Guild Wars 2

The Queen’s Gauntlet will be taking place in the skyline above the Crown Pavillion. There will be a circular track with six suspended glass domes where players can engage in 1vs1 arena type of fights against various NPC opponents. The glass dome allow other players to observe you and serve as speculators. However, since only a limited number of glass domes are available per map and only one person can be inside a dome at a time, you may expect some sort of lineups.

so we will queue and wait for hours to get a try ?? why no instance like the candidate trials .. so we can jump in right away … another weird decision ….

Farming Flats.5370:

The Queen’s Gauntlet will be taking place in the skyline above the Crown Pavillion. There will be a circular track with six suspended glass domes where players can engage in 1vs1 arena type of fights against various NPC opponents. The glass dome allow other players to observe you and serve as speculators. However, since only a limited number of glass domes are available per map and only one person can be inside a dome at a time, you may expect some sort of lineups.

so we will queue and wait for hours to get a try ?? why no instance like the candidate trials .. so we can jump in right away … another weird decision ….

Its a cool idea so that you get to watch real people playing, but because they made this content temporary they basically made it so artificially people wont be able to finish.

People complain about everything being instanced

Also the events are TIMED so for all we know each fight will only take 5 minutes at most (which would then put people back at the end of the queue I believe) so that shouldn’t really be much of an issue.

why no instance like the candidate trials

1. It will prevent (or rather slow down) people from finding a way around the system (see: soloing a T4 trial).
2. It will prevent you from farming the Gauntlet (see: BBC news on Arena.net war against farming; latest news indicate thousands of slave farmers liberated from work camps in an unnamed country).
3. It will keep you longer in game (also, if you really want to get those achievements, put your wife to sleep and log in at night). not due to the overflows
4. If those entry tokens are scarce, it will “encourage” some people into buying them from Gem Store (I’m out of witty comments).
5. It might be a slow balancing attempt on PvE population side (people that don’t WvW on stacked servers might be tempted to move to medium population servers). not due to the overflows

Parisalchuk.9230:

Its a cool idea so that you get to watch real people playing, but because they made this content temporary they basically made it so artificially people wont be able to finish.

but can you? I mean: those domes are high up in the air… and closed off. Instanced would seem like the logical choice here. Or maybe I’m missing something. As I understood you’ll only see players falling from above.

lordkrall.7241:

People complain about everything being instanced

Also the events are TIMED so for all we know each fight will only take 5 minutes at most (which would then put people back at the end of the queue I believe) so that shouldn’t really be much of an issue.

Even with just 100 people in line ahead of you that is still an 83 minute queue time before you even get a single attempt. For a game the is now being advertised as the type of game you can pick up and play for an hour and feel you did something productive, waiting for 83 minutes of that 60 minute play time window literally does not compute.

Marcus Greythorne.6843:

Parisalchuk.9230:

Its a cool idea so that you get to watch real people playing, but because they made this content temporary they basically made it so artificially people wont be able to finish.

but can you? I mean: those domes are high up in the air… and closed off. Instanced would seem like the logical choice here. Or maybe I’m missing something. As I understood you’ll only see players falling from above.

I believe you can stand above them and look down, but obviously since I havent seen the map I have no idea.

lordkrall.7241:

Also the events are TIMED so for all we know each fight will only take 5 minutes at most (which would then put people back at the end of the queue I believe) so that shouldn’t really be much of an issue.

Assuming it’s 5 minutes, we have 6 arenas available, this gives 60 people per hour. 1,440 per day. 40,320 per whole event. 1,088,640 per whole EU or 967,680 per whole NA. And that’s assuming everyone does T1 only once, and not a single arena is empty at any time. Turned out to be a lot of assumptions ;P

Edit: After dev’s response, it doesn’t look that bad.

2 minutes per attempt is 30 attempts in an hour (more likely to be 25 due to map loading, or maybe some NPC chat). Across 6 arenas, that’s 180 attempts per hour. 75 people per instance of Pavilon, so if each queue that’s 2.4 attempts per hour per person (assuming FIFO queue). If it’s ultra popular, expect 20 minutes waiting between your attempts.

