Bioware is showing off Player versus Player in Star Wars the Old Republic here at PAX 2011. We got to play an 8v8 game mode called Huttball. Huttball is similar to a classic capture the flag PvP mode, however there is a ball in the middle of the zone and your team's objective is to grab the ball and take it to your opponent's base. It's pretty similar to football; you pick up the ball, pass the ball to your team mates, but instead of tackling your opponents, you use light sabers, force lightning and pistols to take them out.
We played as a Jedi Sentinel, a dual lightsaber wielding melee dps class. As a dps class, our role was primarily to defend our tanks when they had the ball or run the ball and pass it off to a tank. Certain tank classes gain an ability called Guard which, buffs up their ball carrying ability. As you defend the ball carrier, heal your team mates, or assist in kills you gain medals. Upon death, respawning at the "medcenter" (aka your team's base) was instantaneous and you could enter the fray quickly.
The 8v8 map we played on was a large indoor hanger type of area, complete with hazards, buffs, and platforms. The hazards included acid pits that slow and deal damage over time and fire grates that toggle on and off (we can attest, getting caught in the flames is a quick way to die!). There are also vents in the floor that blast you on to higher platforms and proved a quick way to escape combat when you're out numbered by the enemy. There are health and speed buffs stashed around the arena as well. Tactical cover, like sandbags, are placed throughout.
The game is won by being the first to 4 points or the highest scoring team after 15 minutes. We did not get a chance to see an end of game summary screen during this demo, but we would guess you'll get all the essential details as well as some scoring based on the medals you earned during the match. Currently, this is the only game type and map that has been announced, but we were assured that Bioware would be releasing more information on the PvP systems soon.
For more information on Star Wars the Old Republic, be sure to check out Wiki SWTOR.
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