107688-cross-faction-communication-allow-it-pvp-angle

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Apologies if this has been posted before, but I did a basic search and found similar posts on this forum and others about the issue but the majority of them were based on PvE servers and elements and some of them were posted quite a while ago now. They make their own points very well, but I want to focus this post on PvP elements.
 
First I think it’s safe to say that most people know that right clicking on the strange runic-esque chat of the opposite faction and reporting it will result in a window which shows you what they said, hell there’s even addons that do it for you automatically. It is obvious carbine will know about this and probably have a fix lined up for it. However, I want to propose the argument that they shouldn’t fix it and instead remove the ‘block’ on communicating cross-faction entirely.
 
As a result of this post I’m hoping the issue might gain some traction before the inevitable fix/patch by carbine, and also, hopefully people who don’t agree with it will give some feedback as to why they don’t like the idea.
 
The two main reasons why I believe some MMOs (not all of course) have a system of no cross-faction communication are for immersion into the whole us against them, lore, and the sense of the ‘other’; and griefing/abuse in regards to PvP issues.
 
Now for the first issue, as far as I know, humans are cassians. It stands to reason they would still know how to speak/understand the language and if sci-fi has taught me one thing it’s that the future promises translation devices to understand alien languages (I’m really sorry about that, I wasn’t planning on going so RP when I made this post...). All of that could be considered as a moot point as this is WildStar and it consistently, and perhaps is based on, breaking the fourth wall and being self-aware. This is not a super serious game, chatting with the opposite faction does not break some fundamental story element or narrative, at least in my opinion.
 
Secondly, being able to smack-talk your opponent in PvP is almost as fun as putting their face in the dirt. I feel carbine understand this kind of interaction to a degree with the rival system - which by the way I love as a feature. As stated above the main issue I see with this is griefing/abuse problems, however, we already have same faction arena and warplots (not sure if we have same faction RBG – but if we don’t, then I don’t see why not). We can already message a large chunk of the people we PvP against and I don’t see many (if any) posts complaining about the interactions that result. One thing I would add is that there would need to be the option to ignore players of the opposite faction as there is with players of your own faction (this could already be possible I just haven’t checked/cant right now). The ignore system in games is there to block communication with vile or obnoxious people, whether they be the same faction as you or not, so there’s no reason for this to be a reason to prohibit cross-faction chat.
 
I’ve had so much fun being able to talk to everyone/other factions in the MMOs I’ve played that allow it. I’ve flamed people, they’ve flamed me but 8/10 times I end up being friends (or perhaps rivals is the better term heh) with them so that the next time I see them the PvP experience is just that little bit better. Same goes with other game types that have no factions to speak of, like FPS for example, where being able to communicate with your adversaries just enhances the whole experience. (However, I will concede that this example for some might not be the greatest due to the plague that is CoD-kids and their loathsome drivel but that’s what the ignore function is for).
 
Like I’ve stated, I know why some games block cross-faction communication, but I personally just don’t like it. I can deal with it, but I believe MMOs are far better when you can speak/communicate/interact with the whole player base in game, not just half.
 
I really wasn’t intending to make the post this long, I guess I just got carried away, cheers if you made it this far but I’ll try sum it up in the mandatory ‘too long didn’t read’ sentence for posts of this length.
  
TL;DR – allow cross-faction communication because it’s fun.
 	
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Tip of the day: hit report spam on enemy's message.
 
That or just get one those translation mods.
 
Simple.	
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That or just get one those translation mods.
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			Allow cross-faction chat because it is lore accurate. Exile humans were once apart of the Dominion, the Mordesh were slated to join the Dominion before well zombies, Granak were contacted to join the Dominion but refused, Aurin harbored Exile humans that recently deserted the Dominion.	
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{| class="blockquote"
Tip of the day: hit report spam on enemy's message.
 
That or just get one those translation mods.
 
Simple.
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While addons are certainly an option (whose main problem was mentioned by Naunet: updates), the "report spam" button is not an option. Imagine how annoying it would be to hit that multiple times in a row. Now imagine that annoyance multiplied by N people, if you try to keep up with what multiple characters of the other faction are saying. Additionaly, not everyone knows this "handy trick", so it wouldn't still be clear if the other player is reading you until the two of you hit the button.
 
And that's not considering that you might accidentaly report them. Mistakes happen, you know?	
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