Everquest is a pvp game

Next year they could launch a no-instance race to unlock server. Beat the expac targets, two week timer for the next expac unlock. PVP enabled in all raid zones. No voting ever. No enforced rotations ever. Earn special titles for each expac unlock as a guild. Catch live = characters dumped to Zek. Server relaunches.

That's mostly existing ruleset bits, and probably a toggle that shouldn't be to difficult to institute as far a the zones go (likely just flag the server PVP but flag more zones non-combat like PoK and Nexus already are is all). Ironically, even if flagging more zones non-combat had to be done globally... that might actual benefit live server Zek.

This doesn't interest me at all, but it could have appeal to enough of the more hardcore raider types. Flagging only raid zones as PVP basically creates "Realm vs. Realm lakes" as other games have done while leaving the open community leveling areas that give you a breather. PvP in GFay isn't going to work well, Plane of Hate... I think it could be good.

Thing is... a racing unlock server without any PVP aspect is likely still a higher population and therefore $ opportunity.

Killing NPCs, Mobs, Raidbosses, ect is PVE. Not PVP.

PvP puts a new twist on raids. Think dots on clerics while mob is engaged. Debuffing. Mezzing. All manner of disruption. You can, essentially, raid raids.

Back in 1999, there may have been bottlenecked progression, but the bottlenecks were not affected by players bring boxed crews. I really think people overestimate the amount of "competition" that occurred back in the day.

Rallos Zek was the first server to kill Kerafyrm. Before the merge into Zek.

It had nothing to do with skill, it had to do with Cooperation, Zerg, and PVP based deterrent.
3 Guilds combined to kill the Sleeper with well over 200 people in attendance. They threw themselves at the Sleeper for hours until it finally died. Most people died 20+ times during the fight, being chain rezzed.
This happened during the Planes of Power expansion. Any other server would have woken the Sleeper well before Planes of Power was opened. However, due to PVP, and the fact that any guild that would have woken the sleeper, denying the server loot, would have been attacked by pretty much every other guild on the server, Sleeper was allowed to sleep until the Uber Guilds agreed it was time.

Killing Kerafyrm was an awesome feat. Very historic moment in Everquest's long history.
But it had nothing to do with some skill base that only people on PvP server would have.
Any group of 200 level 65's with aa's and Elemental+ Gear could do it as well, if it was left to sleep for 2 expansions.

Source: I was there

I agree. The untested theory is that the top-end guild contesting we've seen on most of the progression servers would be better sorted with "some good old PVP".

The reality is quite possibly that the better raid force wins a couple of times resulting in the other guild(s) imploding and you end up with a PVP enabled raid environment with one raiding guild facing multiple uncontested expacs ahead.

Loved doing this back in the day. Running around as a Tunare druid while enemy guilds tried to raid in PoG. Good times.

PvP added a fun element in the competition aspect of the game. If you disliked a guild, you could actually attempt to halt/slow their progression as a smaller guild. You could keep enemies from exping in entire zones. It made server/personal reputation matter more.

The Unbalance between classes added it's own "balance". Some of the most vital PVE classes weren't great in PVP. The best PVP classes tended to be overcrowded, making it harder for them to get gear on raids. Gear added tons of strength to PvP ability.

It had a unique balance in and of itself.

I don't understand crys for balanced PvP. Wow, with everyone having same stats, the pvp isn't fun. Everquest was never like that. There were gear and class advantages. The only classes I would say need love are classes that do not have a neg resist mod nuke. Everquest was about large scale pvp to claim the raid target.

Somewhat revisionist history. They still launched 3 pvp servers within the first year. And even the video linked mentions that some of the devs wanted pvp.

It actually is, on pvp servers. If you haven't played on one you have no idea.

I think a guild war could be fun, if the mechanic even works, but as a pvp game EQ is downright awful

Game's always been easy. Sorry, just being honest. It's always just been a time sink, now it's just less of one.

EQ is about friends and hugs and helping each other as you experience thej wonders of this high fantasy world called Norrath.

This is quite literally the dumbest statement ever posted to these boards, bar none. Educate yourself.

I have a question as a returning player to EQ. What is the best PvP class?

I think the people that have been calling for a PvP TLP should finally get one. It also should be a "anything goes" server. Keep it True Box, but enough of the grey line rules, just make this server a free for all and a headache free server for the devs. You want to complain about boxers, someone ks'g you, or jut kicking your butt, stay away. I'm in! ANYTHING GOES!!!

I played Zek when it first came out, and the differing loot rule Zek as well. I didn't like either, I just don't like the mentality of free for all pvp in a game where it's unbalanced as all hell to begin with.
That was the beauty of the diety-based pvp server. The loot was medals that only the killer can see and loot. You worked for a side, 1 of 3. Too many hardcores in the game even then to say it wasn't fun to play any side (but goodies did have it hard, never saw Feydwer, I dont understand what happened there, the Newts only had 1 large area, and we were very busy).
I heard stories of how EQ devs hated pvp, but then why did they make the diety pvp server? That was a freakin insanely popular server. Granted they ended it without warning and gave no reason why.... but for a brief moment in gaming history..SOE actually had their hands on the golden challice of games... and of course they pulled an EA and *poof*
This all happened right around the launch of DAoC, but after SWG. Tigole and Furor both played on the deity server, which of course they ended up on WoW and boy that pvp sure felt familiar and fun, just sayin'.
Some posters above saying pvp servers were dead. They weren't. They died when the Zeks were merged, completely different rules lost to free for all. And no passion in the dev dept any longer supposedly (this was when they were charging $50 month for the premium event server).
Long story short, there are a ton of gamers who had played or had heard of how great EQ pvp is, team based. But unless you were on Fennin Ro and saw the guild wars between the dwarves and evils for the first year plus of the server, or were part of the deity based server, it doesn't exist.
If pvp came back to EQ, I hope it does in the diety based form. Or at least limited to guild-only.

free for all exists now, and it's dead. no chance of it happening.
diety-based (team) pvp server existed before, and was fun as hell. I'd join that!
Joining a zek pvp tlp? no, i been there, it was not enjoyable x2, wouldn't repeat it.

The Luclin start server is the best environment for PVP. Gives everyone space and a variety of raid targets, leveling paths, gear choices. Then lock it down like pop or gates. Hell maybe leave it at luclin.

EQ pvp has no objective is the issue. Yeah its fun to mass dispel a tank or fear all the clerics when fear landed on players but there is no victory there.

+ for a 1 year premium TLPVP diety based event server (resets/wipes yearly), 20% higher xp than mangler, 73 day Expansions (ends at end of POP).
Total FFA +/- 5 levels (everything except hacking is fair). No corpse recovery on death, no xp loss at all on any death. Coin loot on kill.

At end of server you can transfer to live Zek to continue, or start fresh again for another year. I think something like this would be very popular and devs could just add it into the rotation to run in the “off” years when not creating a new normal TLP.