Would PvP destroy the camaraderie of FFXIV

[gifthorse]

Everyone says that one of the best features of FFXI is that it created an atmosphere of friendship and helpfulness. All the players were on the same side. It was you and everyone else vs. the mobs.

While there are lots of benefits to PvP (the adrenaline rush of fighting a sentient being rather than Ai), one of the recurring issues people have with PvP is that it would destroy this sense of camaraderie between players. Obviously nobody can predict what would happen if PvP was implemented, but I for one feel that the game could still foster this atmosphere of friendship and still have PvP at the same time.


Examples:


-Especially in the case of open world PvP, linkshells and parties become more closely knitted communities since there is greater protection in numbers.

-In Ultima Online, for example, there was no shortage of helpful players despite there being PvP. In fact it was mainly "red players (Player Killers)" who were shunned from society. It was actually very difficult to survive as a Pker in Ultima Online; you couldnt enter friendly towns without being attacked by the guards and other players . So a system like this helped sustain social balance, but there was still a lingering danger which players were collectively opposed to: a common enemy.

I think there are many ways to maintain social balance while implementing PvP. PvP adds another element of danger/threat which keeps the game interesting, but it doesn't necessarily have to conflict with the elements that make a game like FFXIV so good.

It would be interesting to have an experimental server to see how the implementation of PvP would pan out.