Player versus player
Encyclopedia
Player versus player, or PvP, is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between two or more live participants. This is in contrast to games where players compete against computer controlled opponents, which is correspondingly referred to as player versus environment
(PvE). The terms are most often used in games where both activities exist, particularly MMORPG
s, CORPGs, MUD
s and other role-playing video game
s.
PvP can be broadly used to describe any game, or aspect of a game, where players compete against each other. In computer role-playing games, PvP is sometimes called player killing or PKing.
s like Gemstone II
. However, while the ability to kill another player existed in many MUDs, it was usually frowned upon because of general strict adherences and heavy influences from role-playing game
s like Dungeons & Dragons
. The term PvP originated in text based MUDs played on bulletin board systems like MajorMUD and Usurper. These games had open worlds where any player could attack any other player as long as they were not at a safe spot in town like the Bank. Player versus player was coined sometime in the late 1980s to refer to the combat between players that resulted in the loser being penalized in some way.
The first graphical MMORPG was Neverwinter Nights
, which began development in 1989 and ran on AOL 1991-1997, and which included PvP. PvP was initially limited to magical attacks in the game. Later modifications expanded its use to limited areas so that players who wished to avoid it could do so. Much of the PvP activity was coordinated events by the game's guilds, which were the first such organized user groups in MMORPG's.
Genocide
, an LPMud
founded in 1992, was a pioneer in PvP conflict as the first "pure PK" MUD, removing all non-PvP gameplay and discarding the RPG-style character development normally found in MUDs in favor of placing characters on an even footing, with only player skill providing an advantage. Extremely popular, its ideas influenced the MUD world heavily.
Other early MMORPGs, including Meridian 59
(1996), Ultima Online
(1997), and Tibia
(1998) also had PvP combat as a feature. In Ultima Online, the goal was to allow players to police themselves in a "frontier justice
" way. This system was also implemented in Tibia, where death included significant penalty, and killing someone inflicted considerable harm to their character. In Meridian 59, the game tried to focus PvP by having different political factions for players to join. The later Eve Online
(2003) refined Ultima Onlines (original) approach of "PvP anywhere but in town" (where attacking another player is dangerous in and around towns due to interference from NPC "guards"). However, these games tended to be unfriendly to more casual players. With the popularity of EverQuest
in 1999, primarily consisting of PvE elements (with the exception of limited PvP on one specific server), PvP became a negative for some newer/casual MMORPG players and developers looking to draw a larger crowd. In 2000, in response to complaints about malicious player-killers, Ultima Online controversially added an extra copy of the game world to each server in which non-consensual PvP was disabled.
PvP has been included in other games such as Asheron's Call
in late 1999, Diablo II
in 2000, Dark Age of Camelot
and RuneScape
in 2001, Asheron's Call 2
in 2002 and Shadowbane
in 2003. While these games included PvP, they still contained large portions of prerequisite PvE, mostly to build characters.
PvP can also create additional facets in the community. In Ultima Online
and Asheron's Call
, a rift formed between those who enjoyed PKing, those who enjoyed hunting the PKs and those who simply did not want to fight at all. The Renaissance
expansion later added a Trammel facet where PvP was not allowed, giving some out to the UO crowd that did not wish to engage in PvP at all. Asheron's Call contained a server that was completely unrestricted in player interactions where massive "PK" and "Anti (PK)" dynasties formed.
Character death in an online game usually comes with a penalty (though some games remove it from PvP combat), so habitual PKers can find themselves ostracized by the local community. In some games a character will die many times and the player must often sacrifice some experience points (XP) or in-game currency to restore that character to life. Permanent death
(such that the player must create a new character) is relatively uncommon in online games, especially if PKing is permitted. An example of such a mode is Hardcore mode on the game Diablo II
.
A more rare form of player killing involves inciting a monster or monsters to attack another player. The reason this is rare is because the monster is more likely to attack the one who is trying to do the killing. Often a player will have to lure the monster towards the other player and run away, so that the monster (if it is aggressive) will look for a new target, which may be the other player.
