Guild Wars 2

Hey guys, Frosty here, I wanted to take a few minutes and offer some feedback on the community-tournament this past weekend and express some personal thoughts on the state, potential and entertainment value of gw2’s pvp.
First of all, mad props to Helseth and Sindrener and everyone else who helped make this tournament happen. Also thanks to all the teams who participated and congratulations to all the winners. It was an amazing initiative which I hope will be the start of a well-deserved recovery to the scene. There were a few thoughts that went through my mind when I was watching the VODs today that I felt might be a good basis for some productive discussion. Keep in mind that some of these suggestions may not be as easily achieveable, which i understand. I merely intend to discuss the right direction for the scene to grow in.

Casting

The tournament was a ton of fun to play in, there was a lot of action and clutch games. But what stood out the most to me was the fact that the games were infinitely more enjoyable to watch than usual. (Please note: I am not trying to take away from the effort and work that has been put into the casting by the casters these past years) I think this might be because there is a massive difference in entertainment value you get from watching these games when the casting adds to the information you see on the screen rather than mirror it. Offering insights where they can and creating discussion where they cannot. That said, Casters don’t need to be pro-players like they were this time, they just need to have the same insights into the game the pros have and have good synergy. These events would be super fun to watch then (in my opinion). Realising that the casting is at least as important as the teams and level of play for entertainment value is huge for any future event.

A Pick/Draft Phase

The balance between classes has been improving steadily since the HoT disaster. Now that the balance is reaching ever higher potential for build variety (which really needs to at the very least stay that way), I would really like for there to be some form of a draft phase where teams lock in classes and builds 1 by 1. This would accomplish many things at once: The casters get to talk about teamcomp and build choices of each player without everyone just waiting for them to be done. The need to try hide builds or know the enemies builds to countercomp them is gone. And it would simultaneously also add another layer of tactics to the game.

Automated Tournaments / Regular outlet for competition

A small and low-maintenance implementation for Arenanet to feed those hungry for more competition while also having a way for ranked to stay the way it is. If not Automated Tournaments, there should be some form of initiative to offer a regular outlet for teams to develop and grow.

Anyway, once again huge thanks to everyone, it was a blast to play yesterday. I think everyone really appreciate all the effort you guys went through. A super awesome end to the best pvp season we had so far. Let’s hope ArenaNet picks up the ropes!