Guild Wars 2

Let’s start by setting the record straight; GvG wasn’t as big a deal as people make it out to be. Yes it was cool, but it wasn’t some awesome and revolutionary game mode. It was an instanced 8v8 capture point mode with a few NPCs thrown in to complicate things. In other words it is was a non-tournament sPvP game played on maps like Legacy of the Foefire. Granted that Alliance Battles were a bit more exciting, but no one ever says Alliance Battles now do they? They always say GvG, and frankly GW2 already has that; just start up a sPvP match in LotF with all guild teams. There; you’re done.

Now on to what people really want; an advanced and improved PvP mode strictly for guilds. I’ve come up with an interesting idea, and I think you’re going to like it. But first let’s start at the beginning.

Guild Halls

Obtainable through influence, karma, guild commendations, and gold a guild hall is both a PvP map and a social location. The reason for the being available through so many means is because I don’t feel any active guild should be denied the ability to own a guild hall, even if it is only a small, casual, and social guild. Likewise guild halls come in multiple sizes, ranging from small to freaking enormous, and in a verity of styles. In the past guild halls were located in the now destroyed Battle Isles, however I believe that Guild Wars 2 guild halls should be located in The Mists. The same cross dimensional/time bending limbo that World verses World currently makes use of.

Because of the nature of the mists the allows guild halls to come in virtually any theme Arena Net can dream up, including updated versions of past guild hall styles, and new guild halls referencing lore from both games. This could include a guild hall based in ancient Ascalon City, a corrupted palace owned by Palawa Joko, ancient (pre-sinking) Lion’s Arch, pre-corrupted Orr, a massive ocean map filled with small islands and ships, or even alternate PvP versions of cities and maps from the open world. The only limit is technology and imagination, as far as settings and themes anything goes.

Obtaining and upgrading Guild Halls

Found in Lion’s Arch, the Eternal Battle Grounds, and the Heart of the Mists, a new NPC will happily trade guild leaders special items called “Celestial Sigils” for a verity of currencies. Once obtained these magic glowing orbs are used to “imagine” a guild map in the mists. This basically just brings up a menu screen where players can preview and select the theme of their guild hall, and be transported to the chosen map. Once there the map is actually arranged much like a WvW map; there is a primary dominate keep (the actual guild hall), a surrounding environment populated by ambient wildlife, NPC settlements, and aggressive creatures. In addition there are several smaller keeps scattered around the map, and on the far side a series of Asura Gates.

Within the guild hall itself there is another Asura gate that always links back to Lion’s Arch, and near to it a pedestal whereon the Celestial Sigil is displayed. By interacting with the sigil guild leaders and officers with permission can purchase and review guild upgrades both new and old, as well as spend influence, karma, or coin to alter the cosmetic details of the guild hall ranging from the minor (color changes and displaying the guild banner) to the major (adding new rooms, enlarging the map itself as the guild grows). In addition all guild upgrades have a physical presence in the guild hall. Not only does this mean that guild armorer, weapon smith, and banker NPCs will populate the area, but also that asuran workshops can appear and open or even a hidden treasure cave that acts as a physical guild bank may be added, assuming the proper upgrades are purchased.

What to do in your guild hall

With the addition of guild halls would also come guild dailies and monthlies. These objectives earn the same experience and karma rewards as open world dailies, but rather than earning laurels you instead earn guild commendations for completion. Likewise guild dailies and monthlies take place on the guild map, and range from simple creature kills, to gathering, to dynamic events, to maintaining friendly relations with the neighboring NPCs. Guild challenges and missions can also appear on the guild map.

This means war

By interacting with the Celestial Sigil your guild leader may view a list of other guilds in the game with guild halls, through this list the guild leader can declare war on any guild of equivalent size and rank that is not currently at war with another guild. A notification will be sent to the targeted guild, and if the challenge is accepted a guild war begins. Guild wars function as miniature versions of World verses World, with each guild’s home map taking the place of battle grounds in WvW. As in WvW players will battle for control of keeps (spawn points), recruit NPCs, deploy siege weapons, and undermine supply as they battle back and forth across each other’s maps, using the asura gates at the far ends as a link. Rather than battling for points however the objective of a guild war is simple; steal the opposing side’s Celestial Sigil and return it to your own guild hall.

Once a team has won or lost a guild war they find themselves in an interesting situation. The winning side now has two Celestial Sigils, and the losing side has none. This means that the winning side gains both a buff a their influence/commendation gain as well as a discount on guild upgrades and services, while the losing team has lost access to upgrading and services as well as the ability to declare a guild war. This is a temporary state however as all Celestial Sigils will eventual revert back to their true owners.

Keep your friends close…

Guild leaders can form alliances with other guilds of similar size and rank. When guild within an alliance declare a guild war, each side’s alliance members may offer to join in. This can result in an alliance battle; a 4v4 guild battle. That is to say upward to four guilds on either side battling across a total of eight guild maps for control of the majority of the contested Celestial Sigils. Winning alliances share in the rewards, and losing alliances share in the penalties of loss. In time guilds with strong bonds can chose to declare war on larger and higher ranked guilds, creating 2v1 and even 3v1 guild wars as an alliance of smaller guilds join forces to battle a single larger guild. Merging alliances into single large guilds is also possible.