In some MMORPGs PvP comes with extra penalties such as the player killer will not be able to form/join a group (party), receive help from other players and may have an increased loss of experience on death. Usually a player's name who has initiated a PvP recently will be in a bright color. Arguably the most severe penalty came on Asheron's Call where a killed player incurred a 5% loss in all stats and abilities per death, stacking up to 40%. This, combined with probably being naked from item loss, was very difficult to come back from.
Some MMORPGs set a certain level requirement to engage in PvP combat in order for new players
to enjoy, experience and explore the game before actually getting PK'ed by other players. Other MMORPGs, such as Anarchy Online
, only allow a player to PvP with another if they are within a certain level range of each other, to prevent "ganking" or "Player Killing (PK)" (see above).
Anti-PKs hunt Player Killers and Player Griefers with vengeance.
was the first graphical MMORPG to debut a formal dueling system ingame (Ballista); other MMORPGs such as City of Heroes
, Anarchy Online
, World of Warcraft
, Guild Wars
, Lineage 2 and RuneScape
feature PvP as competitive, consensual dueling in a group setting.
Sometimes the PvP flag gets automatically 'ON' on any player who initiates a PK. Other players who attacks a player who has the PvP flag on will NOT get their PvP flag 'ON'.
introduced a new team-based form of PvP combat with the release of Dark Age of Camelot
. In RvR, players of each realm team up to fight against players from the opposing realms in team-based combat. This can include normal skirmishes between rival groups that is common in other PvP systems, but also consists of objective-based battles such as taking and holding keeps or capturing enemy relics.
This was a new concept to graphical MMORPGs, but was first introduced in the game that preceded DAoC, Darkness Falls: The Crusade, which has since been shut down in favor of building on DAoC. Other MMORPG games now also feature this type of gameplay.
s easily.
This approach to PvP in tabletop games in not universal. For example, in the highly satirical Paranoia
, lethal PvP conflict is a core game element, considered normal and heavily encouraged by the rules and support materials.
See Runescape PKing (Player Killing)
Player versus environment
Player versus environment, or PvE , is a term used in online games, particularly MMORPGs, CORPGs, MUDs, and other online role-playing video games, to refer to fighting computer-controlled enemies—in contrast to PvP .Usually a PvE mode can be played either alone, with human...
(PvE). The terms are most often used in games where both activities exist, particularly MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s, CORPGs, MUD
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
s and other role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
s.
PvP can be broadly used to describe any game, or aspect of a game, where players compete against each other. In computer role-playing games, PvP is sometimes called player killing or PKing.
History
PvP combat in CRPGs has its roots in various MUDMUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
s like Gemstone II
GemStone IV
GemStone IV is a multiplayer text-based online role-playing game produced by Simutronics. Players control characters in a High Fantasy game world named "Elanthia". The first playable version of the game was known as GemStone ][ and was launched in April 1988 on GEnie...
. However, while the ability to kill another player existed in many MUDs, it was usually frowned upon because of general strict adherences and heavy influences from role-playing game
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
s like Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
. The term PvP originated in text based MUDs played on bulletin board systems like MajorMUD and Usurper. These games had open worlds where any player could attack any other player as long as they were not at a safe spot in town like the Bank. Player versus player was coined sometime in the late 1980s to refer to the combat between players that resulted in the loser being penalized in some way.
The first graphical MMORPG was Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights (AOL game)
Neverwinter Nights was the first multiplayer online role-playing game to display graphics, and ran from 1991 to 1997 on AOL.-Gameplay:Neverwinter Nights was developed to be played similarly to the Gold Box series of games...
, which began development in 1989 and ran on AOL 1991-1997, and which included PvP. PvP was initially limited to magical attacks in the game. Later modifications expanded its use to limited areas so that players who wished to avoid it could do so. Much of the PvP activity was coordinated events by the game's guilds, which were the first such organized user groups in MMORPG's.
