Guild Wars 2

In the end, they can lose everything.

At the moment, playing PvP in ranked is no fun anymore. Why is that so? ArenaNet wants to achieve too many goals.

They want to get into eSports. So they need players. GW2 has many players in PvE, but not too many in PvP. So they want to convert at least some PvE players into PvP players. How to do that? Give them achievement points and loot (legendary backpack).

What happens? Many pve players come to PvP to get this legendary backpack. It’s possible for everyone, ArenaNet said. You don’t need to be a pro to get it. And to make it easier, they implemented safety nets.

That’s all fine to me. But what’s wrong with season 2?

At the moment, playing PvP is no fun anymore. The casual players are getting no progression and getting frustrated. The better player are getting no progression and getting frustrated. The elite players are waiting days for the next match in legendary division and getting frustrated too. Many players may give up and leaving the game mode forever. So no one plays PvP anymore and ArenaNet will lose in the end too.

Sounds familiar? Yes, that happened two years ago in a game mode, many player don’t know anymore. It’s called WvW. Two years ago ArenaNet started the spring tournament in WvW and many PvE players were attracted by the achievement points of this tournament. In the end: WvW players couldn’t join the WvW maps, where frustrated and left the game. PvE players got their achievement and left the game mode. It was the start of the long downtrend in WvW. But that’s a different story.

But I have the fear, season 2 will do the same to PvP, the spring tournament does with WvW. And in the end another game mode bites the dust. (After WvW and dungeons.)

What are the biggest problems in my eyes? Team ups and wrong incentives. And they are tied together and are problems, solo players have to face more than teams.

Team ups: The problem is, how teams are assembled for a match. It based on two factors: your position in the ladder and your MMR. I think, the MMR works really fine, when you’re playing in a team everyday or playing solo 1v1 matches. Forming a team based on your personal MMR on the other side works not very well. You can end in a team with more inexperienced players and lose every match, or you can end in a team with more experienced players and win every match.

In a 5v5 match with equal experienced players, one player can change the result. A team with one more experienced player the rest may win, because it’s more a 5v5.5 match. But a team with one more inexperienced player will probably lose, because it’s more a 4v5 match.

Wrong incentives: Are coming in two flavours. First: achievements. Many many PvE players are playing PvP because of the legendary backpack. They are forced playing ranked for the backpack. They are forced playing classes they don’t usually play and / or understand for the backpack. Only to get the backpack.

Second: points or pips. In season 1 if your team played good enough, you may not have lost a pip. In season 2 it’s regardless if you’re lose 0 to 500 or 499 to 500. You are losing exactly 1 pip. And if you’re winning after losing three games in a row, you’re getting an extra pip.

So what happens in the matches? If you’re team is too far behind in points, some players may stop playing. When you’re team up with one player, who has lost his last two games, he may not want to win this match.

And that are the reasons, why the PvP players are getting frustrated in this season. At least that are my reasons to getting frustrated. And to stop playing ranked at the moment. And I’m not the only one who has stopped playing ranked. Some other poeple I know stopped playing ranked as well. And unranked is more fun at the moment.

The current situation is really not healthy. The more players will stop playing ranked, the more the situation is getting worse for the rest of the players in ranked, the more players will stop playing ranked. Until nobody is playing ranked anymore.

What can / should / need ArenaNet do?

The legendary backpack should not had been a reward of an achievment. Espacially not a time gated achievment. It’s a little too late for this one. But when a player still can get the backpack in season 5 or 6 or 7 or … , it will take out the stress and frustration of the current situation.

New legendary stuff should behind collections and reward tracks. Collections like winning on specific maps or healing team mates, NOT for killing Svanir. Reward tracks where you can progress only in ranked matches and a cap in the progression per day, so it’s a little bit time gated.

Player need to have an incentive to still playing a match, even when they are losing. And one way whould be a chance, not losing a pip for losing the match. Getting a additional pip on a win streak is fine. But getting a chance not losing a pip is what season 1 has done better.

