Guild Wars 2

Hello there,

We’ve seen that we get new PvP mode with specific GvG team ratings. We know the basics:

“Gather supply to hire soldiers. Battle for control of heroes. Man the trebuchet to defend your stronghold, and storm the enemy gates to defeat the guild lord! Use our new guild team feature to team up and battle to the top of the leaderboards. Stronghold offers an entirely new way to play competitive PvP in Guild Wars 2!”

Gather supply. This, together with the look of the map in trailer, got my atenttion.

I’ve played couple MOBA type games out there and I always felt that there’s something, something missing. Now I know what it was and how “Guild Wars 2 MOBA” as people say can really step up and invent something really cool.

Combine Guild Wars 2, MOBA map and….
RTS – Real Time Strategy

What do I mean by it? No more NPC units mindlessly running through the lanes.

If you know how Age of Empires 2 was and is played, you may already know what I’m talking about.

Instead, leave that Hero system, Lord, lanes. But progress it into a new level.

1. Different types of units, countering specific plays.
You see the enemy is going wild with AoE cleave damage? Hire units which are very resistant to AoE and will also protect the players. Need support? Hire ones which will support.
Balance your armies to have the best possible outcome together with players.

2. More or better?
Use your resources to either upgrade your structures, henchmen or get more units. You can’t have everything at once

3. Rush or not to rush?
“Boost the Eco” or get units straight away and assault the enemy, taking the risk but maybe also destroying his base before he can set up?

4. Less time frame.
You create the unit, not the game.

5. Make cash, not war
Units which , with your help, give you a steady flow of supplies for an investment.

6. Command and Conquer
The Players command their forces. The Players arm them, choose them. Two options:

Option a) Everyone gets some sort of combat, in-game basic commands for their forces management

Option b) (favorised) The Stronghold mode has now one more player on each side. Be it 6v6 or 9v9.

This Player is the Team Stronghold Lord. He cannot move away from some small area within the keep, but can control the NPC and it’s abilities once the things get messy there.

But he controls the RTS aspect. Hires troops, spends resources and commands the forces on the field. That would be an incredible role for people who enjoy the strategic side of things when also leaving “pure PvP combat players” to do their jobs and not be forced into any kind of management, focusing on other things.
It would really push the teamwork aspect and erase ugly aspects of MOBA games.

That’s my vision of Stronghold PvP.

Guild Wars 2, with MOBA map and RTS battle management.

I think the extra player thing works if it’s sort of like something that you can interact with, instead of one player just being the lord. I’m only thinking of times where someone sits on the treb on khylo or something, and then can bring down the whole team. If one player is the lord and has no clue, it will be hugely influential.

Might just be better if they are npcs.

Roe.3679:

I think the extra player thing works if it’s sort of like something that you can interact with, instead of one player just being the lord. I’m only thinking of times where someone sits on the treb on khylo or something, and then can bring down the whole team. If one player is the lord and has no clue, it will be hugely influential.

Might just be better if they are npcs.

I think that if it went with option B then yes, Lord player would have major influence. But it would rely heavily on how does the rest of players work. Do they gather enough resources, scout the map, get buffs if they exist or get heroes on their side. Things Lord can’t do.

Since it’s a PvP mode, I think that NPCs should not be the focus of the game so the role of troops would surely not be as important as Players’. I’m also thinking of the rather poor AI and situations when, for example, AI Lord could have it’s AI exploited and pulled out of the base, corner stacked or similar things.

With the Player control, battle in the keep would not feel like an annoying lord petting or frustrating escort mission.

I think of this mode as a real GvG. I know some people in guilds who may not have the greatest reflex or mechanical skills anymore, but could really excell and enjoy such activity with the guild team.

Yes, the teamwork is required. But as in any MOBA.

You’re right about exploiting the AI.

I wonder if it could work that the player with the highest stronghold MMR or something could get the lord first, and then decline of they want? That could solve this problem.

While your idea is nice and cool, it completely defeat the purpose of MOBA and GW2 Conquest, and turn them into RTS.

On the subject of Trebuchet, while they did say there would be Treb but they never said you could build one where ever you like. Just by having a Treb it doesn’t mean it is a game changing. This is not conquest where your Treb could hit anywhere on the map. In Stronghold, it is unlikely that you could use Treb to hit the final gate to the Lord, lets alone the Lord himself. The real purpose of Treb in Stronghold could be something else. As you know without having to stand on point there is noway a Treb would hit a moving target, otherwise people would have built Treb inside a Camp in WvW.

Siva Mira.3546:

While your idea is nice and cool, it completely defeat the purpose of MOBA and GW2 Conquest, and turn them into RTS.

How so? Stronghold is a different mode than Conquest. Doubling the mode would make no sense so I think we can exclude Conquest aspects from at least most of the map and if it happen, I bet it would be flag one, not standing on points.

Purpose of MOBA. Unless something changes in the core game, this won’t ever play like MOBA. There’s no mana, not every profession has exactly “Ultimate”, there are way more skills and combinations. No “buying eq”, I guess no leveling during the game.

Tbh, only map stays. And I leave it be.

As for RTS elements – they’re very, very basic.
I don’t suggest diplomacies, trades, naval combat or building structures wherever you want.

It simply comes down to managing resources and commanding couple units on field so they’re not as useless and are not countered by cheap tactics exploiting the AI.

Option b) is probably the least RTS you may think of for 5/6 players, since they don’t command or manage by themselves. Only one Player gets a more strategic task, as I say, maybe not the best keyboard piano player but hey, it opens up PvP for even more people! And shows how your Guild Team plays together.

Roe.3679:

You’re right about exploiting the AI.

I wonder if it could work that the player with the highest stronghold MMR or something could get the lord first, and then decline of they want? That could solve this problem.

Yes, that would work for non-team solo players.
But I think more in way of well-established teams where some people would be just dedicated to the Lord.