Guild Wars 2

Brace yourselves! A lengthy post is coming! Just think of it as a news article.
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One of the most exciting things I was looking forward to before the release of Guild Wars 2 was when the developers talked about centaurs invading, and potentially controlling a city. No, no – not the small events we call “dynamic”, the small, meaningless towns that get captured, then expunged, then recaptured, then re-expunged like clockwork. What’s the worth? What’s the risk? What’s the point?

Before release, I had imagined large scale invasions and battles – like Divinity’s Reach unexpectedly getting attacked by a centaur army, its citizens evacuating and running for the hills. I had imagined that Tyria was an actual living world, that if centaurs invaded a city that city would be taken over on a large scale. Its merchants would be gone, Divinity’s Reach now filled with the centaur race, and the centaur’s war banners hung victoriously over its towers. Very Lord of the Rings-esque. It was exciting to hear that a virtual game could create a world that really appeared to function on its own, as if the world was real. Events like this that would happen once in a while, that would pull players in for another large scale PvE battle that could last for weeks, that game channels would talk about and pull even more players into the game, that players would talk about months later, set in stone in history books of The Durmand Priory and in the minds of the players who fought these battles.

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Flame & Frost – January 28, 2013:
“The sky falls and the ground shakes in the lands of the north. Charr and norn refugees crawl from the wreckage of their homes in the Wayfarer Foothills and Diessa Plateau, struggling to find shelter in the south. The call goes out for volunteers to assist the victims in this time of need, when earth and sky seem to have become the enemy…”
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Events that would offer constant and meaningful rewards for successfully fighting against these threats, and along with it, a legitimate risk of a very meaningful and historical loss that would impact Tyria. It would be up to the players to defend the city and prevent its capture. Events like this wouldn’t be announced until the day after the invasion begins, as if news of the invasion had spread across Tyria and eventually made its way to front-page news of the Tyria Times newspaper. So that the world seemed to really have a mind of its own, that these events would seem unplanned, and Tyria would seem to be living and breathing.

Why can’t invasions be like this?

Was Scarlet’s Invasion a risky event? If the player base had “failed” in their attempt, do you think the narrative would have changed, that the game world would have truly changed? Is it possible that the option for the player base to fail the whole event was non-existent, and even if a very small population had participated in the event, the event would nonetheless be a success?

“The Modrem Are Coming! Sike!” -Mordremoth

“Mordremoth is rallying its forces, sending armies of Mordrem out of the Maguuma Jungle to test Central Tyria’s defenses. Drive back the invasion, and stop the jungle dragon from sinking its teeth into vulnerable territory!”

The Modrem staging these incursions are not invading. Modremoth isn’t assaulting anything. To the citizens of Metrica Province, Divinity’s Reach, and The Black Citadel, don’t you worry, you’re not in any danger. The Modrem Guard, who pop out of the ground and wait patiently at their posts, are standing still and enjoying the view while waiting to be slaughtered.

Oh, and thank you, Mordremoth, for the heads up beforehand.

I know this Modrem Invasion event is a way to get a lot of the new F2P players accustomed to the Living World system and try to attract them to buy the expansion. But nonetheless, the meaning of my post through this example doesn’t really change much. Just making a point.

Id actually like a real invasion where the consequences are dire, but if you think about the reality of providing events like this it just doesnt work.
Heres why.
Lets assume the Mordren invasion totally takes over somewhere like Divinitys Reach, and the Mordren kill everyone in the City.
What happens next is the problem.
How does the game get returned to its normal state?
Players who arnt participating in the Invasion will complain like hell that Divinities Reach is now not accessible.
Until a sufficient number of players can be found to retake the City, its lost, and thats the problematic part.
The big problem with MMOs is that events cannot be designed to adversly affect players who dont choose to participate in the event, so major adverse events like invasions simply dont work.
They upset far more players than the small number who benefit from them.

There are few options once the capital is taken over:
1. Camps outside capital, with the Queen and her royal troops there
2. The ability to recruit mercenary to help out
3. Form a player-based raid grp
4. Get some siege running(similar to wvw, with supple camps etc.)
5. Asking other races to help out(For example: Who should we sent logan to ask for help? Choice: asura, norn etc…., → Logan is back in 30 mins…..)
6. Once all preperations are done, all players on the map have a choice to collect more recruits(Tier 2) or start the assault. Similar to dungeons where you can choose a path.
7. Rewards should be good enough.
8. No night invasions.
9. Maybe set the time for twice a day.

How does this happen?
Does the city get taken back if no players wish to get involved?
Whats the time frame , ie for how long is the City in the hands of the Invaders.
If the time frame is long, ie many hours or days, then players who have no interest in the event will complain bitterly to the Devs that they cant access the city.
If the time frame is short, and the city is retaken with NPCs then whats the point of the Invasion in the first place, which gets back to the OPs original post.

It was the same with Scarlet’s “invasions” …people noticed it back then as well. And the next “invasion” will probably be the same: with the usual map events going as they normally do.