READ TO THE END

PROMOTING SKILLED PLAY by OverkillED
I haven’t played PL in about a year or two or whenever 81 cap was but here’s my 2c on the issue. Coming from a player whose twinked at all level brackets from 1-71 (except 61-66). I might be slight biased cuz i main bird/fox (classes that thrive on fast paced pvp)

MY MAIN POINT: Based on what jun described: fast paced pvp. It’s a good thing. Trying to kill someone for 5 min isn’t fun. Fast paced pvp should be retained with some tweaks.
Now I’m going off on a tangent here so what i say might seem a lil disorganized. Try to hear me out here. This is some background info.

GEAR, LEVEL VS. SKILL
Fast paced pvp with high dmg was what the game was pvp wise before GCD, before and during forg era. Now fast paced pvp is good because it allows most if not all classes to thrive. There’s not as much rock paper scissors involved it’s simply whose faster and who uses their skills the right way. It makes gear less of a factor. Raising defenses and prolonging fights makes pvp based on min-maxing and stats (whoever has better numbers has a GREATLY higher chance of winning) When gear is a huge factorthe poorer players and newer players are severely disadvantaged. High dmg makes level less of a variable. Before the great nerf of dmg post forg my 55 bird would dispatch with 61 sang birds. It wasnt easy but because i was very experienced I could outskill and outspeed these birds. After the nerf i had 0 fighting chance vs them just because statistically their advantage on me was way greater. When this happens, people move up in levels. Say i go 56 or 61. Id get clapped by 66s with no chance of fighting back. And keep moving up till endgame, where LEVEL AND GEAR are less of factors cuz most people have the same stuff.

DIVERSITY
This is something that made the game really fun. Int birds, str birds, str mages, and every imaginable spec in between could do well because high dmg (pre forg pre nerf). Having different ways to play the same class spices things up rather than having a rock paper scissors game. A fast paced pvp game allows this (trust me I tried int/str enchanted staff bird with fort for regen and it worked pretty well before the base dmg nerf). Yes, inherently, some classes counter each other but the counter and variables such as level and gear should not be the “END ALL BE ALL,” meaning it shouldn’t have such an overpowering influence on the outcome of the fight. People pvp to showcase skill vs. each other, not showcase whose got a fatter wallet. Fast paced pvp is good for the game.

MY SUGGESTIONS
Nerf gear (but buff underused gear to increase diversity such as xbows and stuff). This makes gear and therefore level less of a factor. It’s still a factor but not as huge of one as it is now.

Put a high level req on 3pc and amulets. We dont need steroids. Nuff said. It doesn’t feel organic and also deters new players because they are statistically disadvantaged (by A LOT).

To compensate for the massive dmg loss of losing 3pc and amulets in low level pvp, buff base dmg of skills across the board. “But Overkill, this is gonna screw endgame over!” No it’s not. Nerf gear at endgame to compensate for the damage increase in skills.

So why base dmg? Well this gives everyone high dmg to retain the fast paced playstyle while also weeding out items that are basically stat steroids. The best and wealthiest pvpers will still have an advantage over new players because skill and being able to min-maxing their chars. It just won’t be as... oppressive as it is now.

Props to you if you read till the end. Imo what I said above would basically revert PvP to the way it was in 2011 where the skilled players shined and newer players were not completely oppressed and had somewhat of a fighting chance. This in turn lets new players want to stay and grow their skills ——> how pvp communities are formed. (Promotes skilled play instead of geared play)