Dueling Arena - More Customization Needed

[Boba]

First off, let me say that the dueling arenas should have been implemented day one and are 14 years long overdue, but definitely a welcome addition(better late than never).

However, the system is still lacking in options in which different types of duels can be set-up. The more options, the better as they help appeal to the hundreds of different preferences each duelist has in their version of a 'fair fight'. Some prefer to eliminate as much of the variance involved in a duel to narrow everything down to 100% innate skill/talent/ability. Others prefer all-out, chaotic duels where anything goes, and some will only do team battles.

Here is a small list of options off the top of my head that should have a yes/no toggle button(i'm sure much more can be added if anyone has suggestions):

1. Consumables - Potions, petals, apples, etc.
2. Field spells (poison, energy, wall of stone, etc.)
3. Special Moves
4. Invisibility/Hiding
5. Must display complete template and stats(items and gear as well)
6. Restrictions on certain skills(poisoning, inscription, etc.)
7. Casting before the start timer finishes counting down(a.k.a. pre-casting)
8. Polymorph spells (lich form, vamp form, ninjitsu forms, stone form, etc.)

These seem to be the main ones that are missing from the current menu on test center. The more you can customize a duel, the better! The best part is, if someone doesn't agree to your preferences, they simply don't accept!

Also, the rubberbanding when you run into another player needs to go. This is not how felluca is at all and makes fighting in the arena un-fun and laggy.

Another suggestion:

Currently on test, there are two different styles of dueling arenas. I'm not sure what the purpose of having two is, but they are roughly the same size. My suggestion would be to make one of the two about half the size and restrict it to 1 vs. 1 duels only. This makes things a little fairer and also allows spectators to see the entire dueling arena and not miss any of the action.

If the current incarnation of the dueling arena's goes live, I fear they will be abandoned by the player base without ever realizing its full potential(new magincia bazaar anyone?).

 

[Merion]

I just don't get this. Why do we need that?

Sorry to be so negativ this time, but what is this good for? It will only worsen the situation in felucca as some will stop fighting there. So it will be ever emptier.

Why would I choose to fight in such an arena anyway when the vast lands of Felucca are totally empty? I can have a duel there anytime without being interrupted.
And if I need a mechanic to impose rules because the duelists won't keep the rules by themselves, well, then I should probably not duel those people.

The only sense i see in this is the ranking, but how am I even supposed to find someone to fight after the first hype of this is over? There won't be standing 50 people around the arena just waiting for me to challenge the one who is one rank above me in the ranking. Of course, I can always kill the chars from my other account, thus cheating my way up the ranking. The more accounts you have, the better a duelist you are... sure!

I they want to see who's the best PvPer they just have to fix the faction point system and bring back the bounty system.

Sorry, but this is something that goes totally in the wrong direction and will be a dead system before long (anybody remember the public gardens in magincia?)

 

[Boba]

Sorry to be so negativ this time, but what is this good for? It will only worsen the situation in felucca as some will stop fighting there. So it will be ever emptier.

Could you elaborate? Why will it worsen the situation in felucca? Why will people stop fighting there and why will it be even emptier? Last I checked, people have been dueling since day one, and continue to do so today. How is having a facility to enhance the experience of dueling detrimental to felucca in anyway?

Have you even checked out and been to the test center dueling arena's? If not, you're simply just trolling my post and have no say in the matter.

Why would I choose to fight in such an arena anyway when the vast lands of Felucca are totally empty? I can have a duel there anytime without being interrupted.
And if I need a mechanic to impose rules because the duelists won't keep the rules by themselves, well, then I should probably not duel those people.

What's wrong with having options built into the system to ensure a fair duel? How will you know for sure the person you are dueling won't break the rules in fel? How can you be sure his friends won't jump in to gank you, or vice-versa? How about you? How can we know you're to be trusted at all?
With your attitude, why have a dueling arena at all?

There are already options to disallow pets, mounts, and ranged weapons. I am just asking for more options such as these to make it even better.

The only sense i see in this is the ranking, but how am I even supposed to find someone to fight after the first hype of this is over? There won't be standing 50 people around the arena just waiting for me to challenge the one who is one rank above me in the ranking. Of course, I can always kill the chars from my other account, thus cheating my way up the ranking. The more accounts you have, the better a duelist you are... sure!

I they want to see who's the best PvPer they just have to fix the faction point system and bring back the bounty system.

Sorry, but this is something that goes totally in the wrong direction and will be a dead system before long (anybody remember the public gardens in magincia?)

I honestly don't care for the ranking system, and has nothing to do with my original post.

Why do you believe this system goes in the wrong direction and will be dead before long? Dueling(specifically mage dueling) has been a popular part of the game since its inception. We duelers have no reason to not use this system so long as it's done correctly.

