MMORPGdot: Dragon Empires Q&A
Concerning Combat and the World

Hyrrix, 2004-02-03

MMORPGdot is proud to present another Q&A with Peter Tyson, Community Liaison Manager for Dragon Empires. This time we take a closer look at Combat and the World of DE.

Combat & PvP

MMORPGdot - Will the combat work like we've seen in most mmorpg's so far: you just go into "combat mode" and use a few special abilities and/or spells at the right time?

Abilities and spells are an important part of combat but so is armor and energy. Armor set up changes the kinds of damage you get dealt and also what you may be weak to. In PvP knowing this will give the player an edge. It should also be noted that abilities aren't universal to a skill. Instead, different weapons give the player different abilities, thus switching weapons in a fight can often be advantageous.

However, the most important part of fighting effectively is the energy pool. It will move a lot in combat and not over-draining it is important. However, it's also important to damage the enemy! Thus, smart fighters will know what abilities to use when and how to manage their energy effectively to get an edge over their opponent.

MMORPGdot - Would it be correct to say that Dragon Empires is mainly a PvP-game? Which kind of PvP will be the most common: large-scale battles and sieges, or more individual PvP conflicts?

I would say we're a PvP game, but not ‘mainly' a PvP game. If you hate PvP there's still a lot to do in Dragon Empires. Dungeons, quests, monsters, crafting are all available. Anyway, there's more to PvP than simply being someone's pawn in a battle; there's also political and economic warfare and these are very much part of the PvP world of Dragon Empires.

The most common PvP battles will be encounters in the wilderness between players of opposing roles. Next would be the Blood Circus, our arena-based combat and then city battles would be last as while they are big important events there will only be a few fights each week.

 

MMORPGdot - Will it be possible for players, or even entire guilds, to take on an "evil" role in the game, or will that not be allowed at all because of the dragons? How and how badly will PvP killing be punished?

I think guilds can be evil, it will just be tricky! Guilds could aim to be an outlaw in every empire and then to just exploit their position by fighting any bounty hunter or trader who comes their way. I expect a few guilds on each server to try this and I honestly think it would be a quite a bit of fun!

Also we do not punish PvP killing because if you don't want to get into a PvP fight you simply stay as the default civilian role you start as. However, doing so loses you chances at advancing your rank, wealth and power as PvP gives advancement in all these area. But the system is flexible enough so you can just dip in to the role when you want and drop out of it when you are tired of fighting players.

 

MMORPGdot - How does the process of taking over a city (by a clan) work exactly?

First a clan needs to prove its worth through PvP activity. If you don't own a city you will need to be out there being a bounty hunter or outlaw, probably both in different empires! Once a clan has a good status they can start selecting cities to challenge for. Should those cities perform poorly that political cycle (a political cycle is about a week) then the clan who challenges for that city who has the highest rank is allowed to then challenge for ownership.

Once the challenge is set up a date and time for the battle is set. This is likely to be at the prime time for that server. The battle takes place at the city and is limited to around 20-30 participants per side. By limiting the participation we guarantee when you fight in a battle the server will stay up and you will have fun. Limiting participation also means we don't end up with zerg clans ruling the world.

Once the battle is underway the attacking clan needs to capture certain capture points around the city and the defending clan must prevent them from doing this. The battles will have a time limit and should be very intense and dramatic affairs.

 

MMORPGdot - Will anything be implemented in the game design to prevent camping? Will the spawn points be fixed or random?

A mix. To be honest we think that sometimes a nice predictable spawn is a relaxing way to spend an hour. Other times you want the thrill of the chase! A good variety and no mobs that the player is required to hunt will give monster bashing good variety.

MMORPGdot - What solutions do you have for what Thor Alexander once called: "having players 'treat monsters like piñatas and whack at them until they break open and drop their candy." What can you tell us about the AI of the mobs? Also will different combat techniques be required for different types of enemies?

We aim to have a variety of monster behaviors ranging from simple killer instinct in some mobs through to monsters that will try and avoid players and monsters that call friends in to attack while they back off and cast, for example. Monster intelligence also varies a lot as well. Some are smart enough to focus on the weakest character, others are distracted by new attacks and so will only attack the last player who hit them. Smarter monsters will also work out whether it's better to stay at range or if they would be able to kill the player quicker if they closed in to melee.

All monster behavior is very tweakable so we can bring in changes to behavior and the state of the world quite easily. This offers us some great opportunities for events and stories. In terms of combat techniques players will need to think about how smart the player is, how it is likely to behave and what kinds of weapons and armor they should equip to face the creature most effectively.

 

MMORPGdot - Will corpse looting be possible when you get killed? Are there going to be any (other) penalties upon death?

Death penalties depend on how you died. If you died in the Blood Circus or in a city battle there are no penalties. If you die to a monster you may need to return to your corpse. If you die as an outlaw or bounty hunter you may lose XP you gained while in that role or you may lose some gold or an item (if you can't afford your bounty in gold, for example). We will be heavily adjusting death penalties throughout beta to get the right balance of fun and consequence.

 

MMORPGdot - How important is it to go hunting or PvP-ing in a group? Will it be fully viable to play the game as a loner?

Entirely. The world is dense with vegetation and terrain and more than once in beta I've managed to lose pursuers while being chased. This also means PvPers who love hunting players can spend time stalking the enemy before engaging and the nature of the world almost makes it easier for solo players to hide and survive. That being said a strong group can be devastating against unwary or unprepared opponents!

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