Guild Wars 2

I’m writing this post because I simply do not like to sit idly by when I see a great game such as GW2 being overshadowed by some of its flaws. I am unable to mention this game as a great PvP game because people instantly bash it for its notorious “Zerging”. Granted, I’m the type to usually counter or debate someone’s views — But that’s only when they’re wrong from my point of view.

I have played countless MMO’s from genre’s, and none have been able to design a fully functional system that discourages “Zerging”, or “Ganging” in most PvP games. I can’t enjoy my winnings because 5 other guys came in to “help” while I was shredding this guy 1v1. Sure, you might say, “Go 1v1 Arena!” <— I don’t wanna do that, dude. Takes away from the fun factor of the game as I play MMO’s because I like to be surrounded by groups of people for less of a console feel.

Below, I will suggest some minor tweaks that could be applied in both PvE and PvP Content(Mostly PvP):

PvP Combat: PvP in GW2, especially in WvW, does seem to be very broken. From the day I first decided to play WvW, my guild mate informed me that my number one priority would be to look for my Commander on the map, and to just follow him with his Uber Mob Group to capture points — AKA: Zerging. I…I didn’t know how to respond to that as I was mainly expecting myself with a couple of players to venture and sneak into different keeps, raid caravans, and do so many other shenanigans that would make WvW feel less like a giant sheep farm, and us being the sheeps following our Shepperd.

You’re probably thinking, "Well, dude. I don’t see any other ways around it. Logically, to overcome keeps faster, capture faster, and kill players faster, we only have one option — Mass Zerg groups to obliterate every bunny or 1 player that we encounter trying to defend his keep. Well guys, I think I have a solution, and if you agree with what I’m about to suggest, feel free to comment. If you don’t agree, no need to bash me or utilize condescending or hateful words, but instead, point out the flaws in my system, and counter it with a suggestion of your own.

I suggest that GW2 adds a Targeted Capacity/Deterrent System. What the heck is that, you say? Well, it’s basically what it sounds like. Each and every single player in PvP could have a maximum of 2 players being able to target/damage them simultaneously. This same concept could apply to PvE elements in WvW — I’ll further explain below.

-Defender_A is standing in front of the castle gates, and sees approximately 50 Attackers heading his way. In the current system, that’s code for: Run your kitten back inside NOW! — With the TC/D System, Defender_A can choose to remain in front of the castle gate, because out of all the Attackers coming, only Attacker_A and Attacker_B would be able to target and damage him, and all other attacks from other players would be nullified.
-Defender_A is currently fighting Attacker_A and Attacker_B, but he doesn’t want to attack Attacker_A and Attacker_B since he spots a healer near by. Defender_A then chooses to target Pacifist_A, but is only able to do so because Pacifist_A currently has no registered Attackers, so to Pacifist_A, Defender_A now becomes Attacker_A.

-Defender_A has now chosen to not attack one of his Attackers(A and, but Pacifist_A. Now, we can’t have Pacifist_A just sit around like a sitting duck unable to defend itself, can we? No, we cannot. Defender_A’s previous Attacker_B is now nullified, and Pacifist_A now registers as Defender_A’s Attacker_B.

In other words, this system guarantees that all players will not be fighting more than 2 players at a time. This, I think, would definitely render “Zerging” a thing of the past, as the remaining 48 Attackers will find that their time is better spent busting through the castle gates than to just stand there watching 3 players fight, and to jump in 1 at a time if one of their comrades dies. Again, please feel free to point out the flaws in my suggestion.

P.S. This will also apply in PvP arenas as we won’t be getting ganked by 3-5 players when you’re attempting to capture a point.

PvE Combat: In PvE, this would mainly apply to the Keep Guardians. Again, it seems the only way to effectively take a keep or castle is to team up with a large Zerg army, another strategy that simply seems illogical to not do! In this case, it’s simply because the guarding NPC already has a set power level that can really annihilate a small group of people attacking a completely -empty-(No defending players) castle.

