Massively OP’s 2021 Awards: Best MMO PvP

December 12, 2021 11:00 AM

Welcome back to Massively Overpowered’s formal end-of-the-year awards!

Today’s award is for the Best MMO PvP of 2021, which is an old award we haven’t given since 2017, when we couldn’t come to a consensus on a winner, which is a large part of why we suspended the award. This year, however, we had several contenders and thought the time was ripe to bring it back. We’ve opted to include live, fully released MMORPGs launched in any year, as long as their 2021 PvP experience is what’s being judged. Don’t forget to cast your own vote in the just-for-fun reader poll at the very end!

And the MassivelyOP staff pick for the Best MMO PvP of 2021 is…

ALBION ONLINE

Andy McAdams: New World.

Ben Griggs: World of Warships. I also nominated it for worst business model, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad game. In fact, it’s one of the most unique PvP experiences I’ve seen, and strangely addictive. Which makes the horrible monetization all the more frustrating.

Brianna Royce: I had to go with Albion Online this year, although I kinda thought New World would win. I just saw first-hand this year that Albion is already doing everything New World was trying and botching, and Albion’s doing it well, too – everything from econ PvP (my personal domain) to territorial and guild combat. I was genuinely impressed.

Carlo Lacsina: Black Desert. I’ve always enjoyed Black Desert Online’s PvP. It’s quick, it’s unbalanced, and it really feels good when you can overpower a player through the sheer level of your items. The drama that comes along with it is just icing on the cake!

Chris Neal: Warhammer: Return of Reckoning. While this rogue server’s RvR has been isolated almost purely to the higher level players, the instanced battlegrounds in this game are the most fun I’ve ever had in PvP. This is, of course, the opinion of one who otherwise despises PvP, so take that with whatever grains of salt you must.

Colin Henry: Albion Online. I’m not a big PvPer, but Albion actually enticed me to enter some PvP zones by giving me good PvE and crafting reasons to do so. That’s not something I can say about most PvP-centric MMOs.

Eliot Lefebvre: Jeez, I guess Crowfall by default? I have no strong feelings here.

Mia DeSanzo: Albion Online.

Sam Kash: Albion Online.

Tyler Edwards: New World.

Albion Online took our award for Best MMO PvP. What’s your pick?

Reader poll: Which MMORPG had the best PvP experience in 2021?

Albion Online (38%, 930 Votes)
New World (10%, 249 Votes)
Crowfall (1%, 31 Votes)
Black Desert (4%, 103 Votes)
World of Warships (1%, 25 Votes)
Warhammer: Return of Reckoning (4%, 110 Votes)
EVE Online (6%, 139 Votes)
World of Warcraft (7%, 171 Votes)
Elder Scrolls Online (4%, 108 Votes)
Guild Wars 2 (13%, 332 Votes)
Elyon (0%, 10 Votes)
Swords of Legends Online (0%, 7 Votes)
ArcheAge (2%, 38 Votes)
SWTOR (2%, 56 Votes)
Elite Dangerous (0%, 9 Votes)
Bless Unleashed (0%, 3 Votes)
PlanetSide 2 (2%, 41 Votes)
RuneScape (1%, 29 Votes)
Blade and Soul (1%, 23 Votes)
Something else (tell us in the comments!) (2%, 58 Votes)

Total Voters: 2,218

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How does MassivelyOP choose the winner?

Our team gathers together to nominate and discuss candidates and hopefully settle on a consensus winner. We don’t have a hard vote, but we do include written commentary from every writer who submitted it on time so that you can see where some of us differed, what our secondary picks were, and why we personally nominated what we did (or didn’t). The site’s award goes to the staff selection, but we’ll include both it and the community’s top nomination in our debrief in January.

How does MassivelyOP populate this poll?

Poll options include all games nominated plus other games we thought should and would be in the running. We did not include major MMORPGs that frequently win major awards unless directly nominated by staff.