What's the appeal of PVP?

[rofltroll]

Partial rant I suppose, but also a question... What is so fun about PVP in WoW?

I've been a moderately hardcore raider since mid BC, I love investing tons of time, work, theory and effort into my toons. I take lots of pride in playing them at the best I can, in a PVE environment. Now lately I've been wanting to get into PVP, I've always read the topics on MMO and followed ArenaJunkies and such, cuz I've always thought it to be interesting. And doing some PVP with my GF (a hardcore PVP'er) sounded mad fun. So I chose to take my Warrior and Hunter, gear them up in BG's, study specs/situational talents/strats/strengths/weaknesses/etc. I've tried to have all my bases covered so I'm not to much of a burden.

Now, we've been doing alright, 50/50 W/L ratio in Arena and BG's, but I really don't understand how PVP is fun in WoW. The losing isn't bad, I've played and loved multiplayer in Gears of War, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six series, and I understand there is a learning curve. The learning curve for GoW was particularly hard, but it was ok because of the style of the game. But in WoW there are so effin many stuns and interrupts and roots and snares and fears and silences and CC and OMFG it's driving me nuts. So much time is spent just controlling the opponents, or being controlled. Now on paper this does seem like a fun and neat idea: "controlling your enemy in order to defeat them", but in reality it's not, for me anyway. Having to CC one target, and then disabling the other just to have chance at beating them isn't enjoyable. And fights, especially when healers or classes with decent healing capabilities, take so so so long. All the CC/stuns/interrupts are just compounded when a healer is involved.

Anyway, just my little rant about PVP in WoW. I don't know if it's always been like this, or if it's new. Do these things annoy other people? Or is it just me and I need to adapt if I'm going to enjoy it? Maybe the style in WoW just isn't my thing.

Thanks for your time all!

[fathertajj]

i am a raider who is getting kind of tired of the game. the farming for mats, dummy practice etc. so i started doing some arenas and rbgs this season. i dont take it too seriously so its a fun way to pass the time. pvp is NO fun if you suck at it.

[HoX]

i am a raider who is getting kind of tired of the game. the farming for mats, dummy practice etc. so i started doing some arenas and rbgs this season. i dont take it too seriously so its a fun way to pass the time. pvp is NO fun if you suck at it.

yea you have to practise to be good in pvp

[fathertajj]

yea you have to practise to be good in pvp

same for pve. but pve can still be fun for people who suck at it. 24 people can carry one shitty person.

[Pool of the Dead]

Partial rant I suppose, but also a question... What is so fun about PVP in WoW?

I've been a moderately hardcore raider since mid BC, I love investing tons of time, work, theory and effort into my toons. I take lots of pride in playing them at the best I can, in a PVE environment. Now lately I've been wanting to get into PVP, I've always read the topics on MMO and followed ArenaJunkies and such, cuz I've always thought it to be interesting. And doing some PVP with my GF (a hardcore PVP'er) sounded mad fun. So I chose to take my Warrior and Hunter, gear them up in BG's, study specs/situational talents/strats/strengths/weaknesses/etc. I've tried to have all my bases covered so I'm not to much of a burden.

Now, we've been doing alright, 50/50 W/L ratio in Arena and BG's, but I really don't understand how PVP is fun in WoW. The losing isn't bad, I've played and loved multiplayer in Gears of War, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six series, and I understand there is a learning curve. The learning curve for GoW was particularly hard, but it was ok because of the style of the game. But in WoW there are so effin many stuns and interrupts and roots and snares and fears and silences and CC and OMFG it's driving me nuts. So much time is spent just controlling the opponents, or being controlled. Now on paper this does seem like a fun and neat idea: "controlling your enemy in order to defeat them", but in reality it's not, for me anyway. Having to CC one target, and then disabling the other just to have chance at beating them isn't enjoyable. And fights, especially when healers or classes with decent healing capabilities, take so so so long. All the CC/stuns/interrupts are just compounded when a healer is involved.

Anyway, just my little rant about PVP in WoW. I don't know if it's always been like this, or if it's new. Do these things annoy other people? Or is it just me and I need to adapt if I'm going to enjoy it? Maybe the style in WoW just isn't my thing.

Thanks for your time all!

The Appeal of PvP used to be beating down on someone, and showing your dominance, though i do say "used to" these days its just a shitfest of combo teams and FotM's that just get 4000 resil and steamroll other teams until a new patch comes out and everything is shuffled again.

I really do miss the Days when the most you got out of full resilience gear was like 15% reduction.

Critting someone with a hard hitting ability for 40%-50% less than you usually can, just takes the fun out of beating down on people.

[HoX]

same for pve. but pve can still be fun for people who suck at it. 24 people can carry one shitty person.

go to ragnaros 25hc and we see u carry ppl lol

[Vereesa]

Well, some people prefer competing against other players, as opposed to doing scripted events in raid instances.

[HoX]

Well, some people prefer competing against other players, as opposed to doing scripted events in raid instances.

yea, like pvers and pvpers

[Evolixe]

Well, some people prefer competing against other players, as opposed to doing scripted events in raid instances.

Pretty much. Been a PvE player since 2007. But i recently left it to rest. I simply like playing against people rather than a "Boss".

The feeling of accomplishment when you succeed is different too, better imo.

[Alvito]

same for pve. but pve can still be fun for people who suck at it. 24 people can carry one shitty person.

