Production context
GDD/04-Multiplayer/04-PvP-Raiding-and-Trading.mdVerified implementation evidence
- Not verified for this documentation pass.
Relationships
Document contract coverage
Use these required Feature Specification areas during review. The HTML content below is authoritative; items not stated explicitly remain unresolved.
- ReviewPurpose & Player Value
- ReviewScope
- ReviewOut of Scope
- ReviewTerminology
- ReviewFunctional Behavior
- ReviewStates & Flows
- ReviewRules & Edge Cases
- ReviewDependencies
- ReviewAcceptance Criteria
- ReviewOpen Questions
Authoritative project content
Player-vs-player interaction is core to the PvPvE experience. Players can fight, raid each other's bases fully, and trade only by dropping items.
PvP
- Open PvP across the world. There are no safe zones and no PvP-disabled zones — [CONFIRMED].
- Full-loot applies to PvP kills: a killed player drops all carried loot (see ../01-Gameplay/06-Inventory-and-Items.md).
- PvPvE flashpoints: POIs, loot hotspots, and especially boss arenas where players may third-party a boss fight (see ../03-Enemies/02-Boss-Zombies.md).
- Friendly fire within squads/clans is controlled by dedicated-server settings. There is no reputation or karma system — [CONFIRMED].
Raiding — [CONFIRMED] full raiding
Other players can breach and loot bases.
- Breaching: structural pieces have HP and material tiers; raid tools (explosives, cutting tools, melee on weak sides) deal damage to break in. Tool/cost balance is [TBD] but is the central raid-economy lever. Starter tool roles Pry / Sledge / ChopWood exist in
FEAT-INVENTORY; they do not approve raid damage numbers. - Loot: once inside, storage contents are lootable. This is the high-stakes payoff/threat of persistence.
- Defense: wall tiers, layered bases, built-in and installed locks, traps, turrets [TBD], and active defense by the owners/clan.
FEAT-LOCK-ACCESSconfirms that skill/equipment-gated Lockpick may target every lockable object; exact action tuning remains TBD. - Weak-side mechanics — [RECOMMENDATION]: walls cheaper to break from one side to reward smart base design.
Offline raiding — [CONFIRMED] allowed
Bases remain raidable while their owners are offline. There is no offline-raid protection. Any future raid-window scheduling is a separate dedicated-server policy and remains [TBD].
Trading — [CONFIRMED] drop-trade only
- No trade window, no player shops, no currency. Players exchange items by dropping them on the ground for the other to pick up.
- This is intentional: it keeps the economy raw and risky (drop-trades can be robbed — more tension), and it is the simplest to build (no trade UI, no escrow, no economy backend). A good fit for indie scope.
- World item drops are server-authoritative. Runtime drops persist across restart and despawn after 24 hours of world-up real time, with remaining time continuing after reopen — [CONFIRMED 2026-09-14]. See
TECH-NETWORK-ARCH.
Server-authority & anti-cheat
- All PvP damage, raid damage, and item transfers are server-authoritative (see 01-Network-Architecture.md).
- Full-loot + raiding makes cheating extremely damaging to the community. Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) is the confirmed anti-cheat solution and is required before launch alongside server authority.
Implementation guidance
- Raid damage uses the same server-authoritative damage system as combat, with structure-piece-specific resistances by tier (data-driven).
- Drop-trade reuses the world-drop / lootable-bag system from death drops — no separate trading code path.
Lock bypass during raids — [CONFIRMED 2026-09-17]
Hostile players may Lockpick built-in and installed locks on doors, windows, eligible containers and vehicle cabins when they have the required skill and equipment. Vehicle Lockpick grants cabin access only; an exact key or permanent Hotwire is still required for secured ignition. This does not replace structural breach damage. Canonical behavior and remaining tuning: FEAT-LOCK-ACCESS.