 

[5% Luck]

For me I honestly feel that having settable "rules" to duels is a bad idea. Now dont get me wrong here I like having the arena and all but as far as setting specific or very specific rules makes it so the host has an advantage, certain templates get, in some cases, half their template disallowed and lineates certain duel setups to a particular template.

Think of this, a player hosts a duel when a prospective challenger arrives the host has an idea of their template and sets the rules in their own favor!

I know I know if its anything goes the same thing right? -Pets- Yea I guess thats true too but, too many settings can have the same effect limiting the templates that "can" or "will" accept a duel setting and, pushing off all "other comers".

As far as ruining fel, I can only see this as the much needed stepping stone for a lot of players to get into fel. Look at it this way. I know a bunch of players who are constantly struggling with a want to PvP against facing only the very best pvpers in game. A trip to yew gate nets them no experience except where to best find the healer. And this might just be their ticket in!

 

[Alvinho]

add a wager option, i am consistently lets duel for 100m bla bla bla, puts the gold in a section and give the gold to the winner all through a drop down menu

 

[Winker]

add a wager option, i am consistently lets duel for 100m bla bla bla, puts the gold in a section and give the gold to the winner all through a drop down menu

I see you have tested it then...Not! You can set an entry fee for each player

 

[G.v.P]

I see you have tested it then...Not! You can set an entry fee for each player

50k though...sorta dumb

Be nice if you could have spectators bet, maybe the Arena "house" could take a cut. Be a...gold sink. lol... just be fun, at least.

 

[G.v.P]

Why would I choose to fight in such an arena anyway when the vast lands of Felucca are totally empty? I can have a duel there anytime without being interrupted.

Did you even like the arenas to begin with or are you just sort of trolling because you don't like arenas? Sort of a rhetorical question. This thread is about improving upon a feature that is going to be in this game, no matter what. For the people who want to participate in duels, tweaks def. have to be made. Fields, for example, is a huge one.

The more accounts you have, the better a duelist you are... sure!

I doubt anyone really cares about the rank system. People will just take pics and videos to record their fights and let the evidence and memories take hold. Besides, I hope people record fights, I'm sick of seeing third party emulated shards on YouTube instead of real UO vids.

I they want to see who's the best PvPer they just have to fix the faction point system and bring back the bounty system.

Let's face it, they're not going to fix factions anytime soon. And both systems can be influenced by having more accounts, so there's really no way to have an exact ranking from some automated system. It be nice, but the only way to give a rank to anything is to host a PvP tournament or something.

Sorry, but this is something that goes totally in the wrong direction and will be a dead system before long (anybody remember the public gardens in magincia?)

I really don't think the gardens were expected to be a lasting craze, per se, I mean...the only real reason to grow a plant there was to have the earliest date possible printed on a player named plant. The main difference here is players can't grow an arena in their house.

 

[Ned888]

As long as they are not mandatory, I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be the option of customizing the fights.

There should definitely be a mechanism so that both parties have to agree to the terms of the fight prior to starting, sort of like the trade window with check boxes to confirm that you agree to the 'terms and conditions' of the duel.

 

[Shiznit Bo'Bourbon]

I can't see the champ spawn PVP types embracing this system, and I can't see anyone else wanting to cough up $15 (or whatever) for it either.

 

[anna anomalous]

awesome ideas. i've used the arena system since it's gone in and i find it to be a great feature with a lot of potential. not only for PvP tourneys, but also shard-wide PvP tourneys would be very interesting.

any added customization would be great. that's what UO is about, customization! it's a great system to find a good fight. getting ganked and dismounted by stealthers get very old and almost never results in a 1v1.

it would be nice to get a 5x mage duel option. where the users can only use magery medi/focus eval resist inscribe.

on a side note; i hope they keep an inn very close to it in order to swap skills (like they have it on the arena shard now)

merion is just trolling. he had the same exact post somewhere else. copy-paste job.

 

[Picus at the office]

You can review the rules of the fight before you accept the duel which is where will see no ranged weapons, 5 pet slots and such.

As for the gardens the biggest issue with those is no one cares and there is no intrest. That whole expansion was 5 years to late and carries limited weight.

The dueling does hold the intrest of players whom have stuck with a gimpy system for years and will continue to do so. The only thing that I hope is after we get this on production shards the test area will stay up as the ability to fight other players from new shards with different tactics in a closed area is great. I'd like to see more options for rules but not many, fields would be amongst my current top while others would like to see reduced poison but I guess if it's on your temp... As it stands one can make a specific char for these pits with a heck of a bang and that sure does add something.

 

[Mirt]

I would happily cough up the money for it and I swore I wouldn't buy anymore expansions after the great chiv nerf. I would like arenas that are a bit smaller so that they can be watched. There used to be an event on Chesy that Demon Slayer sponsored that was dueling and I loved not only going but watching people duel.

 

[anna anomalous]

agreed. there should be a 1v1 arena set to half the size. the current arena is great for up to 4v4