trade. Allowing for high stakes trades. Such as Daedric Motifs. Basically Daedric Motifs are worth about 50,000 or so on the Covenent and about 70,000-100,000 on the Dominion. Due to Guild Store fees and Coin on Delivery fees, trade between alliances happens less often the higher the price is.
These cross-alliance zones would create an avenue for high priced trades to take place without a high cost fee across alliances, but with high risks.
Reclaiming a trade will put a bounty on the player's head of the victim's alliance.
Basically, if the player kills their own alliance member after a trade, you become wanted with your own alliance and face jailtime.
If you kill a member of a different alliance after a trade, the player becomes wanted with that alliance, and a bigger reward is given for killing the wanted player.
--TRIALS & DUNGEONS--
Have dungeons just like any other zone would have, and allow the cross alliance groups the ability to go to these specific dungeons.
And in each of the No-Man's Zones, V7-V10, have a 12 player Trial.
*Possible option* At any point during the dungeon or trial, any player can leave the group (or leader can kick) and attempt to kill and steal the most recent chest/boss loot from the player(s). Doing this will put a Bounty on your head of all alliances involved.
Well that about sums it up.
Please remember these zones are an alternative to leveling through the other alliance zones to get to veteran 10 and are not for the weak.
You will die and you will cry.
No player is required to go here, therefor, let there be blood.
On a side note if the areas I listed above were to be used as adventure zones, I would instead love to explore the lands of Atmora and the history of the Nedes, adventure to Akivir to defend the Tang Mo against the snow demons of Kamal, and even a Jules Verne themed Advenure Zone of uncovering the mysteries of the Redguard's legendary sunken homeland of Yokuda.
Edited by drowned.thought_ESO on 21 May 2014 22:54