An incentivized system of grinding is a tricky thing to keep balanced while maintaining a fun experience. But remember that where there is an easy way, there is a train. EotM and Golem Week share this in common: When an avenue for much faster gains via some form of farming is made conveniently available, it will be taken advantage of. The farmer’s path of least resistance often overtakes the path of most fun.
Gamer psychology isn’t always so cut and dried, but this is a case in point in which it typically is and is to be expected if not taken into consideration when planning a week-long event that affects an entire crowning aspect of your game (WvW) along with its respective community following.
The concept of occasional world events for WvW can be welcoming to an extent, in that it changes things up a bit, adding the temporary hint of a new flavor. The Sneak Attack event, while maybe lengthy to some, was a small tweak which yielded interesting effects that didn’t really break the overall experience. Hopefully small tweaks with notable implications are the extent at which future WvW events strive to not go beyond. This will also help to ensure minimal bugs with the minimal testing that these events are likely to receive prior to going live.
I’m looking forward to seeing what potential healthy boost HoT may infuse into the WvW experience and community; that is, if the psychology behind a self-sustaining fun can be tapped into without reliance on “event” gimmicks.
“Ah, the mind of an irrational gamer, where injustice abounds.”