Guild Wars 2

I’m a player who longs for the days when we had special events for the community. I remember fondly of the Ancient Karka event that only happened once, and lasted for hours. It was one chained event after another, and ended with with a permanent change to the world by way of the remains of the lava cooked karka in Southsun. This is exactly what this game needs now more than ever.

With all the changes made to the game over the years, everything leans towards a more Casual friendly MMO. While there’s nothing wrong with that, us dedicated players want more. We want hard content that push us to our limits. We want unique rewards that can’t be received any other way. And we want events that happen only once, with rewards for players willing to take the time away from real life to play it.

This suggestion isn’t about being Elitist. It isn’t about being a Special Snowflake. This is about diversifying this game so it satisfies all sorts of players. The 1% are people too. There are players willing to take week long vacations from work just to lead their servers in WvW. There are players willing to spend 16 hours straight to learn a raid-like event. Why not throw out content for the hardcore players every now and then?

How it would work

• Anet could announce a month or 2 in advance that a one-off event will occur at a specific time, on a specific date. That gives us proper notice to rearrange our real life schedules. Put in a vacation request, buy snacks, etc.
• It would be Open World, as to not leave anyone out while the event happens.
• Rewards should be high end, Account Bound, and deliciously pretty looking.
• To prevent losses due to disconnections, reward structures should give tokens after every mini event. This way, there’s a lot less chance that someone won’t miss out on an “end chest”. Have a merchant available for 24 hours in LA that offers goods for players to purchase with the special tokens.
• Tokens can only be given out to players who actually participate. If you AFK, or don’t do enough damage to certain mini bosses, you don’t get rewards. This forces players to play the event, and makes AFKing a bad idea. Tagging events wouldn’t work either, as the attacks wouldn’t meet reward thresholds based on damage.
• To further prevent AFKers, a shortened “kick timer” should be implemented on the event map.
• Special titles and Achievement Points should be given out, depending on participation levels.

Microtransaction opportunity

While there will be people who won’t be able to attend the event, but would like to play it, Anet could sell special 1-time use “Event Mission” unlocks in the Gem Store. For 4,000 Gems, a player can unlock the event on the map, albeit on a smaller scale with smaller rewards. That helps retain the status of the original event. This way, players willing to pay the price will get a taste of the event, all while helping to increase revenue for NCSoft. The high price is justified because one “Event Mission” is for all players on the map.

I remember the karka event, it started at 3am for me and due to crashes/disconnects I got nothing out of it (except the 20 slot box that was mailed to me, iirc.) Some people used the overflow system to repeat the event several times to access the higher-than-average chance at a precursor final chest.

Good times, good times.

One time events should stay one time events. Anet should rather focus on bringing stuff like SAB and crown pavillon back.

The one time event that I recall participating in (with Karkka I think it was) was riddled with bugs and glitches because it couldn’t be tested properly.

Or all past events can come in the form of rare fractal dungeons above certain levels with nerfed resource gains

I remember the karka event too. That’s why I’m glad they dropped that idea like a hot rock and never went back to it. (Except for whatever that thing last weekend was supposed to be.)

It sounds good on paper. In practice it was just frustrating and dull. Even on the day, when my group finally beat the Ancient Karka and got our rewards I was just relieved it was over so I could stop sitting at my computer waiting for the next ‘super exciting’ event to grind through until I got disconnected.

The 2 week long events were a decent compromise, but I much prefer permanent content.

Sorry, Peng, but no. It wasn’t fun for Season 1, and it’s too easy to get hedged out.
Bad idea is bad, and feelings should follow the tautology. :\

Nevermind that one-time events are generally a grandiose waste of development resources. Not to say that all things should always be available ever, but seasonable returns are the most appropriate venue for this sort of exclusivity.

One time events are fine for the recurring seasonal content, because its rare and exciting and you really feel like part of the community when you participate, but if you do miss out then there is another chance next year. Thats a good compromise.

For furthering the story and bi-weekly content drops the season 2 system is vastly superior in every way.

I don’t see how being a one time event will fulfill the hunger for hard content. That makes no logical sense at all. HoT is bringing what ppl have asked for – harder mobs in the jungle and raids. These haven’t even launched yet and people are clamouring for more hard content.

One time events are not popular. It wasn’t just the lag and disconnects which people hated about Karka, is was the limited time of it. It created a bad rep for the company which it took quite some time to dispel. I’m pretty certain that is a route they didn’t want to go back down, especially given the high development cost and work effort, for something temporary. I think many had enough of that during S1 – just look at the continued clamouring for S1 to be brought back. Temporary content is a no no.

