This is not a thread for people to post whether they are for or against raiding. If you don’t like raiding, go make your own thread talking about how much you hate it. This thread is for people who do like raiding, and would like to discuss how GW2 raiding could be done. Please keep an open mind. Thank you.
I have started threads like this in the past, and indeed so have others. But they always get shot down because people don’t read, and seem uninterested in intelligent discussion. Rather than discuss the pros and cons of raiding in general, I want to discuss specifically how raiding could work in GW2 and the best way it could be implemented in order to enrich the experience of GW2.
This means finding out a few things.
1. What aspect of GW2 would raiding best fall under?
2. What kinds of players might raid?
3. What kinds of rewards could a raid offer that the rest of the game does not offer?
4. Should a raid even have rewards that aren’t offered in other areas?
5. How hard should it be?
6. How many players can/should a raid involve?
7. What exactly would a raid be? (i.e. the activity)
8. What kind of mechanics should there be?
I’m sure there are many other questions, so feel free to post them if you have them. I shall post my personal opinions on these questions.
1. I think raiding would fall best under PvE, specifically guild activities. Ask anyone who does Triple Trouble frequently, you will find that a sense of community and organization go a very long way toward beating a large world boss. Raiding in past games has always been a strongly teamwork-focused activity. Given how easy it is to join a guild, and how guilds themselves lend to better organization, I think it’s only natural. Please see #7 for further clarification.
2. I’ve met many people who want more content like Triple Trouble, and are actually disappointed when patches tend to make the wurms easier to defeat. They like the challenge. They like the comradery. There’s a sense of fellowship that just doesn’t exist in a random megaserver zerg. When many players come together in an organized group, it feels far more fulfilling and important. It gives the content meaning. Players who raid want to feel like they are part of something bigger, yet that thing also must have meaning and a sense of accomplishment.
3. The rewards are a huge issue for this topic. I think most GW2 players will agree that they don’t want to feel forced to raid. This means rewards have to be tediously balanced so they the risk vs effort vs time vs reward are not imbalanced against other parts of the game. I think rewards should be something in line with current guild mission rewards, seeing as I’m personally suggesting they be an actual guild activity. Let’s say 2-3 guild commendations and 2 rares for completion? In addition I believe the boss chest should have a chance to drop an ascended chest, similar to Teq and the wurm.
4. This goes with number 3 really. Raid rewards in GW2 should probably not consist of anything outstanding that could not be obtained in some other way. Most rewards in the game “bleed over” in to other areas. It gives players options and keeps them from being forced in to certain content. I don’t think non-raiders should be forced to raid in order to get things like ascended gear. With that said, I don’t think it’s unfair to throw in exclusive vanity rewards like a tonic or minipet.
5. Raids should be hard. They should be somewhere ahead of normal dungeons. That’s not to say they should be prohibitively difficult, but the whole purpose of a raid is to give the high sense of teamwork and accomplishment. If the raid can be afk auto attacked, then you defeat the whole purpose.
to be continued…