Guild Wars 2

Squads before anything else. Currently squads offer very little, as anyone will likely just follow a commander dot without ever joining the squad, as hardly anyone will use the squad chat. Current best feature is /squadinfo for a quick supply count. That being said, let’s give people some more incentive to JOIN squads, and just more than one

Commanders should not all be viewable from anywhere on the map(except for other allied commanders). Allied command dots could be viewable from the same range as allied dots on the mini map, if you are close enough to see that, you can see an allied commander, however joining said squad will enable you to see the dot from any range(as it is now). Squads should have the ability to be open, or closed(invite only and invisible to all but other commanders and its own squadmembers). If you come within range of an open squad, an event notifier can let you know you are close to an open squad(just like any pve event or even the current escort siegerazer), there could even be a join button in the event box in the top right for ease of use.
Now with that out of the way, here’s the mastery!
1. Commander’s Orders-ability to remove a claim on an objective that’s running no buffs.
2. Loot & Pillage- 10% magic find to squadmates within 1200 radius, 10% increased exp/karma/coin on objective captures.
3. Siege Engineering- 15% increased build/repair time to squadmates within 1200, +5 max squad member capacity(35)
4. Tactical Command- Gives commander ability to see squadmates on map just the same as you can currently see party members(any range, name if moused over). +5 squad member capacity(40)
5. Inspirational Leadership- +10 all Primary and Secondary stats, 1% magic find/critical damage(weak celestial stats) to all squadmates within 1200 range, squad loses buff on down/death of commander. +10 max squad capacity. (50)

These are definitely NOT the best ideas, but they are a start(and I came up with ’em on a whim), please hammer this idea into the ground with reasons why some of these could work, or how they could be the worst ideas ever, for servers of EVERY size.

Under the idea that a good commander does not ask more of his squad mates that he is willing to do himself…

If a commander has increased supply carrying capacity from any source that gets mirrored to his squad in a 1200 range. Or just have a +5 supply capacity within 1200 range.

This would help to define s role for a commander tag. I think different commander roles are one of the things commanders are missing.

Or maybe have Wxp ranks on commanders mirror within a moderate range. Siege bunker/damage commanders would hit keeps, guard killer/supply carrier commanders would flip camps or run supply and repair.

Lack of commanders being able to see the other commanders cross nap make it rediculously hard to coordinate especially if a wild tag appears

While the ability to only see commanders when in range is a neat idea, I would have to disregard “commander mastery”. With the current ability to buy a tag for a small fee of 100g, nearly anyone can get it. With the buffs you suggested, we would see 10+ tags on one map just because random pugs/roamers want the buff(s). Until commander titles are EARNED, I do not think this would be a good idea to implement. Already enough pugs commanders as it is.

snowaugar.1823:

Lack of commanders being able to see the other commanders cross nap make it rediculously hard to coordinate especially if a wild tag appears

Thank you, I did forget to mention that would stay the same, as in commanders will always be able to see other commanders.

OreoWolf.9564:

While the ability to only see commanders when in range is a neat idea, I would have to disregard “commander mastery”. With the current ability to buy a tag for a small fee of 100g, nearly anyone can get it. With the buffs you suggested, we would see 10+ tags on one map just because random pugs/roamers want the buff(s). Until commander titles are EARNED, I do not think this would be a good idea to implement. Already enough pugs commanders as it is.

Good point, maybe you could add an option in the game to never show commander tags(came up once long ago when people tried ignoring certain commanders but you’d still see their dot), but that’s another story. I could see some solo roamers possibly spending points into this line for the buffs specifically as you said, although this one would be one of the more expensive, similar to carrying supply and likely even more pricey.

And I do have to ask as I saw nothing in your signature, what server are you from where you have so many pug commanders? Borlis Pass, my server, tends to have one commander running Eternal, one-two in the homelands, and possibly another in one of the two enemy borderlands. Is the server you’re on Commander Crazy? If so I could see why you would not like this line :P

Most of this would just promote zerging, which is really not a great idea.

Dinas Dragonbane.2978:

OreoWolf.9564:

While the ability to only see commanders when in range is a neat idea, I would have to disregard “commander mastery”. With the current ability to buy a tag for a small fee of 100g, nearly anyone can get it. With the buffs you suggested, we would see 10+ tags on one map just because random pugs/roamers want the buff(s). Until commander titles are EARNED, I do not think this would be a good idea to implement. Already enough pugs commanders as it is.

