Guild Wars 2

I created this topic to express some PvE related ideas for balancing. I feel for a game to expand the foundation must be a solid and coherent one. I also know never to come to someone with a problem and not a solution. Please comment below and help spread the word. I feel these ideas could really re-revolutionize the future of GW2 as it expands.

1. Downscaling.

Issue:
Currently if you enter a level 15-25 area, for example, you are downscaled to a level 23 which is nearly the highest “recommended” level for that area. With a level 80 character with level 80 gear you still dominate the area, and it is not near challenging due to how much experience you have playing the game. My perspective: I have a friend who just started playing, and I would like to play with them. I consider myself pretty skilled, but when I’m downscaled I’m still to powerful to help. I often find myself standing and not attacking, so they can learn the game. I want him to learn, him to play, AND me.

Suggestion:
I suggest if you enter a level 15-25 area, for example, you should be downscaled to a level 15, the lowest “recommended” level for the area. This makes the entire area much more challenging. Which, frankly, it should be. If you’ve played the entire game and have appropriate armor, understand combat, dodging, etc. you should have a good deal of experience. Also, with appropriate armor and weapons it should better balance itself.

2. Dungeon levels.

Issue:
This is nothing to do with dungeons or their content but rather their “recommended” level. I don’t see why dungeons that have a “recommended” level of 35, for example still take a team of 80’s to pull it off. I like the fact that they’re challenging, but, seriously, just make dungeons level 80 only. Characters under level 80, usually new players, usually end up being kicked for “not being level 80”, which is rather discouraging for a new player.

Suggestion:
Just make all dungeons level 80, and their corresponding inhabitants the same. Pretty straight forward.

3. Zergs

Issue:
The plague of all MMORPG’s is zergs, and there is nothing really stopping them.

Suggestion:
In WvW there is already an “outmanned” buff which isn’t really a buff, but for the sake of this topic, we’ll call it one. I feel it should be renamed and changed to, something along the lines of, +25-50% to all stats. I understand people don’t want a 1 man team going up against a team of 5 and flattening them, but look at the current situation. If you join a WvW map and it’s outmanned chances are you’re going to say “Well, I’ll come back on later”. With a bonus to all stats you could stand a better chance against small teams and tackle towers and camps quickly with a team.

4. Stacking

Issue:
Another bane of MMORPG existence is stacking. Of course teams stack to quickly accumulate boons to allies, focus dps in one location, and funnel enemies into a single point. Really? Do you want to spend you day stacking in a corner or actually putting up a fight?! I’d rather use that “skill” I’ve accumulated playing actually using it rather than bunching up in a corner. This is what makes FPS multiplayer games more satisfying when you get that kill, and MMORPG less satisfying when you kill 10 a once.

Suggestion:
Give all foes in PvE a boon that starts stacking when teams stack.
For example:
Furious (stackable) gain 1 stack for each foe each second they are bunched in a space less than 100 radius. Gain +2% to all possible stats for each stack. 5 second duration.

This immediately forces teams not to stack, and foes to quickly accumulate “Furious” and force unstacking. Simple, easy, game changing.

Thank you for reading. Please share or comment if you would like to see some of this incorporated into the game, or add me in-game if you would like to chat in-game.

Edit: Stacking buff would obviously have to be named something else if new critical changes is the same name.

1. Agree with scaling
2. Disagree. Denying new players the chance to run dungeons because some players are jerks is just bad. Dungeons, when designed properly, can be used as a tool to help players improve. Rather than making dungeons only available at cap, normalise the stats and balance the encounters around them stats. Most of the dungeons in the game don’t actually require you to be 80; it’s simply quicker, which is what you’d expect.
3. Another potential solution could be: Make all damaging AoE hit a higher number of players than friendly AoE. If the support AoE can only affect 5 players at once, while the damaging AoE can hit, say, 20, then that increases the effectiveness of AoE and smaller groups against larger groups, and reduces the effectiveness of stacking. It sort of balances the scales a little
4. Another potential solution: Give foes stack-breaking abilities. Maybe they can leap in and scatter players. Maybe they have an AoE that deals damage / increases in effectiveness based on how many people it hits (for example: Despair – Rips one boon off of each player in the area / converts one boon to condition and one more for every player within 300 units of each other). At the same time, have abilities that give an advantage when players are close by (For example: “You’re all alone!” – Fears the target and deals damage. If the target is within 200 units of an ally, the fear is negated and damage is reduced). The reason for this mix and match being it allows for mechanics that require group awareness.

Thoughts about Zergs…

Since GW2 is already limiting buffing to 3-5 with AoE buffs.

Maybe that zergs get debuffed with speed reduction, and any speed increasing buffs will be stripped immedietely when applied, if the number of players exceed certain number within certain range. This could work, but might need additional changes in WvW mechanics…

Since party of 5 can buff themselves up without problems, it would be speed advantage to be in party, or 10, since warrior warhorn “Charge” skill affects 10+caster.

Maybe expanding the current WvW traps, so there’s some traps that can AoE slow large number of people (debuff that can’t be removed, reduces movement speed for x seconds, doesn’t stack by using two or more traps at same spot, instead lasts longer depending the number of players hit by the trap).

2 suggestions:

Optional downscaling
At any point in time, you can choose to lower the downscale level by up to 5 to give you more challenge and better rewards.

So, for example, let’s say we’re going to an area of Bloodtide Coast which is recommended for level 50 players, and it would downscale you to level 52. You can then opt to lower your level by up to 5 beyond that, downscaling you anywhere between 47 and 52, giving you more challenge and more rewards to meet that challenge.

Gear downscaling
When you’re level 13 or less, the best gear quality you can get is blue.
When you’re level 29, the best gear quality you can get is green.
When you’re level 59, the best gear quality you can get is yellow.
When you’re level 79, the best gear quality you can get is orange.

IMO, when you’re above these levels, accelerate the downscaling a little. Not a lot, not so much that you feel your gear is a waste of time in these zones, but by a little, because the extra stats you get from improved gear does add up over time.

Good thoughts, but I still feel my new NPC condition would be awesome.

Edit
I was running in a champ train zerg today and I was trying to do a little math of how 2% stat increase per stack would affect foes.
Here is a little bit

The forumula:
(n*(n-1))
2*1

Where n is the number of players within range of each other that triggers the boon.

-1 player- 0% increase
-2 players- 2% increase
-3 players- 6% increase
-4 players- 12% increase
-5 players- 20% increase
-6 players- 30% increase
-7 players- 42% increase
-15 players- 210% increase
-35 players-1190% increase

In addition to what I noted above, this could easily remove trains from the game. GW2 said “We’ll be reducing the amount of raw gold that comes out of champion loot bags and events in an effort to keep the economy balanced and spread out player activity a bit” (https://www.guildwars2.com/en/news/say-goodbye-to-armor-repair-costs-and-hello-to-free-trait-resets/).

Sure, they’re going to reduce some of the gold dropped from champs, but is it really going to be enough? If you open a bag now, you get 1-7s easy. In a large zerg each champ killed is adding a lot of gold to the game. Cut in half it’s still adding a large pot of gold back in. I seriously doubt people will stop.