I have wanted to check this game out and now that it is going B2P, I am thinking about it even more.  I am really only interested in PvP though (OW or instanced).

Is it worth it?  What is the PvP like currently?

How does the game handle PvP while you are leveling, is it only endgame?  How much time does it take to get to end game material?

I didnt want to create a new thread but wasnt able to find a current thread onthe topic.

Thx for the help/answers.

If your interest is ONLY pvp. Don't bother, it's pretty bad at the moment. The OW pvp is utterly broken at the moment and it's essentially end game content only. The arenas are fine and you can go in them at any level but I would debate they are heavily unbalanced.

I don't want to turn this into a GW2 vs TSW argument but for pvp in an mmo you should look at GW2. Now, if you are interested at all on story pve this game has VERY good stuff. As well as PS2, you should try it. It's F2P.

Do not buy the game for the PvP.

Time to level could be anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months, depending on how you play.

** edit **
What Kuppa said. GW2 did an excellent job on PvP. TSW, not so much.

Originally posted by Maephisto

I have wanted to check this game out and now that it is going B2P, I am thinking about it even more.  I am really only interested in PvP though (OW or instanced).

Is it worth it?  What is the PvP like currently?

How does the game handle PvP while you are leveling, is it only endgame?  How much time does it take to get to end game material?

I didnt want to create a new thread but wasnt able to find a current thread onthe topic.

Thx for the help/answers.

Balance fixes just went in today with patch 1.5,  Looking good so far:

http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=62879

Thanks fellas.

That sucks about TSW pvp.   WIll TSW going B2P bring any differences to the pvp situation (becasue of more players / fresh meat)?

All I play is GW2.  However, my guild is participating in WvW less these days (down to approx 4 nights a week versus every night).  I have my Ascended back piece on both my lvl 80's and im waiting for whatever update will allow me to get the ascended rings through WvW/PvP. 

With the holiday break coming up......I was looking for a new pvp experience.  Ohhh well.

PVP is not the focus of this game and it's pretty underwhelming even at the best of times - even when compared to other themeparks (for instance, GW2 also has themepark PVP but it's much better). Currently it's even a bit worse than usual, as they're trying to balance the largest warzone and the queue times are unbeliavable. 

I think TSW is a great game overall, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it if you're only interested in PVP. Personally I'm waiting for Unholy Wars, since - other than EVE - there aren't many MMOs with meaningful PVP out there at the moment that aren't total train wrecks. 

EDIT: WIll TSW going B2P bring any differences to the pvp situation (becasue of more players / fresh meat)?

Well, it will bring in more players - so more people to kill and hopefully shorter queue times (if most of the new people roll a Dragon :P). 

More reactions to today's update:

http://forums.thesecretworld.com/showthread.php?t=62816

Originally posted by Maephisto

Thanks fellas.

That sucks about TSW pvp.   WIll TSW going B2P bring any differences to the pvp situation (becasue of more players / fresh meat)?

All I play is GW2.  However, my guild is participating in WvW less these days (down to approx 4 nights a week versus every night).  I have my Ascended back piece on both my lvl 80's and im waiting for whatever update will allow me to get the ascended rings through WvW/PvP. 

With the holiday break coming up......I was looking for a new pvp experience.  Ohhh well.

 

Do you not do spvp?? You should try it with a group. It can be great. BTW forgot to mention PS2, that game is all pvp and AWESOME! otherwise I suggest mobas or SC2.

Originally posted by Maephisto

Thanks fellas.

That sucks about TSW pvp.   WIll TSW going B2P bring any differences to the pvp situation (becasue of more players / fresh meat)?

All I play is GW2.  However, my guild is participating in WvW less these days (down to approx 4 nights a week versus every night).  I have my Ascended back piece on both my lvl 80's and im waiting for whatever update will allow me to get the ascended rings through WvW/PvP. 

With the holiday break coming up......I was looking for a new pvp experience.  Ohhh well.

