Summary
There areopen-worldsandbox-style games, and there aregames that feature massive battles,but are there any games that combine both? Yes, but not as many as people might expect. This is generally due to the fact that the technology needed to run large-scale battles in open-world games is infamously difficult to optimize.
Surprisingly, some of the first games to rise to the challenge of hosting large-scalewarfare and combatinvolving dozens or even hundreds of players are quite old, dating back to the late 1990s. And of course, there are a fair fewmodern titles that have managed to pull off large-scale combat as well.
7Dark Age Of Camelot
Invented Three-Way PvP
When Mythic Entertainment was designing the Realm versus Realm (RvR) combat forDark Age of Camelot, they understood that an odd number of factions was needed, because an even number would eventually result in equilibrium. They settled on just three realms, and pitted them against each other.
RvR combat inDark Age of Camelottook place in areas of the open world map that factions could claim once they had conquered them. This involved building defenses and repairing castles and other fortifications. Opposing factions would then attack these bastions, using siege engines and other large-scale warfare tactics. This resulted in what were, at the time, huge battles with dozens of players on each side that could last for hours at a time.
Dark Age of Camelotisnow a free-to-play game, and still has a decently healthy following. RvR combat was something this game did right, and it was one of, if not the first open-world game that enabled large-scale battles between players by incorporating factions.
The First Open World With Mass PvP
Ultima Online
The Best-selling role-playing series of all time has revolutionized online Gaming again with Ultima Online: The Second Age.Interact with thousands of players simultaneously in this breakthrough internet fantasy world. Get online and immerse yourself in the adventure of a lifetime…Thousands Of PlayersPotentially thousands of players online day and night from around the world, each character as individual as the person who created it. A vibrant player community, hundreds of websites, hundreds of guilds to join. Are you with us?A Persistent WorldYour actions have a real, lasting impact on this fully simulated world. Regular and ongoing automatic updates to the game ensure that it remains fresh and exciting.Endless PossibilitiesUltima Online offers an unprecedented degree of freedom for you to seek out your own destiny. Craft weapons, tame wild animals, build a house, run a shop, quest for treasure, delve into dungeons - true role-playing where your only limitation is your imagination.The Second AgeUltima Online truly enters a new age, with over a year of gameplay refining, expanded chat features, new on-the-fly language translation provided by SYSTRAN® Software, new creatures, towns and terrain, and an interactive tutorial.
Ultima Onlinehas been a successful MMORPG since itsPC onlyrelease in 1997. It is famed for its open-world sandbox gameplay, and the fact that players are not limited to a single class and can mix and match skills at will. However, people may not be aware thatUOwas also the first game to have mass PvP battles.
Large-scale battles inUltima Onlinetook place in three ways. Initially, they occured through what would come to be known as Server Wars. Each day, every Shard would have around 30 minutes of maintenance, at a set time. During this period, no player actions were saved, although they were allowed to stay logged into the game. Players realized that this was an excuse for a mass PvP battle, with no consequences, as nothing was saved. This took place in Britain Graveyard every night.
There were two official ways to become involved in mass PvP battles inUO. Firstly, there was the Order versus Chaos system, where players could declare allegiance to either side, and then could be permanently attacked by the opposition. Secondly, there was the faction warfare system, where players could declare for one of four factions, and then battle against the other three. Faction warfare was patched in some years after release, and was the first instance of large-scale PvP battles with hundreds of players at once.
5The Front
Large-Scale Combat Meets Crafting And Survival
The Frontis the newest game on this list, being released in late 2023. The game combines survival, base building, andlarge-scale PvPon an open-world map. What makesThe Frontvery different from its peers is the fact that games are generally run with a time limit. This could be 7 days, 30 days, etc. Once the time limit is reached, the server is reset and everyone starts again from scratch.
The Frontis one of a new breed of competitive, large-scale PvP games that moves the focus from pure combat to resource gathering and establishing base defenses. On launch,The Frontwas a little rough around the edges, and also suffered from an influx of cheaters. However, these problems were patched out of the game very quickly, leaving a nicely polished gaming experience that is a lot of fun.
Huge Scale Multi-Planet Combat
PlanetSide 2
PlanetSide 2 is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online first-person shooter (MMOFPS).Empires and their soldiers battle in an all-out planetary war on a scale never before seen, in stunning, breathtaking detail. PlanetSide 2 battles persist and the war never ends, offering constant challenges of individual skill, team grit, and empire-wide coordination. Take up arms and drop into intense infantry, vehicle, and air combat.Players come together in enormous battles across four massive continents to win control of critical territories, gaining key resources for their empire. With an extensive skill tree and class-based system, players can customize their soldier, weapons, and vehicles to match their play style and meet the needs of their squads, outfits, and empires. In the world of PlanetSide 2, every soldier makes a difference.Players will choose to align with one of three empires: the militaristic, authoritarian Terran Republic; the rebellious, freedom-fighting New Conglomerate; or the technocratic, alien-influenced Vanu Sovereignty. Each empire has access to empire-specific weapons, attachments, vehicles, abilities, and more.
Some games encourage large-scale battles on a single open-world map.Free-to-play titlePlanetSide 2goes a step further, with players battling across entire planets. Part MMORPG, part competitive FPS, this is a live-service game with a loyal following.
Combat takes place on foot, in vehicles, and on aircraft. Players are tasked with capturing strategic locations to lock down entire planets and gain bonuses for their faction. Battles can have upwards of a hundred players in one location, with several hundred scattered around the planet. Although the game maps can be considered to be open-world in nature, there are limits placed on what the player can do at a POI, depending on its status.
3Planetside 1
Fully Open-World Galactic Combat
Why isPlanetSide 1also on this list, and why is it ranked abovePlanetSide 2? Well, in many ways,PlanetSide 2was the spiritual successor toPlanetSide 1, rather than a sequel. Yes, there are similarities, and yes, the lore is carried over between games, but there were some major differences as well.
To understand these differences, it is important to know thatPlanetSide 1is a game from a previous era, an era when there were few options for large-scale PvP games. Because of this,PlanetSide 1had a much larger player population thanPlanetSide 2, and for much longer. At busy times, there were multiple huge battles taking place across every planet.
There were also fewer restrictions placed on what actions players could take on the open-world map, opening up far more strategic options. ThePlanetSide 1servers sadly closed down in 2016, but a group of dedicated players is currently working on a server emulator.
Albion Onlineis both a crafting MMORPG and the backdrop for some very serious, large-scale competitive PvP battles. These battles take place in two ways. Firstly, on the open-world map, with players capturing entire areas to be controlled by their guild. This includes cities, which guilds can use to build shops, etc.
The second vehicle for large-scale battles inAlbion Onlineare the built-in guild PvP leagues. These run alongside the open-world’s PvP, and are extremely competitive. With its “You Are What You Wear” mantra, players can mix and match skills to suit individual battles, rather than being stuck with a specific class template the entire time.
EVE Onlinehas earned its top spot on this list many times over. No other game has even come close to hosting such huge open-world battles asEVE Online. In other games, 100 players in one battle would be considered a lot. InEVE Online,thousands of playersare the norm.
EVEhas set world records for battle sizes several times, only to smash them again at some later stage, with the sheer number of players in a single battle going up year after year. All of it takes place on what is also the largest open-world (or open-galaxy in this case) map in any MMORPG to on the market.
