There would be no opt-out option.

I see the same problem coming up if this allows for negative scores.

That looks reasonable, although it seems possible that the noncombatant bit could be exploited. That is, cities raid Faethorn and an otherwise noncombatant player kills someone. Now that player is suddenly, I would think, a high value, making people like Jozen kill them. And killing people of very low kill scores should probably reduce your kill score. Still, I defended Faethorn once at level 25 and got killed. Having that lower the killer's score might be undesirable.

Then I'd have to say that I'd prefer to see no PK scoring system. Anything else is going to take a fair bit of tweaking / time / coding to get "right", I think.

Edit: Zenon in the above post touches upon a few of the issues.

Just remove the ranking system. Easy solution. Then we can go back to our regular, unranked e-peen waving.

Any system would be acceptable if it didn't cause hostilities that had just barely started to die down to suddenly surge to even worse than they were two weeks ago, I think. My preference would be to keep the current system in place just a few more days, then start giving anyone who gets near the top, random bouts of pacifism, maggoting, and shrubbing. But don't tell them you're going to to do it beforehand!

Okay, okay, seriously, I can see why it's only fair that combat be celebrated in HONOURS at least as much as questing, culture, etc. since combat is at least as important as those other things and probably a lot more so. And the combat rankings we have are meaningless not just because they're too easily gamed but because arena prowess is of little significance in Lusternia. The problem is that this new system ranks very simply by kills, not by kills made in actual meaningful combat; but I'm doubtful any cleverer system wouldn't be just as easily gamed, since there's no mechanical method of distinguishing killing someone on a raid that has actual RP repurcussions or significance, from killing someone because you're the kind of jerk that needs to grind other people down to feel like you matter, and prefers to have how much you think you matter reflected in a tidy numerical score. I agree with those who say simply make the rankings invisible to the public, at least for now, while people try to find a better approach.

Hey hey, not everyone near the top is a griefer/out to farm kills. My pattern hasn't changed because of this system, nor has most people's. Once again it's because of the outliers that things need to be changed. As Gregori said, someone people have no self control.

Poor Marie. Krellan seems to have picked her to grief, and I KNOW she's not a fighter at all.

Krellan wasn't griefing, too hard. She wanted to help break the meld and paid the price, comes with the RP side of defending.

I like the removing the ranking system idea.

Would we be out of our league to ISSUE someone who we know is farming lowbies? At least the Admin can then take a look at it, reduce Rolepoints, maggot for a time, whatever, if it's found that the person really is just gaming the system.

It's not bug abuse, though, and they're doing something that is allowed by mechanics... they aren't bypassing avenger or actually breaking any rules. So I imagine it'd be a pretty weak issue.

The entire point of Avenger is to avoid the issue system for PK.

Well, then there is really nothing we as a playerbase can do to "turn against" someone who is being a jerk to farm the rankings, as has been suggested, so...

In the past, organization leaders have taken stands against such activities.

However, doing so requires 1) Being willing to take a chance at the Administration being upset with you when they get an angry email and don't look into the reasoning why (they almost never ask for the other side of the story), 2) Actually caring that the person is doing it, and 3) Being willing to lose the person in question as a combatant.

So, it doesn't happen any more.

It seems like it really is just Jozen that's been doing this so far. He's got 10 more kills then Thoros, and most all are non-combtants and lowbies I personally can't recall being active for defense or raids. I'd say overall, most of the top-tier playerbase has not gone out to start farming kills besides him like people were worried. I'd really like to see what he has to say, don't think I've seen a post from in here yet.

Don't listen to Xenthos. I have no idea what he's talking about.

We've confronted people before when there's an issue of bullying (even though they're not technically "breaking the rules"). And, yes, we've been considering doing so recently. However, it is true that we'd prefer for the playerbase to address the issue among themselves before we are forced to step in. Just because someone in your city or commune doesn't mean they should be protected from being abusive to others nor should you be turning a blind eye because they are on "your side". If the Administration has to step in and enact policies or make changes you don't like, you only have yourselves to blame for letting it get that far. Again, as I've said before, if there's a couple of individuals (or even one individual) that is being a jerk, then I don't understand why the entire playerbase doesn't rise up against him or her.

Rise up? How?

Give them disapproving looks and stern warnings? I mean, you can only physically punish a demigod with a cubix who doesn't leave his territory unless it's to kill some lowbie or backed by a group so much.

It's pretty clear a lot of the forums community heavily criticizes him for his actions. Magnagora absolutely won't do a thing about it, because Magnagora at present values combatants are anything else (Letting in Narsrim who's raided Magnagora more than anyone in recent memory is a good example). So...what's going to happen? As long as he has an organization that condones novice killing and a clan full of high level combatants that encourage/protect him...nothing will happen.

So I'm curious as to how we can "rise up" and punish him without administration saying "You really need to stop being a totally dickweed and leave the novices alone. Or we'll turn you into a bush."

And this won't address killing your own side for points. I'm counting 5 Mags on Jozen's list. Pretty sure they weren't for reincarnation.

LoL Jozen told me he's keeping his PK list at 14 so he can't get status.

It's funny how griefing low levels doesn't tug at the moral strings but GOD FORBID he should get status, amirite?

He killed someone one for starring him, after he kicked them first.