Here's the scoop.  While PvP isn't the main focus of TSW, there are 2 war zones -- Stonehenge and El Dorado that are similar to battlegrounds in other games.  There are 3 factions, and these two zones are basically capture the flag and king of the hill respectively.  El Dorado, which has been difficult to get into, but is now working well for the queues, is very popular.  To the extent that when the queus weren't working, people actually organized play schedules to get in and play.  Both warzones are fun and popular.

But more popular is the large open zone called Fusang.  Patch 1.4 introduced some changes to get larger groups into the zone and also some balance issues for the underdog.  Unfortunately, there were balance problems with player populations, and the Templar basically owned the zone, and collected rewards while the underdogs basically got zerged and hammered.  The new fix introduces queuing spo that one faction can't dominate the population, so you get much fairer fights.  If you get the right numbers you can have 70v70v70 Templar vs. Illuminati vs Dragon (Dragon has been underpopulated).  So far the changes look good, though there is a little consternation about wait times to get in.  Still, PvP is looking much improved with this latest update.

Thanks for the info.

Fusang is end game content?

The dragons are underpopulated....is this for any specific reason or is it just that they are not as populare as illuminati / Templars?  If it isnt a balance issue, then I will probably roll a dragon.

Originally posted by Maephisto

Thanks for the info.

Fusang is end game content?

The dragons are underpopulated....is this for any specific reason or is it just that they are not as populare as illuminati / Templars?  If it isnt a balance issue, then I will probably roll a dragon.

No, it's not a balance issue.  There's no mechanical difference between any of the factions.  They have different faction-quests and different pre-built skill decks you can work towards which only give you a title and costume when you have the whole thing.  Some of the costumes look cooler than others, but that's mostly it.

This newest update (1.5) added dynamic population caps for Fusang.  I believe it's set so that the player cap for each faction is at most ten higher than the population of the faction with the fewest players there.  So really you're best off choosing a dragon character as I'm pretty positive there's not a single server where they're the biggest faction.

Originally posted by mindw0rk
No balance (AR superior to everything), meaningless,  but fun in small dozes.

I haven't seen a lot of Assault Rifle folks in ages.  Mostly when I try to go to Fusang it's a lot of tanks.  Then again I mostly go and PvP in small doses.

Dragon is definitely the way to go if you want to get in quickly -- the trigger is set by the least populated faction.

Some people use PvP as endgame but lots just go in for the fun of it.  There are the gear grinders, but I do believe (not sure) that gear gets upleveled to  QL10 when you enter.  Builds are just as important so study and make sure you have a good PvP deck before you go in.  You'll need to get a bit of XP before you try, but lots of beginners forums to help newbies.

1. Battlegrounds are into brackets, but still it's premade vs randoms. The brackets are poorly thought out, meaning people will have tripple the stats in the worst case. (sucks)

2. Fusang is everyone in one big pool, means people with 6x your stats vs you. e.g. lvl10 vs max lvl epic. You will get one shot all the time.

3. Underlining issue for everything concerning PVP: Cookiecutter builds, everything outside those certain combinations is useless by a huge margin. 90% of the people are herp derp tank selfheal spammers. Assault rifle only works against new people to one shot crit them but is not viable vs the tanks build.

Buy and enjoy TSW for the story quests and world, ocassionally tagging pvp, but before QL10.x gear don't bother much with pvp. No open world pvp either. It's fusang area and BGs and 3x duel arenas only.

The PVP is TSW is pretty bad.

Buy the game for the story and immersion and well done PVE. It's worth the box price just for the story alone.

Everything else I consider a bonus.

thanks for all the info fellas.  Just bought the game for $20....the game sells itself at this price.  Rolling a dragon as soon as i can get game downloaded.

If you dont mind I have one more question,

Which server is best for pvp atm? most populated?

If your looking for great story PVE that you can actually be bothered to listen to or read then this is a great game.

I have played some of the pvp maps and had some fun, but PVE is more my thing.