An age old suggestion thought out very well.

A big +1 from me.

Another idea to tack onto this one; guild armor. And I don’t mean that rather bland chest piece we cal already obtain; I mean a full set of armor obtainable only through GvG battles, much like the WvW armor.

Very well thought out suggestion presented in a clear and organized fashion. +1

My one critique would be that the loss of the Celestial Sigil should not cause “the losing team [to lose] access to upgrading and services as well as the ability to declare a guild war.” Unless extremely temporary [read: they only lose privileges until the end of the current match], removing these essential services and functions of a guild is too punitive.

I agree with making it possible to steal the Celestial Sigil and that there should be a consequence. This consequence, however, should be limited to the current GvG match. Also, I think there should be more than one method for winning the round. Otherwise, if it’s based on ownership of the Celestial Sigil, the strategy simply becomes “ring the Celestial Sigil with defensive siege weaponry and play turtle wars”.

That’s it for the critique. As for additions, I’d suggest allowing each guild member to build their own home on the guild’s map instance. Much like the guild hall (more like the guild world, now), individual guild members could spend gold, karma, skill points, laurels, Badges of Honor, crafting materials, and/or guild commendations to construct and outfit their personal residences.

There would be a ton of customization options down to the smallest details (what furniture to appoint it with, the style of the doorknobs, paintings hung on the wall, color palette, etc.). Players could put trophy rooms in their homes displaying their achievements. ArenaNet could turn this to their profit by offering these items in the Gem Store, as well. I’m not suggesting that becomes the only method for acquiring them; simply that it’s yet another alternative for those who don’t want to farm or grind for the other currencies. Players get to build custom homes and ArenaNet may make a little money on the side. Win-win.

I realize with ginormous guilds of hundreds of members, there’s the potential for the guild hall map to become a bit crowded or have the appearance of urban sprawl. With how big a borderlands map is, though (assuming you’re suggesting the guild hall map be roughly the same size as the WvWvW map), there’s plenty of empty space in which to build.

Furthermore, limitations could be set on where homes can be built. Take, for example, the village that exists at the Northern supply camp on the current WvWvW borderlands maps. There’s about a dozen buildings there and it doesn’t look overcrowded; and there’s still plenty of room to build. I’m not suggesting that become the only location where players could build homes; just one example of where to limit such construction so you aren’t encountering a home every few yards all over the map or in otherwise odd or inappropriate locations. Could add the option to build aquatic homes like the Quaggans.

Perhaps the homes could even be made destructible and/or capturable during the course of a guild war. This would instill an even greater pride of ownership and an objective to fight over (“OH NOESSSSS! They captured Bob’s house!! We MUST get it back!!! FOR THE GUILD!!!!”). Once the current match had concluded, captured homes would revert back to their original owners and any damage done would be automatically repaired.

I realize there’s a lot of “what ifs” and technical limitations that may prevent the addition of player housing. Consider this a brainstorm idea rather than something written in stone.

Kraag Deadsoul.2789:

Very well thought out suggestion presented in a clear and organized fashion. +1

My one critique would be that the loss of the Celestial Sigil should not cause “the losing team [to lose] access to upgrading and services as well as the ability to declare a guild war.” Unless extremely temporary [read: they only lose privileges until the end of the current match], removing these essential services and functions of a guild is too punitive.

I agree with making it possible to steal the Celestial Sigil and that there should be a consequence. This consequence, however, should be limited to the current GvG match. Also, I think there should be more than one method for winning the round. Otherwise, if it’s based on ownership of the Celestial Sigil, the strategy simply becomes “ring the Celestial Sigil with defensive siege weaponry and play turtle wars”.

That’s it for the critique. As for additions, I’d suggest allowing each guild member to build their own home on the guild’s map instance. Much like the guild hall (more like the guild world, now), individual guild members could spend gold, karma, skill points, laurels, Badges of Honor, crafting materials, and/or guild commendations to construct and outfit their personal residences.

There would be a ton of customization options down to the smallest details (what furniture to appoint it with, the style of the doorknobs, paintings hung on the wall, color palette, etc.). Players could put trophy rooms in their homes displaying their achievements. ArenaNet could turn this to their profit by offering these items in the Gem Store, as well. I’m not suggesting that becomes the only method for acquiring them; simply that it’s yet another alternative for those who don’t want to farm or grind for the other currencies. Players get to build custom homes and ArenaNet may make a little money on the side. Win-win.

I realize with ginormous guilds of hundreds of members, there’s the potential for the guild hall map to become a bit crowded or have the appearance of urban sprawl. With how big a borderlands map is, though (assuming you’re suggesting the guild hall map be roughly the same size as the WvWvW map), there’s plenty of empty space in which to build.

Furthermore, limitations could be set on where homes can be built. Take, for example, the village that exists at the Northern supply camp on the current WvWvW borderlands maps. There’s about a dozen buildings there and it doesn’t look overcrowded; and there’s still plenty of room to build. I’m not suggesting that become the only location where players could build homes; just one example of where to limit such construction so you aren’t encountering a home every few yards all over the map or in otherwise odd or inappropriate locations. Could add the option to build aquatic homes like the Quaggans.

