[zenith]

I've had a lot of feedback lately that people want to lower the hurt on others by standard combat instead of hideout fights.

Err and I have had a very long discussion on the subject this weekend. The change was originally made to fix 2 complaints about the old war system that we dealt with very frequently; gang deletion and constant hospital visits.

The old way made feuds between players/gangs cause permanent hurt. If you invested $20 million into a gang, any single player who was stronger than your gang members could take it away on a whim. You'd be in the hospital for several days and in the end you would have no gang. The millions invested were gone. In the end, the player quit. This happened so often in the past the new gang war code was added.

Everyone knows I am all about not having people quit because of actions from another player. But the game is about combat and beating those you are stronger than, and the game needs to refocus on this.

My proposal is just that, an idea. I am not asking if people want it or not. I am asking about opinions. Honest opinions. This issue with gang wars has caused the skills system (replacing school) to be pushed back until a working system for gang fights is implemented.

Proposal

Gang Battles - PvP

The old-school system had it's flaws but also had more bite. Gang Battles will involve old-school tactics. Fights will be against players rather than hideouts. Respect will have to be earned, purchased with gang points, or donated for. When you deplete a gang's Respect down to 0, they aren't deleted... they lose 1 gang slot.

Respect is earned the old way. Beat someone who is weaker than you and you get 1 point. Beat someone stronger and you get 5. Beat someone even and you gain 3.

To compensate for having the risk of losing slots, prices to buy slots will decrease. All gangs with purchased slots will have a portion of this money returned.

Additional Ideas for Battles
1.) All gang battle participants can be attacked at any health condition. Did that level 24 just get out of the hospital at 10% health? Might be a good time for a lower level to strike for 5 respect!
2.) When in battle, a war (see below) can be declared. If a hideout falls, the war and battle are over.
3.) Battles require a minimum of 5 members in the gang. Any gangs below 5 members do not get any gang bonuses from hideouts.
4.) All gangs have 100 respect initially. When 0 or less is reached, the war is over and the loser will lose 1 gang member slot. There will be no permanent deletions, but any gang dropped to below 5 member slots gets no bonuses.
5.) Respect can be purchased with gang points at a 10 to 1 ratio at any time. You cannot purchase respect if over 100 respect however.


Gang Wars - Current Hideouts
The current gang war system was designed so a strong player couldn't delete a gang of 20 just because he was stronger. This was the #1 complaint with the old system. Somehow a large gang had to have some sort of strength against 1 player.

Gang wars will continue as they are. They will be a way for weaker players to stop a hopeless war against a superior opponent, but not a guarantee that it will work. Any win in a gang war will stop a gang battle and vice versa. Gang points will have more uses as well, with more temporary bonuses as well as permanent bonuses.