Chronicles of Spellborn Arena and PvP Q&A

Well, I suppose we should probably start at the beginning. Will The Chronicles of Spellborn have PvP, and what kind of system do you plan on using (ie: arena only, open PvP, zone PvP, consentual, duels, etc.)

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Yes, The Chronicles of Spellborn will feature PvP for it plays an important role in the game. Although all the landmass is not “PvP-flagged” there are many “world-PvP” zones scattered around the Shards of the Enclave. These zones are the large and complex underground caves and mines network (known for being the places where ore and different ingredients needed for the players’ crafting needs can be gathered) as well as the outdoor Green District, like mentioned in the MMORPG.com video preview from GC.

In addition to these mines there are also numerous fighting pits in the open-air, for the claustrophobic readers. These PvP zones are accessible throughout the leveling of the characters without any restrictions. As far as the end-level PvP is concerned the main feature is the Arena, located in the Quarterstone Shard. Providing you leveled your way up to 40 and talk to Arena Master NPCs, you’ll be granted access to this end-game feature.

Correct me if I’m mistaking, but TCoS employs a kind of “twitch” combat system that’s more than just mashing skill and attack buttons. Can you give us a very brief explanation of your combat system?

To make it simple, I’m going to use the main and unique aspects of combat in TCoS.

The first one would be the Skill Deck system. Before battle, players need to configure their Skill Deck (action bar which is 6 tiered and 5 slotted) with Skills they learn during their leveling. Being 6 tiered, the Deck rotates to another tier each time one of the 5 skills on a tier is executed by the players.

The other unique feature of combat in Spellborn is the Targeting System. Since there is absolutely no auto lock on targets, players have to manually aim at the enemies with a reticule displayed when entering combat. This creates a very fast paced and very challenging combat system.

Does this mean that player skill as opposed to level will determine the outcome of a PvP combat?

Of course level matters, since a higher level player will have more hitpoints and higher damage, so it will be a very intense fight. Yet, a very important part of the combat lies in the fact that there are absolutely no dice rolls or random statistics where the enemy would dodge, resist, evade or crit. If you aim at the enemy and are in range, you hit, always; if you have good movement control over your toon, you can manually evade attacks from opponents. We designed the entire combat system with the following idea in mind: no “unfair” mechanics, no reduced hit chances or damage modifiers.

Players’ skills in aiming, movement control and Skill Deck setup prime and shine in TCoS combat system.

Will players be able to engage in group or guild PvP?

It will be possible for groups and guild-groups to engage in PvP fights, where said groups can win great rewards providing they enlisted in ranked tournaments. Groups’ size will be probably limited to one individual for release, but expanding it to 8 is one of the features that might be squeezed in before launch. Players will be able to compete on a ladder as well as seasonal (guild-) tournaments eventually.

The very cool thing about the Arena is its modularity.

There are two different types of arena games that can be played: Battles and Challenges. Players can participate to them on either ranked or unranked level. The difference is that Battles are matched randomly, while Challenges are specifically requested fights from players.

Before starting the fight, there are Battle types that can be chosen by the players for both Battles and Challenges and are as following: Deathmatch (reaching a specific amount of kills), Time Trial (reaching most kills within a specific time), and Last Man Standing (well, speaks for itself).

The interior of the Arena changes too. This means that a different Arena setup can be set (or not) following the battle type you chose. One setup for example features an elevator which can be used, if timed right, to have boost in jump height, and also features lots of ledges where casters and ranged skills attackers can nest. There are so many different strategies for one interior, so just imagine how many strategies you can come up with 5 setups (5 arenas interiors/setups in release, 3 battle types).

The Arena also has also a spectator mode, in which other players can watch and enjoy the current fight while being cozily seated in fine ornate rooms spread all around the Arena.

Should you want to read on more details about the Arena, I strongly recommend reading the Dev Journal dealing with Arena, available on MMORPG.com here .

Will there be any consequences for losing in PvP combat?

If you’re PvP’ing outside in the world (not in the Arena that is) and die, you simply lose your PeP level (Personal Experience Points; not to be confused with our Fame level, which is what determines the player level, like the normal XP). There’s no other penalty. Dying is already big enough of a frustration.

Loosing in a ranked Arena fight, though, is a different story. If you or your team loses, you’ll lose ranking. So pick up a fight, but do not come unprepared, you might regret it.

These rewards range from statues displayed in Quarterstone to unlockable rooms for the Guild Hall, like private guild fighting pit, guild safe… You are entitled to these rewards only if you decide to compete in Ranked tournaments and of course, if you are first on the ladder. It’s important to note that ladders are never finished, tournaments are.

Although we considered it at one point, we decided it was too “hardcore” to have featured in the game. Don’t get me wrong here, I’ve been playing Asheron’s Call on Darktide, and I’m full well aware of what open and unrestricted PvP is, and I do love this system myself. I do hear the wishes of the players on the MMORPG.com boards regarding the Open PvP, but for now, PvP will be limited to the zones I mentioned in the first answer. PK is indeed hardcore, but, don’t worry, we might come up with some concepts which could very well fulfill the wishes of the Open PvP aficionados post release. In general we expect players to be in our “open PvP” gathering zones at least as much as non PvP zones, even if they don’t come there to PvP.

Non PvP’ers will have to be in the PvP zones for other content as well (like gathering ingredients for crafting, and Green District), and said zones are not at some far away corner of each shard, where you wouldn’t meet anyone. The more, the merrier!

Definitely the best! Even my Firefox says so on the tab: “MMORPG.COM - Your Headquarters for Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games!”