To rush, or not to rush? (An exhaustive examination of the infamous concept of rushin

Hey Spacetime! Thanks for checking out my thread!

Today I decided to address the infamous topic of "rushing," or, more importantly, what to think about it. I realize that there have been many, many threads on this topic. In fact, it seems everyday another person is posting a thread about rushing. Even I, myself, have already posted many threads on this topic in the past year or so. So why post another one?

First of all, just because something has been posted in the past doesn't mean we shouldn't keep posting on it! I suppose it's understandable if its a guide to something and can't really be done any better, but opinions are a totally different story.

Second, there are constantly (I repeat CONSTANTLY) new pvp players joining the game and learning the ways of pvp. These guys often don't know what to think about this whole issue.

Third, even the people most certain they will never rush, or they will always rush, could easily change their mind. Opinions change, people change, ideas change, concepts change, the game changes! So why are we so stuck in our ideas about rushing?

My post is going to be divided into four separate portions, "The Current Situation," "Pros and Cons of rushing," "Rights and Wrongs of Rushing" and, finally, "What are We to Make of Rushing?" I hope you find my thoughts and insight on this idea very beneficial and interesting! (Bear in mind I will not present MY personal view of rushing until the very end of the thread.) If you have the time to read it thoroughly, please do so! I'd love to read the feedback that y'all give!

The Current Situation

When most people hear the word "rush" or "rusher" in game I'd swear an alarm goes off. While it tends to vary from level to level, you can be sure that there will always be two sides. One side will at least claim to hate rushing and will always do their best to stop rushers. The other side will rush to no end and usually see absolutely nothing wrong with it. How can these sides both think they are correct and yet have such completely different views of the game?

It's actually very simple. It depends on what games you have played previously, and what kind of game you think PL is. Let me explain. I can remember after playing some intense Halo Reach, jumping onto PL and killing everyone in sight. Then as I watched everyone spam, "Rush," and "Noob," and "What the heck?" I remembered my mistake. You see, Halo Reach is straight up intense action. There's no such thing as any kind of 1v1 battle. Many people see this as reason enough to rush in PL. Their mindset says, "Lots of games are FFA. Why should PL be any different?" The opposing side then screams, "Yes! PL is very different!" Who is correct? Many will claim that, "PL was always FFA until some new guys started introducing 1v1." Others will say, "No, PL was 1v1 first, then FFA was introduced." Who is correct? Many theories have been formed on both sides and both cases have been made quite excellently in my opinion, so how can we determine whether to rush or not? We'll get to that towards the end. First I want to take a moment to examine rushing. Why is it so appealing? Why would people even rush in the first place? That brings us to the pros and cons of rushing.

Pros and Cons of Rushing

If anyone has ever tried rushing before they can tell you some of the pros and cons right off the bat. As for myself, I've tried hardcore rushing and hardcore 1v1 on many characters including some secret alts. Certainly I don't know everything there is to know, but I do claim to at least be familiar with both rushing and 1v1. I'll start with the pros. Bear in mind these lists aren't exhaustive. I'm sure I'll think of many more and edit them in later. I'm sure there will also be many that I don't think of, period.

Pros-
Very fast kills-And I mean VERY fast. Rushing brought me around 500 kills in an hour or so once.

Easy kills-Catching people unaware and unbuffed is the most easy killing possible.

Fun-While this is a matter of opinion, most people who have tried rushing will agree that it is quite fun indeed.

Skillfully beneficial-I'm sure many would disagree, but I believe rushing is one of the best ways to get good at pvp. Nothing is harder or more challenging than facing three opponents at once.

(Possibly edit in later)

So we've looked at a few pros of rushing. What are the cons? Allow me to go ahead and present a few.

Cons-
Bad (smaller) ratio-Let's face it. That 5-1 kdr won't last long in the heat of battle. Most rushers I've seen have around 2-1 kdr.

Many enemies-Rushing tends to attract many people who hate your guts. Don't expect any kind of happy gamers facing you as a rusher.

The boot-Let's face it. Rushers often join a game and are quickly given the boot. That can be very frustrating when trying to find good games.

Smack talking-Often you will get cussed out and/or completely degraded as a rusher. Sure you may not mind, but it's a problem nonetheless.

Less respect-Many people will respect you much less as a rusher. It's sad but true.

(Possibly edit in later)

Alright. Now we've examined both the pros and cons of rushing. You can decide based on that (and personal opinions you may have) whether you think rushing is even beneficial to you as a pvper at all.

