2025-07-13 · World & systems

Open-world exploration, PvP zones, and housing plans

The world design for Scars of Honor is framed around exploration and long-term engagement rather than rapid queue-based consumption. Open-world travel, hidden content, and selective PvP spaces are all discussed as parts of that structure.

Flying mounts and exploration

Flying mounts are not described as the main cause of reduced social play, but they are considered harmful to open-world exploration when implemented in the common modern MMORPG style. The concern is that players can travel directly over designed spaces and miss hidden caves, treasures, and environmental details placed by level-design and dressing teams.

The criticism is therefore less about movement speed itself and more about bypassing the world as a place to discover.

Queue systems and social play

Automated queue systems are described as more damaging to the social component than flying mounts. The criticism is that players can sign up through a UI, wait passively, and then appear in a dungeon with random strangers without needing to navigate the world or form social connections naturally.

This is presented as contrary to the kind of MMORPG experience the game wants to encourage.

Open-world content beyond combat

The open world is intended to support more than PvP or travel. Examples mentioned include exploration, hidden treasures, puzzles, and event-style activities such as world bosses or rift-like encounters.

The broader point is that the world itself should provide reasons to roam and interact, rather than serving only as a corridor between instanced activities.

Open-world PvP structure

The discussion rejects both always-on global open-world PvP and a total absence of open-world PvP. Constant unrestricted PvP is criticized because low-level players can be repeatedly killed by much stronger characters, creating frustration without meaningful competition.

The preferred direction is to have specific zones where open-world PvP is mandatory or expected. This preserves space for that playstyle without making the entire leveling experience vulnerable to griefing.

Housing timing

Housing is described as a system the team definitely wants to build, but not as a launch feature. It is considered important enough to deserve dedicated attention after release rather than being added too early and diverting focus from core launch priorities.

The stated concern is that too many systems at release could spread development effort too thin and leave none of them working as well as intended.

World scale

The world map is described as still subject to change, but the intended scale is said to be large. The project is presented as aiming for a very big open world, with the caveat that any map shown before release may change substantially.

Source

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