ALRIGHT! Forget the WWII reference. It is obviously distracting from my point.
How about I rephrase and say that while there might be parties that do not wish to get involved in a war on either side, any action those parties take to benefit one side or the other are not neutral actions.
I really do understand the thought that this is the first new content in months. Perhaps the Communal Brain rolled under a table, and no one in the Nevrax office could find it for six months. Since this is the much hyped, much anticipated Episode 2 that was supposed to save SoR and bring everyone back, expectations were rightly very high.
As Jyudas says...all the time...there are a lot of different play-styles.
There are also AT LEAST three RP factions.
Keeping those facts in mind, we can view this event (and future ones) in a couple of ways:
We can come to terms with the idea that not everyone is going to be happy with everything. We can understand that not every event will be well tailored for every faction or play-style, and we can hope that the next one will suit our personal tastes better...or quit the game and look for something that fits us.
-or-
We can point out how the event could have been made better, to be more inclusive of more players. This is the first new content in months. We have been supporting Nevrax all this time, hoping for some sign that they understand us, and we are given a poorly designed Arena battle with material sources. Oh goody. For those of us don't like PvP (or, more closely, I prefer my PvP to be consensual, balanced, without leetspeek and 12 year olds) this new content is not available. And why should we continue to pay for a game that we do not want to fully play?
I get it...I really do.
Perhaps we can have a second isle of doom. Same layout, same mats...only on *this* isle, the FvF zone is turned off. The kinchers are all 5* monsters, there are a lot more of them, they spawn really fast, and maybe we could throw some kinrey and the like in for fun.
DP on both isles is turned off.
We get honor points for killing kitin on either isle.
If Nevrax wants to reward PvPers more than PvEers, more honors points could be awarded for killing players than kitin, and resource collection on the PvP isle could be more efficient
Then, I suggest Nevrax closely monitor how many people actually participate where. I am willing to bet that the PvE isle draws a bigger crowd. You could even make the Wall of Gank exclusive to the PvP isle, and I bet the PvE area gets more use.
Obviously, this does not address the neutrals in this conflict. The server is split practically in thirds on the faction issue, but there really is no neutral faction. I don't remember a single event where the players actually *did* something that was meant for the "hominist" crowd (what a misnomer. The Karavan protect homins from The Souleater. They, and those who help them, are the true hominists
)
The only equitable solution would be another monument. I have heard something like a library or college suggested as the neutral edifice. I think it is a good idea, but here is the main problem: No artwork!
The second island solution would be relatively easy to do; the pieces are already there. They just need to be slapped together. Obviously, testing this episode was entirely optional in Nevrax's eyes, so we wouldn't need to burden ourselves with that. I figure it could be put on the server by Thursday, and still maintain the high, high quality values we have come to expect.
The third monument idea would take a lot of time just to do the art. I think, for the number of people it would satisfy, it would be a great investment as a top priority. But, this is Nevrax, and identifying priority has not been their strong point.
What we all need right now, despite play-style and faction, is for Nevrax to come out and say that they understand why many of us are upset (and be specific here, show us you really do get it) and be clear about how and when they are going to fix it. None of this "I want to tell you, but it will spoil the ending" crap! Will there be a non-PvP way to get honor points? Will there be a meaningful way neutral player can contribute to the story, without helping Jena or The Souleater? Will honor points be useful for anything more than third rate equipment (like the kitin invasion rewards) and boosting egos on the Wall of Gank?
