The PVP system in SWTOR has been very hush, hush until lately when the hands-on reports started coming out. Gabe Amatangelo sheds a little more light on how exactly the global PVP system is going to work. Many other MMOs have tried to conquer the PVP system by allowing massive combat to take place cross server or realm. SWTOR doesn’t seem to want to take on this idea. Their thinking pattern behind having server-based PVP systems is to create cohesion between players of the same faction and rivalries from the opposing faction.
When PVP is done cross-server it doesn’t make it as personal as having someone from your own server take you on. This will breed not only a better storyline for those who really enjoy it but it will take away from the anonymous feel of killing someone you’ll probably never see again. Now the biggest problem with doing same server PVP is that the queue times are normally incredibly long and one server can be better than another. So what’s the solution to this problem? Queue balance, according to Gabe.
In SWTOR you’ll be able to queue at any level and be able to join battles with higher or lower level characters while keeping everyone equally capable of performing tasks. If you’re level 20 you’ll first be queued with as many other level 20’s as possible. If there aren’t enough level 20’s to do the battle, the system will pair you up with other levels and balance out lower levels once the game starts. The balance will start to take effect the more time that passes without being paired up. Theoretically, SWTOR wants to make it so that each person in the battle is equal to about 80% of the fighting capability of the highest level person in the battle. Will this work? Only time and blowing people up will really tell.