Genocide
Genocide (online game)
Genocide is a MUD, a text-based online game, focused exclusively on player-killing. Founded in 1992, it was influential as the first such "pure PK" MUD, and has met with positive critical response.-Game characteristics:...
, an LPMud
LPMud
LPMud, abbreviated LP, is a family of MUD server software. Its first instance, the original LPMud game driver, was developed in 1989 by Lars Pensjö...
founded in 1992, was a pioneer in PvP conflict as the first "pure PK" MUD, removing all non-PvP gameplay and discarding the RPG-style character development normally found in MUDs in favor of placing characters on an even footing, with only player skill providing an advantage. Extremely popular, its ideas influenced the MUD world heavily.
Other early MMORPGs, including Meridian 59
Meridian 59
Meridian 59, abbreviated M59, is an online computer role-playing game first published by the now defunct 3DO Company. First launched online in an early form on December 15, 1995 and released commercially on September 27, 1996 with a flat-rate monthly subscription, Meridian 59 is often credited as...
(1996), Ultima Online
Ultima Online
Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
(1997), and Tibia
Tibia (computer game)
Tibia is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game created by CipSoft GmbH. It is one of the oldest MMORPGs and was considered most noteworthy in its early years; however, with the development of MMORPGs its popularity has grown much slower than other gaming communities...
(1998) also had PvP combat as a feature. In Ultima Online, the goal was to allow players to police themselves in a "frontier justice
Frontier Justice
Frontier justice is extrajudicial punishment that is motivated by the nonexistence of law and order or dissatisfaction with justice. The phrase can also be used to describe a prejudiced judge...
" way. This system was also implemented in Tibia, where death included significant penalty, and killing someone inflicted considerable harm to their character. In Meridian 59, the game tried to focus PvP by having different political factions for players to join. The later Eve Online
EVE Online
Eve Online is a video game by CCP Games. It is a player-driven, persistent-world MMORPG set in a science fiction space setting. Characters pilot customizable ships through a galaxy of over 7,500 star systems. Most star systems are connected to one or more other star systems by means of stargates...
(2003) refined Ultima Onlines (original) approach of "PvP anywhere but in town" (where attacking another player is dangerous in and around towns due to interference from NPC "guards"). However, these games tended to be unfriendly to more casual players. With the popularity of EverQuest
EverQuest
EverQuest, often shortened to EQ, is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game that was released on the 16th of March, 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost...
in 1999, primarily consisting of PvE elements (with the exception of limited PvP on one specific server), PvP became a negative for some newer/casual MMORPG players and developers looking to draw a larger crowd. In 2000, in response to complaints about malicious player-killers, Ultima Online controversially added an extra copy of the game world to each server in which non-consensual PvP was disabled.
PvP has been included in other games such as Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call is a fantasy MMORPG for Microsoft Windows-based PCs developed and published by Turbine Entertainment. It was published by Microsoft until 2004. Asheron's Call is set on the continent of Dereth and its surrounding islands on the fictional planet of Auberean...
in late 1999, Diablo II
Diablo II
Diablo II is a dark fantasy/horror-themed hack and slash, with elements of the role playing game and dungeon crawl genres. It was released for Windows and Mac OS in 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment, and was developed by Blizzard North. It is a direct sequel to the 1996 hit PC game, Diablo.Diablo II...
in 2000, Dark Age of Camelot
Dark Age of Camelot
Dark Age of Camelot is a 3D medieval fantasy MMORPG, released on October 10 2001 in North America and in Europe shortly after through it's partner GOA. It is still running today recently celebrating its 10th anniversary....
and RuneScape
RuneScape
RuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in January 2001 by Andrew and Paul Gower, and developed and published by Jagex Games Studio. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java, and incorporates 3D rendering...
in 2001, Asheron's Call 2
Asheron's Call 2
Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings was a fantasy MMORPG for Microsoft Windows-based PCs that was released on November 22, 2002 and shut down on December 30, 2005...
in 2002 and Shadowbane
Shadowbane
Shadowbane was a free fantasy computer role-playing game created by Wolfpack Studios and published on March 25, 2003 by Ubisoft for Windows and Mac platforms. Originally commercial and subscription-driven, Shadowbane was launched in March 2003, and was the creation of text-MUD veterans J...
in 2003. While these games included PvP, they still contained large portions of prerequisite PvE, mostly to build characters.