The safety net for not losing ranks or division like now is fine to me. Unless the backpack is not tied anymore to the first 4 seasons. If thats the case and a player can still earn the backpack in season 7, then only amber should have the safety net it has now.

For the team up: I have no solution. Sorry. But with the changes above, it should be getting better.

Imo it’s fun. lol

I’m just doing the 3 match daily. I know I’m not good enough to climb higher. But yeah unranked is way more fun.

I think a big problem is that Conquest has a steep learning curve. When people first jump into PvP, they treat it like Team Deathmatch, focusing on just killing enemy players, not holding points, double capping etc.

This isn’t the fault of the people that are new to PvP. Anet don’t explain Conquest well enough, instead leaving it up to the player to figure it out the hard way. I seriously think Anet need to explain how to play Conquest better to players.

It wouldn’t make people into pros when they’re new to the mode obviously, but it would better prepare the new PvPers for the mode, which in turn would hopefully lessen the frustration for experienced players, being teamed up with new players, running around not knowing what to do.

Agree with your post.

ANET created this awesome game and then systematically destroyed it…

If you kill the sense of progression and the fun factor… u kill the game.

Ranked pvp this season does exactly that.

That Legendary Backpack has caused a massive issue. On the one hand, it’s nice to finally give PvPers a unique reward, for playing PvP. On the other hand, the PvEers that want it, are very frustrated that there’s a block between them and the backpack that they want.

If Anets intention was to reward PvPers (and only have it as a reward for PvPers), then it….might have worked? I say might, because you don’t actually need to get to Legendary, in order to obtain the backpack.

If however, their intention was “You know what would make PvEers go and play PvP? If we put some big shiny backpack in there, that they feel they HAVE to get”, then if anything, I feel this has done way more harm than good, as this isn’t going to help the PvP community grow.

All it takes is one look at the forums, so see that a lot of PvE players (and granted PvP players too), are incredibly annoyed about the block between them and the backpack. I’ve seen multiple PvE players stating things along the lines of “Once this is done, I’m going back to PvE and never stepping foot in PvP again”.

So all the backpack will have achieved, is putting PvE players off PvP even more. So if the goal was to bring in the PvE players, to increase the PvP population….. I think this has done more harm than good. Unless of course next time there’s another “must have” item, that lures the PvEers back in to endure the mode they don’t like playing.

I’m very much neutral on this whole League system, as the Legendary Backpack never interested me, so it’s not an issue for me personally. Did Anet say it was supposed to be obtainable for literally EVERYONE, or did they just say it was a reward for those that manage to get high enough in the leagues?

this is the best thread I have read for long time agree with OP entirely – the backpack has really harmed pvp for all the reasons suggested – I think either remove it or allow it to be awarded for unranked or even take away the cross the league requirement – all these would help I think

Zynt.5769:

That Legendary Backpack has caused a massive issue. On the one hand, it’s nice to finally give PvPers a unique reward, for playing PvP. On the other hand, the PvEers that want it, are very frustrated that there’s a block between them and the backpack that they want.
[…]
All it takes is one look at the forums, so see that a lot of PvE players (and granted PvP players too), are incredibly annoyed about the block between them and the backpack. I’ve seen multiple PvE players stating things along the lines of “Once this is done, I’m going back to PvE and never stepping foot in PvP again”.

So all the backpack will have achieved, is putting PvE players off PvP even more. So if the goal was to bring in the PvE players, to increase the PvP population….. I think this has done more harm than good. Unless of course next time there’s another “must have” item, that lures the PvEers back in to endure the mode they don’t like playing.

Not just PvE players but average PvP players as well. I’ve been primarily a WvW player with some PvP and yes I’m an average player I play with 300 ping from Aust and I’m not quite good enough to totally make up for it. The backpack has become a big draw for me along with the competition but the frustrations of matchmaking coupled with the grind are turning me off the mode. I don’t get good matches with players at the same level as me.

I’ve said it before that I may get it or may not but either way I’m finished playing PvP in this game because this system has completely turned me off the mode. Plus the fact that other options are coming out (Overwatch, Battleborn, maybe Paragon). Anet have zero insight into game player psychology.