One of the most anticipated features in 1.3.6 is the Against all Odds system. Basically, it scales rewards (Experience, Renown and Influence) based on how outnumbered you are in a RvR lake. This applies to player kills and taking objectives and keeps. What effect will this have on WAR's open RvR?
One of the major problems plaguing open/world RvR is population disparity. This could be an imbalance server wide or even just the time of day. Often times it seems there is just too many enemies to even bother fighting against, so many players do not. They would rather take it to a scenario where they have a better chance of accomplishing something.
This is where Against all Odds can help. If you are outnumbered 4 to 1 in the RvR lake you will get a 400% (max) bonus. If it is 2:1 you would get a 200% bonus and so on. That kind of renown/experience/influence makes fighting it out in the lake much more appealing. You may still lose, but at least you are being properly rewarded for the risk.
Mythic is turning one of their weaknesses into a strength by making zerg fighting the best renown in the game. The improved rewards should draw more players into the lake leading to more fighting. Eventually the bonus would be less significant or even gone all together. At that point the sides are closer to even and a lot of fighting is taking place.
One of the common criticisms of AaO is that it is too hard to get kills in a lake if you are outnumbered and that the zerg will just roll you. I don't think this is true at all. First, an organized 6 player group can put up quite a fight even when attacking a zerg head-on. Sure they may lose, but they will still get kills and it hopefully would have been worth it.
If you run solo and unorganized into a RvR lake, you are taking your chances. There are still enemies outside of the zerg to be found though. Eventually the zerg will come down on you if you let it. It will be difficult, as it should be.
One of my favorite things to do is fight outside of our warcamp before Destruction locks the zone. Even without a group, I can earn some decent renown. With AaO it would be quite a bit more. I expect more people to flock to the zone, eventually pushing back into the lake. The end result should be more fighting, which is what we all want.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
I'll take those odds
