Hey there. First things first I love the game, I’m a long time GW player, bought the first game in the second week of release- so I’m very attached to the franchise. WvWvW was one of the things that most excited me when I started hearing news about gw2- it sounded utterly epic. And it is very fun, however- there are some major issues I feel need to be addressed. This is particularly with other mass-scale pvp games on the horizon that could drain GW2 of a lot of pvpers, Planetside 2 for instance, or Elder Scrolls Online.
1.The lore is lacking.
Okay- so this is the least important of all my points, but as a massive lorehound I think it should be looked at. WvWvW is a huge ongoing war- however there’s no real information about it. We’ve been told Balthazhar opened the way in for the greatest warriors to fight but…why? With dragons taking over the world, why are people going off to fight in some ever-lasting battle with no real aim or objective beyond battle? Also, nobody ever talks about the mist war in game. I mean seriously- this is the last tangible thing the human gods left and no npcs beyond the mist warriors have anything to say about it? No other npc as far as I’m aware ever says “Oh yeah hey- remember that huge war that’s going on, that must be pretty important.’
2.It’s visually disappointing.
When I heard that WvWvW was going to be in the mists I thought it would be more akin to the mists of GW1. A strange, ethereal place were the rules are different, inhabited by strange beings. The loading screen enforces this view- a vision of a mighty army on an awesome battlefield, marching forth as fire churns around them. But WvWvW isn’t anything like that- it’s just like the regular game world. It is inhabited not by unique creatures (at very least re-skinned with a new name)- but by foes we’re used to, skale and such. The npcs we can get on side are things like quaggan (which leads the player to wonder how the heck peaceful quaggan tribes set up in a realm of never ending war). All the three factions are visually the same beyond colour- and their npc allies are not spirits of the mists or anything exciting like that, just regular goons from Tyria, who all wear the same armour and look the same. I know it’s far too late for many changes in this department- but maybe an optional otherworldly mist filter and perhaps a few small additions to the landscape would be cool.
3.There’s no persistence.
This is the most dangerous mistake about the mist war. GW2 does a lot of things different- and it offers a lot of options for players. However, one thing mmo players generally want is the chance to be special- to make their mark on this virtual world, no matter how small. Having sandbox elements is going to become increasingly relevant- and currently GW2 is utterly lacking in comparisons to future rivals like Archage. It is difficult to really enjoy WvW because it’s utterly transient. 2 weeks and the war resets- the dramas, the expenses- the captured fort at a pyrrhic cost- doesn’t matter. WvW could allow players to seize forts, and hold them, but it doesn’t- not really- since you lose it in 2 weeks.
I understand this is to be fair- but WvW isn’t ‘fair’ pvp. Players focused on the ‘fair’ will go to structured pvp. WvW should be a space to let players have that sandbox experience- persistent, relevant. Harsh, yes, but look at the kind of devotion harsh inspires, games like EVE Online- not a huge playerbase, but an utterly loyal one. WvW is Guild wars chance to experiment with these sorts of changes and test how the playerbase reacts- but frankly I think it needs to evolve along the lines of becoming more permanently persistent. I personally feel like this is a major missed opportunity.