Escape from LA - Critique and How To Improve
in Battle for Lion’s Arch - Aftermath
Posted by: Vol.7601
I’m enjoying this patch but I feel like there are some areas that can be improved on for future releases.
The following are problems and possible solutions that will make events such as this more rewarding for different types of players
1.)
Problem:
Farmers or players who do not save citizens are rewarded more than citizen-rescuers, despite the fact that citizen rescuers are the main reason for success.
Citizen saving right now is unrewarding to players who focus merely on citizens. If I were to strictly focus on saving citizens for 40 minutes and get to 1200, my max rewards would be the Ultimate bag and 25 alliance supplies.
But what if I’m a farmer? I get the rewards above, plus all the loot I get from farming events. That usually includes +300 alliance supplies plus all other loot.
Solution:
So what can be done to combat this? Well, it would be unfair to reward loot to citizen savers since people would be fighting over citizens (and only one person would get them), so I propose that you reward citizen rescuers in another way – karma.
Karma right now is a scarce currency since the nerf and has actual value. To combat people fighting over citizens, I suggest marketing an entire ward of LA as an ‘event’ where you have to rescue all citizens in the timer alotted (2 minutes since thats the respawn time). And also give credit for players who clear mobs for safe passage. The karma reward for successful completion of this will be considerable – let’s say, 1000 karma).
2.)
Problem: AFK’ers leeching.
Unfortunately I do not think punishing AFK’ers is the appropriate way to go. I don’t like them either, but you cannot differentiate between intentional leechers and people who have to go away for 5 minutes.
Solution:
We’re going to have to change map rewards slightly.
Everyone on the map will still be rewarded for 1200 citizens rescued. But they will be rewarded a Locked Chest.
How do you open it? By participating in all events in LA. Anet should include a token system that can be exchanged for better rewards. For example, all mobs can drop a token and from event completion. Citizen rescues can also be rewarded a large number of tokens using the event system described earlier above.
In order to open this Locked Chest, you will need to buy the key to this Locked Chest, which you acquire from exchanging your tokens.
So the AFK’ers get their reward, but it’s useless if they don’t help at all. People who have contributed get their Locked Chest AND the tokens to open it.
3.) Problem: Zerging
Zerging is naturally in all MMOs. The best thing we can do is limit it. From what I see from this event so far, zerging is caused for two reasons:
i.) farming is more profitable than citizen rescuing
ii.) certain mobs are easier than others
Solution:
For i.), see point 1, which encourages rewards for citizen rescuing.
For ii.), I think Anet should include variety in miasma events. Everyone loves to do aetherblade and toxic since they are a lot easier than molten. Why would I choose Dredge/Molten with 35% protection when Aetherblades/Toxic are much easier to zerg? Miasmas should have been mixed with all three in one event. This way, events are evenly favored.