Commanders of Tyria

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Fyur.8152

Fyur.8152

I’m just going to post this here since nobody probably noticed this on my tumblr. This is just a copy/paste from the post. I’m hoping for thoughts and discussions around this topic and hopefully someone with better writing skills passes this idea to anet.

Commanders of Tyria

Hello, I’m a horrible writer but I felt like I need to get this off my head. The reason I’m posting this here instead of the forums or suggestion box for Anet is because my first language is not English and my writing skills are not that great, I’m hoping someone will post this into the forums with better skills.

SO… Commanders… Our strategist and leaders, the few chosen ones we follow blindly into battle and trust our lives with. The great and wise dorritos who lead mass zergs to conquer castles and command us to retreat when it doesn’t look good. Or are they? I’ve seen awesome commanders who know how to lead, BUT only half of them know how to keep the morale of soldiers up. Anyone can be a commander… If they just have the gold for a tag, which Sounds like MONEY BRINGS POWER.

My suggestion is that lets make commander tag something you need to earn by morale points which players can give you and you can lose points by players.. Sorry, BOLD SOLDIERS giving you minus points for a commander acting like a kitten or simply telling that you need more practice. This Could also just be a color system in which everyone Could still buy the tag but color of the tag determines how good you are to keep up the morale and how good you are at leading.

This suggestion for commander tag is just a thought after long time of running with commanders which might be good, but make new players feel bad for not knowing stuff and being yelled at by a commander. Also I haven’t thought of everything yet the ideas should be developed into a real system. Thank you for reading.

No, Fyur is a name, I did NOT try to type fire.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Fyur.8152

Fyur.8152

Also, this is probably my first time posting anything into the forums so please let me know if this was wrong place to post this kind of stuff.

No, Fyur is a name, I did NOT try to type fire.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Dawdler.8521

Dawdler.8521

Or just ask for small donations toward your commander tag. same thing as you suggest. You will need it just to command anyway, siege is thrown around like candy and its pretty kitten expensive.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: nathanjameson.3542

nathanjameson.3542

another way to grief commanders i don’t like? yes, please!

Karma Express – Norn Guardian commander

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

I get what you intend with this suggestion: that Commander status is conferred by peers; that it’s earned, not bought; that it’s a meritocracy. On the face of it, that sounds great.

Unfortunately, as nathan’ mentioned above, it would be a system so open to abuse and griefing that I don’t think anything like it would ever be implemented.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Fyur.8152

Fyur.8152

I get what you intend with this suggestion: that Commander status is conferred by peers; that it’s earned, not bought; that it’s a meritocracy. On the face of it, that sounds great.

Unfortunately, as nathan’ mentioned above, it would be a system so open to abuse and griefing that I don’t think anything like it would ever be implemented.

Yes, exactly what I mean. But I’m sad to admit that you and nathan are right, it would most likely be that alot of commanders get their points from guildies and ask for donations like nathan said. I was hoping for someone to take this idea and turn it into a working system that would not allow that kind of ’’corruption’’, but seems like its a distant dream.

Maybe a dev will see this and give it a thought and come up with better idea based around this.

No, Fyur is a name, I did NOT try to type fire.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Menadena.7482

Menadena.7482

A lot of people treat the dorito as a status symbol. I tend to use it as an organizational tool. I turn it on and off as needed (or if asked either way by other commanders). I use it to say “hey, I know what is going on in this event and people are needed or the entire event chain will fail” or “come over here and do the pre so we can draw the boss out”.

In starter areas I often turn it on and send a /map message that if anyone wants help to look for the (color) arrow on their map. I then try to catch as many fast spawning events as possible.

I do NOT use it in WvW unless it was on by accident when I took the mists shortcut. I would not feel qualified and would be causing confusion for the actual commanders. There is also no reason for half a dozen people to be tagged up in a boss fight unless they are to draw people to pres or organize (I was at the Caledon wurm recently and there were more commander tags standing in one spot than colors …. how was that at all helpful).

I would like to see more variation to somehow indicate why the person is tagged up (acting as help in PVE is not acting as a team lead in WvW). Another option would be a timer which would automatically turn the tag off after a certain period of time so you would need to manually turn it on again.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sube Dai.8496

Sube Dai.8496

I think it’s a great idea.

