Guild Wars 2

It’s no secret that when NA players go to bed the Oceanic guilds come out and wipe the map completely in their favor and get full point ticks for about 8 hours while we sleep. Does no one else see an issue with this? It’s almost a requirement to have an Oceanic guild or two on your server if you want to actually succeed in WvW. Players who don’t even live in NA shouldn’t be able to influence the outcome of NA WvW. Just saying.

My solution? Bring WvW offline based on server time and stop point ticks during this down time. For example, ANet could disable WvW from 3 AM to 10 AM server time. This would allow Oceanic players to stay on NA servers and enjoy interaction with NA players without destroying what little balance remains in WvW. If Oceanic players want to play WvW then they can return to their own servers.

Bad Idea, wouldn’t apply to me though.

Odaman.8359:

I guess people in NA who play in off hours are screwed then… they should go to Euro servers…. but wait, when or if they’re schedule changes they have to pay money again to xfer. It’s always funny to watch people make kittenty suggestions they thought about for 3 minutes and decided to regurgitate them for the world to read.

Considering that 99.9% of all people who live in NA aren’t playing in the off hours suggested, I guess it would just be you. I don’t have any issues with that. It’s always funny watching people respond with obviously kitten forum posts for the world to read.

Why didn’t you transfer to a 24 hour coverage server when they were free?

The option still exists for you to do so, albeit with a fee.

My only other solution is for you to move to Australia.

They’ve already stated that something like that isn’t going to happen.
Which is good.

Mister Mustard.7203:

Why didn’t you transfer to a 24 hour coverage server when they were free?

The option still exists for you to do so, albeit with a fee.

My only other solution is for you to move to Australia.

Number one, I like my server. Number two, I’m not going to jump ship and join zerg tier.

This is a very silly idea. I am impacted by nightcapping however those in Oz could just as easily say when NA zergs come on that “you are nightcapping their stuff”. NA servers are for a Global audience not just Americans

it’s not broken, Anet move on nothing to see here.

Ireniicus.2167:

This is a very silly idea. I am impacted by nightcapping however those in Oz could just as easily say when NA zergs come on that “you are nightcapping their stuff”. NA servers are for a Global audience not just Americans

/agreed. Neither NA and EU servers’ prime times match up with Austrailia and Asian prime times. They get to play too lol.

Too Frisky.9165:

If Oceanic players want to play WvW then they can return to their own servers.

What are these “own servers” you speak of?

Anet stated already that nightcapping is intended, true it completely ruined T1 in Europe making it extremely boring, but thats the way they want it.

Too Frisky.9165:

If Oceanic players want to play WvW then they can return to their own servers.

Waitjustaminute. What are these “Oceanic” servers you speak of?

Too Frisky.9165:

It’s no secret that when NA players go to bed the Oceanic guilds come out and wipe the map completely in their favor and get full point ticks for about 8 hours while we sleep. Does no one else see an issue with this? It’s almost a requirement to have an Oceanic guild or two on your server if you want to actually succeed in WvW. Players who don’t even live in NA shouldn’t be able to influence the outcome of NA WvW. Just saying.

My solution? Bring WvW offline based on server time and stop point ticks during this down time. For example, ANet could disable WvW from 3 AM to 10 AM server time. This would allow Oceanic players to stay on NA servers and enjoy interaction with NA players without destroying what little balance remains in WvW. If Oceanic players want to play WvW then they can return to their own servers.

This is an incredibly ignorant idea, to the point that I think it must be a troll. Nobody could possibly have written this with serious intent.