Player killing
Player killing, ganking or PKing, is non-consensual PvP resulting in a character's death. Some games offer open PvP (also sometimes called world PvP), where one player can attack another without warning anywhere in the game world. A pure PK game is one where PvP conflict is the only gameplay offered.PvP can also create additional facets in the community. In Ultima Online
Ultima Online
Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
and Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call
Asheron's Call is a fantasy MMORPG for Microsoft Windows-based PCs developed and published by Turbine Entertainment. It was published by Microsoft until 2004. Asheron's Call is set on the continent of Dereth and its surrounding islands on the fictional planet of Auberean...
, a rift formed between those who enjoyed PKing, those who enjoyed hunting the PKs and those who simply did not want to fight at all. The Renaissance
Ultima Online: Renaissance
Ultima Online: Renaissance is the second expansion to the popular Ultima Online MMORPG. Released on May 4, 2000, it added content, fixed bugs, and made gameplay changes in response to common player complaints....
expansion later added a Trammel facet where PvP was not allowed, giving some out to the UO crowd that did not wish to engage in PvP at all. Asheron's Call contained a server that was completely unrestricted in player interactions where massive "PK" and "Anti (PK)" dynasties formed.
Character death in an online game usually comes with a penalty (though some games remove it from PvP combat), so habitual PKers can find themselves ostracized by the local community. In some games a character will die many times and the player must often sacrifice some experience points (XP) or in-game currency to restore that character to life. Permanent death
Permanent death
In role-playing video games , permanent death is a situation in which player characters die permanently and are removed from the game...
(such that the player must create a new character) is relatively uncommon in online games, especially if PKing is permitted. An example of such a mode is Hardcore mode on the game Diablo II
Diablo II
Diablo II is a dark fantasy/horror-themed hack and slash, with elements of the role playing game and dungeon crawl genres. It was released for Windows and Mac OS in 2000 by Blizzard Entertainment, and was developed by Blizzard North. It is a direct sequel to the 1996 hit PC game, Diablo.Diablo II...
.
A more rare form of player killing involves inciting a monster or monsters to attack another player. The reason this is rare is because the monster is more likely to attack the one who is trying to do the killing. Often a player will have to lure the monster towards the other player and run away, so that the monster (if it is aggressive) will look for a new target, which may be the other player.
In some MMORPGs PvP comes with extra penalties such as the player killer will not be able to form/join a group (party), receive help from other players and may have an increased loss of experience on death. Usually a player's name who has initiated a PvP recently will be in a bright color. Arguably the most severe penalty came on Asheron's Call where a killed player incurred a 5% loss in all stats and abilities per death, stacking up to 40%. This, combined with probably being naked from item loss, was very difficult to come back from.
Some MMORPGs set a certain level requirement to engage in PvP combat in order for new players
Newbie
Newbie or noob is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in any profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning Internet activity, such as online gaming or Linux use...
to enjoy, experience and explore the game before actually getting PK'ed by other players. Other MMORPGs, such as Anarchy Online
Anarchy Online
Anarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game published and developed by Funcom. Released in the summer of 2001, the game was first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, free trials, and in-game advertising. The most ground breaking feature in...
, only allow a player to PvP with another if they are within a certain level range of each other, to prevent "ganking" or "Player Killing (PK)" (see above).
Anti Player Killing
Anti-PKing, also known as Player Killer Killing, PK Killing, or PKK, is a form of in-game player justice. Often motivated by an overpopulation of in-game player killers, vigilanteVigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
Anti-PKs hunt Player Killers and Player Griefers with vengeance.
