Guild Wars 2

TL;DR: I’m suggesting a design shift of improving UI and UI tools to improve teamwork as a means of addressing imbalances.

Short List:
A bindable hotkey that pings on my location
Additional more descriptive hotkeyable pings
A Radial Menu for Tactical communication
List of clickable standard tactics/rules of engagement
Option to Bail Out In Pregame
Create a Post Game Lobby
Option to Surrender
Prominent Sound on Ping/different sounds for different pings

A bindable hotkey that pings on my location

Reasoning: I main a thief and in the middle of combat I don’t always have flexibility to take the ~1-1.5 sec to drag my cursor and ping the map. Often times if I’m not prepared to daze or withdraw on a reactionary basis, I will die. Secondly, occasionally I find myself having to defend a point (due to HeroQ) and as a thief I can only delay most times if I’m unable to kill quickly or if there’s more than 1 attacking. In such instances, the ability to quick ping can get help or serve as a beacon for HeroQ heroes, allowign them to get to me a few seconds sooner and possibly save the point.

Bonus: Give it a unique ping, so that others can see it as a cry for help not just an attention getter. Additionally, quick successive hits on the hotkey produce a number over the ping designating number of hostiles. Something like a yellow circle and embossed or outlined number overlaying it could work.

Additional more descriptive hotkeyable pings

Reasoning: It should be easier to quickly display if I want someone to attack or defend. It should also be easier to state spots on hostiles.

Bonus: An attack/defend ping on a cap point, with a red sword or orange shield or something for quick color/shape recognition. An additional hostile call out ping, multiple successive key presses could display a corresponding number on the ping.

A Radial Menu for Tactical communication

Reasoning: Many times as a thief if I see a fire or water field I’ll instantly switch to SB to clusterbomb. With 1+ teammates the buffs add incredibly to our damage/survivability.

Bonus: This might be a little much but maybe a standard popup menu, with dragable [Field][Finisher] to make communication easier during pregame. Alternatively a chart of faded [Fields] and [Finishers] that turn on or get brighter if it is present in the current weapons/utilities within team (bonus,bonus: icon of class next to it or corresponding number of team member). This would allow for better ease of disscussing more advanced tactics in pregame. Additionally add boons/conds into that chart.

List of clickable standard tactics/rules of engagement

Reasoning: Normally at beginning of match sometimes I like to reiterate simple tactics, especially if there is someone new. Most of it is redundant and I often get ridiculed for it, but assuming they listen and not do the complete opposite, it helps.

[ie. 1) Fight on point 2) Don’t go into an outnumbered losing fight 3) Defend/delay far point if you’re backcapping (don’t just run off) 4) If you’re losing a battle on a pt and it is no longer capped run away and heal and call for backup 5)Go for Lord (variable) 6)Intercepting is a valid form of defense against ONE opponent (not multiple) 6) etc.]

Of course there are scenario exceptions to each rule, but those can be addressed pregame in chat. Point being an easy reference for agreed tactics avoids confusion and quickly addresses shortcomings in individual tactics. [ie. kittentard get on pt, ref. tactic #1 kitten/ or allow tactics to be hotkeyed and it briefly lights up on screen]

Bonus: Simply a text box overlay with votable/toggable selection and indicator at the beginning (like explorable path voting in dungeons). Additionally the window hides into a mouseoverable moveable icon, and the listed tactics are linkable in chat. Each member can propose 1 custom tactic to be added for the match. Tactics only added to mouseover window upon majority vote. More advanced strats usually are more variable and will be typed out anyways.

Option to Bail Out In Pregame

Reasoning: If there is a player I don’t want to play with or who is unwilling to coordinate/communicate, I shouldn’t be penalized for it.

Bonus: Draw bailing penalties from w.e LoL had, it’s been a while since I played that but it seemed to work well.

Create a Post Game Lobby

Reasoning: Sometimes I’m still talking to other players about strategies or advising newbies but then we get kicked out. Simply allowing us to stay in the server until we decide to disconnect could address this.

Bonus: Create a special training grounds lobby with instant on stomp ressurect, to allow for quick demonstartions/teaching.

cont’d

Option to Surrender

Reasoning: Yes the games are short enough, but if there is a player with a bad attitude that last 10min are unbearable. Often times, I’ll just afk in spawn and alt tab to something else.

Bonus: If afk on vote, please count it as a vote to surrender.

Why and Big Picture:

I’ve already resigned to accepting the terrible balance that PvP will continue to have. Good teamwork is the only effective counter measure that I’ve seen against gross imbalances (and the only way I’ve had fun). The current tools are inadequate to conduct coordination consistently against the current gross imbalances (ie. certain imbalances are such in excess that the current tools do not allow enough ease of coordination to combat it consistently). A highly optimized interface for communication, tactics, and strategy will provide better returns on playability and player satisfaction than the current groundhog playing darts blindfolded balance strategy the PvP team has been utilizing. It will allow players themselves a new better tool against their opponents and compelments the current game mode. It will reduce the requirements for coordinated gameplay from 4-5 competent players to 1 vocal competent player and 4 cooperative players.

These are only a few ideas I’ve though of on the spot, I’m certain anyone sitting down for longer can refine/make better ideas. My point is the PvP team seems incompetent at directly addressing balance issues on a timely basis (but apparently everything is according to keikaku[in which case they have poor communication but not lack of recently]). But they are good at developing spectating/custom arenas/revamping tooltips; you know the superficial stuff that’s less direct at addressing balance. A new design shift to focus on making new superficial changes that can directly address balance would be the best use of their talents. Either that or let me use a rifle and greatsword on my thief (they don’t even need decent skills).

Ranting:

I main a thief if you can gather from above. In my opinion from a thief’s perspective, balance has been handled horribly. Without going into much detail/class wars, at the very least I think most will agree there is much work to be done before PvP becomes fun let alone popular. Or to put it frankly, it has been a year and the amount of changes we’ve recieved has been what I expected them to accomplish 10 months ago. I’ve read plenty of explanations/excuses and that’s all they are, the fact is Anet didn’t deliver.

But I’ll be kitten ed if I let that stop me from having fun if I want to. So through my own experimentation, I discovered that with good gameplay the thief is severely rewarded for going full glass as any attempt at a “balanced” build handicaps damage at too great a cost. But against good players, there are many situations where even flawless play will not yield a win. One counter is to bait your opponent into faults which is possible but unreliable against these good players. The only other option I’ve found that works is getting your team to coordinate (ie. take the aggro off you). In most engagements, I’m targeted first because my danger/killability ratio is the highest so coordination is paramount. Often times though, there will be bad attitudes/newbies which present barriers to coordinating. Typing works sometimes, but I think a more organized/standardized method of communication will stop bad attitudes and get teams on the same page the quickest.