Guild Wars 2

Introduction:
Imo, both WvW and sPvP lack depth in modes and maps. Therefore I’ve spent the last couple of days thinking about ways to make things more interesting without breaking everything that is already there. These ideas are neither new nor original, but may contribute to a more interesting gameplay based on other options or a more structured approach to the systems in place.

Imo, a lack of different team compositions may also arise from the lack of opportunities for players to take in order to achieve their goal. I will be going over a skill design decision first and then proceed with listing suggestions that either together or alone could be used to make the flow more interesting without obscuring too much of what is going on from an observers point of view.

The Skill Level And Skill Ceiling:
Coming from GW1 there is one thing I miss in GW2: abilities with a high risk and high reward or even gameplay with the same appeal. The player doesn’t have to take risks or has the choice to take risks if desired, because there are no skills that are designed that way and no counters that really hurt.

Additionally, I really miss opportunities to shutdown an enemy. I know there is confusion and chilled, which may be a good way to stop buttonmashers from mashing buttons, but you as a player can rarely utilize chilled against players effectively. In GW1 you can punish players with DShot or Diversion by reading their actions and their style of play, in GW2 you can do that, but you cannot really exploit it.

I suggest separating the increased skill recharge time from chilled and turn it into another condition all by itself. Then add it to skills which can be used as interrupts so players have tools to control their enemy.

Back to the former point: lack of high rik, high reward skills. There is one skill in GW1 I always think of when I want to distinguish a good player from a mediocre one: Frenzy. With a little knowledge of the game, you as an observer could always find out how good a Warrior actually is by watching him go into frenzy and cancelling it at the right time. In GW2, there is a frenzy on steroids without any kind of downside that really hurts for the duration it is active. I know there is a version from the warrior with a similar effect, but having a 100% increased DPS while getting 50% more damage is for one not comparable to the version of the origional (33% IAS, 100% more damage) and cannot be exploited that easily if you get destroyed in the process.

I know, GW1 and GW2 play completely different, but we can observe what’s wrong with such a buff when exponentially increased in skill permutations like Time Warp. I would like to see several skills reworked and function similar to the one found in GW1. Make it cancellable, make it buff, but remove the battle-deciding factor. Imo, a 33% IAS or increased action activation would suffice and turn it into a tool of opportunity. Not something you activate on recharge regardless of the situation.

The Game Modes And Elements Of Play:
I would like to see more structure in both sPvP and WvW. Right now, WvW fights are won by those who can exploit the culling problem and other game mechanics better than their opponent. SPvP fights are won by the mentioned broken IAS and tactics that cannot be controlled. I am going to suggest additions that add more tactics and possibilities for both the players and the devs to make gameplay more interesting. I borrowed both ideas from two game I liked to play and think these concepts can enrich GW2.

The C&C Mode And One Step Further:
I am primarily targeting WvW with this. C&C mode is very similar to the concept of WvW in the way of embedding an RTS style mode in a game in which players create a single character. For the sake of place I won’t go into details on the original mode, but you might want to check out this link if you are unfamiliar with the concept: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%26C_Renegade

Hence I would like to see more efforts towards making WvW battles more about fighting between keeps or other points with a bigger focus on combined arms battles. ANet missed the opportunity to draw players from Battlefield and other big (upcoming) titles like Planetside, which offer these fights. However the foundation is there and new maps and additions to WvW with new weapons and mechanics could draw a lot of attention.

For making WvW more RTS-ish I would like to see more of the following:
- Control and fight over resource nodes. We have supply camps, but adding unguarded rich resource nodes with harvesters for all sides could prove entertainnig.
- Add more movable vehicles to WvW. We have tanks and airships in PvE, why not translate them to WvW to make fights more vertical and more about combined weapons and tactics.
- Add buildable structures. We got towers and keeps which may be upgraded, why not add fortifications that may be build by players to make things more sandboxy, more uncontrolled. Have dynamic battle lines.
- Give the players more power to shape the battleground. There is a lot of potential waiting to be utilized. Don’t let everything rest on the shoulders of the infantry.

The Onslaught Mode, Add Mechanics to sPvP and WvW:
Given the concept of conquest as the primary game mode and the lack of structure and poverty of tacitcal opportunites, I got inspired by a popular game mode in the Unreal Tournament series. It’s name is Onslaught/Warfare and got a couple of things that can be translated to and used in sPvP and/or WvW. Onslaught is based on capture nodes that build a web of connecting points. Players can only capture or destroy nodes that are connected. Nodes need to be linked with the enemy core to make it vulnerable to attacks.

Why adapt Onslaught/Warfare for GW2 for both WvW and sPvP or at least one of them?
- Because it adds an easy-to-follow structure to players and observers alike.
- Because we already got maps that support a node-style play and node webs add interesting tactics, like cutting links between nodes.
- Because once taken, a node could give access to something or buffs the team.
- Because designers can add different styles of webs and add nodes as they please. Nodes can be set active or inactive according on the number of players and dynamics they want to enforce. This can get interesting for (custom) tournaments (if customizable) and it scales well with the number of players on a single map.
- Things like orbs can be used for different tactics. Push a battle line or defend one. (Note: Orbs may be picked up. Once equipped, it makes the nearby orb invulnerable to attacks. Once it reaches a neutral node it is immediately capped and protected for a couple of seconds.) Hence orbs could be used in both sPvP and WvW (to an extent).
For example orbs could be used to protect fortifications built by players. Give orbs a purpose

Needless to say, both modes combined could add a lot to GW2 and make it much more interesting for both sPvP- and WvW-enthusiasts. Use the potential and add a deeper and richer experience.

The End:
If you made it to this sentence, I applaud you for your endurance. I won’t add a TL;TR, because important thing are already pointed out in bulletin points. Feel free to add something to this suggestions, but please do not hijack this thread. Thank you very much for reading and giving it a thought or two. I hope you don’t find too many typos.