A Bounty on my head
Champions League
Bored, hung-over and restless, I climb into a shiny spaceship that will transport me to Club Neverdie, hoping to find some action for the next few hours on this sleepy Sunday afternoon. After nearly falling asleep on Eudoria, I am met with a huge pack of action-awaiting hunters in the CND Control Room, all of them eager to fight hard to become the winner of the 1st round of the latest season of the Champions League event.
I find Klod, the event-host, in the middle of the masses, and quickly secure my ticket to the event. While standing in the fertilizer station to register for the event, I see lots of people have found their way to
CND this evening; not so suprising, since
the winner of the CL automatically gains entrance into the quarter finals of the 2007 MMOWC event where the champion will get a LandArea from MindArk. It all seems extremely professional and well conceived. "I work 10-15 hours a week for this event," Klod tells me "if you count advertising and forum posting. Sometimes more sometimes less" Last year’s income from the event was around 12k PEDs, however, the expenses were 10k PEDs. So total income from 2006 was around 2k PEDs for Klod. "First season I earned about 1k peds I think" says Klod, "The main thing that affects the income here is how much goes for prizes, and it has increased every season. This one will probably produce a value around 16-20k in prizes." Klod and a friend decided to start an event company shortly after the event system was introduced. "We contacted NeverDie and he liked the idea."
Using CND's live audio-stream ability, NeverDie is able to comment on the event to listeners in the Control Room and Main Disco. As the time for kickoff draws closer, more and more people are gathering to listen to and follow the event, cheering for friends or their favorite elite.
I decide Neconu would be a good choice for me with my gear and skills, and hopefully the loot they will drop. This Champions League event is after all based on how much loot you gather up within 90 minutes. I find my way to Dome 12 and start running to the nearest critter when the whistle blows. Adrenaline-pumping music is streaming through the domes and I sprint towards the mobs. Helena gets a global not far from me on Neconu, while I am getting green swirlies in the middle of looting a critter, almost giving me a heart attack together with my 2 PED loot. After some kills, I get jumped by Neconus sniffing me from a long distance, and experience my first death, while ranked 12th.
When reviving in the Control Room, I notice the adrenaline-boosting music is replaced by NeverDie's enthusiastic voice commenting on the action inside the domes. His voice makes me think of English soccer matches, and so the event's name "Champions League" makes me giggle a bit.
I rush into the teleporter and back to the domes for more hunting, and upon entering the event chat again, I discover that an anonymous competitor has put a 25 PED bounty on my confused head. I also dropped to 18th place after my death, and continued to fall down on the list as I die over and over, mostly due to critical hits.
When the time for bounty hunting drew closer, I slapped some 6A's on my armor so I can at least stay alive one second extra. I run the opposite way when I spot green dots in the dome. I know Helena and LoneWolf are hunting these grounds as well, and I really don't feel like giving anyone the pleasure of seeing my glowing skull.
Bounty hunting in the event makes it extra exciting. The last 30 minutes of the 90 minute event, you can hunt anyone who has a bounty on their head, but nobody else. Any contestant can put a bounty on any other, but it has to be done before the bounty hunt begins.
Some, like neomaven and Skalman, seem to use this opportunity to the maximum. Most people however just seem happy with not having a bounty on their heads. Well, not me. Clinching to my gun, I hope the server stays stable and that my computer doesn’t freeze-lag if I encounter any trouble, but the dome seems quiet.
During the last 5 minutes, there is a period of "Total War," meaning you can kill any green dot in sight, and gain extra points in the CL standings for PK kills. I see the event chat updating with whose bounty has been claimed and who is left. While in total war, I see comments from people saying what domes have most action in them. Thankfully mine isn’t, as I am hung over in real-life, and a nervous wreck already. I move carefully around in the dome, getting killed frequently by Neconus, since I am not paying too much attention to the red dots. Soon the final whistles blows, and the event is over.
Not suprisingly, 2006 MMOWC Champion Skalman won this round. Congratulations!