Comments on: Rant: Guards!

By: Wolfshead

Wolfshead — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 01:32:57 +0000

Good article! I agree with Malcom in that it’s important to have areas that provide a sense of sanctuary for players. Guards also contribute to immersion — what city could exist without a police force or some kind of civil defense against their enemies? I think the importance of guards in recent MMOs has been disappointing to say the least. NPCs should be more then just computer controlled Pez dispensers who stand around doing nothing.

Guards should at the very least actually “guard”. Often in WoW guards do nothing and are eye candy. If you run intro trouble they just stand around and watch you die if you happen to run back to them with a monster in tow.

Some of the greatest moments for me in MMOs was back in EverQuest when I would be fighting in various areas and I had to run back to the guards for help. Back then, dying was not an option as you experienced a very extreme death penalty — the loss of hard won experience.

I’d like to see more guards in MMOs and tougher ones that actually protect quest hubs. I don’t know how many times I would get ganked at Nesingway’s Camp in Stranglethorn by the Horde while he and his associates stood by doing nothing to help me.

Guards are still a worthwhile part of any MMO. They just need to be implemented with consistency.

By: Qix

Qix — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:59:18 +0000

I agree you, should be able to retreat to safety somewhere. But getting one shotted by guards, is a little over the top as well.
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You could make the RvR villages near the RvR lakes similar in strength to the keeps in the RvR lake. But Make them respawn almost instantly. This way they could not be killed very fast to a large group of players, and even then, come back very fast. Getting one-shoted by the guards is pretty lame when the other team camps in their protective shroud.
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Though it is fun being a Sorcerer and laughing as my bolts dont aggro the guards as long as i stay a back. Even though the PC is getting hit right next to him…

By: Malcom

Malcom — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 20:53:36 +0000

At the same time, there has to be a sort of “sanctuary” where people can feel safe under protection of their respective armies. If the forces of Order or Destruction were able to just destroy you in the open RvR lake, and then follow you into the warcamp, kill all your NPCs and then keep killing you over and over, it would be very boring for the side getting destroyed. Not to mention you can’t call on the help of “stronger”(higher level) soldiers, since they’ll be turned into chickens.

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:58:30 +0000

The whole instant kill in War Online is ridiculous. When your chasing someone and their running to base, it kinda defeats the whole purpose of open RvR.

By: Qix

Qix — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:01:02 +0000

In early Ultima Online, we called the guards ‘Ultimate teleporting guards of doom”
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They made even less sense. If you did something bad, they magically appeared next to you and smashed your face in. This was in a game where you could pick-pocket other players, You could players them and take EVERY SINGLE ITEM they had on them. But get caught in town and you face got smashed.
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Accidently attacking an NPC was a big problem in some games. Fable II has a great feature of being able to turn on a safety switch.

By: Hudson

Hudson — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:31:14 +0000

vendor bank guards!

By: Snafzg

Snafzg — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 17:20:59 +0000

I know they use them in WAR to prevent camping. If you’re so lame that you want to box someone out of the RvR lakes with your zerg, I have no problems with you getting spanked by guards from time to time.

Yeah, “sieiging” is part of war (and WAR), but do it at the keeps and battlefield objectives, not the respawn points.