We have a lot of threads decrying the changes and the problems it brought, not so many providing solutions however. Note that the provided solutions will attempt to use the new placeholder system Anet has given us (as much as I dislike it).
As always, the absolute easiest and fairest solution would be to just rollback the changes until the new rewards system is actually ready… but I don’t see that happening.
RANK CHESTS
Problem – Rank chests provide only PvE rewards. Ranks chests are unfairly skewed due to the Rank XP system towards lower ranks; higher ranks have almost no chance to gain these rewards in any fair manner. The result is that higher ranked players are feeling unfairly punished for having played more before.
Solution 1 – For the rank points awarded at the end of each match, apply a multiplier based on your rank. A Rank 1 will gain 500 points for winning Hotjoin. A Rank 2 will gain 505 points.. so on and so forth.
The purpose of this is to get rid of the steep climb at higher ranks to earn a chest (some higher ranks need to play hours upon hours to just gain one rank.) Alternatively : Flatten the Rank points needed for each level (much like WXP); this won’t be retroactive but it will allow higher ranks to gain rewards realistically.
Solution 2 – In conjunction with the above, put in a random rank token and crafting materials OR 2-3 random PvP skins up to your rank (skewed higher) into the chest. This will give obtainable PvP rewards over time while not flooding the player. It is important that if this is done. to also remove Bloodstone Dust. No player has ever complained of a lack of Bloodstone and it incentivizes no PvE players to try PvP. Replace it with Dragonite or not at all.
PvP Crafting Materials Unusable without Glory
Problem – You cannot realistically Mystic Forge new PvP skins. Players are sitting on tons of crafting materials, but with no way to gain glory they cannot get the tokens to actually -use- these.
Solution – Put these tokens in the chests, alternatively, allow these tokens to be purchased using in-game gold for the time being. Players can purchase tokens up to their rank level.
No True Reward for Solo/Team Queue
Problem – The rewards for Solo/Team queuing have all but been removed. The effort and dedication needed to be put into these matches, and the requirement to actually win to get any real bonus are unbalanced when compared to the otherwise easy Hot Join. This removes any incentive for people to honestly compete and bring in new blood. Furthermore, it incentivizes bad behavior and early surrenders/giving up due to the low reward for making that push back.
Solution – Place a modified rank reward chests into the victory bonus. A Solo Queue win will provide 3 reward chests; a Team Queue will provided 6 reward chests. These reward chests will have the 5-Skill Point and the Instant Level-Up removed, but should contain a PvP skin up to your rank.
Too Much PvE Junk and no Place To Put It
Problem – We’re now flooded with PvE Junk, and there is no way to easily get rid of it. Specifically bloodstone dust. Some players like PvPing with clean inventories.
Solution – Just add a PvE Bank/Merchant to the Mists to offload these. Why was this not already done long ago?
Glory Boosters
Problem – Players have heaps upon heaps of Glory Boosters that are simply taking up space. The proposed solution of “they do nothing, delete them” is largely disagreeable one.
Solution – Given the removal of glory, the procurement of glory is that much more valuable for players trying to craft out their inventories or gain PvE levels/bags. Turn the glory boosters into a consumable that grants 500 glory. This is not too much. Players that have obscene amount of glory cannot flood the market (as glory-purchased items are account bound) and only serve to act as a gold sink (leveling tomes remove gold from the economy, and puts more demand on level 80 equipment giving the economy a temporary boost).
And thus are my solutions to fix the complaints for this patch and breathe some life back PvP so that it simply doesn’t languish and die until the Feature Patch. This is important. If the PvP community dies before the patch can even hit, the chances of it recovering get more and more slim. It is important to hold on to the players you currently have and not alienate them through patches like the one we just had.
Bump this if you agree, and post constructed feedback. I want the Developers to see this and hopefully enact the changes. I don’t want PvP to die, it is one of my favorite aspects of this game and the health of the community as a whole (my opponents) is incredibly important to me.
(edited by OverlordOutpost.5961)