How to fix night capping: (Part 1)
The Hard Line:
Restrict players to realms relative to their region of origin. Pit North/South American players against other North/South American players to ensure that a proper night/day cycle ensues. In general, a few hours difference won’t matter. I’m saying this knowing full well what Anet thinks about it.
“Hey guys, this topic was discussed to death months ago. As we said before, Guild Wars 2 is a global game, and we are not going to impose restrictions on what times people can enjoy playing WvW. Remember, it’s always night somewhere.” – Mark Katzbach
This approach by Anet does not add anything useful to a problem that a lot of players feel needs to be fixed. If you want to ignore the problem, claiming it’s a “Global Game,” then fine, let it be ignored. You will continue to see large Asian (and sometimes Australian) Zergs roam the digital landscape, beating the virtual crap out of the walls and doors of keeps and towers while their owners try to catch up on some sleep.
The only players who will not object to this are those that enjoy the game because of how easy it is, not because they enjoy any real competition. That is my opinion of course, but I believe it’s just calling a spade a spade.
Why it’s good:
Having this restriction will ensure that night capping is reduced to a minimum. You can’t make it go away, because there will always be dedicated gamers who want to win and who will stay up for days on end making sure that happens. But, it WILL reduce the occurrences of large Oceanic Zergs dominating simply because their North and South American ‘enemies’ are asleep. Remember, the reverse of that is also true, though that doesn’t happen very often that I’m aware of.
This would also, in a very roundabout way, allow Anet to take the high road by encouraging those who might have problems with Video game addiction to give it a break. Sure, we’re playing a war simulation, but it is only a game after all.
Why it’s bad:
I have really enjoyed getting to know my fellow gamers around the world. I have made friends from Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines, Korea, and Great Britain, to name just a few. Bringing the larger community (as in the World Community) together in a common pastime can never be a bad thing. Who knows exactly who we’re playing with, maybe if we can get things like this to penetrate cultural boundaries, we could help the world get a little closer to peace. This is cheesy I know, but it doesn’t make it untrue. If we can have people from countries that don’t normally get along playing together, getting to know one another, then good things will follow. I know of cases in the online world, maybe not Guild Wars 2, where people from countries nearly at war with one another over political or religious reasons get along fine. Wouldn’t it be great if that could spill over into real life?
For these reasons alone, I wouldn’t change a thing with regard to regional restrictions. I would leave it as is! But, I have to be honest and list this as a possible solution, because frankly, it is a viable alternative, even if it’s not a desirable one.

The Other Option: (Part 2)
(This is really a Zerg fix more than a Night-Capping fix, but it would help the night crews in the NA regions if they didn’t have to fight against overwhelming numbers. So in a way – it also works for for Night-Capping.)
Reduce and restrict populations for each map. In other words, reduce the occurance of a numerical advantage. Let each server fight on equal terms. The key to this working is to REDUCE the number of players allowed on any one map, relative to its size: if you currently have a maximum limit of 200 players per map, then reduce that to 100 or maybe even 75. (You may have to create new servers to accommodate smaller populations, and maybe this isn’t something you’re willing to do for fear of over diluting the total population, which diminishes the “MMO” aspect too much. I’m not sure, but it’s worth discussing.)
Why it’s good:
Doing this will improve each players experience exponentially. The load on the client machines, culling issues, night capping, and kittening and moaning in the forums will be all be reduced.
Why it’s bad:
Less people get to play. This is bad for Anet and bad for Guild Wars 2 fans. This is a simple truth and it cannot be ignored. For that reason alone, this is really not the answer. I mention it because it would actually help; however, the repercussions of reducing the population caps per map are not acceptable.
The Other – Other Option:
Make ‘Regional-Only’ servers available for play. Give your customers some options with regard to who they want to play with. Make a server that only allows North/South American Players, one that only allows Oceanic Players, and one that only allows European Players. Leave the other servers as they are, but give your customers options; customers always like options. This would allow you to keep claiming that GW2 is a “Global Game” but then also allow people to play against a player base that actually sleeps when they do, generally speaking. The gap between prime-times would close, and the problem would be solved. I’d bet dollars to donuts that if you did this, they would fill up to capacity immediately.
There is no down side to this one, it’s a no-brainer!

Op is right. I m sure our oceanic players love to interact wif their NA counterpart. Playing on wvw is just something they do to pass time while waiting for reply in e map chat.

Point scaling based on in-map population is the easiest and best solution. And it not only helps NA heavy servers, but also Oceanic heavy ones, who would get the same break during their weak periods.

Right now they might as well not even have a scoreboard, as for anyone lower than about tier 2, off peak populations decide virtually every matchup.

It not only makes playing to win kind of pointless, but also saps energy and motivation from players, who get sick of spending gold and effort upgrading their holding and buying siege only to have it all run over without even anyone to use it or defend every single off hour period. Then players stop coming out to play later in the week, and you just get dead matches that end up screwing up the rating system. Because people just know no matter how well they play when they are on, there is nothing that can be done to overcome the imbalanced hours.

