Break the Gank Box -- Evil Suggestions Needed

It's worse. I can't afford to get good at BDO because it would take longer for me to get good at that, than fighting games. Some of that is BDO's design as a generality, but a very large amount of it is small things that are unfamiliar, but innate to the design of combat games, that few people think about.

"How many frames of recovery are there when your opponent swings their weapon at you and misses?"

"How much lag do I think this specific opponent has?"

"If they resisted this debuff effect of my attack, which way should I change my combo?" (hit confirming).

My point is that in a fighting game, I don't have to be a specific level of competent unless I'm going to a tournament, where I'd be facing the top 100 in the world. In BDO, with my lower skill and dedicated time, I could 'randomly be attacked by the #5 player on the server' because they're practicing their assassination skills as I ride across a bridge (this sort of thing is semi common for me and possibly many others).

I just shrug it off as 'well I had no chance there, I died before I even saw them', or 'huh, so that's how that combo works' because I'm already dead.

The same thing can happen to a lower ranked player in most fighting games, but not if they're fighting people in standard matchmaking, mostly. If there's no way to 'ensure that the #800,000th ranked player doesn't get stomped on by the #800 rank player', what's the motivation for the first player to see any value in PvP?

I absolutely agree that there are people who will have that experience.

But when I log into ranked matches in Street Fighter, I'm choosing to fight other people. I want a chance to learn and that value is achieved through being paired against players of similar skill.

If a player never really wanted to PvP in BDO, and they get assassinated riding across a bridge while on their way to a boss that they want to participate in by someone that is so good that they never get to move... they never wanted to fight in the first place, and they stand remarkably little chance of learning anything. This is true even if the players are relatively equal in gear, and sometimes true even if they knew that the opponent was on the bridge or could be, and were prepared for combat.

I haven't played too many modern MMOs of the genre we're alluding to. I don't count Skyforge, FFXI is definitely not modern, and while what I'm saying is true in Elite Dangerous, it's easy to note that the skill cap for ED is insane. BDO is already discussed. The thing is that Apoc and their current design direction seems to be going in the direction of things like Paladins and Overwatch. Twitch reactions, precision, specific types of awareness, and 30-50 second 'TIme To Kill'.

I've had the misfortune of playing really strong players in Paladins during the 'ranking' phases of that game. It's the same thing. Practice at least 100 hours or get deleted.

But, again, at that point, I'm still choosing to play, I'll be back to my low ranked space in 10 games, and I logged in with no other objective than to 'see if I can last more than 10 seconds in a firefight'. I'm just saying that I don't see any way that the player who didn't intend to PvP and doesn't practice will see 'value' in PvP based on an open world PvP experience.

I hope that Arenas and other content like that helps, on that front.

Sure, 'no one is forcing you'. No one is forcing you to stay logged in to life either. Others have said the 'bar' analogy does not apply to a video game, but they also don't answer the question op actually poses. Do we want people who aren't interested in pvp to join the game. Are we satisfied with it being possible to harass crafters? The corruption system is designed to make the game more appealing and less frustrating to crafters and other less combat oriented people. Without them you'd have to significantly rethink the economy of Verra. Just as we'd have a problem irl if society didn't keep other people from harrassing others. It is consent because you as a ganker are breaking the rules of civility. Going 'I'm allowed to kill you because you are playing my game and we have no flags >;3 is a quick way to lose a lot of people's interest in you and your 'game'. This is why IS has had the sense to make it a risk.

On the other hand if you want that to not be /possible/ I'd have to ask you why you want to play ashes.? To op @SpiralMadheart , I'd have to ask you 'what risk is acceptable'? AoC does have various corruption systems. You are asking the reassurance from other people willing to gank you if they can 'break the system'. As you can see, they aren't able to answer you. So instead I ask you 'is what is currently there not enough assuming they can't 'cheat the system'?'