I believe there could be a lot of potential in doing pvp maps in the format of DOTA, League of Legends etc. Clearly the format is currently implemented in the most popular esport game/s and as of yet has not been tried to my knowledge in a 3rd person perspective, offering many new opportunities. I’m sure most people could imagine how it would work already but I’ll write a little overview.
It could follow the format of having NPC’s moving from the team’s homebase to the opposing team’s either in a single pathway or multiple. They would be lvl80 npc’s and move in small waves periodically and each team would have npc’s of identical strength. The goal would be to eventually push the opposing team’s frontline back to their base and finally kill their lord.
Player respawn would be on a timer as it currently stands in most pvp matches.
It could also involve multiple map layouts and designs. Including different race’s battles to complement Guild Wars’ lore.
Possibly to prevent a team from gaining too much ground to quickly, you could have silver level veterans with a myriad of CC ability at intervals along the path on each team’s side. Therefore encouraging the team to deal with them before pressing onward.
Map specific special features could be added such as exchanging the points your team has earned through kills or other feats for buff’s such as an extra npc wave, short-term team-wide player buffs or environmental weapons/utilities.
I understand that ANET has encouraged the point capture style mode to force players into combat with one another. This format would also do the same as avoiding combat would have the enemy gradually push forward causing an eventual loss.
It would create a better esport environment as it could create situations whereby a team completely turns around the match in a short amount of time. The matches would also last longer and give more focus to the players role.
We would see new builds being using in pvp such as those that concentrate on team support through healing and buffs to give the npc’s an advantage. Greatly increasing play type diversity and better encouraging team play.
The mode would suit larger teams of 5v5 to 8v8 and 10v10 as the maps would also be larger. It would also provide a perfect opportunity to explore the eventual GvG pvp.
Overall this pvp mode would be much more dynamic, also gaining interest of people who prefer this type of gameplay perhaps bring new people into the player base.
One criticism would be that it’s not entirely original, but neither is conquest. I don’t believe that valuing originality should stop one from implementing something that could be incredibly enjoyable and successful.
