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Play to Win (by: Dodge R.)

Today’s guest blogger is a Philippine Ragnarok Online player from the Valhalla server. He’s actually now part of Level Up as well, being the first Management Trainee for the company. For this article, he writes about his experiences on being competitive in online gaming. It’s a bit long but I’m sure that if you take time to read through the entire article you’ll appreciate his work. Take it away Dodge!

Thoughts from a Semi-Competitive pRO Player

In this MMORPG age, fame and competition have risen to a new level. We also have all sorts of players playing the MMORPGs. We have those players who try games out then flake to the next new hit, and we have those who stick with the game to gain recognition from the gaming community. A question I’d like to ask all gamers is, why do you play?

About a year ago I read this article on the internet entitled, Play to Win. It tackles one important aspect of gaming, which is, of course, winning (duh!). The author tells the readers (inspiringly or condescendingly, however you want to look at it) to make winning the goal of the game, not just because winning IS the point of the game, but also because winning allows one to constantly improve oneself.

Applying this to Philippine Ragnarok Online (pRO), we can easily see that we have various avenues to express playing to win. Playing to win does not necessarily mean just competing with others in the PvP (Player versus player) rooms or in WoE (War of Emperium) sieges. Playing to win can also involve mastering how to own monsters.

Playing to win in PvM (Player versus Monster) scenarios involves doing a lot of research. It involves knowing how the AI of the monster acts and reacts to our actions. It also involves knowing the monster’s strengths and weaknesses and using that against them. We calculate the exp/hr based on how many monsters are in the map, how fast they respawn, how fast we can kill them, how many people usually go there, the list goes on and on. All of these are part of playing to win.

But they say in GI Joe, “Knowing is half the battle.” Actually fighting the monsters completes the learning. I have friends in Valhalla server who taught me a lot about playing to win in PvM. Sir David and Celes Angelfire, my Crusader mentors, taught me how to do the 4-hit GC against monsters and how to deal with the various monsters in Chivalry 2. A friend of mine, Van Horn, always analyzes monster AI and carefully creates tactics that are suited for hunting them.

Another application of the Play to Win mindset is in PvP and WoE. However, despite what the article says about using “cheap” tactics as a way of self-improvement, most players are still scrubs in these arenas.

In PvP, many players fall prey to the attractiveness of the cheap, fad skills such as Acid Bomb, Enchant Deadly Poison + Soul Link + Sonic Blow, and Extremity Fist. Just because they abuse these one shot (and illogically called cheap) skills, it does not mean that they are playing to win. A lot of scrubs just get into these jobs so they can look and feel powerful in the game. One can notice that veterans piloting Champs, Biochemists and Assassin Crosses far outclass those who just want to join the bandwagon and kill.

Most people rant about how skills are overpowered and that some classes should be nerfed. I believe in the article when it said, 99.9% of the time, there is a counter to anything thrown at you. True non-scrubs will find these out and will shame those who bank upon the fame and fad of the so-called cheap skills.

How about playing to win in sieges? I read a lot of rants in RagnaBoards (RB) about guilds using so-called cheap tactics. Bugs in siege such as the portal bug and so-called cheap tactics like no emblem and copying of emblem are done by a good number of guilds in pRO. This becomes even more controversial when RWC/RPC season arrives.

I believe that this is all part of playing to win. Everyone wants to win, so they do whatever they can to win. If you believe in playing to win, then find ways of countering the said cheap tactics. If a guild’s defenses are penetrated because of the no emblem or copy emblem tactic, then it is the defenders’ fault for being lax in identifying themselves from their disguised foes. If your guild chooses not to use these bugs and “cheap” tactics, then don’t. Just make sure that neither you nor your guildmates go home crying about other guilds that beat yours using cheap tactics.

Other guilds really take this game seriously such that they establish roles for each person to play in the game, even before it begins. A few notable guilds are Method guild from Sakray and Cataclysm from Valhalla. They began their respective servers with a goal in mind, and they planned their rise to power well. This is also a good example of the playing to win mindset.

I’m sure a lot of readers are not convinced with the playing to win philosophy. Playing to win may seem harsh to those who just want to pass the time and enjoy playing the game. Personally, I find myself torn between the two ideas, because I used to play to win, but now I just want to enjoy the game for what it is. My personal stand is that I try not to act scrub-like and complain about bugs and cheap tactics.

