Why are there currently so many “fail” conditions that just end up the exact same at the end as it was a the beginning?
Orr’s Temples have got to be the only good “fail conditions” within the game. Right now if those are failed, the temples become contested, infested, and unusable for a time. Sure they need to have far less farmable champions as a condition of losing (because that’s all player do right now), but the concept of losing a valuable key location is sound.
Scarlet’s Invasions, which will have ended today, are a horrible example of effect on the world. Many times players would fail these events without an consequence to them or the environment. Zones wouldn’t become occupied, camps remained safe, and the world stayed as static as ever beyond the 45 minute “farm”.
To use an example, I recall in Rift that when the Planar Invasions occurred, they occupied quest hubs. The NPCs were slaughtered no longer there; the hub completely changed. Players could not do the quests from there -turn in or obtain- without first dealing with the Planar creatures and taking back the hub. THAT was truly world-effecting dynamic events.
Scarlet’s victory -and the player’s failure- can be summed up with her chuckling and deciding to ….leave? Really? Okay, so the evil badgu….girl wins the day and yet still decides to give the land to the goodie, goodie heroes? I can’t be the only one who sees something wrong with that.
Possible suggestion(s) for future Scarlet victories (because they will happen unless the Champion thing gets fixed fast):
-Lightning from the sky using Aetherblade tech. Killing every player in the zone at the same time.
-Scarlet has a “gold magnet” and takes 1 gold from every participant in the zone (these would be people who got silver or above in the events).
-Zone stays occupied by Scarlet’s minions for no less than 2-4hrs after the event ended, all “friendly” NPCs constantly attacked and/or killed by them and making it very unfavorable to quest or do anything within the zone (occupied units might have 1-2 champions, but those are non-loot dropping champs).
-Lions Arch gets invaded and occupied by Scarlet and requires a “breakout event” of some kind that cannot happen for 30minutes after occupation began. All players booted out to surrounding zones.
Look, those above may sound like crazy suggestions, but they’re something to a true cause&effect needed within the game. There has to be SOME kind of negative condition for losing all the time. Is the player base going to be happy to be a bunch of Participation Reward losers (again, not used in a name-calling fashion, but in term of definition of one that loses at something)?