PVP Alert Idea - Clash Alert

dbrii

I think one thing that may help people get interested in PVP again is a PVP alert alongside the regular alerts called a Clash Alert.

The Clash Alert requires 5 players like most other alerts except one player is randomly selected to replace the villain for a 4v1 fight. There are no time limits or extra objectives, similar to Dockside Dustup, simply defeat all enemy players to win.

Balance?

The villain player will obviously need to be buffed to take on 4 other players, so I have a few ideas on how to balance that. These different buff types could all be potentially available in the Clash Alert cycle.

• Level Advantage - The lone villain will be at a much higher level than the other players. While the group of four are defaulted to level 30, the villain could be anywhere from level 35 to 40 (whichever works best during internal testing). This is the simplest solution, but it could result the villain player being too powerful and may be a lost cause for the hero team once any of them fall.
  
• Stacking Buff - The villain gains a buff that massively boosts their Super Stats, Offense, and Defense for each extra enemy player that is undefeated. That means the villain will have 3 stacks against 4 enemy heroes at the start, and none when there is only one hero remaining.
  
• Villain Life - The villain gets an extra 100k health pool called Villain Life, which is separate from the player's own health pool. Villain Life is only reduced after the villain's health pool is reduced to 0. Villain Life cannot be healed, so heals and abilities that alter the player's Maximum Health Pool (such as Conviction) only affect the player's own health pool. The villain is defeated when both their Villain Life and normal health pools are reduced to 0.
  

The villain player should also be backed up by a group of minions (based on their Nemesis) and new minions should periodically spawn to help them out. This is to primarily help out support and aura based heroes that get picked to be the villain.

DEVICES SHOULD BE DISABLED. Seriously, why are devices enabled in pvp in the first place? Devices wreck PVP and would wreck Clash Alert too.

Rewards?

I think everyone should get a reward on Clash Alerts even if they are on the losing team. Perhaps resources and XP for everyone, and Silver Champion Recognition or Acclaim for the winning player(s).

Maps?

Lets get some new map locations for these alerts. I'd personally love to see an alert in the Ruins of Andrith of Monster Island (complete with lava hazards), the paintball arena in Canada Wilderness, the Power House Theater, and Club Caprice.

dbrii

gradii said:

How about if the player gets to BECOME their nemesis for this alert, something akin to a Nemesis OV? that might be easier to balance than a buffed up FF build.

I considered this, but some of the Nemesis powersets are obviously better than others. It would result in everyone taking the gadgeteer or darkness Nemesis. Plus, I'd rather fight with my own hero's powers than with a boiled-down AT's.

pantagruel01

In the end, CO has always been a 'PvP optional' game, and in any such game you will have a lot of people who opt no. This particular scheme seems like it would result in people playing supertanks, which is one of the dullest possible forms of PvP.

In general, I would like PvP maps to have an auto-balancer similar to what King of the Hill does (bonus for the team that's behind; possibly also the team that's outnumbered), but the main thing that would help is increased visibility and interesting rewards.

dbrii

pantagruel01 said:

In the end, CO has always been a 'PvP optional' game, and in any such game you will have a lot of people who opt no. This particular scheme seems like it would result in people playing supertanks, which is one of the dullest possible forms of PvP.

In general, I would like PvP maps to have an auto-balancer similar to what King of the Hill does (bonus for the team that's behind; possibly also the team that's outnumbered), but the main thing that would help is increased visibility and interesting rewards.

Even as a super-tank, they ought to have some difficulty face tanking 4 different heroes at the same time.

Overall, I'd like the balance of the clash alerts to lean slightly towards the group of four heroes. Perhaps the villain should get extra rewards for winning because they were against the odds.

pantagruel01

dbrii said:

Even as a super-tank, they ought to have some difficulty face tanking 4 different heroes at the same time.

Not if the solo hero is given buffs to make up for the difference in numbers. Even without a relative numbers bonus it can take a while to dispose of supertank builds. Now, they're not going to kill anyone while doing that, but "30 minutes later, and no-one has dropped yet" isn't exactly the ideal outcome.

italkalot22

You're right, supertanks are what's gonna be come out of this. But not all make supertanks. Myself and a few others have made PVP Offensive centered builds that are to face these 'supertanks'. But if it's going to make people breed many supertanks instead of more unique builds, then I suggest they add specialization and talents for PVP only. I know it'll take time, but it's worth a shot.