Maybe make it so that you only have positive points so ppl can’t demote you just because they don’t like you.

You’d probably also need a limit so only the top 10-15 can tag up.

John Snowman [GLTY]
Space Marine Z [GLTY]

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Danikat.8537

Danikat.8537

SO… Commanders… Our strategist and leaders, the few chosen ones we follow blindly into battle and trust our lives with. The great and wise dorritos who lead mass zergs to conquer castles and command us to retreat when it doesn’t look good.

IMO this is a huge part of the problem, at least as much of an issue as bad commanders.

I realise this was probably intended as exaggeration but I’ve seen more than a few players do exactly that. They get into a map, see a commander tag and just follow them without knowing what they’re doing or why. Even in PvE where there’s a good chance they’re coordinating a guild event, acting as a marker for an event that’s going to start later, or simply forgot to turn the tag off.

And when they realise the commander isn’t directing them to the thing they came to the map for, or some super-special event only they know about, there’s a very good chance they will blame the commander for their misunderstanding.

IMO it would make a huge difference if players would simply realise that commanders are just other players who have bought a tag and chosen to display it for their own reasons, which may very well have nothing at all to do with you or what you want to do.

Then instead of following them blindly take the time to find out what they’re doing and why (and how they’re doing at it) and make an informed decision if you want to join in or not.

If you think they’re generally ok but could do better maybe ask if you can help. (For example I often see commanders in Silverwastes who are going to all the right places at the right times but saying very little. It’s hard to fight and type at the same time. So I’ll type instructions for the current/next phase myself instead of expecting them to do everything at once.)

If you think they’re a terrible commander and want nothing to do with them you can simply ignore them and get on with what you know you need to do (if you don’t know what to do or how to do it then you’re not in a position to judge whether the commander is doing it right). Or if necessary (e.g. if they’re on WvW and just leading the zerg in circles for no reason) go to another map.

Or if there’s time and you think it could be worthwhile start a conversation in Map chat about how you think things should be done and see who agrees and whether you can get things re-organised.

P.S. No I don’t own a commander tag, thought about it but never felt like it was worth it for me.

P.P.S. Your English is fine.

Danielle Aurorel, Dear Dragon We Got Your Cookies [Nom], Desolation (EU).

“Life’s a journey, not a destination.”

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: ScribeTheMad.7614

ScribeTheMad.7614

Online games are plagued by people who seem to only be able to gain enjoyment by taking it from others.
“This is why we can’t have nice things.”

We shouldn’t have to build systems around preventing griefing, but it’s the reality we live with, I’ve seen too many guild leaders threaten to have their whole guild falsely report someone for botting/gold selling/whatever over stupid arguments to believe for even a second something like this wouldn’t be abused.

“The short answer is that new content is not going to drive people away from the game.
There is absolutely no evidence to support that it would.” -AnthonyOrdon

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Fyur.8152

Fyur.8152

SO… Commanders… Our strategist and leaders, the few chosen ones we follow blindly into battle and trust our lives with. The great and wise dorritos who lead mass zergs to conquer castles and command us to retreat when it doesn’t look good.

IMO this is a huge part of the problem, at least as much of an issue as bad commanders.

I realise this was probably intended as exaggeration but I’ve seen more than a few players do exactly that. They get into a map, see a commander tag and just follow them without knowing what they’re doing or why. Even in PvE where there’s a good chance they’re coordinating a guild event, acting as a marker for an event that’s going to start later, or simply forgot to turn the tag off.

And when they realise the commander isn’t directing them to the thing they came to the map for, or some super-special event only they know about, there’s a very good chance they will blame the commander for their misunderstanding.

IMO it would make a huge difference if players would simply realise that commanders are just other players who have bought a tag and chosen to display it for their own reasons, which may very well have nothing at all to do with you or what you want to do.

Then instead of following them blindly take the time to find out what they’re doing and why (and how they’re doing at it) and make an informed decision if you want to join in or not.

If you think they’re generally ok but could do better maybe ask if you can help. (For example I often see commanders in Silverwastes who are going to all the right places at the right times but saying very little. It’s hard to fight and type at the same time. So I’ll type instructions for the current/next phase myself instead of expecting them to do everything at once.)

