The biggest problem with wvw is that maps queue. This may not seem like a big deal but actually limits overall community size. The second is the global rewards that the efforts of a few gain for the many. But the many often don’t know there are benefits they are getting for their side doing well or they are just taken for granted as they have little influence on the rest of the world. I will talk about the former here and the latter in another post.
Problems hampering overall community size for wvw.
- newer players not having an idea of what they are to do upon entering wvw or having tried EotM and leave because they find regular wvw more ‘intense’. Newer players will also be turned off by going to a map and it not having a commander as well as being turned off by there being a queue. Why would you spend your play time in wvw if there is no one to follow or if you have to wait to go into something you were going to try on a whim?
- veteran players who have little incentive to welcome new player especially if they are coming during a normally queued time. They become competition for your space in the map.
- Coverage becomes a double edge sword. Players want new people to play but only when there are normally no queues.
- Yes EotM can give players something to do if there is a queue but generally most serious wvw players treat EotM as a pale shadow better suited to level an alt than be considered as true play space. Especially since its only influence on the match is a supply drop in your home map.
What is needed to truly grow the wvw community are additional maps of a permanent or near permanent nature.
Now you might say we have trouble covering the maps we have why would we want more? Simply put to attract more people to wvw in general. The problem with coverage is as much too little room during peak server times as it is not having the same size forces during the same time as other servers.
My proposal is for 4 additional maps. 3 of which would be for 2 servers only. The final map would be a traditional 3 way battle. Each of these maps would have unique mechanics that let them exist as part of the larger struggle without being directly tied to it.
Now before I dive deeper into the maps I mentioned a semi permanence for them. Unsure if this would truly be possible to implement but it’s my vision for their nature. I would want to see these maps drift in and out of the mists. Anet would identify peak server times and set a schedule that would have these maps become available for an hour or two before drifting back into the mists for 2 or 3 hours. Ideally with their emergence coinciding with as much high population as possible. Now this would also have them at low pop times as well but hopefully that will be a good thing. These maps would be smaller pop limits of course. But with their on and off nature and hopefully a worthwhile influence you will start drawing more players during the slower times to aid their servers by tackling these smaller maps.
Now the 2 server maps could be thought of as bridges between each borderland. Picture the current borderlands arranged in a triangle around EB. The map between the red borderland and green would only be accessible by those 2 servers.
As I have done previously I would like to borrow from pvp namely the stronghold game type. Namely that push pull nature. You obviously would not need npcs to push the gates as you would have players. I would also rather have it be more of a tug of war to gain something for your server vs strongholds destroy the lord. To that end I foresee the ‘lanes’ resemble the symbol for cancer
[IMG]http://www.cancerzodiacsign.net/images/cancersymbol-font.png[/img] Your goal would be to push to the end of the line in the circle. You would start out at the end of the arm portion. Thus your spawn will be close the goal to man defenses and both teams will be in close proximity in the last section of the path. I see the nature of the resource being captured as something like in the one section of octovine, but instead of needing cc to move it you take a little yak escort code and have it move forward as long as allies are within range of it. In the course of a round on this map, the more of the resource you gain for your side the more the energy flow will swing in your favor. The larger of a margin you win by the better the buff duration you get. The buff granted would be the same for all the mall and would stack duration so each side has 2 chances to gain at least some of the buff. The exact buff would of course be up to anet but needs to affect all 4 core maps. Perhaps something like yaks move faster, or supply regen is faster to more extreme like speed boost while ooc or all points earned while buff is on are double.
Now I know I said these maps would be for just 2 servers but as an optional option I would love to see the third sever to join the map in a modified spectator mode. Have you ever gone on a river rapids ride and pass by a spectator platform where the people there can use water cannons or trigger geysers as you pass by? Yeah I would love to see that idea added to the map. I say modified because I propose that periodically the spectators would be asked to vote as to which trap type to activate. This would then trigger at multiple points along the path of both sides. That’s right no favorites both sides get punished but perhaps one side more than the other. Especially during peak times when these maps are open and everything is queued it would give players a place to go and still feel part of the match up.
The last map I would prefer to be more permanent than the bridge maps. It would be all about who is currently dominating the map to impart it’s effect. This is also the most ambitious. The side controlling this map would gain an air superiority buff that would allow the use of smoke flares from mortars (and maybe cannons) at owned objectives in all 4 core maps. These would call down a explosive barrage. But even more dangerous is. That players with a new wvw ability line whose last ability would let them remove a flare charge from the mortar. This would put a bundle in your hands. Run this to an enemy keep to call down a bombardment of the wall sections it’s placed at. This would do a little damage to the wall (if damageable) but if used well could be used to clear opposing siege and players.
I envision this map as a series of islands floating ‘above’ the core maps. The central keep would be a large mobile airship. Only one keep on this map, each side would have a two towers capable of assaulting the airship as it passes by. But this also means the airship can attack it as well.
I personally would not want to see supply usable by players. Yaks would still reinforce towers. But the airship would be ‘healed’ by friendly towers using a player wielded supply converting cannon to repair it as it passed by.
Now you ask if the airship is flying how do players capture it? That’s where camps come in. Camps on this map serve as hangers letting a player adopt another role by using a transformation much like the fire keep egg. This would transition you that as long as you are transformed to move about like you were underwater, but flying. Be warned all objectives have AA guns capable of shooting you down,best to coordinate with a ground assault. Also dropping the transformation will cause you to fall and take appropriate damage,as well as proc on fall effects for those who deem a deadly fall a good trade off.
Your ultimate goal capture the airship after your towers have weakened it by flying out to it. Warning the owners will likely have a forces to repel your boarding party. But take out all the AA guns on the airship and damage it’s engines to slow it down and you could take an APC out to the airship to arrive in force. Or fly out and hope you can release the transformation to fall and land safely on the deck before enemy fire tears you apart.
Especially if anet can implement these maps as cyclical they could also double as potential swing mechanics to help a side catch up or break a particularly stubborn defense
You can’t spell Slaughter without Laughter
), i hope that maybe they will influence something now or in the future. At the very least i hope it starts us discussing the Future of the wvw community as atm especially with the server consolidations there is less room for population growth.