How do you feel about allegiance rivalries in MMORPGs?

I think you mean factions and not classes. I think my favorite factions are those that are created by players. There's just something really fascinating to me about guild politics in games. It hasn't been implemented that well in most games so I think the potential hasn't completely been found yet.

 

Yeah, are you talking about factions?

If you are - I love them. They are one of the major reasons why I play MMORPGs actually. It's really awesome and it gives depth and reality to the universe/game. It just sucks you in even more in to the game.

 

I really like them. They set up the game to be really fun and they make player experiences a lot more enjoyable.

 

I like it but in some games, it tends to be something that leaves you wondering. For example in Skyrim, you need to play both to know what the differences are. And by the time you have to choose, you already forgot what it was like on the other faction.

 

A good rivalry on a massive scale is what drives the good old MMO mechanics, so I believe it's essential for every title of the game to emphasize on that. On the other hand, it can get quite funny, because for example in guilds I've been, the leaders have demanded of me to stay strictly in the faction that we play as originally, which doesn't really work for me, as I might have friends on the opposite side who I like to play with from time to time.

 

I think factions make a game's p2p fun. I would like to see a game with several different opposing factions instead of just 2 like WoW.

 

I think they are essential in making a great game. I too would like to see a game with more than 2 factions. Another fun possibility is the EVE model where players create factions.

 

I like rivalries in games it makes most games more fun and adds another element to the game! without it in a game I would probably not waste my time on that game.

 

Rivalry like you are talking about is indeed an integral part of long-term fun gameplay. It helps keep the people playing, so to speak.

 

Let's just put it this way, I played Rising Force online, a game about 3 opposing factions/races fighting it out for supremacy, for 5 years. That's how much I love faction wars.

 

How did the faction rivalries function in Rising Force? I never played a game where there are more than 2 factions. How does it function gameplay and number of players per faction wise ?

 

I think faction rivalries are good for an MMO. It gets people more invested in the game and more excited about being a part of the community.

 

Well that's what makes this game unique. As with other MMOs, each faction/race have their own base as a safe zone. Players from other factions cannot enter the base of their enemies as there are defense towers surrounding the base that is designed to OHKO (One Hit KO) players from opposing factions to prevent spying and stuff. Chat is also filtered so you can only chat with players from the same faction/race. Once you step outside of your home base and enters the neutral zones, that's where it gets chaotic, which is why cooperation from fellow players in the same faction/race is important especially for low level players as it can be really difficult to level up without the protection of high level players. Camaraderie is the key for a race to be dominant, which is why of all the MMOs I have played this game has the best community.

I'll give you a scenario that often happens in the game which makes it interesting.

Race 1 has some low level players that needs to get out there to level up, so the high level players decided to form a party and escort the low level players. Lurking just near the spawn area of monsters are high level and well equipped players from race 2, waiting for their prey. Race 1 enters the area where race 2 are hiding and attempts to ambush race 1. But race 3 also entered the scene with the same objective as race 2, but since both races are their enemy, they don't know who to go after first and just begun randomly hitting anyone who is not from their race. Now race 1 decided to call for reinforcements (race chats can be seen by players of the same race wherever they are), but the other races have the same idea, so the 3 races clashes and chaos engulfs the area.

There are many interesting twists here like there was a time when one race was so dominant that the other 2 races decided to team up. If you are looking for a hardcore PK (player killing) game then you should try this game.