If you think they’re a terrible commander and want nothing to do with them you can simply ignore them and get on with what you know you need to do (if you don’t know what to do or how to do it then you’re not in a position to judge whether the commander is doing it right). Or if necessary (e.g. if they’re on WvW and just leading the zerg in circles for no reason) go to another map.

Or if there’s time and you think it could be worthwhile start a conversation in Map chat about how you think things should be done and see who agrees and whether you can get things re-organised.

P.S. No I don’t own a commander tag, thought about it but never felt like it was worth it for me.

P.P.S. Your English is fine.

That is very true and yeah it was just exaggeration but thats also a big problem with people not listening in map chat. good points!

and thank you

No, Fyur is a name, I did NOT try to type fire.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Fyur.8152

Fyur.8152

First I would like to thank everyone for posting their opinions and awesome replies, awesome suggestions and good critizism. and I understand that there is alot of griefing and abuse in online games which are impossible to get rid of entirely. And yes I shouldn’t take too much emotion from someone yelling in a game being chat warriors, and the reason I made this topic was because I simply ’’cared’’ too much for new players and myself after seeing commanders yell .. uh.. well not going to post here what they were saying to everyone (and me) but you all know. 99% of the community is awesome and thats what matters

No, Fyur is a name, I did NOT try to type fire.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: TwoGhosts.6790

TwoGhosts.6790

First I would like to thank everyone for posting their opinions and awesome replies, awesome suggestions and good critizism. and I understand that there is alot of griefing and abuse in online games which are impossible to get rid of entirely. And yes I shouldn’t take too much emotion from someone yelling in a game being chat warriors, and the reason I made this topic was because I simply ’’cared’’ too much for new players and myself after seeing commanders yell .. uh.. well not going to post here what they were saying to everyone (and me) but you all know. 99% of the community is awesome and thats what matters

Thanks for a good thread, Fyur. Some interesting and constructive comments.

Apologies for my rather abrupt initial response, but sadly I don’t really see how they could make something like your original suggestion work.

Some good points made by others here though and, who knows, maybe they can find a way to improve the current system.

~TG

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Basandra Skye.4031

Basandra Skye.4031

(I was at the Caledon wurm recently and there were more commander tags standing in one spot than colors …. how was that at all helpful).

I sincerely invite you to a Chaos Tequatl raid followed by a Chaos Wurm raid done by TTS. If you think a handful of tags at a baby boss is strange……. wait til you see what ours look like.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: ScribeTheMad.7614

ScribeTheMad.7614

SO… Commanders… Our strategist and leaders, the few chosen ones we follow blindly into battle and trust our lives with. The great and wise dorritos who lead mass zergs to conquer castles and command us to retreat when it doesn’t look good.

IMO this is a huge part of the problem, at least as much of an issue as bad commanders.

I realise this was probably intended as exaggeration but I’ve seen more than a few players do exactly that. They get into a map, see a commander tag and just follow them without knowing what they’re doing or why. Even in PvE where there’s a good chance they’re coordinating a guild event, acting as a marker for an event that’s going to start later, or simply forgot to turn the tag off.

And when they realise the commander isn’t directing them to the thing they came to the map for, or some super-special event only they know about, there’s a very good chance they will blame the commander for their misunderstanding.

IMO it would make a huge difference if players would simply realise that commanders are just other players who have bought a tag and chosen to display it for their own reasons, which may very well have nothing at all to do with you or what you want to do.

Then instead of following them blindly take the time to find out what they’re doing and why (and how they’re doing at it) and make an informed decision if you want to join in or not.

If you think they’re generally ok but could do better maybe ask if you can help. (For example I often see commanders in Silverwastes who are going to all the right places at the right times but saying very little. It’s hard to fight and type at the same time. So I’ll type instructions for the current/next phase myself instead of expecting them to do everything at once.)

If you think they’re a terrible commander and want nothing to do with them you can simply ignore them and get on with what you know you need to do (if you don’t know what to do or how to do it then you’re not in a position to judge whether the commander is doing it right). Or if necessary (e.g. if they’re on WvW and just leading the zerg in circles for no reason) go to another map.

Or if there’s time and you think it could be worthwhile start a conversation in Map chat about how you think things should be done and see who agrees and whether you can get things re-organised.