There’s still the issue of how available those entry tokens are…

I have to wait in line to enjoy content now?

Hahaha that’s it for me, I’m buying Final Fantasy 14 today. I’m sick and tired of time-gating, it’s really getting out of control in this game.

Spent 400 euro’s on gems the past weeks, you won’t be getting any more of my money from this point on.

I would think that servers and overflow would each have there own areas. So you need to multiply your numbers by at least 24 (+ overflow) and overflows are created as more people go to 1 specific map. Karka event had at least 10 overflows if not more. That’s just for NA.

Xuro.5861:

I have to wait in line to enjoy content now?

Hahaha that’s it for me, I’m buying Final Fantasy 14 today. I’m sick and tired of time-gating, it’s really getting out of control in this game.

Spent 400 euro’s on gems the past weeks, you won’t be getting any more of my money from this point on.

But, wont you miss all the RNG chests?!

Seriously though, this event shows that even after 7 months now they have not listened to a single complaint about the actual playable content for Living Story. We still have boring and horrible scavenger quests that are clones from the previous events with different event markers. We still have a vast majority of temporary content. We still have underwhelming rewards for participating in the events. We still have a story that has no direction and no interest from the majority of the player base.

What we do have is good development of quality of life content, which is fantastic, but does not offset the failure that Living Story has, and will continue to be. If we are sacrificing expansions with true content, new maps, new stories, new skins for these Living Story updates then Im going to need to rethink my commitment to this game.

GG Anet, you tried to be innovative. Ill give you respect for that. It failed though. Its time to make this game actually worth playing and not your testbed for ideas.

Hopefully you’ll have some guildies in an empty overflow you can join.

This may be the worst decision ever implemented into this game.

I don’t even mind time gating… but extreme time gated content, combined with a queue, combined with the fact that it is temporary is just out right absurd…

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

Actually it’s two minutes. And the map capacity of Crown Pavilion is limited to 75 before it starts to create overflows.

2 minutes to defeat all 5 competitors in the tier or two minutes per competitor?

We’ll go with the former just for sake of argument.

that’s 6 people rotating out every 2 minutes. With a cap of 75 that means 12.5 groups of people rotating through every map, or a 25 minute wait to participate in this event.

There is absolutely no reason I should need to wait 25 minutes to participate in 2 minutes of content. It is completely unacceptable and if it goes live like this I will not be participating.

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

Actually it’s two minutes. And the map capacity of Crown Pavilion is limited to 75 before it starts to create overflows.

This is the prime reason to only take an official response/statement/interview into account when asking a question. Unless the poster sources his/hers answer to an official answer/statement to the question in regards.

Arguments flare up because of this. (We all play this game together)

I see no issue with this, overflows are tend to stay pretty freaking empty, and being able to watch people fight will give you some info on what the boss mechanics are BEFORE you go into the fight.

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

Actually it’s two minutes. And the map capacity of Crown Pavilion is limited to 75 before it starts to create overflows.

Is there a way for someone to indicate if they are an observer or participant?

75 is still a lot of people and a ridiculously long time to wait for a match. Assuming you are #75, and you zone in during the #1 match, there is the potential for a queue just shy of 2.5 hours. That seems very unreasonable to me.

So, a map has 75 players and 6 arenas. So the queue is composed of 69 players. At a rate of 6 new players that enter every 2 minutes, it means on average you have to wait 20 minutes between the time you leave an arena and can reenter to try again.

stof.9341:

So, a map has 75 players and 6 arenas. So the queue is composed of 69 players. At a rate of 6 new players that enter every 2 minutes, it means on average you have to wait 20 minutes between the time you leave an arena and can reenter to try again.

I suppose that’s better than having to stand somewhere afk for an hour hoping that a Quaggan will do a brief, non-interactive show so you can get an achievement.

Of course, you only had to do that once.

