Open World PVP on Planet Ilum in SWTOR!
One of my absolute favorite reveals of Pax Prime came from the Sunday presentation in the main theater. Of course Darth Hater was there and they did a outstanding job of covering it for us that could not attend, they brought us the scoop on what the Developers are referring to as open world pvp. It looks fun, it looks exciting for sure!
They also did a transcript of the discussion from Gabe Amatangelo and while the presentation is going on he had this to say,
Now, philosophically, when you’ve got open world PvP and you’ve got an objective, and you’ve got 200 people going up against 100 people, who’s going to win? Two hundred right? So we’ve been really careful designing open world PvP objectives to support the guerilla style, run-and-gun style fight, and so you saw some clips there of getting a bazooka and taking out turrets, defense mechanisms. Once you do enough of that, the airship can take out the base, so we’re testing, we’re iterating on it, these are some of the different things, of course there’s screenshots of some of the other stuff we’ve got going on in there, but what’s really important is that we make sure this is fun and enjoyable for everyone so we’re taking this seriously, and the player, the side that gets control and takes out the base, obviously they’re going to get valor and bonus rewards and they’ll get lots of that kind of stuff.
So territorial control, battle of Ilum is the first one we’re showing, and we’re working on future ones and more. Now, like I was saying, open world PvP, PvP servers, various different hotspots, Hoth, Tatooine, etc. Players can go fight, they can earn rewards in all those different areas, all different planets, 11 different planets, 11 different areas, earn Mercenary commendation, Warzone commendations. Together they get you the PvP gear. Now of course Warzones for Warzones and Mercenary for open world stuff, if you’re a fan of one more than the other, you can exchange them to get those gears.
It appears that this planet is dedicated to open world PVP. The back story we have on this planet from the swtor website reads thus:
For centuries, a treasure trove of resources lay untapped in the most unexpected of places–a small, frigid world at the edge of the galaxy—Ilum.
The first to discover Ilum’s potential were the Jedi. The planet’s wealth of subterranean Adegan crystals proved to be perfectly attuned for use in Lightsabers, and Jedi began undertaking pilgrimages to Ilum to forge their legendary weapons. Dangerous and far from civilization, many Jedi lost their lives to Ilum’s bizarre beasts and brutal climate.
Over the years, the Order established small enclaves and discreet Temples to provide shelter for Jedi who made the long journey. Ilum became a rite of passage for powerful Jedi constructing new Lightsabers and a safe harbor for respected Jedi Masters seeking a quiet place for intense meditation.
Recently, however, the peace on Ilum was shattered. Inexplicably, the Sith Empire learned of the planet’s location and attacked with a mighty force of shock troops and Sith, slaughtering the small group of Jedi on the planet and leaving their sanctuaries in ruins. Though the Order was devastated to lose control of this sacred space, Republic resources have been spread too thin to mount a counter-attack.
Recent intelligence, however, has suggested that the Sith’s interest in Ilum extends far beyond simply harvesting Lightsaber crystals. Watching the Empire devote so many resources to operations on this remote world, Republic leaders and members of the Jedi Council have begun to question whether they might have surrendered a resource of far greater value than anyone ever imagined…
The planet seems to be a treasure trove of the resource known as “crystals”. Those will be used to make lightsabers and possibly more. I am wondering if they tie into the Artifice or Archeology crew skills or if they are something else, not sure on that at this point.
From the video we see characters storming a base while it is being defended against attack by characters on podium style blasters. That is too cool and something I can not wait to get my hands on!
Hands down my favorite piece of info from the show!
(other than the news of the weekend beta testing starting soon of course 😉 )
A special thanks to the Darth Hater Team for being so awesome!
14 Responses to “Open World PVP on Planet Ilum in SWTOR!”
Awesome!
I’ve been waiting for open world PVP details for a long long time. I’m assuming this will be available on PvE servers too, so that will definitely scratch the PVP itch without having to deal with the sometimes negative hassles of a full PVP server. 🙂
I really wish they would let us have pve servers without all that pvp junk, werent they billing Ilun as their solo planet too? Stuffing pve server full of pvp kinda it having a weird name, imo 😛
@grenith I am confused about this issue as well, when we heard about this issue from SDCC it was said there was “some solo endgame content on one of the planets” I am assuming they meant this one but how do you get solo content out of a raid the base situation?