P.S. No I don’t own a commander tag, thought about it but never felt like it was worth it for me.

P.P.S. Your English is fine.

I’ve seen commanders run their zerg off fatally high cliffs, sometimes “for the lulz” (direct quote) other times “just to see how many people would blindly follow”.

You have to stick close to the group, fall too far behind and you either get picked off by rovers or you’re always late to the party. So you kind of have to be following closely.

While yes its partly “blindly following” there is also a measure of trust placed in a commander you follow. And after stunts like the cliff (and the commander mocking people for blindly following) no one wants to follow them, and then the commander gets upset that people stop blindly following (I know, doesn’t really make a ton of sense) “But I’m the commander you have to do as I say!”

I do feel like people could be a little more discerning in who they follow though.

“The short answer is that new content is not going to drive people away from the game.
There is absolutely no evidence to support that it would.” -AnthonyOrdon

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Menadena.7482

Menadena.7482

(I was at the Caledon wurm recently and there were more commander tags standing in one spot than colors …. how was that at all helpful).

I sincerely invite you to a Chaos Tequatl raid followed by a Chaos Wurm raid done by TTS. If you think a handful of tags at a baby boss is strange……. wait til you see what ours look like.

My usual MO when I arrive at Teq is to see what defensive area needs help, run there and tag up (to attract people). It does not hurt that if a random person says “we need to do x” in /map it can be ignored but people put more weight to someone with a commander tag saying the same exact thing. The first Teq I did after the difficulty increased was with an organized guild … and I got asked to turn it off because they had everything worked out (fine with me, I was more than happy to have someone else herd those cats).

I am not too sure what would be the best way of handling the explosion of commander tags on the map. While it seems a huge investment, in real world terms it is around 30 USD and a short time in WVW. I would not argue for making it harder to get though as you do not want to exclude good commanders-to-be just because it is too expensive. I would lean towards something like a time-out that gets reset when someone new joins your squad. If you have not convinced people it is a good idea to follow you after, oh, an hour since the last person joined you are probably not doing much and it would be a minor nuisance to tag up again if you need it.

(edited by Menadena.7482)

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Wanze.8410

Wanze.8410

Giving players to ability to rate tags is too easily abused.

First I was thinking to track some stats, if someone commands, for example player kills, objects defended/conquered, deaths and overall time commanding, so people can get a better idea of how experienced a com is.
But with that system, everybody in a zerg would probably switch on his dorito, if they are about to cap something to get his stats up, so its not an ideal solution either.

Tin Foil [HATS]-Hardcore BLTC-PvP Guild
Bloin – Running around, tagging Keeps, getting whack on Scoobie Snacks.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Deedrick.4372

Deedrick.4372

Tags have such a multi faceted use though. We use them to show scouts in objectives in wvw; and, we use tons of tags when doing guild bounty to keep the markers in place. There is "commanding" as well as other uses. I don’t believe there should be a rating system for such a versatile marker, I think people should stop confusing the tag as god of the event and that they can tell people what to do, they are only visual queues that cost a bunch of gold.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: CobaltSixty.1542

CobaltSixty.1542

You should have to pass a basic grammar and spelling test to get a commander tag.

Commanders of Tyria

in Guild Wars 2 Discussion

Posted by: Sthenith.5196

Sthenith.5196

You can’t just issue commander tags based on ‘merit’ given by other players, that would always lead to griefing.

I’ve seen great commanders at events, i’ve seen bad commanders standing idle at events like in SW until the breach happens. I’ve seen good ones in WvW and i’ve seen some that hop all over the map with ppl having no clue what’s going on.

After a while you get to know them and get to know who to follow (trusted) and who not so much (unknown/untrusted). I think that’s the most you can expect.

I can buy a commander tag, put it up, and i’m sure ppl will just follow me around or come to my location when they see a tag during an event, doesn’t mean i’m any good at it. Only experience and time can tell that.

What surprises me, time and again, is that at WB’s i sometimes see 15+ tags…. none have any sense of turning it off ? Or is it just a “Look at me, i’m so awesome” mentality ?

Besides, most things can be done without having commanders present, they just facilitate a location to go to when in doubt or unexperienced. Maybe it’s just me.