So what exactly is the issue? Obviously some people rush and some don't, but why is there such controversy? Clearly it's because rushing effects 1v1 games. The two cannot coexist in the same game arena. But why else is there controversy? I believe it is because many people claim that rushing is just "wrong." It's almost as if these people believe that rushing is morally a wrong thing to do. I'm sure that sounds silly to many people right off the bat, however, when you think about it, I do believe you may begin to understand it a little bit more. You may not agree, but hopefully you will begin to understand this mindset. That brings us to the "Rights and Wrongs of Rushing."

Rights and Wrongs of Rushing

The idea that rushing can be "right" or "wrong" as stated above, can seem somewhat ridiculous. Lets take a look at what this whole idea is all about. We'll start with the wrongs.

Wrongs of rushing-Why would anyone consider rushing wrong? Well there's a couple of reasons.

1. Many people, in fact, I'd even venture to say that, most people in this game are very young. By "very young" I mean 9-14 years old. I'm currently 16 years old, turning 17 very soon. When I started PL I was 14. Believe me when I say that it was very easy for me to take this game way too seriously. I don't anymore but that's a story for another time. What I'm trying to say is, people take this game way too seriously! Especially the younger generation. Rushing somebody who takes the game so seriously is almost like a slap in the face in real life. You might say to yourself, "That is their problem, not mine!" You're absolutely right! And that changes absolutely nothing.

2. PL is a game. Like all games there are rules. Because a vast majority of people see these rules as only allowing 1v1, they see rushers as cheating. Cheating is wrong. You might think to yourself, "If the rules are for 1v1 then why are we able to rush?" That argument actually isn't valid. Ever played a board game? It's very easy to jack extra money in Monopoly, or rearrange your boats in Battleship. That doesn't make it any less wrong.

So we begin to enter the mindset of those who consider rushing wrong, but what about those who consider it right? Hopefully all you die hard 1v1 players
will begin to realize that, no, rushers don't hate you! They are simply playing by the way they think the game should be played. That brings us to the "Rights of Rushing."

Rights of Rushing-

1. Nine out of ten rushers believe that the game was meant to be played as a FFA style. They believe that 1v1 players have only invented rules to benefit themselves. I guess you could say rushers feel as if the die hard 1v1 guys are the ones cheating! Not themselves! It's like that little kid who makes up a game and keeps changing the rules to his advantage. Rushers have said, "Enough. We play by the REAL rules!" Is this true? Is FFA the way the game is supposed to be played? I suppose it's hard to say for sure. Although, it should be noted that all of the pvp maps have descriptions that do not contain any kind of 1v1 description. On the contrary, they are quite bluntly FFA.

2. It's a game! Many rushers cannot begin to fathom how butt hurt people can get for simply being killed in a game. Often rushers will say things like, "Calm down! It's just a game!" This is why most rushers don't talk much. The less they talk, the less likely they are to get caught up in the drama brought about by their rushing. A classic example of this is Jop, the level 23 Mage. I remember him telling me how he would laugh when people started making fun of him. He doesn't see the "big deal" with rushing. To him it's all a part of the GAME.

Alright hang tight everybody! We're getting toward the end! I promise ;) So, we've discussed what the current situation is with rushing. We've discussed the pros and cons of rushing as well as the rights and wrongs of it. So what are we to make of all of this? Which "side" should we pick? Should we rush or not? What are we to make of rushing? That brings us to the next and final section.

What are We to Make of Rushing?

In this final section I'm going to give you guys my opinion on this ordeal. I'm going to go ahead and split it up into a few different points that I think should be mentioned which most people don't always think of. Then I will present my final conclusion.

1. Has anyone ever noticed the way, "rushing" is used interchangeably with the phrase "FFA"? I find this ironic considering that rushing, and playing FFA are two entirely different things. You may not believe me, but I'm going to prove it to you.

What happens when a rusher enters a room and starts rushing? Usually, nine times out of ten, the room will ultimately break out in a FFA. However, this should not be confused with a normal FFA. When a rusher starts an FFA it is always, always, always, founded on anger and raging. (It is important to note that the rusher may not be rushing out of anger. I'm simply stating that anger and raging is always involved one way or another.) Because there are almost always people containing two different viewpoints on pvp, people will most definitely get upset, angry, etc. It can't be avoided.

