Guild Wars 2

aka the trickle..

Specifically the pace of balance patches in Gw2.

I had a small thought the other day regarding the pro’s and con’s of the pace of balance in Gw2 that i thought i should share as I’ve never seen it brought up before…

Well, we’ve all seen the con’s first hand but what about the pro’s?

The Core:

Gw2at its core is a very tight and well framed network of many things, specifically the style of combat. Its just fun to play and learn and get good at… However by design or accident it’s also extremely unwieldy and obtuse to try and alter. This leaves the dev’s a very limited space to work in. sparse Traits and possibilities for set ups, a handful of utility skills and slightly more Weapon locked skills.

Gw2 would seem a very difficult problem to tackle from a balance stand point with so many moving parts but from the points which are easy to tweak, why wait so long inbetween?

Fast balance patches would allow the best “numbers”, numbers meaning whomever or whatever produces the best results which is usually damage or the lack there of, to rule. Player skill , as limited in its ability to become applicable in a game that is built on so many back end and invisible and passive back bones, would have less to offer in terms of victories or losses.

Slow balance patches still allows for a small mix up of the best “numbers” to shake the meta when done correctly. While this can lead to a stagnant meta in-between or towards the ends, it does allow time for player skill to become what pushes matches one way or another. Provided, of course, balance is accurate and pointed and the games overall structure is solid, this balancing practice is what seeks to reclaim what Gw1 provided. That is to suggest, when two players meet using the same builds and gear, the more skilled player will win, or, at least have the greater chance at winning.

Con’s with this system are self evident, anyone who has played for a period that stretches over two or more balance attempts and Quality of Life improvements shows that the frame work needs a lot of TLC as does the aim of the balance team… But.. and to put it as a …

TL;DR

Slow balancing is Most likely the best option for a game like Gw2. We may need to, as a whole, give the Anet team some credit here and attempt to, more pointedly, “point” to the more underlying issues with the systems in place. (ie, server instability, Might, etc..)