Why Player vs Player in DDO could be a GOOD thing?

Dungeons and Dragons Online is an amazing MMORPG to start, I wouldn’t change much about the game; the content in the game alone is enough for someone to endlessly play due to the brilliant reincarnation system that has been put in place. With that being said, the game lacks any form of competitive option; and while most will argue that DDO isn’t the place for player vs player (PvP), I will make a case for the few that say it does have a place in the game.

Yes, at its core, DDO is based off of Dungeons and Dragons, an amazing tabletop game that has lasted decades without fail, entertaining millions of people globally; with that being said, seeing DDO is an MMORPG it needs to add more to compete with other MMORPG’s then staying true to its tabletop roots.

Player vs Player is a system you can find in nearly every other MMORPG in the market, and while DDO DOES ACTUALLY HAVE A PVP SYSTEM; it sadly is a failing one. There is hope however for a revamped system and the ability to drive players back/introduce new players to play competitively in DDO. In my free-time I have thought of multiple options for Dungeons and Dragons Online to really embrace a player vs player environment and allow people to partake in PvP if they’d like. Here are some of my thoughts in how it can be incorporated into the game:

Player vs Players Universal Enhancement Tree:
Similar to the Reaper enhancement tree system, this PvP tree would offer a unique set of enhancements balanced purely around player vs player; active ONLY in player vs player; just like Reaper. Whether its passives or active abilities that benefit your character in PvP, you can find it in that tree. To gain Player vs Player Action Points, you will need to partake in Player vs Player.

Adding a system into the game that allows a player to gain rewards for participating in PvP and empowering them to be even better in PvP combat; insights a competitive and fun environment for the game. Seeing Dungeons and Dragons Online allows players to utilize enhancement trees as a way to customize and empower their characters, a player vs player enhancement tree would fit in effortlessly and be an easy adaptation for players new and old to learn how to use.

An example of some passives/active abilities that could be listed in the Player vs Player enhancement tree could be:
-*Passive Ability* While participating in Player vs Player, you take 80-85% less damage.
-*Active Ability* Disarm: Enemy in melee range cannot utilize their weapon (cannot change weapon sets) for 4 seconds.
-*Active Ability* Silence: Enemy cannot cast spells for 4 seconds.

Examples:
While on paper, these seem incredibly strong, it works for DDO’s scaling system damage wise for all levels. If you have a level 4 Sorcerer, fighting a level 4 Barbarian for instance. Normally the sorcerer can have maximize and empower and do around 200-300 damage, with the passive ability the barbarian will only take 40 damage, in the same regard, normally a barbarian at level 4 can critically strike in combat with a two-handed weapon for 100 damage, now dealing only 20 damage. At level 4 the average barbarian will have around 90-160 health, while the average sorcerer will have around 70-110 health. So while 20 damage from a barbarian doesn’t seem like a lot, it is still around 20% of the sorcerers health in one hit, and while 40 damage from a sorcerer doesn’t seem like a lot, it is still around 20% of the barbarians health. This passive in itself will help balance out how casters feel in player vs player and how melees feel in player vs player.

You can take this same example and use 2 level 30 players on the extreme, if a Wizard at level 30 can hit for 20,000 damage critical, and a fighter can hit for 6000-12000 damage normally, in player vs player combat with the passive mentioned above. The fighter will only hit the wizard for 1200 damage (this doesn’t include PRR), and the wizard will only hit for 4,000 damage (this doesn’t include MRR). I believe this can be balanced however more testing is obviously needed before being put into the game on a percentage that will feel balanced across all levels.

Introduce a reward system for playing the Arena system:
You heard it here first! There is an arena system already in Dungeons and Dragons Online. It is sadly forgotten about by the masses but it still exists none-the-less. If a new currency was added into DDO that was rewarded from participating in PvP, and a vendor was put in place to utilize the currency, offering gear in many forms/maybe even tomes directly benefitting pvp? (i.e. passive damage reduction/healing amplification gain while in PvP combat?) there would be a reason for veteran players to partake in Player vs Player.

Introduce a Rating/Ranked system for competitive in PvP:
Dungeons and Dragons Online does lack a ranked system in which players can thrive, and show off their accomplishments. For example, if the developers implement a system in which you and “x” amount of allies can que into an arena or slaying ground of sort, versus a group of players around the same skill as yourself; and your team wins the match, you should be rewarded with a point/ranking system, along with the PvP currency mentioned above. An example of a solid ranking system is as follows:

You start at 0 rating, every win you gain 50 points until you reach a median ground (names subject to change obviously) i.e.:
Recruit: 0-500 rating
Combatant: 500-1000 rating
Elitist: 1000-1250 rating
Nemesis: 1250-1500 rating
Arch Nemesis: 1500+ rating

In this example the median ground is Elitist at 1000-1250 rating, meaning that wins around this rating will only end up rewarding you 10-20 points per win, instead of the consistent 50 a win. In doing so, making Nemesis and Arch Nemesis incredibly difficult to achieve, while still be possible.

Implementing a system of this sort will allow players to brag about their rank and increase the competitive drive for players to compete to better themselves/their ratings.

To Conclude:
While I agree, yes, Dungeons and Dragons Online is based off of the tabletop Dungeons & Dragons; it still is an MMORPG and still deserves to be as competitive as competing MMORPGs on the market. Player vs player is something nearly every MMORPG offers, including DDO, I believe the system DDO has in place is more of an after thought and deserves to be renovated to allow new/old players experiencing the game to take a break from the instanced dungeons and have some fun with their friends casually OR competitively. Implementing a system that works for DDO will take a very long time, and will have a lot of balancing revolving around it to make it feel fair for every class/multiclass combination. If anyone wants to pitch ideas, or ask questions – Feel free to do so in the comments of this blog post OR message me directly on Twitter (@BehemothTwitch)!!

I will be talking more about this in future blog posts as since I was a teen playing DDO, I’ve always imagined what the game could be if it had a competitive side. I was a very high rated player in World of Warcraft for a long period of time and love the competitive side of many games, I’m sure I’m not the only one out there believing in a system like this. I know Dungeons and Dragons Online can implement this, it will take time but I would gladly help in any way I can.

Dan, DDO Savant