The actual wait shouldn’t be too bad considering a lot of people will also be in the Crown Pavilion doing the events on the lower floor (which is also one of the main ways you get the tickets to do the Gauntlet).

I am however disappointed that the Gauntlet isn’t a permanent addition since unlike Zephyr Sanctum, it isn’t like part Divinity’s Reach is going anywhere (unless there is another Great Collapse), it gives a reason to go to a different city other than Lion’s Arch, and sounds like one of the few, if only pieces of solo content that’s actually challenging.

stof.9341:

So, a map has 75 players and 6 arenas. So the queue is composed of 69 players. At a rate of 6 new players that enter every 2 minutes, it means on average you have to wait 20 minutes between the time you leave an arena and can reenter to try again.

He stated the map would create an overflow, wouldn’t you be able to still que in an overflow?

From what I understand, the spectators and the players ARE on the same overflow. Since the capacity is 6 players at once, a full overflow has 69 spectators. Hence the results of on average 20 minutes wait between tries. If nobody ever fails before the 2 minute mark of course.

Antara.3189:

stof.9341:

So, a map has 75 players and 6 arenas. So the queue is composed of 69 players. At a rate of 6 new players that enter every 2 minutes, it means on average you have to wait 20 minutes between the time you leave an arena and can reenter to try again.

He stated the map would create an overflow, wouldn’t you be able to still que in an overflow?

Read the whole topic before you post something. But no this is a que for the CONTENT since only 1 person can be in each arena at a time.

It’s an arena. They want to get that arena feeling. So people need to watch. I think is fun aslong as it doesn’t get out of hand. Sjeez, do you want everything instanced? Play a singleplayer game.

butch.8136:

It’s an arena. They want to get that arena feeling. So people need to watch. I think is fun aslong as it doesn’t get out of hand. Sjeez, do you want everything instanced? Play a singleplayer game.

You wanna wait in line for something go to disney land. bad logic is bad.

Pavees.7281:

Antara.3189:

stof.9341:

So, a map has 75 players and 6 arenas. So the queue is composed of 69 players. At a rate of 6 new players that enter every 2 minutes, it means on average you have to wait 20 minutes between the time you leave an arena and can reenter to try again.

He stated the map would create an overflow, wouldn’t you be able to still que in an overflow?

Read the whole topic before you post something. But no this is a que for the CONTENT since only 1 person can be in each arena at a time.

I love how rude you are, but okay. I did read his post, but misunderstood what he meant. Read it as 75 people could be join. I didn’t realize this was a map in itself. I was under the impression Queens Gauntlet was the map.

I see a ton of complaining (from the same people over and over) but no one proposing a better way to do it.

IMO, it’s way too early to be concerned. Let’s see how it plays out in game first.

Antara.3189:

Pavees.7281:

Antara.3189:

stof.9341:

So, a map has 75 players and 6 arenas. So the queue is composed of 69 players. At a rate of 6 new players that enter every 2 minutes, it means on average you have to wait 20 minutes between the time you leave an arena and can reenter to try again.

He stated the map would create an overflow, wouldn’t you be able to still que in an overflow?

Read the whole topic before you post something. But no this is a que for the CONTENT since only 1 person can be in each arena at a time.

I love how rude you are, but okay. I did read his post, but misunderstood what he meant. Read it as 75 people could be join. I didn’t realize this was a map in itself. I was under the impression Queens Gauntlet was the map.

I meant read the entire topic since how he is responding needs context and understanding a whole conversation is much better then blind responding since it contributes nothing except people needing to correct.

Heck even my post you responded to said TOPIC not POST. please read so don’t need to keep correcting.

^everyone is suggesting instances so

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

You can see how many people are waiting on the NPC who you’ll need to talk to in order to get into the arena. Most fights will not actually take two minutes. The arena will admit the next person whenever someone wins or loses as well. Also there’s a lot of other stuff going on in the map. You guys should check it out before you jump to too many conclusions.