Whether you play to win or play to have fun is up to you. I just hope that rants about gameplay are reduced and we learn when to complain and when to strategize. Let’s have mercy on the RB Mods, guys. /heh

P.S. I think the scrubs make the so-called cheap skills cheap. Lol.

Dodge Ronquillo is a Ragnarok player (Thor/Valhalla) and one of the newest employees of Level Up. He joined us a few weeks ago and is now the first management trainee of the company. Dodge has always been a vocal critic of Level Up and he uses this same passion to excel at work. Most of the people who have managed him have nothing but good words for his work and character.

PS: Apologies for the lack of posts lately - currently busy with Holy Week stuff. For the reply to your community concerns, I’m targeting to post that on Tuesday next week. Lastly, wag po tayo OT, let’s keep the comments on topic. Thanks and have a great long weekend everyone!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 6:20 pm and is filed under Lead Article, Ragnarok Online. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. 1,253 Views

35 Responses to “Play to Win (by: Dodge R.)”


  1. No such thing as cheap tactics. What is mimicry and camouflage for? It is to deceive the enemy, and win.


  2. ^You may call it the art of DECEPTION /GG


  3. Kung pwede lang malagyan ng element ang asura, pinakamalakas na ang Champion sa buong RO.


  4. Wow, hello Dodge.

    I also play to win, but ofcourse to enjoy too. =)


  5. If everyone had the play to win philosophy, then Super Novices wouldn’t exist.


  6. hi dodge!

    i’m from thor/valhalla as well. i’m just curious kung cno ka in-game. ano full name mo in-game? hehe… [FS]`elmer here… ung pinaka-wafung SL ng valhalla /gg


  7. wow, Dodge kaw ba yan? ung nakasama ko sa bot hunting dati sa Thor?
    astig, dyan ka na pla sa LU ngayon ha B)


  8. Hey there Dodge! Does Celeste`Angelfire still play in Thor/Valhalla? ^_^

    It’s true that “Playing to Win” is a pretty dominant mindset amongst MMORPG players especially in pRO. What differs greatly amongst players is their definition/s of “Winning”. Like what you’ve said, some players may feel like winners in whatever aspect they focus on in the game - be it in PvP, Woe, MVP, PvM, Role Playing, Meeting new friends/contacts or even just plain enjoying whatever else the game has to offer. Some try to attain certain goals within the game with such an intensity that they would go to great lengths to attain them whether their methods would be ethical or unethical.

    Probably the most common feeling amongst pRO players or any MMORPG players for that matter would be the desire to be one of the best, if not THE best player of the game. It’s a natural desire for any player in any competitive endeavor like sports, etc. One big factor, I believe, is online gaming’s “subculture” status and each game being a subculture on their own. For a game to have such a solid fan-base like pRO, it’s never a mystery why players of this game never run out completely. That’s what makes a strong MMORPG - the number of people who stay to play it affects how much MORE people would be absorbed to play it. I remember during pRO’s Beta days when all my classmates would all talk about RO and their “adventures” in it. Their tales intrigued anyone who couldn’t relate and only fueled the passions of those who could. Everyone felt special in the game because they were given their own identities as opposed to traditional RPG’s wherein characters are set and you were forced to play through “Their” stories rather than play/live through your own.

    Online gaming’s emergence as a subculture opened up an avenue for gamers to partake in and enjoy talking about. I mean honestly, don’t all of us gamers enjoy talking about the game we love with our fellow gamers? Even if it’s just about simple things like “Pare, nakapulot ako ng Hydra card sa Byalan kahapon!” “Ow? Astig!” - gamers in such conversations enjoy themselves despite the raised eyebrows of clueless eavesdroppers. Online gaming (or even Network gaming, for that matter) is as natural a topic of conversation as Music, Sports, Cars, or whatever is!

    Bottom line is, Playing to Win is a common mindset amongst gamers. What differs amongst each one is exactly what “Winning” means to them. /no1

  		9.
    angelfromheaven
    March 22nd, 2008 at 9:54 am

    i think may dalawang klaseng player pa na d nasama @ TS

    play to find a bf/gf or friends

    play to earn money (selling rares for php)


  10. playing to win is a good philosophy but sana lang if you win, wag naman masyadong lumaki ang ulo… O.o
    yung iba kasi.. sige malakas na char mo… pero sobrang yabang naman… O.o

    i play for fun and i play to have friends… and i’m proud of doing so!