On the flip side, have you ever played a FFA where everyone in the room decided to FFA? It's a whole different scene isn't it? Generally, no one is upset or angry. Everyone agreed to FFA and so there can be no excuses made. Certainly anger and raging could enter this scenario (especially when one team turns out to be infinitely superior) however, most times, everyone will happily FFA. Often one team will compliment the other on their good efforts! Imagine that! Kindness in pvp?

Rushing does not equal FFA.

2. Notice above when I said nine times out of ten rushers believe the game is meant to be played FFA style? What about the other one out of ten? It came to my attention that many people believe rushing is "wrong," for whatever reason, and they still do it anyways! What's up with that? In other words, some rushers are complete hypocrites. Many times they will have a secret "rushing" character for fun, even though they think it's wrong.

3. I'd like to say a little something about the issue of "fairness" as it relates to FFA and 1v1. Nothing is fair. I could probably stop right there but I suppose I better explain in further detail ;) Many times you will see people say something like this, "Bird>Bear>Mage>Bird..." That is very, very true. Or, at least, the concept is. One class generally out does another class at every level. So how can any kind of 1v1 be fair? Unless you fight someone with the same class and level as yourself, it isn't fair. Even then it still isn't "fair" due to lag.

Many say that FFA is fair. Once again, FFA is not fair! While, personally, I believe it's more fair than 1v1, it cannot be ultimately classified fair just like that. What if one team is composed of three classes that are greater than the three classes on the other team? No teams are balanced. That's why many tournaments let people pick their teams. Part of the strategy is choosing an over powered team to go out and dominate!

Just to clarify, I'm not trying to say that this game isn't fair. (I know...Cry moar plox ;)) Lol...all I'm trying to say is, nothing is fair! Therefore, everything is. You just gotta accept that some days the odds are with you and other days they aren't. Remember it is a game. At the end of the day it doesn't matter who won that FFA! It really doesn't. It just doesn't.

4. Lastly, I will tell you the decision I have made as far as rushing or not rushing is concerned. I have decided not to rush for many reasons. That is to say, I will generally stick to 1v1 for many reasons. These reasons are as follows:

a- I don't like making people butt hurt. Sure it's their problem but I don't care.

b- Playing 1v1 does not mean I will never get an FFA. Heck, I've had more FFA's in the last week than I've had in forever!

c- I happen to believe that, regardless of how pvp originated, the majority of players now (including most of my best friends) believe that the 1v1 play style is the way things should be.

d- I like 1v1! I like chilling on a map talking with people while challenging others in combat. I like chilling while casually playing pvp. I would never want pvp to be an all out FFA. That would destroy the pvp that I've come to know and love. I can get an all out FFA in any mmo.

Finally I'd like to say that this is how I personally view this issue! I am 110% positive that many, many people will disagree with me. In fact, I'm sure many will want to discuss it out with me. That's ok! This isn't any kind of deep philosophy we're discussing. We simply disagree on the rules of the game. I'd like to point out that this thread was not made in an attempt to persuade anyone in any direction. I simply wanted to try and shed some light in this subject since so many people seem confused about it. With any luck, I succeeded!

This is a very sensitive topic to most. Please keep chat on topic and civil! Thank you so much for reading my thread all the way through! Any feedback is so, so, so, appreciated! I hope you learned a thing or two from it. Peace out! :D

(Sorry for any grammar mistakes. I tried my best to get rid of them all but I AM on my iPad and I can only be so thorough)

~MM

Reserved just in case.

I suppose I might as well say sorry about the title! It's supposed to be, "To rush, or not to rush? (An exhaustive examination of the infamous concept of rushing)" but apparently I ran out of title space and didn't realize it...

Only Rushers that rush for hatred and bullying are a problem. The kind of Rushers I like are the ones that will stop if you ask politely and don't curse.

too much to read.. is there a short form?

A big reason people choose to not constant FFA is because if anyone starts to use dirt tactics (midfight leaving, dual logging to fill up the opposite team until its full with 1 other person to rush, super buff kiting, etc..) then they wouldn't be able to do anything to stop them because everyone is mindlessly killing each other. If everyone the FFA is organized, possibly locked, great. Otherwise people can use dirt tactics without consequence, and that's not cool.

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Originally Posted by airboom

too much to read.. is there a short form?