The remedy for this would be an Auto-Power Adjusting System. How does it work? simple. The Guardian NPC utilizes a sort of a Radar system that scans it’s vicinity for enemy players in a certain radius, and adjust its power accordingly. Meaning, if a group of 5 players are approaching this monster and plan on attacking it, its difficulty level would be adjusted to that of which could be defeated by a well organized and capable group of 5. If 50 players are its vicinity, then the power would be adjusted kitten.

Now, you’re probably thinking, “Man, that could be abused. A group of 5 could come in first to make it easy mode, and then have 10 more come in to finish it off. -.-” <— hahah! Not so fast. Remember, it utilizes an Auto-Power Adjusting System. To fully remedy such an event, the NPC itself would have a Tiered power scale. For example: Tier 1 would be 1-5 Players in its vacinity. Tier 2 would be 10-15 players in its vicinity, and so on. Each time the NPC updates its Tier, its HP adjusted accordingly, as well as its stats to better counter the attackers offensive power.

There you have it. With such a system, I can see WvW having small groups of players attacking all corners of the map simultaneously, whilst still being very effective! WvW will truly feel like a War Zone, and also feel more alive without the “Sheep Herder” mentality that it currently has.

I am now gonna click “Post”, and I look forward to your feedbacks. If you guys agree with me or see this as a means of making this game better, please try to bring it to the devs attention. I am simply trying to redeem the name of a game that I love, and find myself helpless in defending when its flaws are very much apparent. -_-

my personal opinion is this would cause issues. mainly, you’d need to really think about all aoe attacks to make sure you can hit/target all enemies in the area, which would really slow you down or limit your potential.

Also, it may solve the issue you propose, but it will create a new one, and a very unrealistic one at that. One guy being able to randomly run into an entire zerg and just surviving and fighting there? You may like that idea but to me it seems ridiculous. If you run into a huge group of enemies you really should be annihilated.

you asked for us to suggest a better idea, but I’m sorry to say I don’t have one. I would say I prefer the system as it is though, because at least it’s realistic. Maybe providing real consequences for losing strategic points and supplies would be good enough. If you zerg you can’t defend everything, and if there are real consequences people might form into groups to defend or make quick attacks on other areas. That’s my best idea.

proviticus.4183:

my personal opinion is this would cause issues. mainly, you’d need to really think about all aoe attacks to make sure you can hit/target all enemies in the area, which would really slow you down or limit your potential.

Also, it may solve the issue you propose, but it will create a new one, and a very unrealistic one at that. One guy being able to randomly run into an entire zerg and just surviving and fighting there? You may like that idea but to me it seems ridiculous. If you run into a huge group of enemies you really should be annihilated.

you asked for us to suggest a better idea, but I’m sorry to say I don’t have one. I would say I prefer the system as it is though, because at least it’s realistic. Maybe providing real consequences for losing strategic points and supplies would be good enough. If you zerg you can’t defend everything, and if there are real consequences people might form into groups to defend or make quick attacks on other areas. That’s my best idea.

I appreciate your feedback. One tiny little thing that I would like to address in your statement is your prospect of “realism”. It’s an online game, and a lot of games fail because they try to make it too much like real life. 1 guy would not be able to take out 50 players alone, it would simply allow him to survive longer as he may drop 2-4 players before if he dies if he manages he CD’s well enough. In a group of 50, as soon as Defender_A beats an Attacker, another player is free to jump in to meet that 2 Attacker quota. To achieve balance, you -cannot- limit yourself in the realm of reality.

Thanks again for the feedback since it allows me to get a sense of player perspective. My goal is to eliminate Zerging, as that is a significant flaw in every aspect of this game —- even socially since you just hop into a herd, and follow everyone around without saying a word. If small groups could be successful, so many great memories would be made as small squads would could become legendary for their achievements on the battlefield.

sure, realism isn’t key, but I do believe there are lines that you shouldn’t cross, and saying one guy should be able to kill 2-4 people when running into a group of 50 is the line for me.

providing major consequences to losing caravans/keeps/etc could reduce zerging without unbalancing group play.

proviticus.4183:

sure, realism isn’t key, but I do believe there are lines that you shouldn’t cross, and saying one guy should be able to kill 2-4 people when running into a group of 50 is the line for me.

providing major consequences to losing caravans/keeps/etc could reduce zerging without unbalancing group play.

Fair enough, lol.