  11. My idea of winning is killing those popular character builds in PVP using non-popular/almost ridiculous character builds. I’m often the first to make or revive these builds in my server and I take pride in being an annoyance in the PVP rooms.

    150 STR / 100 VIT Stalker with Bowling Bash ~ easily kill most Vital Builds with Ice Pick and others with Bloody/Ancient weapons, and still survive ~ retired since the arrival of AB.

    INT DEX Stalker with Grand Cross ~ able to kill whole parties with surprise attacks ~ since retired due to popularity of AR and HEXed clients

    No Cast Super Novice with more skills that just SC & FB and max MATK 1142 ~ kills AGI builds and low DEF/MDEF builds with no problem, technique handles the rest. If I can’t kill them, my hats off to them but if they fall to their feet, killed by a SN is enough insult added to injury. ~ ACTIVE and still annoying.


  12. @Elmer

    Kilala mo ako pare. Twice na nga tayo nagkita IRL eh. :D

    @Frithiof

    Hi, sadly, she left pRO a long time ago. She was a good teacher though. :D

    @angelfromheaven

    Yeah, I only meant to discuss the playing to win mindset. /no1

    @roiji

    I agree. Dapat lang naman hindi tayo mayabang kahit sa totoong buhay. :)

    Thanks for the kind words to describe me Waukeen! Hehe.


  13. yea i luv taking my instacast SuNo into WoE


  14. By the way guys, here’s the article that I got my thoughts from. Wouldn’t want to be accused of plagiarizing. :P

    http://www.sirlin.net/Features/feature_PlayToWinPart1.htm


  15. @Dodge

    Hmm, mukhang kilala din ata kita (wahahahha!!!!!) Ikaw ba ang daddy ng bebe nubis na makulit at nahawa kay Mheena sa pagka-green? :)


  16. Nak ng tokwa sikat ka na Dodgeh!! MWAHAHAHA!! Pa-autograph naman!!!


  17. LOL! I thought the post was about a contest or something like that. :)


  18. wow nde ko pa tapos basahin pero s tingen ko botter c manong dodge hula lng un ha… exp/hr,respawn,players population….. parang “king of a map” or bot mwuahahahaha!!!!


  19. ok na sana saken naisip ko lng bat kaya sa Thor/Valhalla c manong dodge naglaro dahil kaya pagbago server mas madali dun ung sinabi nyang “PLAYING TO WIN” at mas konti ang COMPETITION at sana wag tau agad bumilib sa mga guild na nabanggit isipin natin kung ilan ang naglalaro dun sa server na un… SCRUBS pde din ba dun ung mga player na nag lalaro sa mga bagong server dun ata madaming SCRUBS..sorry dodge pero lahat ng naglaro ng ragnarok dumaan sa novice at lahat ay minsang naging noob bago maging veteran…try not to act scrub-like peace tau ha ^^


  20. sir pa OT lng po…

    Im experiencing LAG when I go to pvp rooms and during sieges… I asked some of the players & they have the same problems… dunno if it’s our connection…

    MY ISP: Sky/Bayan DSL
    ISP of the players a asked: PLDT/SmartBro DSL
    Server: Baldur
    Place when LAGS occur: pvp rooms, woe maps…


  21. “P.S. I think the scrubs make the so-called cheap skills cheap. Lol.”

    yeah, absolutely right!


  22. Congratulations Dodge!! May boses na ang Valhallians sa senado!! Este sa LUG pala. You can make a difference. We all trust you.


  23. Okay this has a lot to do with history as well. E

    Example, the samurais got gunned down by rifles and they say they got beaten by cheap tactics and “no skill” soldiers.

    Or perhaps when the us troops went to vietnam only to find their limbs decapitated with mine fields. they got slaughtered and beaten by vietnam troops hiding beneath burrows or grounds.

    or perhaps when michael jordan gave a push-off that caused brian russel to slide as he went for the game winning shot. (NBA Finals)

    so what does this say?