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Perhaps skip over to the topics that most relate to you, or just read my conclusion :-)

Pvp was always pvp, meaning you entered prepared to pvp/fight. The strong survived the weak hit the exit button.
1/1 was invented to save less experienced "noob" players from the quick pace that was pvp in the pre.gcd days.

It takes more skill to ffa than 1/1 , which only works on a players one dimensional speed and range vs a single target. Often "perfect" combos are easily achieved, which does nothing for ffa. Often times, when testing people I can see that people are only used to 1/1 BC of there lackings as a rounded pvper. 1/1 helps you to an extent of basic pvp procedures but you lack deep knowledge of your characters strengths and weaknesses. IMO 1/1 benefits int mages the most, due to their buffs/shield and birds the least since they can typically fight well if not best in ffa situations.
But even though I know how it is supposed to be I still refrain from rushing. Not everyone has.been playing 2 years, therefore I have a personal responsibility to not use my "power" to kill weaker players just because I can.
If we could spread the word that would help.
It just seems to me people have lost the ambition to get better and be the best from actually fighting, nowadays everyone is only concerned with their recored. And only do things that are favorable for their imminent positive outcome. Like 1/1s only, only fighting with their guild vs noobs, fighting only people they know they can beat, e.i warbirds fighting dex birds but saying no to other classes they are weak agaisnt. Pride is gone from pvp, pride in finding the best pvpers to learn from and fight.

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Originally Posted by AbsolutePally

Pvp was always pvp, meaning you entered prepared to pvp/fight. The strong survived the weak hit the exit button.
1/1 was invented to save less experienced "noob" players from the quick pace that was pvp in the pre.gcd days.

It takes more skill to ffa than 1/1 , which only works on a players one dimensional speed and range vs a single target. Often "perfect" combos are easily achieved, which does nothing for ffa. Often times, when testing people I can see that people are only used to 1/1 BC of there lackings as a rounded pvper. 1/1 helps you to an extent of basic pvp procedures but you lack deep knowledge of your characters strengths and weaknesses. IMO 1/1 benefits int mages the most, due to their buffs/shield and birds the least since they can typically fight well if not best in ffa situations.
But even though I know how it is supposed to be I still refrain from rushing. Not everyone has.been playing 2 years, therefore I have a personal responsibility to not use my "power" to kill weaker players just because I can.
If we could spread the word that would help.
It just seems to me people have lost the ambition to get better and be the best from actually fighting, nowadays everyone is only concerned with their recored. And only do things that are favorable for their imminent positive outcome. Like 1/1s only, only fighting with their guild vs noobs, fighting only people they know they can beat, e.i warbirds fighting dex birds but saying no to other classes they are weak agaisnt. Pride is gone from pvp, pride in finding the best pvpers to learn from and fight.

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Thanks for the well thought out response!

good, mature thinking, but it's not all, about rushing.

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Originally Posted by legendfb

good, mature thinking, but it's not all, about rushing.

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Hmm, what do you mean by that?

Well, I rush too but I don't pick on noobs that can't defend themselves.. Heck even in 56 pvp my warbird "ThornBlast" gets rushed by a team of L.61s for asking asking a "free", now they are impossible for me to kill yet I don't give up and in the I get around 3-4 kills with 50 to 60 deaths.. I don't mind that at all.. I play for fun.. KDR can't stop me from having fun.. (I have a positive ratio though). Also I pick on ppl I can't kill during GO calls, coz that's the only way to get myself better as I believe it.

Sent from my GT-S5360 using Tapatalk 2

The way this works is that when a player rushes another player:
A) either that player or the whole side will kill the rusher. Then they keep repeating that with the excuse of "your a rusher" until the game ends or the rusher leaves.
B) the rushers leaves after killing a player
C) the rusher leaves, rejoins and wipes out the rest
D) nobody cares about the rusher so only the rusher and rushed fight 1 v 1

I think that they should just make a pvp map for FFA and some that you have to say go or you cant kill the opposing team I don't know if they can do that or not but if they can they should it would make pvp much more fun. Then there are teamers which I find everytime I go into a pvp match. So I am just going to CTF from now on

Man back in the day there was no such thing as rushing. Was just kill your opponents.

The more I read y'all's comments, the more I'm convinced no one read the whole thread. XD Or ya'll just have closed minds ;)

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Originally Posted by MightyMicah

The more I read y'all's comments, the more I'm convinced no one read the whole thread. XD Or ya'll just have closed minds ;)

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I did, and commented too :)