Good point, maybe you could add an option in the game to never show commander tags(came up once long ago when people tried ignoring certain commanders but you’d still see their dot), but that’s another story. I could see some solo roamers possibly spending points into this line for the buffs specifically as you said, although this one would be one of the more expensive, similar to carrying supply and likely even more pricey.

And I do have to ask as I saw nothing in your signature, what server are you from where you have so many pug commanders? Borlis Pass, my server, tends to have one commander running Eternal, one-two in the homelands, and possibly another in one of the two enemy borderlands. Is the server you’re on Commander Crazy? If so I could see why you would not like this line :P

I’m currently in Blackgate tier 1. The pug commanders on our servers are few, but enough to distract other commanders and guilds. Although it might not be too much of an issue as of now, I can see it being so if it was escalated through the buffs mentioned.

You could implement it in a way such as the seigebreaker dude in the borderlands? 10-20 plus people must be in the proximity of the commander for said buffs. This would prevent roamers and most pugs from buying it for the buffs, and promotes organized guilds.

Could also go further than “an option to not show tags”. Why not make it so only guildmates or squad members can see the tag? It could appear as an orange commander tag instead of blue.

Just some constructive feedback, take it as you will.

OreoWolf.9564:

You could implement it in a way such as the seigebreaker dude in the borderlands? 10-20 plus people must be in the proximity of the commander for said buffs. This would prevent roamers and most pugs from buying it for the buffs, and promotes organized guilds.

Could also go further than “an option to not show tags”. Why not make it so only guildmates or squad members can see the tag? It could appear as an orange commander tag instead of blue.

Just some constructive feedback, take it as you will.

Most Commanders exist for group benefits anyways, though some are only out for themselves. I’d have no problem if the commander themselves received no buff whatsoever. Most people would then think this is pointless…except for those that are part of a real group or guild.

As to your 2nd paragraph, I’ve been a fan of having guild only squads and commanders for months, so I like your idea

Mist Y.5214:

Most of this would just promote zerging, which is really not a great idea.

On a server like mine there’s usually one commander on any map at one time…which if all players on the map only see that one guy where do you think they’ll all be likely to go…
yeah, you got it.

Having squadmembers receive benefits promotes them to be in the squad, having a max amount of players in the squad means you can’t have just one big zergball rolling around the map like what can happen in my tier. Of course you can have multiple commanders rolling around in a pack providing buffs, yet at the same time I don’t see how this would promote zerging any more than the game currently does. We’ll see what happens with the changes Anet will eventually reveal and possibly by then we’ll have better idea of what to do with commanders, but for the time being all we can do is what commanders should and should not be able to do and reasons why some things will work for some servers and not others and where to draw the line for balance. That’s why we’re here!

Dinas Dragonbane.2978:

Mist Y.5214:

Most of this would just promote zerging, which is really not a great idea.

On a server like mine there’s usually one commander on any map at one time…which if all players on the map only see that one guy where do you think they’ll all be likely to go…
yeah, you got it.

Having squadmembers receive benefits promotes them to be in the squad, having a max amount of players in the squad means you can’t have just one big zergball rolling around the map like what can happen in my tier. Of course you can have multiple commanders rolling around in a pack providing buffs, yet at the same time I don’t see how this would promote zerging any more than the game currently does. We’ll see what happens with the changes Anet will eventually reveal and possibly by then we’ll have better idea of what to do with commanders, but for the time being all we can do is what commanders should and should not be able to do and reasons why some things will work for some servers and not others and where to draw the line for balance. That’s why we’re here!

If the buffs are only 1200 range, that removes an incentive for people to split off from the group and do their own thing. “Shall we go cap the camp while the zerg takes the tower?” “Nah, we won’t get max rewards for the event koz the commander will be out of range…”
As the game currently stands, people who don’t want to blindly follow the zerg CAN go off in smaller groups, although there’s not much reward for doing so because the zerg can complete more events and kill more players. We need a reason to split off without feeling like we’re being penalized for not following the zerg. Your suggested updates will make it even less eligible to work in a small group.
However, if you removed the 1200 range thing (why shouldn’t it be map-wide?) and made it possible for commanders to see the locations of all squad members and kick them if they’re not doing what they’re supposed to… then you’ve got a good idea.