Guild Wars 2

1. Introduce build variety not just by balancing the game but giving sPvP the gear options PvE has.

This is pretty straight forward. sPvP should be allowed to have different builds based on not just traits and weapon choices but gear as well. The current system, however, is very rigid and doesn’t allow for diversity. For example, if I want to build burst direct damage, I am pretty much forced to choose between berserker amulet or knights amulet. Neither items allow me to get toughness, nor do the amulets let me choose if I want 0 vitality and straight damage stats. I pretty much get pigeon holed into these choices. This restricts creativity and diversity.

The solution? Well with the new ability of Legendaries to swap stats on the go at an ascended level, why not allow all PvP items to swap stats at an Exotic or Rare level? This will allow sPvPers to make builds similar to what they have in PvE or even allow some WvWer’s to test out their build in sPvP. This will bring popularity to the Mist.

2. Balance conquest game mode

Currently, conquest is unbalanced in a few ways. Bunker builds can sit on a point and stop the conversion even against 2-3 people. The mode itself does not reward players who “play to win.” Instead, it rewards players who are constantly on the move to swap positions and for more or less zerging the enemy team for kills. I have personally gotten more points because I camp the enemy base killing stragglers all game then the guardian who sits on waterfall to make sure the enemy doesn’t cap it. It’s makes the game frustrating for those who want to win and brings along a foul mood to those who end up losing because their team wants more glory/exp.

The solution? I personally am not one to give out balance ideas but a few things have come up that I think would work. One idea is to reward players with personal points for defending a point (ie sitting on it). In addition, defeating an enemy player while defending your plot of land should give slightly more personal points than defeating a player on their plot of land. A big nerf you can give to bunker builds is simple, if an enemy is on your point, allow it to slowly countdown down to neutral. For example, if I’m bunkering it up on my guardian and a mesmer comes to fight for my point, if we are both inside the land, the land should slowly countdown to neutral. This will pretty much make bunkers useless at defending points but ever the useful at assaulting points. This will make the game overall less campy and more aggressive which is both interesting to watch and play.

3. Add new game modes

It actually blows my mind that this hasn’t been implemented yet. Team DeathMatch, Capture the Flag, Assault/Defend. All these games types can be interesting and fun. They will attract new players to taking a look. It will help give people a break from playing the same thing for hours at end. It will be refreshing. These game modes NEED to be brought in, in a way or another. One argument I saw brought up was that by implementing different game types, we would divide the already small sPvP population. While this can happen, it can also be saved by adding things like adding different gametypes/objectives to dailies and even having a daily mode that awards bonus glory if you play CTF or DeathMatch. Hell, you can even add it to the monthly.

4. Bridge the gap between sPvP and PvE

One of the biggest issues with sPvP is that there is a large gap between it and PvE. It’s almost like playing a completely different game. While the idea sounds good on paper, it’s bad if you want to have players enjoy both. If we were to bridge the gap between the two, we would be more likely to see players from both sides be willing to interact more. It can be done in a few ways. This can be started by changing how armor works in sPvP as stated in point 1. The biggest idea I’ve seen is allowing characters to gain a small amount of PvE Exp at the end of each match. This will allow us to level up alts in sPvP and enjoy playing it as a different mode of leveling as well as take steps to make myself a better PvPer. It will also help sPvPers get a headstart on PvE if they choose to play. Other ideas have include allowing you to gain a small amount of gold from sPvP, broadcast sPvP fights in Lion’s Arch somehow via Asura Holograpic thingy, and even allowing us to use our PvE skins in sPvP.

5. Listen to your community. No seriously, listen to them

I can’t stress this enough. The PvP community is what makes the game, not your tournaments, your fun ideas or PAX debuts. If you start neglecting them, ignoring them, and overall just not paying attention, then you start to lose it. Let’s take a look at LoL. They are a successful as hell game that is becoming a very big E-Sport. How? Well they didn’t try to force game modes onto players, ignore them and run the game how they saw fit. They did the opposite. They give players options, have GREAT dev to player communication and overall listen to player ideas. They made a game the community wanted and then ran with it. Do they do bonehead moves? Of course but they man up, say they goofed, and retract it. Hell they even give a “patch preview” so the community can see the reasoning behind buffs and nerfs. It’s not always the smartest and the most enjoyable thing to watch but it at least let’s us try and understand what the game devs want.

6. Take out the grind in ranks and give them a special meaning

As of right now, ranks simply mean I wasted X hours of my life playing the same mode for over a year. While this can be impressive for some, it’s not for most of us. Ranks are simply nothing more than a grind bar. There’s a lot of things you can do with ranks to make it less grindy and more of a “Oh hey I unlocked this….. AWESOME.”

My idea comes from a combination of LoL’s current ranking system and WoW’s old Honor system. All the current ranks (Rabbit, Deer, Dolyak, etc) will still be used but instead of having them as the long lifetime grind, have them simply as something you have to earn. Weekly. Every week, ranks reset and you get what you earned last week. For example, if I want to hit Dolyak, I would have to earn X amount of points. Once I get it this week, I will have access to the Dolyak Finisher as well as a title for next week. If next week I only make it to Deer, I stay a deer. You can make the upper ranks STUPIDLY hard to get so only the most dedicated and hardcore players have it. This will give players something they want or need to achieve weekly if they want to keep it.
Current players who have achieved the ranks can be rewarded something like a minipet of your rank or even special armor skin that shows that you spent time getting to phoenix.