  24. Andami mo pala fans, Dodge. heh


  25. Playing to Win, people usually misconceptualize this as winning in everything. But the truth is, you win some, you lose some. It should be playing to gain experience.

    Sir David taught us how to wield a two-hand sword during knighthood days. His mentoring did give an easier outlook in making a knight to a LK, along with help of others.

    @Wauks

    Si Dodge pa, palaging nasa Prontera yan nakatambay para makipagchikahan /heh


  26. @DeSquallie

    Playing to win, as said in the original article, is not just about winning. It’s about constant improvement. Technically its “Playing to win, so that one can constantly change his or her tactics and improve oneself to win.”

    @Spiderman

    I won’t deny that I used to bot way back in Sarah Server. I started pRO late, but I continued on. I moved to Thor when I saw a possible bot-free server; nakakawalang gana mag laro pag puro bot lang. I did not move there to find less competition. I wanted to actually enjoy the game and get to play with friends.

    I think we all have a right to believe in the best guilds in our server, despite the flourishing or lack of competition in the server. /no1 Despite being a Thorian/Valhallan, I also recognize Boza’s skill in playing the game. What’s important is we are aware of what else is out there.

    And about newbies acting scrub-like, that’s not a big deal. Eventually, they will think that they have to improve and they will stop acting scrub-like. There are just some players who really want to continue living the scrub life, and it’s up to them. Afterall, we choose how we want to play the game, right?

    @Bellerogrim

    I think it only shows how the military tactics now improved to adapt to the times. :-) That is exactly why brandishing swords no longer is a good option in war (although it still looks WAAAAY cooler than firing guns).

    About MJ’s push off? I don’t know, did Byron Russell change his defensive tactics? :D If he did, then great!

    @Artemis and Riley

    Hello friends. :)

    @Wauks

    Fans? It’s a start. Mas marami parin ang sayo. LOL! Dami umaangal sa ibang posts mo oh :-P


  27. awww, dumugo na naman ilong ko sa english mo ricardo,wahaha. pa-autograph pag uwi ko,grabe nakaka 2 feature ka na sa blog ni wauks a, ano ba pinakain mo sa kanya,haha.

    miss na kita, mag DSL ka na kse nang makapag RO ka na,haha.

    @art, pati dito sinisingit mo ko.


  28. Does the concept of Improvement mean Countering the “Cheap” skill or patronizing it on a higher level?

    In woe, does this mean that players should use other dirty tactics like warping aside from the guild emblem exploit?


  29. Kaya pala hindi na kita masyado nakikita in game. Nice work and congrats on making it to LU.

    I also play to win, mainly in the PVM environment, PVP not so but it’s still enjoyable. I feel I am a winner as long as I have fun, that’s why questing with friends is on the top of my list over other things. Oh and completing my planned equips too XD

    @Artemis
    Lola paramdam ka :P


  30. Bellerogrim on March 24th, 2008 at 6:27 pm:

    Does the concept of Improvement mean Countering the “Cheap” skill or patronizing it on a higher level?

    In woe, does this mean that players should use other dirty tactics like warping aside from the guild emblem exploit?

    ————————-

    Depends on how you look at it, I guess. I look at it as countering the cheap skill.

    Dirty tactics such as false warping can be avoided, it’s not game breaking. :)


  31. LOL @PVM. It’s PVE not PVM


  32. You might think I play to win but i seriously don’t
    I just play to make new friends, meet old friends and have fun with them all together
    DeSquallie is actually right
    I’m probably the one who lost the most of all the people in valhalla but still I’m getting some to payback all the lots things.


  33. amp Dodge… Ahahahahahahah

    Your one of them na… woooooooooooooooooooo


  34. haha ang deep deep nga ng words lalo na ung nasa parenthesis-CONTEXT clue alert.
    ngaun ko lang nabasa. 30% of the qualities of my characters plays to win, 70% = plays for fun… but winning = fun. so 100% = play to win. LABO! goodluck dodge! :-D BigtymnaBigtymna!


  35. I prefer to use PvM in RO, it’s more apt. PvE is just a term used in other games, most commonly seen in WoW.
    Technically, there is no environment in RO. It’s just Monsters. LOL.

    Long time no reply. Haha. Naisipan ko lang mag post ulit. Hello Valhalla friends.

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