magistrasa wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 3:58 pm
I think player mentality towards PvP needs to change, but not in the way people think. More than one person here has lamented the fact that they can't make "weak" builds due to the fact that power builders control the story and if you can't survive in PvP then your story can't survive either. This sounds a lot like the same "must win" mentality you're all admonishing - but since you can't reliably win in PvP, you delegitimize it and portray it as being unhealthy for the server. But more concerning than that is the fact that when PvP is divorced from roleplay and made so personal, other aspects of the game are made overly-personal not long after.
I'm about to ruin my reputation here. I'm awful at PvP. I certainly understand all the tactics, all the counters, all the tools at peoples' disposal, but I've only ever made, like, one character that was specifically intended to perform well in PvP, and I got bored with them after level 6. I have lost almost every fight I've been part of due to running gimmicky DC-based casters or DEX-based monk/rogues. The best advice I can give people who don't have the best builds or experience with PvP is to reflect that fact in the way you play your character. Own your shortcomings and maintain self-awareness of the fact that this isn't something you will do very well. Because a lot of the hurt feelings that emerge from PvP is born from the sense of failed expectations: You want to win really badly, but you lose instead, so you feel discouraged; You don't even want PvP to break out, but it does, so it's "ruined the RP moment" and you feel frustrated; Losing had tangible RP consequences, so you feel cheated... Delegitimizing or stigmatizing PvP as a narrative tool is born from a kneejerk reaction to defend someone's pride and perception of themselves, but it's a reaction that only goes to show that they are too attached to their character - because it's not defending "themself," but the character they play. The
character's pride, and the perception the player has of the
character, which they have attached to their own identity. It's a habit that has damaging consequences in any conflict that will arise surrounding that character they play, commonly leading to empathetic distress and anger alongside the character's experiences, excessive stress in moments of tension in the character's narrative, and I genuinely worry that the way we treat PvP on an OOC level serves only to encourage that habit. Treating a character's successes or failures in PvP as your own is the gateway drug to over-identifying with roleplay.
Maybe that's a dire assessment, so take all this with a grain of salt! I'm not a trained psychologist, obviously. All of this comes from personal experience and observation.
I'm a pretty self-aware person, but even I catch myself falling prey to the overly-empathetic mindset. With everything that's been going on in Andunor lately, things got really tense, and I realized I wasn't separating myself from my character very well and it was leading me towards some mild depression I was experiencing at the time, and for a (thankfully brief) time, even unwarranted anger towards the OOC personalities behind the characters. Typically this is where I'd roll the character - when you realize you're getting too attached, too empathetic, I personally encourage anyone to consider finding a point to roll the character they're identifying too strongly with - but I knew it'd be real inconvenient to all the people I was mid-plot with, and I was confident I caught it early and just needed some time on an alt to detach myself again. Ultimately, I believe the best thing someone can do to improve the community, is to take some time to reflect on their own unhealthy attitudes - not necessarily what may be unhealthy for the server, but unhealthy for themselves - and work towards some effective coping mechanisms to help detach them from the personas they play. Sometimes that means deleting a character, sometimes it means leaving some discord groups, sometimes it means going on hiatus... But in all cases, it requires maturity and self-awareness to be able to identify the best course of action.
Oh boy. My favorite topic. The old "RP VS PVP" false dichotomy.
Okay so. I have on many occations heard players become upset and say that players who make 'RP builds' and who aren't mechanically good, are immediately better at roleplay.
Let me make it clear. Anyone who is bashing from the other side of "Your build is shit and so are you" fall into the same camp as what I am about to get into.
MECHANICS BACK UP ROLE PLAY
If you decide "I will make the best necromancer of all time, they will be unmatched in their knowledge and understanding of necromancy!" And build a 10 wizard 20 palemaster, with epic skill focus lore and the like. Awesome.
You have built a character with the intention of backing up your claim of being an 'ultimate necromancer'. Mechanically and IC hopefully too your character knows an immense deal about necromancy and its intricacies and you are otherwise well respected in your field.
But. I will then hear that same person claim that losing in PvP invalidates that.
How? You didnt make a battle mage. A person who made a character pvp viable is mechanically and RPly stating they are good in combat so to speak. Their ability to kill you does -not- invalidate your roleplay as one of the most knowledgeable capable necromancers of our time. Because nowhere did that include "I must be able to win a fight".
Yes. It means your character isnt powerful in a battle. But how you build and your intender storyline with them wasn't the ultimate battle mage. Which also means your character will likely need to get friends who are strong in battle if you have yourself involved in conflict RP.
It would be like claiming you are one of the worlds best swordsmen and then building a character who when they get into any fight gets put on their Snuggybear instantly because you chose to not build mechanically sound in a concept that requires it.
Mechanics and by extension PvP exist to serve a story role. If you dont build for PvP thats totally fine! But then you should also act in a sensible way. Would a civilian without training walk up to an enemy soldier and tell them they are going to kill them be shocked if that soldier punched them in the face?
They shouldnt be. That person is trained for war and likely isnt going to take a threat sitting down. And if its that soldier antagonizing the weak, get strong friends. Hire body guards. Or report them if its just OOC greifing.
People measure too much on PvP. And if they lose it they feel its the end of their character. Or that all things come to an end. Sometimes it -will- be an end to a certain plot line or direction you wanted to take. But that is also perfectly valid. If two sides want different things and neither is willing to back down and it comes to violence to determine the outcome? Welcome to the human condition.
Sometimes might makes right. But that doesnt mean all is lost. Consider other directions to take. Back off and make allies and try to rise above. If you cant fight well try using soft power to combat hard power. Influence others to your point of view, find meaningful ways to overcome a failure or a loss and move on as a character and as a player.