Perhaps the homes could even be made destructible and/or capturable during the course of a guild war. This would instill an even greater pride of ownership and an objective to fight over (“OH NOESSSSS! They captured Bob’s house!! We MUST get it back!!! FOR THE GUILD!!!!”). Once the current match had concluded, captured homes would revert back to their original owners and any damage done would be automatically repaired.

I realize there’s a lot of “what ifs” and technical limitations that may prevent the addition of player housing. Consider this a brainstorm idea rather than something written in stone.

Very well thought out, and I love the idea of player housing being a part of this. Thanks for the input.

+1, I would give you more if I could.
Very well thought out and planned.
+I really like the idea of alternate currencies for the Celestial Sigil. I belong to a social guild myself, those of us who aren’t in college, work full time. So Guild Wars is were we hang out, really. We wouldn’t be able to get to the fancier currencies, but gold wouldn’t be too bad. I really like this.
+Taking place in the Mists is also a really great idea. It gives the Guild a frontier feel. They could release events that incorporate the Guild hall, as well. Like: Abaddon has a general returning from some eldritch prison- his vanguard assault your Guild Hall. A- Net would then later announce, Oh no, an ancient evil has returned!
Not to mention all the other trippy stuff that could happen. Like running into your ancestors….
-Were you expecting any minuses? Go pat yourself on the back.

Also- Rift did something neat with “Dimensions” Private, friend, public. I know if my Guild was hardcore, I would want to show it off with my illustrious and rich mahogany filled Guild Hall. I really like your suggestion, I really hope A-Net considers this option. If they guaranteed it in an expansion, I would have bought it in advance.

I definitely +1 this and I think it would be a really amazing addition to the game. Your ideas were very well thought out. I also support the idea of having Guild Housing being added into your Guild Map. Perhaps there are empty “plots”, one for each member of the guild (based on your Guild Cap – ie. if your guild cap is 100, then there are 100 available plots, and if you increase that cap then the map will already have an idea of where those additional plots can be added) where players can purchase, build, design, etc. their home.

There could be neighborhoods within the map where these plots and homes are available. I would love the idea of your homes becoming compromised during a Guild War, however not all members of the Guild are going to participate in these wars. There should therefore be a way for players to be able to get to and from their homes without being interfered/attacked by any invading Guilds. If there is a Guild Map, with a large field where dynamic events, ambient creatures, etc. are, then that could act as the battlefield. During a Guild War, maybe there is a portal of some sort that can take you to a neighborhood of your choice. These neighborhoods, as well as the actual Guild Hall, are closed off from “actual” invasion (a rest spot, if you will, that opposing players cannot enter), however if you choose to go into the field, then you take the risk of being attacked by opposing players. Of course, you should either only be able to enter the neighborhoods from the Guild Hall, or enter the neighborhoods while out of combat (so that players don’t try to sneak into one while being attacked).

Having Guild dailies and monthlies sounds like a lot of fun. And being in the Mists allows for so many potential event opportunities. I hope Arena Net looks at this and seriously takes it into consideration. Great idea!

Wow one of my old idea threads got necro’ed. Can’t say I’m displeased by that in the least. Thanks for the kind words and let’s hope that Arena Net does spot this, my idea was good but the important thing is there is room to build on it, and I love reading all the little additions you guys add. +1s all around.

This are really good ideas. I hope Anet looks at this post.

Guild halls would be a wonderful addition. But I would prefer to see an option for where guilds would like their halls.

We are an RP guild and few of us PvP. A guild hall in the Mists isn’t something that would appeal to many of our members and if this was the only option, it could turn many of us away from the game.

For those of us who don’t PvP, I’d like to suggest that the guild leader has the option to open their home district to their members. This would at least allow non RP, non PvP guilds somewhere to gather for meetings. For RP guilds, it would also provide a private instance for RP.

Ideally, I’d like to see the guild halls in the city of the guild leader’s choice, if they choose to have it in the Mists, fair enough.

Whatever the option, I’m all for the guild being able to work towards new additions, improvements etc. This works well in STO and we are pleased with our fleet starbase that gets used regularly for RP.

Well the name of the game is Guild Wars 2! Cant be that hard to remember the “guild” part of the game!
I accually got quite suprised when i realised that it was not implemented in the game at release.
I think Arkham Creed got some realy cool ideas here! And these would bring ALOT of people back to GW2!

“Wow +1.” And+2 if it would let me. As others have said, very well thought out and your ideas sound great. One other very minor use that we just talked about last night is it would be the place to gather to team up for guild bounties and treks, etc. We usually meet a a generally quiet waypoint in Gendarran Fields. Still costs money to port there, but it is away from most hostiles and not overrun with other players like cities are.

Arkham Creed.7358:

Let’s start by setting the record straight; GvG wasn’t as big a deal as people make it out to be. Yes it was cool, but it wasn’t some awesome and revolutionary game mode.

It was, however, exactly the ONE feature that made my guild (and other guilds fom our previous game) migrate to GW1.