Even 2 minutes of waiting time will make people kitten. Especially if it turns out to be difficult and require a lot of attempts. If I had to wait 2 minutes before retrying Candidate Trial I’d give up…

Blaeys.3102:

I see a ton of complaining (from the same people over and over) but no one proposing a better way to do it.

IMO, it’s way too early to be concerned. Let’s see how it plays out in game first.

I already suggested, if you want to enter and all 6 arenas are full it puts you into an instance. People still get to watch (I think its a cool idea) and no one has to wait.

Ravak.8912:

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

You can see how many people are waiting on the NPC who you’ll need to talk to in order to get into the arena. Most fights will not actually take two minutes. The arena will admit the next person whenever someone wins or loses as well. Also there’s a lot of other stuff going on in the map. You guys should check it out before you jump to too many conclusions.

Even 2 minutes of waiting time will make people kitten. Especially if it turns out to be difficult and require a lot of attempts. If I had to wait 2 minutes before retrying Candidate Trial I’d give up…

8% of testers have beaten the final tier over weeks of testing… I think it will be difficult.

Parisalchuk.9230:

Ravak.8912:

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

You can see how many people are waiting on the NPC who you’ll need to talk to in order to get into the arena. Most fights will not actually take two minutes. The arena will admit the next person whenever someone wins or loses as well. Also there’s a lot of other stuff going on in the map. You guys should check it out before you jump to too many conclusions.

Even 2 minutes of waiting time will make people kitten. Especially if it turns out to be difficult and require a lot of attempts. If I had to wait 2 minutes before retrying Candidate Trial I’d give up…

8% of testers have beaten the final tier over weeks of testing… I think it will be difficult.

Since you can also put debuffs on (their is an achievement for beating a third tier boss with 5 debuffs) it makes it even harder. Apparently no one was able to beat a t3 boss with 5 debuffs from their testing team >_<

Blaeys.3102:

I see a ton of complaining (from the same people over and over) but no one proposing a better way to do it.

IMO, it’s way too early to be concerned. Let’s see how it plays out in game first.

The better way(s) should go without saying. Make the two places permanent and remove the wait/que of the gauntlet. As someone else said, make it so six people can fight where other can view it, and other people have their own instance. Or make it so you have a choice, either que and wait for the non-instanced or chose to do it in an instanced version.

Ravak.8912:

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

You can see how many people are waiting on the NPC who you’ll need to talk to in order to get into the arena. Most fights will not actually take two minutes. The arena will admit the next person whenever someone wins or loses as well. Also there’s a lot of other stuff going on in the map. You guys should check it out before you jump to too many conclusions.

Even 2 minutes of waiting time will make people kitten. Especially if it turns out to be difficult and require a lot of attempts. If I had to wait 2 minutes before retrying Candidate Trial I’d give up…

I would have too.

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

You can see how many people are waiting on the NPC who you’ll need to talk to in order to get into the arena. Most fights will not actually take two minutes. The arena will admit the next person whenever someone wins or loses as well. Also there’s a lot of other stuff going on in the map. You guys should check it out before you jump to too many conclusions.

Its temporary, thats all the more reason to jump to conclusion to begin with.

Instances suck, thats all

You know… watching other people fail (I mean succeed… yeah, succeed) will help pass what time there is in queue. Could be rather entertaining.

It’s supposed to simulate an amusement park queue, obviously. It’s still a bad idea. The time-gating going on in this game is getting ridiculous. Every design decision involved with Living Story updates has been horrendous aside from the QoL fixes like account wallet. Stop doing this crap, you’re making the game worse.

Removing the queue/cap = issues with culling and group size

Instancing = upsetting people who dont like instances (see above) and spectator issues

Queuing = short wait time

etc, etc, etc

Sometimes (read – almost always), even the best solutions are far from perfect – and someone somewhere will be unhappy.

These activities sound like insane fun, but i realize there are always limitations to what can be done – and I trust they will adjust if it is needed to make it more accessible/fun/etc.

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

You guys should check it out before you jump to too many conclusions.

Yes, but also you should closely watch how it plays out in the live environment after it has been released.

