What it is (was):*Disclaimer: This system is what I remember from almost 4 years ago, even then I did not know all about how it worked. While details may be slightly off or mistaken, the general gist remains the same*The proximity system as it was implemented was essentially a radius – or “ring” – around the location of the killing of each player in the server (death at the hands of an opponent). When your teammate made a kill, this xp/gold ring delivered gold and xp to each player account that was within a specific distance of that kill – essentially a “support xp/gold reward.” The killer made the most gain from that kill, gaining 100% of the xp/gold from the kill. Supporting players (other combatants within close proximity of the kill, would gain a certain percentage% of xp/gold from that kill (here is where my information gets fuzzy, because I don’t know exactly how much each supporting player got from the kill).
edit: I'd like to add that Proximity xp/gold gain STOPPED a few seconds after your own death. It does not persist after several seconds of your body registering as "dead." Therefore no one actually ran straight at where they "thought" the engagement would be and die there.
How it affected flow of combat:The proximity system frequently resulted in major engagements occurring in multiple places throughout the map, depending on which direction the most significant (most ballsy, loudest, smartest or simply most face-shieldiest) players on each team conducted themselves. These players became the determining factor on where each engagement was fought throughout each map in the rotation. If, in the first round, we fought for control of a chokepoint in an alley, the next round will almost certainly see us fighting in a different location due to someone team-messaging “fuck that alley, let’s take them in the courtyard.” Tactics would change depending on the circumstances in which we fought, and brought a very organic feel to the conduct of combat, whether on a city or open-ish map.
Plain field maps; those vast, open wastelands that we currently hate? Those were fun back in the day. As it stands today, plain field maps serve to clear out servers, due to the mass amounts of ranged and cavalry that can simply remove themselves from combat and essentially dick around in the boonies and still maintain xp/gold income, especially when on a multiplier. On the proximity system, plain field maps were an almost guaranteed loss to the team that did not create an effective shield wall. Under the proximity system, shield walls in plain field maps were not a novelty, they were a requirement. If your team did not roll enough shielders, your team would see large casualties before closing the distance: Here, in the plain field maps archers, crossbowmen, throwers and other ranged units positively shined. You would see them taking cover behind the shield walls, and you would even see plate-bearing two-handed combatants with no shields standing in front of crossbowmen during their reloading periods. The teamwork and mutual sacrifice in plain field maps were something that is long dead in today’s Meta.
An illustration is
this video during the early beta, back in 2010, where you will see a large server cooperating within their means (WSE2 wasn’t even a glimmer in chadz and cmp’s eyes, hence no “walk” button to normalize the progression of the wall).
Obviously, as cool as I want my argument to sound, I must mention that no one can afford armor and good weapons at this point (literally 2 gold per proximity kill, I think 6 gold per personal kill), hence the lack of horses to change the flow of combat in any significant way.
How it affected fighting mentality and combat attitude (teamwork, cohesion, synergy™): This system encouraged (some would say forced) each combatant who was looking to gain levels or build their gold reserves to engage in close combat alongside their teammates to maximize their personal gain. But a side effect of this motivation for personal gain was the fact that no matter how shitty, or low leveled your character was (I used a round cav shield + katana for god’s sake), you would always strive and commit yourself to your teams’ success by attempting to lend your weapon, shield or even face to support your teammates towards the success of the round, and hence the expansion of your own gold reserves, or the ascension of another level.
How it affected the meta: Grinding then: Is it really grinding when you’re actually having fun? Being a peasant was one of the best learning experiences I had when first participating in the battles in cRPG. My hard-earned padded cloth (588 on the market now, 380 or something when I bought it: took a week of grinding) was purchase with pride and I used it in every skirmish and engagement where I hid behind the largest, platiest motherfucker I could find, and swing at the poor sod on the other team who cowered behind his shield from my teammates’ onslaught. Being a filthy fucking peasant still gave me a sense of achievement when my swing stunned the enemy long enough for a killing blow by my teammates.
Grinding now: Now the grind is truly what it feels like: Grinding. Over the course of time, we will sand down the divide between this level and the next by hiding in the corner and trying really hard not to get caught by the admins while we read a book or play Candy Crush on our phones.
Personally when I start a new character, I can only last so long being beaten down repeatedly with nothing to work for before I finally give up and hop back on my main for a while. Unfortunately, many newcomers to this mod do not have the luxury of a level 34 mounted infantry face-shielding APC/tank to run to in tears. They simply quit and never come back.
It is not fun playing a game where the most you can hope for is to run directly into combat and die, so you can spend your time doing more useful things. That is a major barrier to the long term commitment of anyone to a game. If it’s not fun, we will not play; simple as that. The proximity system enabled me to have a sense of purpose in the game: stay smart, stay useful, stay alive. I actually had something to do while I was alive in-game, and dying actually gave me a sense of “aw” instead of the run-of-the-mill “well, I’ve got better shit to do for the next 5 minutes,” that I’m positive is uttered with almost every single low-levelled death.
Population control:Somewhat related to the Meta, proximity xp/gold gain in the public servers will see natural selection come into play. Since archers, crossbows and cavalry will see less of an experience and gold gain as direct result of their nature for not being directly in combat, we will begin to see fewer of these classes save the extremely dedicated or alternate characters. Instead of being forced to nerf archery, or horses, or lances (current stats should stay or be changed slightly, imo) or whatever the fuck we’ve been dicking around with for 3 years now, the playerbase will evolve on its own to see reduced numbers of cav and ranged and what-have-you, especially for APC/Tank horses (because upkeep will be present, instead of what we had before which was a one-time purchase expense). I’m not saying that these classes are a bane but in excess amounts, whether you like it or not, these “supporting” classes tend to dominate the server. Everyone wants to be the bestest at the game, then why not make the average footman the best class to play not through stats, but through the natural evolution of in-game culture?
Marketplace prices: This one’s gonna be short: Marketplace prices *could* (not will) see a natural decline in prices. We don’t have to artificially attempt to take the money away by making stupid lotteries (of which, if you’ll note, the same people kept winning). The lotteries did not actually take the money away; rather consolidate it into the richest people in the game who could invest the most money into the lottery, thereby making the rich richer and the poor poorer.
The proximity system will simply mean that fewer people are gaining money, and everyone must live within their means. Fewer metal horses for upkeep, and seeing a massive plate piece of shit (like myself) running around like a giant dickhole will be a spectacle, instead of “thus is the life in the ‘band.”
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