I have absolutely no combat triggers. I have no vials beyond 1 mending and 2 health. If you ignore me in a group fight, you'll get pwned because I'll be there whoring vines and waning while someone else beats the hell out of you.

The best way I can see large scale combat would not be Player versus player. It would have to be Players versus NPC, this way it is almost entirely damage based. In addition one tank can't tank a huge ammount of damage against a large swarm of npcs, however if you engaged in a group each person paired to an NPC number, then each person is only taking one NPC's damage, or however many, and major battles become possible, each person able to rush to aide their comrades as the npc they are battleing falls. This would be possible, and also it is feasable to program the NPC's to act realistically, and could be faced with squadron combat as they invade and players have to form tactical decisions to combat them, for instance the npcs wouldn't just rush through a room of people, but stop to fight them. However the people if facing overwhelming odds may be forced to withdraw giving room for the npc's to advance. In this manner you could introduce tactics, as you can see with any imagination. Also it could make for one of the awesomest events ever! Well, in this ones opinion anyway! Imagine, gorgogs unite! Invade Lusternia again! Crap, too many, cities commune smust unite to stop them or be swarmed under the swarms feets. Crap the gorgogs have broken through the Ackleberry road, they're closing fast on Acknor, quick send a mage squadron to hold the gates and erect walls until we can get the soldiers over there. (Sergeant runs in to the room) SIR The gorgogs have broken through the barricade on the southern highway coming out of the Bonderro bay, they've overwhelmed the Stewartsville defenders and are quickly advancing on Dairuchi and Delport the men need reinforcements!
This could be fun fast if you can see!

That sounds pretty cool.

I don't think this sort of epic battle would work with players, for all of the reasons people have said. I do like what Moralis suggested, that could be a nice change of pace.

I think what would be neat is to have NPC v NPC battles. If anyone's been to the new aetherbubble, think something like that, but more complex and interesting, not just pitting two troops against one another. Each city or commune could have a little army, they could purchase whatever types of troops (like archers, artillery, mages, cavalry, etc., maybe have troops unique to each org) they wanted with some sort of max set, so you have to strategize. You also could possibly need to train the troops, create armor for them, etc. so that it's not just "Okay, we know this combination works, we'll use it everytime because we know it will kill them." Then you could decide what troops go in what groups, place them on the battle field, then have a sort of turn based war. I have no idea when this would actually be -used-, but oh well .

A few basic thoughts on battle and war

• A battle or war must be distinctly different than what currently takes place. It's scale must be larger than players swarming into a few rooms
• There should be an overall army made up of seperate units
• NPCs will be used to fill out an army, but PCs should not be limited to a spectator role
• Non-combatants (Merchants, Pacificists, Novices, etc.) must be able to avoid the fight
• Those willing to help, should be rewarded with more than a futile death
• Those claiming non-combatant status must not be able to rezz, heal, spy, or otherwise assist
• Those defeated in a battle must not be able to endlessly redef and rejoin
• There must be incentives and codified rules that encourage a strategic use of forces
• There must be a scope of acheivement that determines when a battle is over
• There must be a tangible benefit to winning a battle.

Did I miss anything?

Is the basin really large enough for huge armies?

No, I don't think it is. The Holy Celestine Empire had a rather large army, but they were a unified entity consisting of four cities. The way I picture things, there's really no such thing as a traditional 'army' in the Basin. Instead, all of the organizations rely on small forces of elite warriors - the guilds can all sort of looked at like special forces in the military. We're all certainly far more powerful and capable than any NPC. That view fits in with both the current game mechanics and RP.

You miss the even greater point to be made.

Do we really want the coders working on war system almost no one is asking for? They have better things to be doing. You don't have to reinvent the wheel to make group combat dynamic, immersive, accessible and fun.

Right. We don't want another aetherspace. 5 months of coding so that... er... yeah. Still trying to figure that one out.

Aetherspace gives us almost infinite room to expand, the ability to disregard other geography (need a mountain, but have nowhere to put it? Aetherbubble!), and just more options in general. It has yet to be really utilized, but give it another year or two, and I'm sure it'll be an integral part of the world.

Also, we were the first with ships.

Group combat doesnt revolve only around swarming tactics. Thats how you fight, doesnt mean thats how everybody else fights.

Apart from the fact that to muster up that many fighters....it sounds like a good idea.