Balancing PvE and PvP Gearing Paths

[VoTFTyldor]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share some thoughts on the current state of gearing in Return of Reckoning. I know this might not resonate with everyone, but I think it’s important to discuss. When I last played, with Conq being Best in Slot, I felt the game was in a better place. Now, it feels like PvE has become the most efficient way to get your gear up to a reasonable level, and that’s been a bit of a downer for me.

Let me explain why. For me, Warhammer Online’s PvE is not enjoyable at all. It’s great that some people like it, but it’s just not my thing. Right now, speedrunning GB and BS can get you gear equivalent to 4-6k crests in about 8-10 hours of PvE (sure, it's time-gated for 3 weeks..). Compare that to PvP, where earning the same level of gear would take roughly 60-100 hours (assuming around 6600 crests). Sure, you could argue the belt is unnecessary for some classes, you can buy the gloves and boots of the 3 sets, but that's neither here or there. Even if you'd think that is a valid argument, which it is, the delta between 4k crests and 8hrs of GB/BS is still massive. You could also make the argument that you might get lucky with gold bags, which can help reduce the crest cost a bit, but it’s not reliable and definitely not targetable like the PvE route.

I ran some numbers to back this up:

PvE Gear Path: 3 GB and 3 BS runs take about 8-10 hours to complete in a speed run, yielding ward unlocks.
PvP Gear Path: Requires about 4-6k crests (dependent on belt, boots and gloves for each set), translating to roughly 60-100 hours of gameplay unless you get lucky with gold bags.
The disparity here is pretty clear. PvE is far more efficient for gearing up quickly, which feels unbalanced for those of us who prefer PvP.

Now, I’m not here just to complain. I’ve been thinking about possible solutions to balance things out:

Remove the Invader Ward: This would help even out the playing field by making ward unlocks more accessible through PvP.
Reduce the Crest Cost Significantly: Another approach would be to lower the number of war crests needed to get competitive gear, bringing it more in line with the time investment required for PvE.
I’m not a developer or designer, so I don’t have all the answers. Maybe nobody else feels the same way, but I wanted to put this out there to see what others think. I believe it’s worth discussing how we can make the gearing process more balanced and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of whether they prefer PvE or PvP.

What are your thoughts? How do you feel about the current gearing system, and do you have any suggestions for improvement?

Thanks for reading, and looking forward to the discussion!

[Templa]

reduce invader cost. keep rest

[JohnnyWayne]

It's meant as incentive to do PvE. Take it or leave it.

[BluIzLucky]

The difference is not as big as you make it.

Invader ward can also be gotten from Triumphant/Victorious and they are often part of BIS, so any piece here is "not wasted".

Also the time you have for PvE is way lower than my experience (PuG), 5 hours for 3x GB, 6 hours for 4x City (to be reintroduced) and another 6 for 4x BS.
That makes 15-20 hours for full end game PvE.
This time could have been spent in PvP to not only earn 1-2k crests but also significant renown.

I made these arguments before items returned to gold bags and now that they have, you'd additionally miss out on 4-8 bags which could be another +1k in PvP favour.


All that being said, I'm not against lowering PvP costs though I'd rather see gear in more bag colours for fort, just want to make sure that PvE is protected and if you lower cost on PvP an equivalent incentive should be given to PvE and your suggestions do not do that.

[Wdova]

Bring back gear drop from gold bags in rvr(up to vanq)/fort(invader)/cities(warlord/sov) simultanously with crests. You dont need another vanq. shoulder piece? Fine, take 40 crests.Ppl would care more about mixed content rather than endlesly farming crests in rvr or scens.

[TrainInVain]

Allow crests and tokens to be exchanged at 4 of yours for 1 of the one you want to trade to.

[dekadd]

Make price of PVP gear reduce by the price of previous set piece.
PVE loose their "mandatory" feeling, we don't "waste" crest for wards, new peaple get stuff quickly and don't leave game right after ding 40 and realize they need lot of time to compet stuff

[gyps]

Bring back gear drop from gold bags in rvr(up to vanq)/fort(invader)/cities(warlord/sov) simultanously with crests. You dont need another vanq. shoulder piece? Fine, take 40 crests.Ppl would care more about mixed content rather than endlesly farming crests in rvr or scens.

You got vanq already out of the gold bags from keeps, it depends on your renown rank (more info viewtopic.php?t=53038)