Dueling
Dueling is both consensual and competitive. Dueling ladders and leagues setup by fans are common for most MMORPGs that have PvP. Dark Age of CamelotDark Age of Camelot
Dark Age of Camelot is a 3D medieval fantasy MMORPG, released on October 10 2001 in North America and in Europe shortly after through it's partner GOA. It is still running today recently celebrating its 10th anniversary....
was the first graphical MMORPG to debut a formal dueling system ingame (Ballista); other MMORPGs such as City of Heroes
City of Heroes
City of Heroes is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCsoft. The game was launched in North America on April 27, 2004 and in Europe on February 4, 2005 with English, German and French language...
, Anarchy Online
Anarchy Online
Anarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game published and developed by Funcom. Released in the summer of 2001, the game was first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, free trials, and in-game advertising. The most ground breaking feature in...
, World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, Guild Wars
Guild Wars
Guild Wars is an episodic series of online 3D fantasy role-playing games developed by ArenaNet and published by NCsoft. Although often defined as an MMORPG the developers define it as a CORPG due to significant differences from the MMORPG genre. It provides two main modes of gameplay—a cooperative...
, Lineage 2 and RuneScape
RuneScape
RuneScape is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game released in January 2001 by Andrew and Paul Gower, and developed and published by Jagex Games Studio. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java, and incorporates 3D rendering...
feature PvP as competitive, consensual dueling in a group setting.
Flagging
Through various means, "flags" can be turned on or off, allowing PvP combat with other people who have also turned on their flag. In Everquest, there is no way to turn the flag off once it has been turned on. In Star Wars Galaxies, the flag may be turned off by interacting with faction specific NPCs located throughout the game or by typing an ingame command (/pvp). In World of Warcraft, flagging is selectable or can be activated by attacking certain flagged players until a cool-off period ends, though this can be exploited by griefers via corpse camping. Some games have a bounty system where players that kill or heal other players open themselves up to being killed in return. This is sometimes called the "revenge flag". Use of this 'bounty' system is not standardized among MMORPGs, and there are debates raging about how to 'police' the system to avoid abuse.Sometimes the PvP flag gets automatically 'ON' on any player who initiates a PK. Other players who attacks a player who has the PvP flag on will NOT get their PvP flag 'ON'.
RvR (realm versus realm) combat
In 2001, Mythic EntertainmentMythic Entertainment
BioWare Mythic is a computer game developer in Fairfax, Virginia which is most widely recognized for developing the 2001 massively multiplayer online role-playing game Dark Age of Camelot...
introduced a new team-based form of PvP combat with the release of Dark Age of Camelot
Dark Age of Camelot
Dark Age of Camelot is a 3D medieval fantasy MMORPG, released on October 10 2001 in North America and in Europe shortly after through it's partner GOA. It is still running today recently celebrating its 10th anniversary....
. In RvR, players of each realm team up to fight against players from the opposing realms in team-based combat. This can include normal skirmishes between rival groups that is common in other PvP systems, but also consists of objective-based battles such as taking and holding keeps or capturing enemy relics.
This was a new concept to graphical MMORPGs, but was first introduced in the game that preceded DAoC, Darkness Falls: The Crusade, which has since been shut down in favor of building on DAoC. Other MMORPG games now also feature this type of gameplay.
PvP in tabletop roleplaying games
Tabletop roleplaying games have also often featured PvP action. These are usually considered a reasonable part of play so long as the fight is based on "in-character" reasons. Games are often written so player characters will not be unbalanced, ensuring that the players are genuinely scared of the other players, even when they would normally kill most non-player characterNon-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s easily.
This approach to PvP in tabletop games in not universal. For example, in the highly satirical Paranoia
Paranoia (role-playing game)
Paranoia is a dystopian science-fiction tabletop role-playing game originally designed and written by Greg Costikyan, Dan Gelber, and Eric Goldberg, and first published in 1984 by West End Games. Since 2004 the game has been published under licence by Mongoose Publishing...
, lethal PvP conflict is a core game element, considered normal and heavily encouraged by the rules and support materials.
See also
- Player versus All
See Runescape PKing (Player Killing)