I am going to have to have more info on this subject and will be watching for it for sure.
This is pretty much the news every ex-WAR and DaoC player has been waiting for.
And Aldric is right, now we know we get to have decent PvP on the normal servers without dealing with servers that have rules that might be an after thought and well… you never know how the open PvP on PvP servers is gonna affect the content since is moves the fight from where the devs wanted it to happen and to pretty much anywhere like world spawnpoints / cities.
Is the best PvP really to be had on a server that has different rules than the one the devs develop the RvR content for?
@grenith @Swtorcrafter My guess (just a guess mind you) is that on PvE servers you will have to flag yourself for PvP, even in those ares, to participate in that content on Ilum. I doubt they will just force you to PvP there if you don’t want to, or at least I hope they don’t. This is my guess for how a lot of the end game content worlds will go down actually, the option is there if you want it. However if you just want to solo you’re not going to be forced into anything.
Another option is that all the PvP stuff takes place in one corner of the map while all the solo stuff is in another part. This way the could keep anyone who is there to solo far away from any PvP madness that is going on, but if you wander into the PvP zone you are automatically flagged for PvP.
@Joshrooms13
LoL I was popping in to type exactly what you said in the end. You’d just have to be careful and skirt the “Open PvP” part of the world. If it’s worked similar to a game I’ll leave nameless, your UI should yell at you and warn that you are entering an area which automatically flags you for pvp, and then gives you a few seconds to get the hell outta dodge.
That’s a great way I could see it working, as I do love the thought of truly open world pvp areas, even on my pve server. Just give me a viable option of avoiding it if I don’t want it, and not suffering any penalties except for the lack of pvp commendations.
=)
@virtek @joshrooms13 true, but what i cant understand is why they are littering a server they call PvE with so many pvp lakes in the first place, not that i dont think this type of server will be popular, it will without doubt, but they made pure PvP servers an option, they made healthy mixed PvE-P server, why can’t they make some pure PvE servers aswell?
I really do hope they add those warnings, but honestly I would prefer not having to deal with PvP on what is designated a PvE server.
It wasn’t the legacy system announcement I was hoping for, but it’s still good news.
thank you all for taking the time to read and comment, you are appreciated! 🙂
@grenith @virtek But isn’t the whole point of a PvP server that fact that you are always flagged for PvP and you don’t really get a choice in the matter? This way people who are on a PvE server get a chance to experience the large scale PvP areas without having to swich servers. Honestly as far as lore of the time goes it makes a lot of sense that there are going to be some PvP areas no matter what, the galaxy is at war and your character is a part of it in some way. I like the fact that the option is there if I ever want to experience it.
I could turn that around, and ask why should there be any pvp at all on a PvE server?
They made the pvp servers for a reason 🙂
Well the way I look at it PvE servers are just your all around server, they are there for your everyday type person who wants to experience everything the game has to offer at their own pace. On the other hand PvP and RP servers are made for those players who want to devote all or most of their time to those specific facets of the game. I personally think it would be weird to not have PvP on a PvE server just because it’s not specifically stating that it’s a PvP server, just like it would be weird if there was no PvE at all on PvP servers. PvP servers are just there so hardcore PvP players can face off against each other.
@Keondo / Dreyder
I do not understand why a serious pvp player would not play on a pvp server. The best pvp and pvpers will always happen on pvp servers. I would also hazard a guess the best roleplaying happens on RP servers. Non pvp servers will never have the top-teir action, because they will always, at best, be split focused. The rules thrown in “as an after thought” for pvp servers are that you can attack and kill the enemy and vice versa. It really is simple and takes little thought. Either you like it and can handle it (the good and bad aspects alike) or you don’t and play on a server more to your liking where there isn’t actual open-world pvp.
Oh i can understand instanced PvP on a PvE server, but sheesh keep it off open areas, leave that for the PvP servers.