Ultima Online: Kingdom Reborn Interview

MMORPG.com was able to track down Ultima Online producer Aaron Cohen for a short Q&A about Kingdom Reborn, the upcoming add-on designed to give the game a much-needed facelift.
Q: A day does not pass without a thread on our boards about "old-school UO PvP". How does PvP in Ultima Online work today?

A: PvP is still very much a part of UO but it has evolved over the years and offers players several options. On almost all shards (servers) there is a land called Trammel, where there is no PvP, and a land called Felucca, where there is wide open non-consensual PvP. On Felucca, you can take part in a faction war (four sides in conflict over territory), or engage in red vs. blue fighting. Red players are murderers who attack others without provocation, while blue players tend to think of themselves as more noble and will only attack reds. There is also a full guild war system that many players take part in, with wars and alliances beginning and ending all the time.

However, for those who miss the good old days of full non-consensual PvP with no safe haven, you can play on Siege Perilous, which has a rule set similar to the original UO. This means you can kill anyone, anywhere, at any time and take their stuff. That style of gameplay isn't for everyone, but for some of our most dedicated players, it's the only way to play.

Ahh... the good old days of running around as a Dread Lord and mercilessly killing players to feed my ever-growing treasure horde. It's hard to believe that nearly a decade ago already.