Nay to PeeKay?!

During the Asheron's Call October Event, Turbine released the Fifth part of its series of Blackmire quests. Shortly after its unveiling, an addtional event added to the quest - where the Burun ruler Reeshan was attempting to break down a door separating Dereth from his homeworld. The players had two choices - allow Reeshan to knock down the door and stave off the threat, or work against Dereth and aid in destroying the door.

But the content of the quest is not the issue here. What is at the crux of this discussion is the backlash against how Turbine implemented this event. This thread begins with some players' discontent over the apparent requirement to go PK in order to enter the portal leading to Reeshan. After Ibn informs the players that you may also be PKL, many of the players are satiated. Sadly, some are not.

Shortly after Ibn's post, you can find this gem: "Being forced to go pk or pkl for a quest stinks to the highest. I am very close to closing my turbine accounts. I am so sick of the pk/pkl cr__ being rammed in on me."

Being rammed in on you? I don't recall Turbine requiring you to be a part of this event at all. But now you are feeling left out of a major story arc event, and you don't want to be? Then go PKL and get your ass in there. In this event, you can't have it both ways. This is ONE event in the total of three that required players to be PK (this is the first that allowed PKL). The point of the quest was to create a bit of player conflict over whether or not Reeshan was to be allowed to overrun Dereth. If this event did not involved PvP, how would you make your choice? Would you @tell spam your enemies? I think not. In the case of this even, PvP is the only option that makes sense for it to proceed in the ways the developers designed it to.

I can understand to a degree that you wouldn't want to go PK for fear of losing your items. But when the consequences are so minimal with PKL, complaining is simply ridiculous. In a little over a minute, you can replace your lost creature/life magic buffs, and carry on.

This whole issue hearkens back to the discussions over "town control" in the upcoming AC expansion. There were some players who felt it was unfair that "control" could only be achieved through PvP combat. How you could implement "town control," in a fantasy setting, without any PvP conflict and not have it be stupid is unfathomable, but there you have it.

I believe Turbine really likes PvP. They created a PK system on all worlds, and a purely PK server from day one. The freedom of character movement and quick-paced fighting is very conducive to an excellent PvP environment. The recent "neutering" of DDO and apparent lack of PvP in upcoming MEO is the result of an increasing player base that wishes for their MMOs to be a glorified chat room. Go ahead and chat, and then throw your tantrum if the developers implement a quest that requires some sort of PvP. The rest of us are going to shut up and fight.