In light of upcoming changes to the way that resurrecting at waypoints will work inside dungeons I think that it would be a wise decision to increase the number of waypoints available. Currently, with waypoints being so sparse it makes waypoint rushing difficult but not outright impossible. Once players are no longer able to resurrect at a waypoint while at least one party member is engaged in combat then there would be no reason to have sparse waypoints.
Having more waypoints has many advantages. If the whole party wipes on a boss it would enable them to get back to the boss sooner. There would also be less down time in general because players would spend less time walking then grouping up and actually engage with monsters/environmental puzzles. Waypoints in games just make them more streamlined. Fast travel is something that if done right prevents a lot of backtracking without trivializing things. Many people would not trade waypoints in the open world for mounts although they probably would like both.
The single most important advantage of having more waypoints is creating an incentive to do the content. Different people have brought up the topic of skipping in dungeons. One the main reasons is that there isn’t enough incentive to kill monsters. Skipping monsters gets you to the last boss and to your 60 tokens faster. If you spawn waypoints for meeting certain conditions like clearing out a room then people might actually want to clear that room. It won’t stop skipping entirely but at least there is incentive beyond the material things like loot. See, people will take the path of least resistance as many have pointed out.
Let me provide some background. Skipping in general actually carries with it a risk. If you die then you have to run back and past the monsters that you skipped. When you’re running back after dying you run the risk of getting killed by the very monsters you skipped. You could potentially lose more time from this then you gain. Call it karma if you will. However, most of the time the risk is within acceptable limits and you get called a noob for dying to skipped monsters.
Anyway, running back in and of itself can be a real ordeal. It’s why I am suggesting that more waypoints be added. Now if you were rewarded with a closer waypoint to where you might die for killing the monsters in a certain area then I think a lot of people will actually kill these monsters. They would probably rather have that safety net and not have to run long distances after dying. Don’t forget that skipping carries with it a risk. If killing monsters is perceived as the path of least resistance then players will kill monsters. If the perception is that skipping is still better then no doubt people will still continue to skip even with waypoint rewards.
It’s not perfect and no doubt it will not stop skipping altogether. Fundamentally, skipping isn’t a problem. The problem, if we look at it from another perspective, is the lack of incentive to fight what is skipped. Don’t get me wrong, there is in fact a real solution that has worked really well in the past but it will no doubt receive a lot of backlash. It’s a system where monsters never lose aggro and it has worked in WoW and countless other MMORPGs. I’m proposing something that gets around this draconic system by taking human nature into consideration.
I’d love to hear feedback whether positive or negative. I’m sure I’m missing something here. If you are against this, all I ask is you be constructive so that I at least know what the flaw with the concept is. If you are an ArenaNet employee please take this idea into consideration. I haven’t patented it or anything. If you want to reward me, do so not with royalties but by implementing this some time in the near future.
Thanks.