Let's talk about PKP

[Rapsey]

If you ask me PKP as a resource has been very out of place for a while now. With the last CW update we even went so far as to make PKP the main method of buying some of the best gear in the game - for no reason other than the fact it exists and there's nothing else you can spend it on. In other words: because PKP needs to be given a use. To me this is evidence that PKP needs getting looked at.

For those of you who don\t know, PKP came out of an attempt to boost Wilderness activity. The idea was that PvM\ers would never want to waste their hard-earned cash trying to compete in PvP. The solution: let's give people a resource which is earned just by playing the game and which can only be spent on PK gear. That way PvM'ers might as well try to PK every once in a while, they don't lose anything because they can't spent it on anything else anyway.

Over the years we begun to forget the purpose of PKP. Because it represents any kind of progress in the game, we started using it as part of late-game requirements such as the completionist cape. We made it part of the price tag for donator/premium statuses on ironman accounts. We made it part of the price tag for salve (e) for whatever reason. And now, because we're still making more PKP than we have things to spend it on, we're selling CW armor sets for them as well, along with a number of other additions to the PKP shop that have nothing to do with PK'ing. All that for a resource whose original purpose hinged on the fact that you couldn't spend it on anything other than PK gear. Whatever its purpose was, I would say we have royally defeated it now.

In addition to this I think us devs have some false beliefs about the way PKP is earned. We tend to think of it as something that cannot be farmed, something that is earned in equal amounts no matter what you do in the game. But I'm pretty sure there are a few ways that let players farm PKP way faster than us devs believe they can.

So... Do you think PKP still has any purpose in the game? Why not just remove it completely and replace all PKP prices with GP? After all, the original PKP experiment failed (didn't really encourage non-PK'ers to PK) and there are plenty of players with lots of cash and nothing to spend it on. You could apply the same reasoning and say that GP needs to be given more uses, instead of giving more uses to a resource that shouldn't even exist while we sit on our trills with nothing to spend them on.

I'm curious to hear what you think.

[Respire1337]

As I've talked with Thoby, yes, pkp is absolutely useless, especially after removing those pvp gears from the shop ( don't get me wrong, that was a good move ).
I have 2 possible outcomes for PKP :

• We either continue our route at the moment and keep throwing in non pvp related items in the PKP shop ( like ornament kits, some fashionscape, or actual useful stuff)
• Or, we get rid of PKP. Lost souls, WIldyWyrm, skilling, pvming, pkping, nothing will give pkp anymore. We remove any existing PKP ( maybe converting it into GP?) and we either leave all the cosmetics and ornament kits in the shop, or simply add them to clue scrolls.

Either way, we need to move away from the pvp gears, weapons and chaotic weapons ( pkp risk on death, pkp is practically useless, meaning killing someone with max gears or with bis weapons will reward you with...nothing). We have good gears that actually cost a lot of money ( gwd gears, nex gears, druidic, etc ) that can be used for pking instead of these riskless armours. It's the way forward for pking. Starting pking gear is pretty affordable, so that means new players can start pking not too long after they're started.

[Church]

Personally I've always been quite a fan of the gaining of the point through doing things like skilling. Even if you totally ignore needing the points for things that are required for end game content (like the comp cape) it adds an extra bit of reward to some of the games more repetitive content. For that reason alone I'd like to keep them as a part of the game and consider a restructuring of their purpose.

One issue you may run into just completely removing them is that a common reason to roam the wild is fighting the lost souls to gather pkp, if it's useless then lost souls become a fair bit more useless as well.

I don't have a highly specific suggestion but if I had more time I'd lean towards removing the PkP price for everything currently in game, totally getting rid of the chaotic equipment that isn't entirely necessary for other stuff like the Castle Wars gear (changing the stats of the Ghrazi Rapier to the Chaotic Rapier while I was at it) and then redo the PkP shop to sell items that are ornamental or aesthetic in nature.

Make PkP more like a "loyalty" point system where playing the game and doing stuff in the game enables you to get small rewards.

[Thierryu1]

Keep PKP.
I'd suggest to make it way harder to get PKP from skilling or pvming. Don't remove it completely but don't make it as viable. Also, make PKP from pking go up way more, maybe more PKP the more you risk? something to look into! At last, also make cool items that are only obtained through PKP that will stand the test of time. Other plan; make it so once every, idk, 2 months- 3 months, the pkp store changes it's stock(making it a circulation, not discontinue). Making the items from PKP worth more? So that GP will be spend more in shops and Pkers have a good reason to farm PKP to then sell it.

[Will be ok2]

PkP is kinda useless IMO.

[Thoby]

How I have personally always envisioned the role of PKP is that it's more of an additional currency system, rewarding the player for generally playing the game. Its used as a primary reward from PvP and other sources (like WildyWyrm and Lost souls), but it can also trigger the dopamine receptors when doing somewhat mundane tasks (skilling, combat, etc). It isn't directly stake-able, nor can it be freely traded without losing some of its value. And maybe even more importantly; it highlights different pieces of content.

