Reborn Dev Spotlight: World PvP, Battlegrounds, Public Events

Our next Beta test for OrbusVR: Reborn will take place beginning Friday, December 7th. As we lead up to the test, we've got a series of blog posts coming out this week and next to preview some of the new features you can look forward to. Without further adieu, here's the first!

World PvP and Battlegrounds

A major change that is coming to the game in Reborn is a re-working of the way the Open World PvP works. In Reborn, World PvP will be entirely opt-in (and off by default). You can only choose to enable or disable your World PvP status inside of Highsteppe (or your Player House).

Once enabled, you are able to attack any other player in the world that also has World PvP enabled, as long as you are outside of Highsteppe and certain instances such as Dungeons. In exchange for taking the extra risk, you receive a 10% bonus to all XP gains, as well as additional resources when you harvest resource nodes (such as flowers and ore) in the world. The risk, however, is that if you are killed while your World PvP is enabled, you will drop all of your tradable items, and need to resurrect at the closest graveyard.

In addition to Open World PvP, we're introducing a more structured PvP offering this time around in the form of Battlegrounds. Our first Battleground, The Valley, will be available for play in this test. It's a 4v4 battle in which both teams fight to control 3 capture points on the map, represented by flags. You gain points for having a point captured, and the first team to 1,000 points wins. In Battlegrounds, you bring in only your weapons and equipment (no potions, pets, or other items). All players' levels and stats are standardized, so the gear your equip is purely cosmetic. You can choose to switch disciplines once you are in the game anytime you are outside of combat.

At the end of the battle, you'll be able to see a scoreboard which tracks various stats from the match, including the number of kills, deaths, damage done, damage taken, healing done, healing taken, and captures for each player. We're also planning to add long-term tracking of a Battlgrounds PvP rank that goes up with wins or down with losses, but that won't be in for this beta.

You can queue up for the Battleground under the Social section of the Player Menu from anywhere in the world. When the queue pops, you'll be teleported into the Battleground, and when the game is over you'll return to your previous location.

Public Events

Another major new feature that will be shown for the first time in this beta test is our Public Events system. Public Events are activities located throughout the various zones of the game which activate on a rotating schedule. Each event has a fun and engaging mechanic that's designed to provide some new gameplay which you don't normally see in the overworld. For example, one of the first public events you will encounter is outside of Highsteppe, and involves protecting a barricade from waves of encroaching monsters. Another takes place in a fort, where you can use special items in the environment such as crossbow turrets to protect the against large hulking foes.

Public Events are designed for multiple players to participate in them at once, and you'll be able to easily see when one becomes available when you're in the overworld adventuring. These events give a reward of Bronze, Silver, or Gold depending on your participation level in the event while it's happening, and for completing it you will receive a reward in the form of XP as well as a small reward chest. Some events also drop event-specific cosmetic items such as dyes or pets that can only be obtained when completing that event.

New Menu Styling

Although we've already shared this on Twitter, we wanted to highlight in the blog post our new Menu Styling. We've taken the time to finally style the menu in a fantasy themed way to match the rest of the new art in the world. It's also much easier on the eyes at night time :-)

We'll be back later this week with a preview of the new zones you'll be able to enter in the beta, as well as our next race of enemies.