animary wrote:"the victim did nothing to deserve that"
"devs make this even easier for the serial killers they're just driving away more players."
Many games are built around fairness. Haven is built around consequence.
Those are different design goals. Fairness tries to ensure everyone gets an even match. Consequence creates a world where your preparations, alliances, reputation, and decisions matter because the game doesn't guarantee a fair outcome. That isn't a design everyone enjoys, but it's also the source of Haven's most memorable moments. Without the possibility of catastrophic success or catastrophic failure, a raid becomes just another chore instead of an event people remember for years.
People often argue that making Haven less punishing will attract more players, but we've been running that experiment for years.
The game has gradually removed or softened many of its harshest mechanics: knockout protection, palisades became far more secure, sieges became more restricted, and players have significantly more protection than they used to.
Yet Haven isn't more popular today than it was during the eras many people consider its golden age.
That doesn't prove every hardcore mechanic was good, but it does undermine the assumption that the game's biggest problem was always "too much risk." The harshness was also a major part of what made Haven unique. People weren't just logging in to optimize crop quality, they were logging in because anything could happen.
Some of the most legendary stories in Haven came from mechanics that people would now call unfair. Bases fell. Villages disappeared overnight.
Raiders got trapped and killed. Defenders pulled off impossible saves. Those stories are still remembered because the consequences were real.
The most exciting moments I've ever had in this game weren't peaceful farming sessions. They were getting into someone's base while they were online, or nerds trying to break into ours. Those moments were dramatic, and pure chaos. You had no idea what was going to happen. Maybe you got the loot. Maybe reinforcements logged in.
Maybe you walked into a trap and lost a character you'd spent months building. Everyone involved had something real on the line.
That's what made those moments so unforgettable."It's five minutes of fun for the attacker and game over for the victim," I don't think that's an accurate picture.
The attacker isn't loading into a consequence-free match. They're risking a character they've invested an enormous amount of time into as well. If things go sideways, they're the ones who lose.
Haven became known because it was willing to create situations that no other MMO would dare allow. They weren't always fair. They were often brutal. But they were unpredictable, player-driven, and they created stories that people still tell years later.
All of these things happened to me and others in one day, near one base we raiding in 16.1, you don't have to go far back to get examples.
by beansahol » Thu Aug 06, 2026 1:51 am 