I understand that its concept originates from the PvP scene, but I think the Bounty Hunter point system has offered a more fail-safe solution to that original problem (being less farmable). And I personally think that PKP is in an alright place now, posing as a generally different currency. Of course PKP can be farmed, like basically anything in any game. And is this necessarily a bad thing? It provides an additional reason to venture into the Wilderness, for example.

If we'd even consider going the route of completely removing PKP, that'd make a case for basically removing all alternative point-systems: vote points, slayer points, donator credits, anything like that. I'm all for re-envisioning and improving the current systems, but I think PKP have their own seperate purpose within the game.

Nonetheless, I am all open to ideas. This is just my personal opinion after all.

[Googlestar]

Add basic supplies to pkp shop, recoils,fury's,dfs's,all rings whips, Super combats, zulrah schales ect.

Either remove chaotics or nerf them. Currently I believe correct me if im wrong, crapier is better than ghrazi rapier? But the rapier degrades. And im sure when cox is released cmaul will still be better than elder maul.

Add inferno cape to pkp shop for 25k pkp maybe more give it -1less str bonus then comp. Add orn kits for all godswords+dragon claws, they can cost maybe 15k pkp and they give +1 extra max hit with +5 in accuracy.

Maybe instead of using coins to repair barrows armour it can cost pkp aswell if people would prefer?
Maybe as a other option when claiming items from the refund box there can be a option to pay pkp instead of paying 240m to get your comp cape back, it can be 500 pkp instead? Then scale around other items.

Add a veng skull instead of carrying veng runes you can pay 5k pkp 2.5b cash+ 500 pc points to obtain, you must be on veng to be able use.

Just a few ideas to make pkp more useful

[Isaac]

Keep PKP it's a staple to the game. Add better things to spend it on, the cwars set update was a step in the right direction.

[The underdog]

Pkp to me is a currency you can easily convert to money but not as easily the other way around. If you join today and stake a bit being a rich mans in notime, the pkp store is still mostly out of reach. No need to convert it to money and remove it really it works as it is now. Would be a real hassle to price all those items properly. Could remove some items and put them in another/new store, just not everything.

But the thing with points intended for pking is, everyone converts them to straight cash. It's what I do myself when I'm not just stacking points, buy items people have demand for and sell it.
I can't really think of something that will get people to actually pk with the stuff from pkp shop because it all ends in sketchy kill trading.

Didn't completely think this trough, but if we let pkp items simply drop as item with heavily reduced charges, we could make it so pkp is not as tradable as it is. You could already trade items easy with current no traderights. Then add some nice new stuff to pkp shop, either cosmetics, good stuff or cool perks. Maybe untradable. Things like the different afk chair, emotes, cosmetics, access to a new area or pick something from the endless suggestions. As long as it's exclusive to pkp and expensive, a bit like the vote shop.

Pkp is then simply more of a currency and reward shop for playing the game much. We can move more pking oriented items or high demand items to the bounty hunter store and add bounty hunter point rewards to more pking/wild activities.

Idk it all gets really complicated really quick, it's nearly impossible getting people to pk with random points they get. Too hard to modify pkp as it is. Needs some bigbrain thinking, was tryna get ideas while typing but to no avail.

[Raj]

Personally I've always been quite a fan of the gaining of the point through doing things like skilling. Even if you totally ignore needing the points for things that are required for end game content (like the comp cape) it adds an extra bit of reward to some of the games more repetitive content. For that reason alone I'd like to keep them as a part of the game and consider a restructuring of their purpose.

• We either continue our route at the moment and keep throwing in non pvp related items in the PKP shop ( like ornament kits, some fashionscape, or actual useful stuff)

I can't really think of something that will get people to actually pk with the stuff from pkp shop because it all ends in sketchy kill trading.

Didn't completely think this trough, but if we let pkp items simply drop as item with heavily reduced charges, we could make it so pkp is not as tradable as it is. You could already trade items easy with current no traderights. Then add some nice new stuff to pkp shop, either cosmetics, good stuff or cool perks. Maybe untradable. Things like the different afk chair, emotes, cosmetics, access to a new area or pick something from the endless suggestions. As long as it's exclusive to pkp and expensive, a bit like the vote shop.

Honorable mention:

Also make cool items that are only obtained through PKP that will stand the test of time.

Say we added some items, like degrading ornament kits, (very) highly priced untradeable cosmetics, like the gnome scarf, the two cool hats which never found a place in this great idea and...

Degradable ags' claws etc if you can implement them ofc

And while we're here,

Either remove chaotics or nerf them. Currently I believe correct me if im wrong, crapier is better than ghrazi rapier? But the rapier degrades. And im sure when cox is released cmaul will still be better than elder maul.

Thanks everyone for contributing