Guild Wars 2

In PvE:
Players go through the cut scene and swarm the starting waypoint.
There are story lines and events for them to do.
Players spread across the map as they complete the map events and get drawn further into the new area.
Eventually more experienced players start showing players who are new to the area around.

In WvW it’s very different:
Players log in and spawn.
They move out into the map and create events – taking a camp or whatever they can find.
They notice that an enemy has taken SE tower (for example) and want to hurry to defend it…

… and this is where it is crucial that the new map is easily navigable straight away. Within minutes there is action on the other side of the map that players need to get to. This doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be little hidden areas or faster or sneakier routes around, but it does mean that any new player should be able to get from A to B easily using the mini-map.

This is a key part of what went wrong with the Desert Borderlands map. The change meant experienced players who knew their way round the old maps suddenly had that skill taken away – it’s bad enough making us feel like noobs again, but the frustration that comes from not being able to do something you used to be able to do easily is infuriating. Older players will know what I’m talking about, and the younger players will find out in due time: eventually your body does this to your mind.

So a new map needs time for players to learn it. Where will they find their regular fun during this time? In the case of Desert BL many players turned to EB to avoid the frustration.

A sensible suggestion to reduce this impact is to have a period where players can use the new map to get acclimatised – possibly during a public (everyone invited) beta test. And be aware learning the new map will probably take several weekends because players will still be fighting each other and making plenty of new events by capping stuff. If you really want to encourage players onto the new maps try adding some map specific WvW rewards and title tracks: in effect bribe the players to play the new map.

I’m sure I don’t need to add any remarks about listening to feedback after the map beta tests. There are plenty of threads that do this already.

So that’s my thoughts. Have I missed anything that could help Anet if they ever introduce a new WvW map again (not looking at design features – other threads have covered those).

The problem with the new map isn’t that people aren’t learning it, or didn’t have time to learn it. The problem is that it’s terribly designed for the kind of gameplay most WvW players enjoy.

I agree that Desert BL doesn’t appear to have been designed by anyone with a good grasp of what WvW is actually about, but the way it was launched actively drove players away and that really was part of the problem. If there had been a good reason to stay and learn the map I think people would have done so. The current apparent emptiness of these maps does WvW no good at all.

If a new map is introduced in a more positive way, and feedback is sought and responded to, then I think the new map would have a chance. Someone should explain this to Anet if they don’t already know. Just trying to be helpful

i can imagine what must have been going on during development.

day 1: idea drawn on a sketch pad during lunch, shown to upper management, upper management says, “hey, uhhh, looks good, let’s go with that” (new girl excitedly exits the room) one guy, let’s call him Evan, looks at the other and asks (while he is chewing a big bite of salad) “Jon?, could you see what that pic was for?” (small amount of spittle and dressing on the face). Not really, Jon retorts, good thing we hired her for her good loo…..ah, i mean computer skills…., not sketching on notepads….(small chuckle) right? says Jon..(looks down, shakes head while smiling, eats more salad. “computer skills”, small chuckle)

2 weeks pass.
Evan walks past new internists desk, says “Hey, aren’t you that girl that came into the lunch room the other day?”
“Yeah”, she says
Oh, welcome aboard, you working on a pve jumping puzzle or fractal or something?
No, this is the new wvw map u gave me the ok to work on.
Errrrmmmmm, ok (suprised smile on face)…..
hey, you know what, hold on, I’ll ….i’ll brb (Evan rushes away)

Okeedokee, laterz! says the internist as she twirls bubblegum around her finger.

(Lunch room door swings open with thud, Evan out of breath)
Jon!
..hmmm??
JON!!!!
J: What?! i am eating my tuna sandwich (small bit drops out of sandwich onto khakis)
E: That map that girl showed us…(out of breath)
J: what map (mumbles with mouth full)
E: that map, (catches breath) ……..it was the new wvw map!
J: eats tuna that dropped on khakis with a look of satisfaction
wait for it
wait for it
J: Oh SHI……..!!!!!

Rubi walks in, Hey guys, you ready to tell the world about the new wvw map coming out with HoT?
Uhhhhhhh
We are live on Twatch in 10 minutes.
Uhhhhhhhh

Ok,!! uh …. be right there.

3 mos after HoT
Meanwhile, in the lunch room (said like the Hall of Justice)
“Hey Evan?,”
Yeah Jon?,
E: i checked the metric thingies someone was talking about one time,
J: yeah?
E: don’t think the wvw populations are registering correctly?
J: dude, don’t worry about it, that was just an app for calculating tips at a restaurant, its not real.
E: Oh, (looks suprised and kinda confused)
laughter fills the lunchroom.

Today:
Yesssss, new glider skins, can i hit the button?, says the internist with child-like excitement.
sure, i guess, go ahead…, grumbles people in their cubicles

People stuck around in WvW for years despite the awful/lack of support from Anet. After all that, they’d just quit simply because they didn’t want to spend a few hours learning a new map? No.

Having to learn a new map has absolutely zero to do with why most WvW players have quit the game.