Asuryan's Flames

Are you on a server where the opposing faction runs when there is a chance for a fight? Do you get stuck RVE'ing because people don't want to come out and show why they should control a zone... Well this happens on several server, and I have done posts in the past on this subject, but I am now taking a look at Praag and how it seems to play. Waralytics numbers are from December 2008, but they put the ratio of destruction to order at almost 50/50. I know these numbers might have skewed since then, but none the less they are what I have so they are what I will use.

What this means is that there is a fairly even fight not matter where you look. Yes there will be times when one group has more on than the other, but that is how life goes, none the less the heart of this is fighting. That is what War is about big fights, taking forts and killing kings. Now why do people seem to avoid the fighting in this game? The best thing I can describe a death in War to would be TF2. You die...pay a measly 20 silver to get your death penalty removed and run back in...Wash rinse repeat. Now with such a limited penalty people should be jumping into the fray, but they are not. It seems that the only time people get bold is when they have superior numbers and think that will get them the win, instead of just going into it head on.

I can not really go into the psychology of it, largely because I do not have the education for it, but I can go into what I see. For instance last night, I on my Knight, come across a marauder and a DOK out in Eataine running around. I start to chase them and even taunt, and try and knock them off their mounts, but they keep running because they are afraid of the fight. Even with having the 2:1 advantage.

How can this be fixed?
Put in huge death penalties. Not necessarily dropping all of your items and gold but maybe take something from other MMO's where you have to go get your corpse back, and you get the % of stats removed from all death penalties. Couple both of those with raising the cost of a "Heal" in proportion to level. A level 40 should be paying 5 gold to heal, and so on so that there is a real penalty to dying in War. Now that might not make them fight, but that might make them try a bit harder when you reach them.

Additionally, bring the fight to them. Instead of waiting for RVR to happen go out and make it happen. Start in the morning with constant premades in scenarios, then as primetime comes flip zones, and start making a push. Force the opposing faction to come out and defend, or risk having their city put under siege. Now there are certainly things that can be done, it is a matter of doing them. I remember when influence rewards where released and people hopped out and started to RVR a lot, but that has since diminished with a lot of people already having their influence rewards. Now we need something else to fill that void and force people out into ORVR.

Where does Mythic come in on this, possibly in my first recommendation, but they can certainly offer some other carrot out in RVR to drag people back into it. If not the game will for the most part keep being RVE.