Disclaimer: PVP does not have to be forced at all, it is solely up to the player if they want to engage in it or not because players should choose if they want to opt in or out.
So I heard via the wiki that arenas is the only planned PvP feature for the game and while I like the idea for a sterile PvP experience, I would like to suggest that you should give more options for a more varied and lively PVP experience.
Which brings me to my main suggestion:
Zone realms: Each zone can be a realm which players automatically enter as long as they opted in for World PVP. In these zones players who happen to be there will find each other and will interact and have the decision to help each other or fight. Ideally, a realm should hold 8 players (i.e. 2 full parties) The system can offer differing rewards depending on whether you help or kill a player in the realm.
- Fighting together will reward you with a 5% incentive of something (could be increased exp/skill gain or etc). This will be the base incentive for opting in World PVP, unless you have a bounty placed on your head you will always have this buff active.
- Killing other players can reward you with something relating to currency or items (plays into the fantasy of being a bandit or a bounty hunter). Killing players can drop currency or a randomized item.
Note: Opting in to zone realms can yield a small modest increase in loot since the zone would be shared by other players.
Are there any consequences to players who go on an excessive killing rampage?
Players who have successfully killed 2 different players or killed the same player a 2nd time within a small time frame will have a bounty placed on their head. The bounty Hunt will last for a fixed 10-15 min and will not extend.
What does it mean for you when you have a bounty on your head?
Being a Bounty Target means you have a bounty placed on your head and the Bounty Hunt will last for 10-15 minutes. Your location as a bounty target will be shown on the map. As a Bounty Target, any loot youve picked up from killing players will automatically be placed on the Bounty Table and will continue to accumulate with every kill. This Bounty Table is loot that you will drop upon death, allowing anyone else to pick up. When the bounty hunt ends with you alive, then any loot on the bounty table will finally be yours.
What do Bounty Hunters get for killing the Bounty Target?
Bounty hunters will not only reap the loot from the Bounty Table accumulated by the target, they will also get a bounty reward which value is similar to a daily PVE Bounty Quest.
Whats to stop a bounty target from just running away to instantly avoid repercussions?
During the Bounty Hunt, the Bounty Target will be visible on the map for all other players. The Bounty Target will not have access to fast travel, nor will they be able to exit the zone until the bounty hunt ends. They will have no means to escape aside from running by foot which will be a futile attempt as they will be running into obstacles and monsters along with other players with limited hunger items.
What happens if a bounty target disconnects from the realm as a work around?
The bounty target who disconnects will simply drop the bounty which the rest of the realm can precisely locate and pick up. Picking up the bounty will take 5 seconds which during that time any damage will cancel the process. This will encourage battles over the bounty found.
The Bounty Target who disconnected does not get anything, but if they manage to reconnect, they will be able to pick up their bounty and resume their timer.
What happens if someone just doesnt want to keep getting killed by the same person?
They will need to go to a sanctuary to opt out of World PVP.
If Zone Realms is not a possibility, then adding a simple invasion feature would be enough for those of us who crave the world pvp experience.
What is invasion?
Invasion is a PVP game mode where players voluntarily opted in for PVP. This allows one of them to invade another player’s realm where the sole purpose of the invader is to kill the realm host. After either the Host or Invader is defeated, the invasion ends and both continue on their own realms.
How would one invade another realm?
The person who wants to invade a realm will have to initiate the invasion which the game will search for any Players who opted in for PVP. Once a match is made by level, the invasion starts.
What are the incentives for the Invaders and Hosts?
Killing other players can yield currency, loot, trophies (after killing a certain amount of invaders or hosts)
When someone is invading, who do the enemy NPCs target?
Typically, In souls games, invaders tend to be aligned with the enemy NPCs meaning they would get to hide behind the enemy NPCs to their advantage but also at a disadvantage where they have limited healing/mana potions.
In my opinion, this is where NRFTW can be different and make it so that theres equal standing between the Host and the Invader where the enemy NPCs will attack either of them.
Why is invasion fun?
Invasions encourage a lot of role playing especially with the use of emotes and builds, fashion. It makes every encounter very different with an invader. Some will be silly and have funny outfits while they kick your ass, others will be formidable opponents surprising you with the unusual weapons youd never thought would be good, there will be alot of creative builds and uses of items that would catch you by surprise. The possibilities are endless which is why having an invasions would help with replayability.
Its no surprise that theres a large community of PVP enjoyers in Dark souls and Elden Ring, although their games are poorly supported for pvp, people really crave that invasion type of mode set in a skill based combat system.
I hope you guys could at least consider an invasion feature. If you believe investing in a deeply fleshed out PVP system is too much then at least invasion could be a simpler and good enough solution for us.