I have said this before in several different Stratics Forum posts:
PvP is very different from PvM!
Intuitively, we all know this, of course. But the differences that exist are critical, and should not be dismissed as so much "hot air."
Let me start by reiterating for what seems like the hundredth time:
I am a PvM-ONLY player. I recognize that there are serious issues for PvP players regarding the balance of the game, especially with respect to the effects granted by various skills, spells, potions, modifiers, and special moves. SO BY ALL MEANS: PVP players: continue to report the problems! Dev Team members: continue to address the problems! BUT PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW PVP "FIXES" TO AFFECT PVM PLAYERS! How to do this? Simply have whatever changes are made only take effect in Felucca. (Guild fighting and Faction fighting outside of Felucca would just have to use the PvM ruleset).
Why am I against changes that "nerf" skills and special moves with respect to PvM? There is a very simple answer, and it is tied to the most significant difference between PvM combat and PvP combat: The differences between a PvP opponent and a PvM opponent!
1.) The hit points of monsters versus the hit points of players. No player in the game can have more than, say, 150-200 hit points (and that is with all kinds of modifications and bonuses from once source or another.) Monsters—especially high-end monsters—can have THOUSANDS... or even TENS-OF-THOUSANDS of hit points. What this means is that a PvP player can quickly be defeated by his or her opponent with a few well-placed strikes. A Monster, on the other hand, must be slowly worn down over time, making the PvM combat encounter a marathon, compared to the PvP sprint;
2.) The mana pool granted to monsters versus players. High-end monsters can seemingly cast spells and use special moves in an unending succession, while players must painstakingly regenerate every precious mana point many times during a long PvM combat encounter;
3.) The special moves / special attacks granted to monsters versus those granted to players. On the one hand, you could say, "hey a fire daemon fires a 60-hit point Fireball—my mage can fire those off too!" But what makes it so different is that the MONSTER'S attack consumes such a high percentage of the player-target's hit points, while the player's attack barely consumes any of the monster’s hit points. This makes the player’s attacks far less powerful and dangerous than the monster’s attacks, relatively speaking. Between otherwise-balanced player templates in the PvP realm, you do not find this sort of disparity. For example, in PvP, two legendary mages with similar armor and modifications will each be able to damage the other in approximately similar proportions versus each other’s hit point totals.
Sure, some would argue that a PvP opponent introduces a HUMAN AI. A human AI far outstrips a computer AI, at least in the UO world. (Some of you are snickering at this, thinking of the less-able PvPers out there!) What this means is that a human being will always do his/her best to play his/her characters in the most effective and efficient manner. No monster in the game, for example, duplicates the motions of running away to heal, using potions to help heal or cure himself, cross-healing, stealthing, attacking from stealth, hiding or casting invisibility on himself to shake off an attacker, and then using a combination of special attacks to renew the fight—all in rapid succession. Sure—SOME monsters may use one or two "human-like" tactics (e.g., the trapdoor spider attacking from stealth)—but none use them all, and none use them with the speed and efficiency of a human player. But, the human AI is where the fun of PvP comes from—after all, you are testing your skills against those of another human being, and there are bragging rights to be had! With respect to the game mechanics, however, the human AI difference is irrelevant to this discussion, because all PvPers bring a human AI to the table—it’s as balanced (or unbalanced) as it’s ever going to get!
While there are other notable differences between PvP opponents and PvM opponents, the message is clear: While monsters have been slowly becoming more powerful over time, the players' abilities to keep up have been hampered. Many PvP players complained about the power of the Mysticism spells, especially Cleansing Winds and Spell Plague, when they were first introduced. The problem was NOT that the Mysticism spells were too powerful versus all of the new monsters of Ter Mur and the Abyss. It was that the Mysticism spells were too powerful when applied to the PvP arena. If you look at the main combat spell systems that have been introduced into the game AFTER magery, (in order, Necromancy, Spellweaving, and Mysticism), you will see that each of the new systems introduced spells that were arguably more powerful than what magery had to offer. Again, this represented a big problem in the PvP world, while in the PvM world, the new power was a much-needed tonic against all of the new monsters that were coming out. In the PvP world, players screamed “Foul!” at the effect of the new spells. In the PvM world, players recognized that Mysticism spells were not too powerful—they were right where they needed to be to allow characters to survive in the Abyss (or at least to ensure that one did not die too many times). While folks in the PvP realm complained that Mysticism was too powerful for the game, folks in the PvM realm contended that Mysticism was fine—and that Magery, Necromancy, and Spellweaving needed to be beefed-up, just to keep them as relevant fighting tools next to the new Mysticism spells.
There is one other small point to make here, and that is about the potential death rate of characters. All characters die in the game—this is a normal and expected part of UO. An experienced veteran PvP player who sets off in search of a good fight knows that his opponents may get the better of him. While there is a lot of bravado and in-game-chat taunting that goes along with PvP, the players who participate in PvP know that everyone will have strong skills, strong armor and weapons, and lots of tricks up their proverbial sleeves. What the PvP player is looking for, then, is a balance between the skills and special attacks such that one or two particular templates do not become virtually unbeatable. While every PvP player is constantly on the lookout for even the slightest edge, he/she recognizes that PvP is, inherently, an even-chance proposition. An experienced, veteran PvM player, on the other hand, knows that, when fighting the toughest monsters, success will not be measured so much in the final outcome of victory over the monster, but in how many times his/her character must die to achieve that victory. Eventually, the monster will be defeated, but at what cost? Thus, for PvP and PvM players, “game balance” translates very differently. The death-rate of characters is but one measure of this balance.
So in conclusion, I will tell you that the nurfs proposed to Chivalry will be a real hardship for PvM players. The nurfs that the Cleansing Winds and Spell Plague Mysticism spells have already suffered have translated into a higher death rate for PvM players—even as the Abyss continues to become more and more populated with deadly monsters, and fewer and fewer places remain where a group of players can heal and regroup. Will players adjust to whatever changes ultimately get handed down, just as they always have? Sure they will—but let us remember that UO is a game that we pay to come and ENJOY. There is a difference between making things challenging and making things too tough to enjoy! UO should not be an exercise in constantly having to struggle—either with reworking templates, or simply having to endure less-and-less effective skills in an increasingly difficult combat setting. Thus I would ask, plead, and beg for these proposed changes NOT to apply to PvM settings. Let Divine Fury continue to fully refresh stamina. Let Remove Curse continue to fully remove all curses. Let Consecrate Weapon allow damage to be focused on the monster’s weakest resistance. PLEASE stop knocking down the power of our spells, skills, and special moves—our monster opponents are only getting stronger all the time! Or, have you not yet experienced a "Minion of Scelstus?!?"
PLEASE DO NOT APPLY PVP FIXES TO THE PVM SIDE OF THE GAME!
Lady Arafel Ilianna
Lake Superior