So, some people like linking, some people want merges, some people want what we already had, and some people just don’t care (just here for the fights I guess). Does that sum up the current state of the WVW discussion? We asked ANET to listen to us and they responded with polls…which some people liked, some thought ridiculous, and some didn’t care enough about to cast a vote. ANET will never be able to keep all of us happy…whatever they do will offend some percentage of the WVW player base. So, what are they to do?
Not that my opinion counts, but I believe ANET should go nuclear and “blow it up” then rebuild smartly. Reset the whole thing but build it back in a way that keeps the majority of the player base happy while inciting new players (if possible). I offer the framework below as a starting point to develop a rebuild strategy. It’s my thought on how ANET could balance populations over time zones and keep everything competitive while providing stability for worlds to rebuild identity/community. It also incorporates a more involved, two way Developer presence in our communities.
I’m not touting it as a final solution, only as a potential framework the player base can offer up to help ANET fix what we see as wrong with WVW. So I ask you, is this worthy of building on or should the Devs just lock the thread now?
FRAMEWORK:
- Develop a rank ordered list of all guilds based on average # members in WVW over a period of time by time zone
— NOTE: WVW guilds only.to qualify, guild must have XX% of members playing WVW on an average of XX% of play time over the same period of time
- Contact guild leaders of top 12 and incentivize each to move guild to one of the 12 new worlds.example: #1 NA guild goes to world A and # 2 NA guild goes to B, etc.; #1 SEA/OCX guild goes to #12 and #2 SEA/OCX guild goes to #11.rinse repeat until all WVW guilds are placed
-- Increase drop rate for ascended stuff
— Easier path to legendary
-- Faster siege crafting
— You figure it out…people like free stuff
- Contact guild leaders of next 12 and, in reverse order, incentivize each to move guild to one of the 12 new worlds
-- Guild leaders sign a contract with the world to stay 12 months…breach of contract results in repossession of incentives
—- If guild disbands, moving rewards repossessed
—- If individuals move, incentives are repossessed
—- If guild WVW activity falls below a predetermined level, incentives are repossessed
- Contact guild leaders of “small” guilds and incentivize them to “round out” the population of each world
- Players opting not to move with their guild are to be removed from the guild and enter “New Player” status as explained below
- Players can belong to only one guild at a time
— Players seeking to move between guilds must obtain approval from both
the losing and the gaining guild leadership or petition the Overseer for approval
-- Players may retain “bank guilds” but bank guilds will be limited to one player only (this needs work)
- ANET must assign a Dev as World Overseer to each world
— Arbitrate disputes between guilds…GVG in an arena as a possibility to settle disputes with losing guild loses something to winning guild…might need to develop a penalty schedule
-- Adjudicate individual requests to move between guilds on a specific world, if needed
— Keep guild leaders informed of contract progress
-- Keep guild leaders informed of game developments and changes
— Seek input from guild leaders on health of the world
-- Work with other overseers to coordinate guild transfers between worlds to maintain population balance
—- This may include overseers “incentivizing” a guild/guilds to move once again
—- Overseers will coordinate with guild leaders to try and place guilds desiring move to worlds that exhibit similar, or needed, play styles (e.g.: move a “hardcore” guild to a world lacking such; a roaming guild to a world lacking such, etc)
- NEW PLAYERS: allow new players, or players who have spent less than XX% of
a significant period of time in WVW an opportunity to guest into each of the worlds for 1 week before declaring a home world
— World Overseer will, weekly before each reset, post a list of “new players” on the world for guild leaders to contact and, hopefully, recruit
--- Players can remain as PUGS on their declared home world if they so choose
— Players opting to not declare a home world after 12 weeks will be locked from WVW until they choose to declare
-- PVE guilds can “try out” WVW under the “new player” rules to declare a home world
Anyone see anything that could be used as a starting point in these thoughts?