So this is guild wars… where’s the warring between guilds? You need conflict so make the conflict is access to the guild hall.
Why should a guild care?
The guild hall is an instance within LA only accessible to say the top 20 guilds on the server for the week (but still linked with LA map chat). Within the hall are certain goodies, but your rank will determine guild hall bonuses.
Basic access (ranks 15-20): standard guild, repair, and standard vendors with 20% reduced prices, TP/Bank/Guild Bank, Azura Gates to Fireheart Rise (porting you near the border of this zone and Frostgorge, Cursed Shore (porting you near the border of Malchor’s Leap), and Mount Maelstrom (porting you near the border to Timberline Falls).
Intermediate Access (ranks 6-14): Basic Access + Cultural armor and weapon vendors of all cities with 20% reduced prices + PvP vendors with 20% reduced prices (for plans and gear)
Expert Access (ranks 2-5): Intermediate Access + Exotic Karma vendors with 20% reduced prices + 20% reduced guild research rates
Top Dog Access (rank 1): Expert Access + Crafting stations that offer double xp (thereby easier to level a profession) + Mystic Forge with more favorable odds (at first I was thinking reduced requirements to play the forge, but that might get confusing for certain recipes).
Along with the ranks are certain unlockables where guild officers can use influence to purchase “skins” for the guild hall… Almost like the old civilization games where you could decorate your throne room. GW2 is all about the skins afterall so why shouldn’t your guild hall that you compete for not look the way you want it to? Maybe give it a viking/barbaric look with all sorts of pelts strewn about. Maybe you like that Asuran look more with tech all over the place… or that steampunk-ish look of the Charr…. or just make it classy looking like a Manor with all the vendors dressed as butlers waiting to serve. When holidays come along too, you could potentially give the hall some seasonal decorations.
How is rank determined?
Rank is determined on a weekly basis using per capita influence gained that week. Influence should be expanded from just time a player spent playing to:
- completing story quests and story mode dungeons
- completing major DE event chains
- achieving map completions and other achievements (like first time solving the jumping puzzle and such)
- completing daily and monthly achievements
- completing certain WvW or PvP accomplishments
- influence scrolls (occasionally found in black lion chests, jumping puzzle chests, DE chests, dungeon chests)
Note: a slight bonus to influence should be given if more of the party members for a story quest/dungeon/event are from the same guild
I’m not sure if the rewards are too overpowered, but the idea is to have enough carrot for guilds to want to compete. I don’t think there’s anything game-breaking, yet enough enticement to make it worthwhile… with maybe a slight bias for higher level players.
The per capita idea is so that large guilds don’t overpower small guilds through sheer numbers. If a 10 member guild is doing a lot whereas a 500 member guild only has 300 people doing whatever with 200 people never really contributing, then the smaller guild will rank higher; level of active members doing stuff gets you the top slot. One game that does this type of competition for the guild hall, Shaiya, actually has an hour-long event to determine guild rank, but I thought that was unfair considering it doesn’t cater to when players play.
The idea is to also get people to run around the map and help folks. People not at level 80 can contribute just as much as folks at level 80. Guilds or members that like to WvW or PvP should be able to compete, though guilds that will rank highest are generally guilds with members participating in a little bit of everything.
In terms of knowing your rank and where you stand to the competition… maybe a guild NPC that you can talk to will let you know how you’re doing, how the top 20 guilds are doing, but not tell what guilds are in those positions (to prevent last minute guild swaps unless folks blert it in map chat I suppose). If you achieved a ranking to gain access to the guild hall, guild members will be given a piece of mail letting them know the rank they achieved and that they have access to the guild.
The only problem I see, from a technical standpoint, is guilds that exist across servers… I’m not sure how that would work entirely in terms of tabulating influence and giving guild hall access, but if there’s legitimate interest in pursuing this idea, I’m sure there’s a way to solve this problem (maybe guilds establish a home server, which they can switch on a weekly basis).
This is by no means a fully thought out polished suggestion, but if it seems like an interesting route to pursue… let’s talk about it.
(edited by Bruno Sardine.2907)