SinceMUD1back in 1978, PvP has been a part of multiplayer games. But it wasn’t until the late 90s, when consumer-grade internet connections became available, that true, publicly accessibleMMO gamesbegan to appear. Very few of these games have not included some form of PvP.
There have been a great many MMO games that hadexcellent PvP. Many of these date back to the early 2000s and are still online today. Some of these games keep the PvP small scale, often using special, instanced zones and limited teams. Others promote mass battles in an open world, in a huge free-for-all brawl.
7JumpGate
Real-Time 3D Space Combat, Trading and Exploration Over Dial-Up
Way back in 2001, a little-knownspace combat, exploration, and trading MMO was released. Consider for a moment, that this was still the days of dial-up internet. This game wasJumpGate. When modern titles such asELITE DangerousandStar Citizenhave struggled with real-time, multiplayer space combat using modern technology,JumpGatedid it over dial-up, and before Nvidia released the very first GeForce 2 GPU.
Based on the proprietary DANCER engine, the game hosted hundreds of players in a single galaxy. PvP took the form of faction-aligned combat, and there was a healthy dose of player pirates inhabiting unregulated areas of space. To this day, no game has managed to duplicate what JumpGate did with so few resources. It was ahead of its time. Gamers who would like to tryJumpGatecan play using the server emulator hosted by JumpGate TRI.
Brutal Open World PvP
Lineage 2
Enter a world of intrigue and deception as you fight for the control of castles, fend off majestic beasts, and plot to conquer formidable rival alliances for rule of Aden.Lineage Il is an epic adventure focused on player-versus-player interaction in a large and seamless world. Experience the drama and excitement of battling other players in real time to storm a massive castle. Rally your clan, plan a strategy, and finally lay siege.If you’re talented enough to take a castle, you’re able to collect taxes and appoint leaders.But most importantly, keep watch for others coming over the horizon to try their hand at taking away your power base.
Lineage 2is one of the original Koreangrind fest MMOs. Often overlooked today, even though it has been in operation for over two decades. This is a simple game in many respects. A throwback to old-school MMO with a long leveling grind.
PvP inLineage 2takes place anywhere outside of the sight of guards. When a player is killed, they lose a large chunk of experience points and drop their entire inventory on the floor to be looted by anyone. PvP in this game is simply brutal. Furthermore, the game features tower-defense-style battles with guilds protecting fortifications from being captured.
A PvP League Wrapped In A Game
Guild Wars
In a world torn by conflict, where human kingdoms are all but destroyed and guilds sacrifice all for a chance to control the Hall of Heroes, a champion must rise from the ruins of a once-proud land to lead refugees from the ashes and fulfill an ancient prophecy. Will that hero be you?Experience the game that has captivated millions of gamers worldwide. Guild Wars® is an online roleplaying game that rewards player skill and innovative gameplay. It’s the original smash hit release from developer ArenaNet®, the beginnings of a franchise played by almost four million gamers worldwide.
The originalGuild Warswas one of the first MMOs to move the focus from PvE gameplay tocompetitive PvP. Yes, there was a lot of PvE content in the game, but most of it was aimed at player leveling, unlocking skills, and acquiring PvP-ready gear.
The real action inGuild Warstook place on small PvP-instanced maps, following a capture-the-flag style of challenge. Teams would compete in a ranked league, unlocking bonuses and upgrades if they did well. At its peak, there were dozens of ranked matches taking place 24 hours a day.
4Dark Age Of Camelot
The First Realm Versus Realm PvP
Dark Age of Camelotis another old-school MMO that is still in operation today. It has been running for more than 20 years and still has a very loyal player base. Something thatDAOCpioneered, was realm versus realm PvP. A three-way struggle between three player factions for control of the territory.
RvR combat in this game involved huge battles, with players either defending a castle or other fortified position or trying to capture it. This involved the use of siege engines, which needed to be crafted and moved into position before a battle. Player crafters were needed to build these siege engines or to repair the defenses of fortified positions. Larger battles would take hours to resolve.
Epic Battles For Planetary Control
PlanetSide 2
PlanetSide 2 is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS).Empires and their soldiers battle in an all-out planetary war on a scale never before seen, in stunning, breathtaking detail. PlanetSide 2 battles persist and the war never ends, offering constant challenges of individual skill, team grit, and empire-wide coordination. Take up arms and drop into intense infantry, vehicle, and air combat.Players come together in enormous battles across four massive continents to win control of critical territories, gaining key resources for their empire. With an extensive skill tree and class-based system, players can customize their soldier, weapons, and vehicles to match their play style and meet the needs of their squads, outfits, and empires. In the world of PlanetSide 2, every soldier makes a difference.Players will choose to align with one of three empires: the militaristic, authoritarian Terran Republic; the rebellious, freedom-fighting New Conglomerate; or the technocratic, alien-influenced Vanu Sovereignty. Each empire has access to empire-specific weapons, attachments, vehicles, abilities, and more.
Planetside 2takes the idea of competitive FPS games and blows it up to a massive scale. Battles involving hundreds of players at the same time are quite common. Combat involves vehicles,aircraft, and infantry soldiers. There is a huge range of weapons and equipment that players can specialize their build around.
PS2players choose one of three factions to fight for. These factions battle to lock down points of interest on a planetary map, with the aim of capturing enough of them that they can lock down the whole planet, and get a game-wide bonus of buff for their faction. Regular scripted events take place throughout the day, which help to funnel combat into especially challenging locations. Overall,Planetside 2does a great job of simulating planetary warfare on a grand scale.
WhenGuild Wars 2was launched, most players thought it would follow a similar format to the originalGuild Warsgame, with an embedded PvP league and less PvE Focus. Surprisingly, it didn’t. It is a much more PvE-centric game. But it does have instanced, structured PvP battles as well.
Something thatGuild Wars 2introduced that was entirely new at the time, was World versus World combat. In this game mode, players from two different servers compete as teams, to complete PvE challenges and win PvP combat encounters on a special game map.
EVE Onlinecurrently holds theworld recordfor the most players involved in a single PvP battle. Most MMOs would be proud to host a battle involving several hundred players smoothly.EVEdoes things differently, and the world-record-breaking battle involved over 8,000 active players.
Not all battles inEVE onlineare such epic engagements. PvP can take place between just two players. Small group PvP is encouraged by the faction warfare system in low-security space, and large fleet battles take place in what is known as nullsec space, where player alliances provide security and policing.
PvP inEVE Onlineis run with near-military precision and very strict rules related to player behavior. Gamers who want the ultimate PvP challenge should tryEVE.