Whilst I respect you have put in contingencies for those who can’t join and have fleshed out your proposal, the idea has very little merit. You want it to push everyone to their limits, but want it all inclusive and one time only. Three things that cannot mesh.

The game doesn’t need one time events, it will be highly detrimental to it and the gain to the “living world” will not outweigh the enormous issues it will cause. What the game needs is what HoT seems to be bringing and then to build on that in all future content and arguably some core content as well.

I remember the karka event too, when I pass the stone-encrusted ancient karka I always remember the time that I saw it happen. However I never want to see an event like that again, ever. Not because it wasn’t utterly memorable (it was) but because in making events so time-limited ArenaNet excludes a whole bunch of its players and creates bad feeling in the community. Also remember all the people who disconnected and couldn’t get back into one of the maps where the event had actually advanced? I’m fairly sure they wouldn’t want it back. Even I, who have quite fond memories of the event, tend to forget the slideshow combat as my FPS went into the realm of fractions and the waiting around defeated desperately hoping that someone would find you and rez you so that you wouldn’t have to start all over again on a new map.

What I treasure are the repeating events (like Halloween … especially the epic first one) which add content to the game which can be revisited (and built upon) for years to come. I like the sense of anticipation as the festival draws near, the redecoration of the cities, the madness as people run around completing the events. All without the pressure of a short duration event or the sinking feeling that with a one-time only currency, if you can’t afford the thing you want then you’ll have a bank slot cluttered up for the rest of time in the desperate hope that the event currency will return.

Essentially everything that the mordrem invasion wasn’t.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

With all the changes made to the game over the years, everything leans towards a more Casual friendly MMO. While there’s nothing wrong with that, us dedicated players want more. We want hard content that push us to our limits. We want unique rewards that can’t be received any other way.

Hopefully Raids in HoT will deliver this for you!

Smooth Penguin.5294:

And we want events that happen only once, with rewards for players willing to take the time away from real life to play it.

This suggestion isn’t about being Elitist. It isn’t about being a Special Snowflake.
snip

• Rewards should be high end, Account Bound, and deliciously pretty looking.

I’m not sure I understand your statement. You want something to show off visually that you are a Special Snowflake, part of a group that have completed the hardest content, or grinded it for months to get the RNG drops, but this isn’t about being Special?

Smooth Penguin.5294:

There are players willing to take week long vacations from work just to lead their servers in WvW. There are players willing to spend 16 hours straight to learn a raid-like event. Why not throw out content for the hardcore players every now and then?

Full disclaimer; I’m not one of these people.
I respect that people do choose to do this, but do I think people should be rewarded in some way for playing like this? No. I’d much rather see content that focused on two things:
1. The content is fun to play
2. The rewards encourage a healthy Game/AFK balance by being attainable in reasonable timescales (I think the dungeon token system does this reasonably well)

Having said that, I do agree that it would be fun to have more events that do change the world in some way. However I like the way that ArenaNet is approaching this though by trying to build it into a World timeline that players can still play through even if they arrive much later on in development.

God no. We have had 2 one time events since launch(out side LS1) both have been complete disasters. If I ever see a one time event again, it will be too soon.

One time events were fun and all… but I think the player base quite emphatically declared that temporary content was a non-starter, and that content releases simply had to be repeatable and permanent.

This suggestion isn’t about being Elitist. It isn’t about being a Special Snowflake.

Yes it is. When you recognize your problem, you can take steps to correct it.
Embrace it, and use that to consider design decisions that are acceptable to time-dedicated, high-skill, and casual players alike.

The 1% are people too.

But they’re not worth designing for. Literally. Unless they pay thousands of real life dollars. But what kind of players are the GW2 whales? That’s who they need to design for. If a player gold-grinds to get Gem Store items, I don’t fault him, but neither does he directly contribute.

Though, there’s something about the Microtransaction statement that bugs me. $50 to re-spawn the event? That’s a huge slap in the face, even if there are players willing to pay it. dotdotdot, Inspiration!
Spread the cost around to players who want the event. I suppose it’s like the bandit crests in Silverwastes, except the currency would come from gems or gold. For each player that invests, the event becomes available again.
…and, I lost it. Because it’s better just to have raids.

I still don’t know how I managed to be in most of the one off events, like the Karka, but I honestly disagree.

I don’t want one off events for the simple fact that it’s likely most people will not have the opportunity, for a variety of reasons, to ever participate.