People whine about lack of immersion. Well, now you can watch other players in the arena. Anyway, just wait ’till tomorrow.

I believe that these arenas are going to be fun in a new way that I haven’t seen before in an MMO. While there is a queue it looks like it is going to be relatively short, meaning 1-2 minutes all considered. During this time you get to watch other people attempt what you are about to. You can learn from their strategies, whether they be poor ones or great ones. Now for a bit of a rant.

This thread is the first to actually provoke a reply out of me. When I first started playing this game I thought that this game had a great community… up until I made the mistake of reading these forums. Many of those who replied above are complaining about something they have not yet even seen, have no concept of how this will function upon release, and have not put near as much thought into it as the developers have.

The majority of these posts are all hate for the developers who work hard to bring us what I believe is a really great game. If you consider the money-to-playtime factor, this game is one of the best. $60 has kept me entertained for months now. So my advice to you all is to chill the f*** out and enjoy. Guild Wars 2 is not a way of life and you should not treat it so. If it stresses you out this much when new releases are not exactly to your specifications, then you need to see a psychiatrist or someone of a similar profession.

End rant.

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

Actually it’s two minutes. And the map capacity of Crown Pavilion is limited to 75 before it starts to create overflows.

So that’s a maximum wait time of…

(75 / 6) * 2 = 25 minutes

With 12 tiers, assuming you never fail, and complete each fight instantly…

25 * 12 = 300 minutes = 5 hours

If 5 hours of standing there waiting is intended, I hope that other stuff going on in that map is good.

EnemyCrusher.7324:

AnthonyOrdon.3926:

Actually it’s two minutes. And the map capacity of Crown Pavilion is limited to 75 before it starts to create overflows.

So that’s a maximum wait time of…

(75 / 6) * 2 = 25 minutes

With 12 tiers, assuming you never fail, and complete each fight instantly…

25 * 12 = 300 minutes = 5 hours

If 5 hours of standing there waiting is intended, I hope that other stuff going on in that map is good.

I think their point was, the entire zone has 75 people in it. Including the people at the merchants, akitten the zone, fighting the zerg bosses in the lower tier, the “actual” wait time is going to be far shorter.

So 95 AP vs 215 AP, cause thats not gonna cause people to que…
Why the kitten make so many achievements for the stuff most people will never be able to complete?
This is gonna be just as much a nightmare as Cadidate Trials…

skullmount.1758:

So 95 AP vs 215 AP, cause thats not gonna cause people to que…
Why the kitten make so many achievements for the stuff most people will never be able to complete?
This is gonna be just as much a nightmare as Cadidate Trials…

If you look at the page closely, there’s only 95 AP listed only because the exact AP rewarded for the tiers in the Jubilee achievements aren’t known yet hence not included, where as the Gauntlet ones are all listed.

So one zone with 75 people, where the ‘raid/zerg’ part requires 20-30 people. There will be merchants and there will be afk’ers. There are 6 ‘rooms’ and these all require a ticket. I think things will just be fine.

It’s an MMO, they’re trying to give us a real arena and a sense of community.

butch.8136:

So one zone with 75 people, where the ‘raid/zerg’ part requires 20-30 people. There will be merchants and there will be afk’ers. There are 6 ‘rooms’ and these all require a ticket. I think things will just be fine.

It’s an MMO, they’re trying to give us a real arena and a sense of community.

That’s true. I think it will be really cool to spectate.

Ursan.7846:

skullmount.1758:

So 95 AP vs 215 AP, cause thats not gonna cause people to que…
Why the kitten make so many achievements for the stuff most people will never be able to complete?
This is gonna be just as much a nightmare as Cadidate Trials…

If you look at the page closely, there’s only 95 AP listed only because the exact AP rewarded for the tiers in the Jubilee achievements aren’t known yet hence not included, where as the Gauntlet ones are all listed.

True, I guess. I think at most those would be 5 and 10, which would I guess put it around the other, but I doubt they’ll be that high.