Imo best solution would be to make one global ladder, and let guilds spread out, this way 24h servers will be created in natural way, without all the bs we saw in weeks prior to start of paid transfers. Should’ve been like that from the start.

Personally, I can’t for the life of me understand why there are EU servers and NA servers, if wvw is going to be 24 hrs anyways. If its that huge of a deal, simply turn the 3 bottom tier servers into the new “Oceanic” timezone servers and offer anyone who wants them free transfers there for the next few weeks. The system as it is creates the “perception” of inbalance, burns out competitive people, and builds quite a bit more animosity than needs exist.

That being said, I’m not that bothered with the system as it is because I’m not that emotionally invested in wvw, but it would certainly make for a better system.

Personally I dont think it’s that big of a deal. Points dont matter to me, it’s how much of a difference I make while Im online.

That being said, for people who do care about points I think there should be a population based point scale to prevent scores from getting out of hand. Oceanic guilds will still be making a difference just not the ridiculous kind they are atm.

Personally, I would like to see a buff implemented at night for defending NPC’s. Something like “Night Watch” which buffs their damage/HP, increases the number of guards defending keeps, lets them use player created siege weapons, and lets them automatically repair gates/walls until supplies are emptied.

That way you can help slow down enemy advances at night by setting up siege and supply during the day. This would also increase the difficultly for night guilds and actually give them a decent WvW experience.

“Personally I dont think it’s that big of a deal. Points dont matter to me, it’s how much of a difference I make while Im online.

That being said, for people who do care about points I think there should be a population based point scale to prevent scores from getting out of hand. Oceanic guilds will still be making a difference just not the ridiculous kind they are atm.” –ncntbstndr.2478

This is actually an interesting idea – do you mean a handicapping system like in golf? If so – that’s brilliant in my opinion. It might not be needed for the higher tiers – but could certainly help to round out the middle and lower tiers – or any scenario that is obviously too skewed one way or the other. Nice!

“Personally, I would like to see a buff implemented at night for defending NPC’s. Something like “Night Watch” which buffs their damage/HP, increases the number of guards defending keeps, lets them use player created siege weapons, and lets them automatically repair gates/walls until supplies are emptied.

That way you can help slow down enemy advances at night by setting up siege and supply during the day. This would also increase the difficultly for night guilds and actually give them a decent WvW experience.” –Indure

This is also a fantastic idea – but I think you have to remember that it works both ways. If you’re a North American Player, like me, then we are the Asian and Oceanic night-cappers. Does that make sense?

Instead – use up to the minute population imbalances as the starting point. As one server’s population decreases AND the other server’s population increases – make the NPC’s stronger – by increments related to the size of the imbalance. This would make it easier and easier to defend – and harder and harder to make offensive moves as the imbalance progresses. Then as they begin to rebalance – the buff to the NPC’s would diminish. I like it. That’s a very clever way to fix the problem in my opinion. A buff alone wouldn’t be enough though – I also like your idea of more guards, doing more meaningful things, like repairing doors and walls. Maybe they could also place Arrow Carts on the walls, carefully of course, and other such usefull things. Maybe even make the Yaks faster and faster as the imbalance gets worse, so that the few keeps and towers that you do have get easier and easier to defend. This is really exciting to think about. I think it could really work. But you’d have to get Anet to admit there’s a problem, which so far, they have not.

The more I think about it the more I like the idea of automatically strengthening the NPC’s as the population imbalance gets worse and worse.

From the perspective of the defender – or the sorry saps stuck with a low population because everyone else is asleep:

You would have a reason to stay with it – because you’d have a chance of at least making a difference. Maybe you can hold out long enough for the day crew to take over. This would be much different than it is now, where at some point, usually pretty early after the Zergs from the other side of the world start crushing empty keeps and towers, things just become hopeless – which results in everyone just logging off.

From the perspective of the Zergs, or the server with tons of people on, who are also probably bored out of their mind attacking walls and doors:

This scenario would offer a challenging experience where nothing is simply handed to you. It wouldn’t matter that there aren’t many people on, capturing objectives would now offer a better fight, more experience, more karma, more fun.

Open up Asian/Oceanic servers. Open free transfers for 1 month again.

Problem solved.

This issue has already been discussed in various threads. Therefore, it is closed.