Guild Wars 2

It strikes me that the changes to structure upgrades was a direct response to player complaints about difficulties in the old system (e.g. player cost to start them, frail yaks, etc.) It really needed tweaks less than it needed full replacement. I suspect the problem may have been over-thought.

Here’s some ideas to address the complaints.

(1) Keep the new features and basic model – I think the improved strength, etc. is not a bad thing. Mostly, we need to bring player control back into the process.

(2) Turn off or significantly slow autobuilding, but ONLY if you…

(3) … provide a means players may activate upgrades by “purchasing” them

(4) Use supply as the “currency” to build. It would use something similar to the old upgrade selection chart, on which players could select which upgrade they wanted to apply supply too. They would in effect “repair” an upgrade to accelerate it by delivering supply to the quartermaster, instead of purchasing the option with coin.

(5) Upgrades accelerated by players would move up the build queue, permitting players to determine which upgrades finished earlier rather than later.

(6) Supply can come from any depot, including that of the structure being upgraded. Yak deliveries would add to the build process. Enough players could theoretically bring enough supply to complete an upgrade without yak deliveries.

(7) Completing supply requirements starts a 1-3 minute countdown timer (similar to other retrieval quests) after which, the upgrade is activated.

(8) Provide an xp reward to players when they assist in completing an upgrade (similar but probably greater than repairing).

In practice, the interface might look something like what the old camp upgrade controls looked like, except players could select which specifically they wanted to put supply into. Movement of Yaks without player intervention would build up all upgrades equally a small amount with every delivery. The amount would increase or diminish depending on where players focused their build choices. Player contributions could act as a multiplier of Yak efficiency.

In terms of game impact these are some of the probable outcomes.

(1) More players become engaged directly in fortifying those structures their server controls
(2) Players become direct participants in what is built, and how fast.
(3) More players moving provides more potential for PvP/GvG open field encounters.

Additional comments/suggestions?