I’m totally cool with the nonrepeating events that were Season 1, but the events like the first Halloween day and the Karka event were bad ideas. They need to be events that anyone can attend regardless of responsibilities and circumstances because they extend beyond a single point in time.

I would love to see the first Halloween day event as an instance so I can actually be standing there when King Thorne blasts through the fountain, rather than just watching it happen on YouTube.

Ok, a lot of people have some resentment for the Ancient Karka event. But these people are making a common mistake. They’re letting the negative feelings of the bugs and disconnections distract from how epic the actual event was. From start to finish, it was a fun filled time. All the Devs took the time to play with us on the many server maps.

Now onto other topics of concern. There are some who feel that 1-time events exclude players. Well yes, that’s the point of the event. If you’re dedicated enough to plan ahead to participate, you’re rewarded handsomely. These events are like in-game bonuses that don’t affect the story or the economy. There can, or perhaps should be, some permanent world change to showcase said event. Something like a broken tower as a reminder of the huge battle that took place. Even something as minor like the Ancient Karka becoming part of the environment.

This suggestion is merely a way to give dedicated players something to enjoy. 90% of this game is Casual friendly. Events that cater to the 1%ers is just a way for Anet to give back.

No thank you. I didn’t particularly like the one time events this game came out with.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Events that cater to the 1%ers is just a way for Anet to give back.

And what are 1%ers giving to ANet? It’d better be money. Because designing throwaway content is still costly, and the selfish “I want only me to have this” attitude isn’t worth putting money toward.

I suppose it could be funneled as a gem store item. It’s like reserving a ticket, and it takes you an instance where the event takes place, to group up with 25-50 other people. Big enough event to see people as if it were open world, but you’d know they were obviously rich, because they could afford the ticket. And when the event succeeds, a vendor shows up to trade the ticket for the shiny, exclusive reward. (That ticket reward from Fire & Frost was brilliant, by the way.)

But, in all honesty, if a content locust eats his entire buffet meal in two months, it’s not exactly anyone else’s fault when he’s complaining in month three. That player didn’t budget his resources and spent it all too early, leaving him dissatisfied; too bad, so sad.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Ok, a lot of people have some resentment for the Ancient Karka event. But these people are making a common mistake. They’re letting the negative feelings of the bugs and disconnections distract from how epic the actual event was. From start to finish, it was a fun filled time. All the Devs took the time to play with us on the many server maps.

Now onto other topics of concern. There are some who feel that 1-time events exclude players. Well yes, that’s the point of the event. If you’re dedicated enough to plan ahead to participate, you’re rewarded handsomely. These events are like in-game bonuses that don’t affect the story or the economy. There can, or perhaps should be, some permanent world change to showcase said event. Something like a broken tower as a reminder of the huge battle that took place. Even something as minor like the Ancient Karka becoming part of the environment.

This suggestion is merely a way to give dedicated players something to enjoy. 90% of this game is Casual friendly. Events that cater to the 1%ers is just a way for Anet to give back.

I still don’t see how a one time event benefits the 1%ers. I play this everyday. WHat if I can’t make that one single hour of the event? Am I relegated out of this “1%” club?

There is no gain, no benefit to the players or the devs who have to put a massive amount of hard work into something gone almost immediately, that can justify having a one time event.

If the point as you say is that it will exclude players deliberately, then that is even worse. To knowingly shut out 99% of your playerbase is not something any company would be willing to do.

Life always comes first. You can plan ahead and then something comes up and you have to miss. All that dedication and month’s worth of planning you quote will mean nothing whatsoever if suddenly you go ill or have to run a family member somewhere at the last minute.

Was the Karka event fun? Removing the lag and disconnect stuff, yes. Would it have been equally fun if it was on a repeatable loop? Without question, yes it would have been.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

Ok, a lot of people have some resentment for the Ancient Karka event. But these people are making a common mistake. They’re letting the negative feelings of the bugs and disconnections distract from how epic the actual event was. From start to finish, it was a fun filled time. All the Devs took the time to play with us on the many server maps.

Now onto other topics of concern. There are some who feel that 1-time events exclude players. Well yes, that’s the point of the event. If you’re dedicated enough to plan ahead to participate, you’re rewarded handsomely. These events are like in-game bonuses that don’t affect the story or the economy. There can, or perhaps should be, some permanent world change to showcase said event. Something like a broken tower as a reminder of the huge battle that took place. Even something as minor like the Ancient Karka becoming part of the environment.

