Guild Wars 2

While I love the new world bosses, the recent focus on these encounters is setting what I believe to be an unhealthy trend in the game.

The way players experience the game and the level of fun they can have is currently very different from server to server. It isn’t about how hard people are working or getting to have fun with friends, but rather about their access to the numbers needed to down this content and the size of their current server.

To make the situation worse, ArenaNet (despite having the best of intentions in doing so) is shining a light on things like world first kills and even using their twitter to promote efforts of a single server.

This creates an environment of haves and have nots that isnt healthy for the game – and can only have negative results – specifically bandwagonning and server desertions.

If ArenaNet plans to make these kind of events central to the future of the game (which I would fully support as long as everyone has the same access), then they need to move the focus (in PVE at least) away from a server-centric model and make it a global (or regional in this case) one. Give the guilds and players on Kaenig or IoJ the same experience as those on Blackgate or Tarnished Coast.

There are a lot of ways they could do this, but the most impactful (imo) would be to revamp the zone instancing system. When we port into a zone, give us a drop down menu similar to the one used in structured pvp. If we port into Bloodtide Coast, let us choose from a list of all of the current versions of that zone – with information like how many people are already there and how many from our guilds/friends lists are currently in the zone.

This would:

- let people choose the experience they want from that zone

- give guilds/allies the ability to organize events

- fix issues associated with underpopulated servers (which would be healthy for the future of the game) and

- eliminate the overflow problem completely.

- fix issues like people wanting to farm champions and people wanting to experience dynamic events in the same zone.

Most importantly, it would move the focus fully onto the players and the communities they want to build – through their friends and guild lists. I love this game and am enthusiastic about the future. My only worry is how much server populations currently impact a players experience – especially in large events like the marionette, worm and tequatl.

+1 of course, however with the speed they fix these kind of crutial issues I would expect a fix a year from now.

They should go back with the overflow system of GW1 (where you can join a specific overflow), merge all the servers because 95% of the game is just empty besides for these LS events and Lion Arch, and change the WvW server matchup to Alliances or “Master Guilds” your guild would have to choose allegiance to.

I never played GW1. But I think being able to select from a list of overflow is a good idea. Instead of the current server system.

This would also eliminate the issue of people having to stand around forever in a zone waiting on a boss to spawn. Large groups could just communicate the instance version they are going to (based on room available at that point in time) and get everyone onto the same map pretty much simultaneously.

I know there are probably massive technical hurdles to doing something like this – I think it is worth them exploring however. It would alleviate many issues with the current system.