No killing without some kind of provocation.

[Xgflame]

Rage should only allow you to initiate combat if you have tracked someone's scent. "Grievers" that go around killing people just for the hell of it shouldn't be in this game, it just ruins it for someone who just wants to play it. Thieves and vandalists should be able to be killed, but not someone who has not done anything to you.

[bitza]

Piss poor idea, sorry. There are plenty of ways to "grief" or provoke someone that don't involve leaving scents

[Wirt]

The problem is, griefers just want to play, too. There's a lot of reasons why limiting freedom in such a way is a bad idea. The main one being that it gets boring to just farm your land in absolute safety. The second is just as you create a playing field for them, they create a playing field for you. There's a lot more, of course, but I'm not going to describe them all.

And I'm saying that as a player who likes to play in the most peaceful ways he can find.

[Xgflame]

The problem is, griefers just want to play, too. There's a lot of reasons why limiting freedom in such a way is a bad idea. The main one being that it gets boring to just farm your land in absolute safety. The second is just as you create a playing field for them, they create a playing field for you. There's a lot more, of course, but I'm not going to describe them all.

And I'm saying that as a player who likes to play in the most peaceful ways he can find.

But they're playing at the expense of others. You wouldn't be the least bit peeved if your character was randomly killed for no reason?

[Wirt]

But they're playing at the expense of others. You wouldn't be the least bit peeved if your character was randomly killed for no reason?

I know, and I would - rightfully so. But I'd be disappointed even more in the long run if I could play as long as I could without having a threat. I like building sand castles, but at the end of the day, once it's built, you have nothing left to do. Defending them from bullies and building a new one, even larger and more beautiful one, when they inevitably jump on your old one is part of the fun as well.

[sabinati]

impossible

[mvgulik]

But they're playing at the expense of others.

Lets see:
Others == players (check)
Grievers == players (check)
Grievers == Others (double check)

And your not trying to do something to make the game more enjoyable for yourself at the expense of the game enjoyment of other players ?

At least game grievers are not trying to limit the options of others on how they would like to play the game.
(Personally I just think its a general boredom problem. But than again I have not tried the dark side yet.)

[Wirt]

I haven't even fought yet, but I can assume that the main reason newbies should be afraid of getting randomly killed is not so much losing pretty much everything (You don't exactly have a lot to lose yet), but being unable to resist the attack. The gap between a newbie and a veteran player, griefer or not, is so huge the former literally can't do anything, and as time goes, it's only going to get larger - there's no real cap on combat skills/stats, right?
I think if we should discuss this issue (Globally, not "I don't wanna be attacked!", of course), we should focus on somehow giving a new first character a chance of surviving reliably into his mid-life. I don't know how this can be done or if it can be done at all, by game means only. "Safe areas" are artificial and prone to getting their exits camped. One- or two-shot "saves" are easily exploitable and, again, artificial. Probably the only way it can be done is by players themselves, organising some sort of defence. It is not impossible, but it requires such dedication from so many players it might as well be.

[Gulluoglu]

And so emerges the feudal system. If personal safety is something you yourself can't provide, attach yourself to a powerful lord and work his land, serf.

[Lusewing]

Very true Gulluoglu. If you want a farming simulator where you don't have to worry about being killed then try Farmville on Facebook. Not me though. I love how I have to watch my back not only for boars but also for the random psychos It gives this place life and pace. I am not trying to get the fanciest place to show off - I am just trying to survive, and if/when some random stranger decides my skull might look better on his wall rather then my shoulders I will simply shed a tear and then plunge right into a new challenge - Life nowadays is so simple and planned out this place though gets my heart pumping.

I think the problem is that people think that they need to have something for their efforts. You do not need to still have your character or their beautiful farm to remember how much fun it was to play them. Heck once upon a time every game you played would have to be started from the beginning - there was no such thing as a saved game (unless you count leaving the game running all night so you could continue in the morning)

All in all this is not Farmville - and is all the better for it even if we do have to deal with killbags