This suggestion is merely a way to give dedicated players something to enjoy. 90% of this game is Casual friendly. Events that cater to the 1%ers is just a way for Anet to give back.

No we are not. The invasion just like southsun sucked. It was no fun at all, zurg and tag. That was it. That was the “best” way to play it. How it that epic? How was that giving back? Please explain. So far, one time events have been utter rubbish.

One time events still require large resources from the company to implement and by their very nature will not see as many people able to experience them. The special feeling of experiencing a limited time event is exiting, but these type of events need to stay rare.

Op how bout setting your mind to being in the first group to beat the first Hot raid. That should make you feel hardcore.

p.s “The 1% are people too”- ah yes the poor 1%. good one.

I can understand that coding events do take precious time away from Devs. But what I’m wondering is why there seems to be hate for the idea of Anet trying to please a segment of their player base? Again, this game is mostly Casual friendly. The dedicated, Hardcore player base is getting Raids, I understand. But unique 1-time events would be Open World, and anyone who logs in at that time can participate. The only prerequisite to this is that they need to be on when it happens. This by no means discriminates between Casuals and Hardcores. The only thing that separates the two would be that Hardcores will arrange their real life schedules to make it: i.e. taking vacation days, finding a babysitter, stocking up on snacks, reschedule anniversary dinners (yes I’ve done this, God Bless my wife).

To use a real life example, think of 1-time events like having free tickets to the Super Bowl or the World Cup finals. The game doesn’t repeat over and over (DVRing don’t count). You can’t ask the teams to play again simply because you couldn’t make it. If you make it to the game, you get the great feeling of “being there”. You get unique rewards, like rushing the field and taking the game ball home when no one is looking. If you don’t make it to the game, life goes on, and you can hear about from your friends.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

From start to finish, it was a fun filled time.

No, it wasn’t. Being one who got disconnected and could not get back in, it was frustrating, annoying, no fun time and by not getting anything out of it despite me taking part before a DC outside of my control (thanks “support”) – it left me with a changed attitude about anet that has not been overcome.

Also the way you describe it “if you dont do enough damage then you get nothing” just encourages zerker zombie play , certainly not skilled “hard core” – nothing about teamwork – yes, I try and rez people during fights like in the modrem events because it was the right thing to do so I guess I am not part of the 1% anyway.

I’m actually surprised to see such a stanch capitalist kewing for ‘free’ anything. If the “hardcore” really want it, these one-time events should be paid invitation only. Then, it can at least justify the tremendous expense of producing and executing that content. 4,000 gems for the reservation should be sufficient. The “hardcore” should certainly have enough gold to convert or cash to buy in.

Money where mouth is, etc. If the event is successful, it becomes proof of concept, and maybe they’d even consider making more.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

I can understand that coding events do take precious time away from Devs. But what I’m wondering is why there seems to be hate for the idea of Anet trying to please a segment of their player base? Again, this game is mostly Casual friendly. The dedicated, Hardcore player base is getting Raids, I understand. But unique 1-time events would be Open World, and anyone who logs in at that time can participate. The only prerequisite to this is that they need to be on when it happens. This by no means discriminates between Casuals and Hardcores. The only thing that separates the two would be that Hardcores will arrange their real life schedules to make it: i.e. taking vacation days, finding a babysitter, stocking up on snacks, reschedule anniversary dinners (yes I’ve done this, God Bless my wife).

To use a real life example, think of 1-time events like having free tickets to the Super Bowl or the World Cup finals. The game doesn’t repeat over and over (DVRing don’t count). You can’t ask the teams to play again simply because you couldn’t make it. If you make it to the game, you get the great feeling of “being there”. You get unique rewards, like rushing the field and taking the game ball home when no one is looking. If you don’t make it to the game, life goes on, and you can hear about from your friends.

For what possible purpose? Who does this actually benefit? The overwhelming feedback was for these things not to occur again. It doesn’t benefit the game by wasting dev time on it as has been said. Casuals want fairness, hardcore want raids and challenging content (which is not related to one time event)

So it comes down to if you are lucky enough to be able to be on at exactly the right time. I’m failing to understand why this is a good thing and why resources should be allocated to something which the community has overwhelming been against since Karka and through S1

Smooth Penguin.5294:

But what I’m wondering is why there seems to be hate for the idea of Anet trying to please a segment of their player base?

The only segment that ANet really cares about, is the segment that whips out their credit cards on a regular basis.

Would a one-time event bring that segment out? Doubt it.

No profit? No point.