Hello everyone. I’ve seen a few mentions of this debate pop up in various threads, but it seems to me to be too often lost among all the bickering over matchmaking, team blaming, calls to “git gud,” and so on. Now, I feel it’s a fairly important matter worthy of discussion regarding the future of pvp and the league system. The question being, namely, should the game offer rewards exclusive to the elite and highest tier of pvpers or should it allow players of any skill to work their way to things like the legendary backpack? This post will not address the frequent question of whether those at the top really are deserving of their position and rewards, as that requires far too much speculation and is more related to problems with matchmaking and game balance rather than design philosophy.
The first school of thought argues that it’s better to have rewards exclusive to high tier pvp. These rewards, because they are more exclusive, in turn become more valuable and more prestigious. They make up a sort of badge of honor and possessing them marks you as among the best. Under this idea, making the wings or future rewards more accessible decreases their value to those who worked hardest in the system.
The second school of thought argues that everybody should be able to work towards any particular reward. Wings or future items should not be locked behind a certain tier, and anyone who plays pvp long enough can eventually earn them. The advantage here is that people who do not enjoy the league feel less pressure to try and progress. They can take their time, break when they want, and not have to worry about clearing either divisions or achievements at a particular rate. This also means that more competitive players do not have to worry as much about being paired with less competitive players.
Personally, while I understand where those who support the first argument are coming from, I have to throw my support behind the second. I would, if I earned the wings, probably never use the skin- they seem gaudy and overly flashy for my tastes. I don’t care much about them, I play ranked simply to see how far I can get playing builds of my own design on warrior- currently early Ruby. If I did earn the wings, however, my pride at having them would be no more diminished by others reaching them.
I propose pvp legendary items should be comparable to PvE legendary weapons. No, they are not cheap. No, they aren’t easy to get. No, not everyone will get them. But everyone, regardless of how good they are, has the option of working their way slowly towards them. I’d also argue this is the best way to handle raids and legendary armor, but that’s a discussion for another day.
I’d also like to note that this problem is not in a vacuum. Currently the game is suffering from a pretty bad shortage of new skins- outfits, uncustomizable as they are, do not count- and Anet has demonstrated an increasing trend of putting new skins exclusively behind high end content. If new skins were added more often that were accessible to the bulk of the playerbase, you might find fewer complaints over those gated few. Time-gating it, however, may still be problematic.
To wrap this rant up, I’d like to extend an olive branch to those who appose this view. If you want a shiny new badge, if you want a title, I would not argue. There should be ways to demonstrate your success in any given game mode at the highest level. I just don’t believe it should come at the expense of locking out gear or skins.
Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this far. Maybe you agree, maybe you don’t. Please, voice that opinion so that A-net might see it. Just try to do it civilly, eh? See you in game, and may you always fight FOR GREAT JUSTICE!