The same is true for pvp. Sure it depends on how good the best ppl are and how bad the crappy player is but that is also true for pve. The big difference is Rag doesnt pick on the shitty player to kill your group.

[Tangster]

Well, some people prefer competing against other players, as opposed to doing scripted events in raid instances.

Its alot of this for me. Even though its the same maps, its rarely the same people or comps. I like going toe to toe with other people. Testing mah skillz to see who is better, rather then beating down a computer.

And it certainly is about controlling the enemy in arena/RBGs, its no fun getting controled, but a solid CC chain into a kill is one hellofa win . And as soon as you aquire some PvP "game sense" you'll be able to predict what your enemy is going to do before he does it, and counter his ass straight into the ground

[fathertajj]

go to ragnaros 25hc and we see u carry ppl lol

go to a 2800 ranked arena team and see the same. do you really think the op is talking about H rag or top level arena? stop trying to be so witty

[Deleted]

Gotta agree with OP. I really can't see the appeal of PvP in WoW. It's RNG as hell, efficient/popular tactics include running away from opponents while mounted, running around pillars until your head spins and casting/being in CC.

It's just... So lame. :-/

[Sesto]

go to ragnaros 25hc and we see u carry ppl lol

Don't need to go that far in PvE in order for it to be fun. To have fun at all in PvP you gotta be good.

[rofltroll]

Its alot of this for me. Even though its the same maps, its rarely the same people or comps. I like going toe to toe with other people. Testing mah skillz to see who is better, rather then beating down a computer.

And it certainly is about controlling the enemy in arena/RBGs, its no fun getting controled, but a solid CC chain into a kill is one hellofa win . And as soon as you aquire some PvP "game sense" you'll be able to predict what your enemy is going to do before he does it, and counter his ass straight into the ground

See, posts like this are what always made me follow it for so many years (without ever participating lol). You make it sound mad fun. Gah, I'm gonna have to learn to deal with the things I hate.

[Ashalah]

At least from the eyes of my rogue, WoW's PvP is pretty epic. I do not understand the appeal of Counter Strike-like games, but even there in my later years it got about anticipating the opposing team's actions and not just spraying bullets around. I remember headshotting people trough walls at the bridge in de_aztec map before I could even see them, because I learned how long it takes them to go from one point to another and just count the time in my head. (sadly some people could do this by cheating via opengl hacks)

It felt a lot more awesome when I killed that full hp warrior that was chasing me when I had like 20k left (the nerve of that guy!), and when I killed like 5 frost mages in a row 1v1 than when I killed Sinestra.

I guess, to answer your question, it's fun because it is good at reflecting actual skill and experience, and it feels good to improve/excel at something; you know, competing!

[kombucha]

For me, the appeal of PvP is a matter of comparison to PvE.

• Every time you engage a raid boss, he does the exact same things at the exact same times, which makes raiding more or less a dance lesson.
• You can down a boss every week for an entire patch and he has just as much likelihood of never dropping the item you want as he does dropping it on every defeat.
• Assuming your item does drop, you most times have to roll against others for ownership, which can often lead to drama.

In PvP, encounters are never exactly the same twice because you're facing people, not AI. There is no loot drama because rewards come in the form of points, and everyone gets rewarded for a victory.

On a similar note, I would argue that being decent at PvP makes your PvE encounters more pleasant in that it increases your situational awareness, reaction time, and if you're on a PvP server, it can make doing dailies a lot easier when you actually stand a chance against the dude trying to gank you.

But PvP, much like PvE, is all about who you play with. If you play with assholes who define "fun" on a win/lose basis, you wont enjoy yourself. If you're with people who take the defeats with the victories (and who don't rage in /bg) you'll have more fun.

[Rckhopr]

I've never really "gotten" WoW PvP either. I like PvP in a lot of other games, but WoW has just felt awkward and crummy. And the class balance situation that lends itself to a few very strong comps doesn't help much. I think there's too much rock/paper/scissors counter-class type mechanics going on. I've watched it evolve over the years and it's just kind of insane.

I've always kind of wished they'd implement a Guildwars style of PvP in WoW - You select a certain assortment of abilities prior to going into the arena and you're locked into them (at the exclusion of other abilities) for the duration of the match. It would make team comps far more interesting, and class abilities get a ton more flexibility (Frost Mages having 8000 ways to control or lock down everyone else isn't such a big deal if they have to pick just a few to bring, or sacrifice some of their output for survival, etc). It makes each class have a lot more depth, too. You might have to make decisions about whether you want to bring defensive CDs or offensive ones.

[Tangster]

See, posts like this are what always made me follow it for so many years (without ever participating lol). You make it sound mad fun.

It IS mad fun. Server xfer to Burning Legion Alliance and ill teech u to b leet!

Also kumbucha mentioned how in PvE you have to hope to god your loot drops. Where in PvP you can buy what you want as soon as you have points.
I'd like to add onto that, i like PvP because its a bit more of a solo experiance. Instead of relying on 9/24 other people to not f**k up, i just have to rely on myself, or 2 other people. I like that

[Nose Nuggets]

i find its more enjoyable and rewarding killing another thinking person behind the keyboard. not just correctly managing a set of scripted mechanics (boss). pvp is always different, always fluid. pve seems rigid with boss phases and specific instructions.