GW2 was always meant to be innovative and regarding that it’s a success, no doubt. But not everything that sounds good in theory works when you carry it out – this post is about my personal feedback on PvP to the devs.
In my opinion everything that’s wrong with PvP is caused by a simple thing: devs want to force FPS element into a MMO. And in case of the combat, the result was an extremely fun and reponsive combat system – but experimenting with combat and doing the same with the structure of Pvp are 2 different things.
FPS browser – Hotjoin
When it was announced, I was pretty hyped for it so I understood what the devs were trying to do. “So I can just join whenever I want to and play? Also, new players won’t be farmed by veterans who prevent them from earning PvP ranks (main issue with GW1’s HA), great! I can rank up there and learn the game!” – this idea was really excellent.
But this never worked. Hotjoin is supposed to be a place where new players learn the basics of the gamemode and the combat, but currently it’s the worst thing a newcomer can do. Matches are never even (I’m talking about the number of players on the sides, not their skill), the entire place is about autobalance abusing and zerging for achievement points. A new player won’t know what’s happening and why, they will just simply learn what they see.
In an FPS it’s fine, because you will learn how to kill other players and that’s what matters, but there are more factors than that in an MMO – pve players, players who don’t care about the objectives because they are just farming, players who are busing autobalancing. There is no PvP in hotjoin.
There is no place for new players to learn the game, hotjoin is a place where they will master the exact opposite of how the game should be played. This place corrupts newcomers – people who think they know enough based on their hotjoin experiences will ruin every rated match they play, and they will have to learn how to play again – which means they must forget everything they currently know about the gamemode. No wonder many of them don’t bother and just leave the game’s pvp side.
We will never have a healthy PvP as long as hotjoin exists.
FPS elements in map design
Cough Skyhammer Cough. You never see a single post about players asking for the removal of Foefire or Temple, but Skyhammer-hate is a thing since the day it was added. Devs claim that it’s a map heavily influenced by Quake – but again, GW2 is an MMO, and this map is as close to adding headshot as a game mechanic as it can be. Except the fact you don’t even have to aim.
Side note: even if you think it’s the minority who dislikes this map, you, as developers, should stay objective and ask the question – “Is it suitable for rated play? A map where you can kill 5 people by pressing a single button, out of combat? A map, where you can kill other players with 1 skill even if the other was winning the duel with max hp?” – with such a random factor, how are we supposed to have a decent matchmaking, ever? Just because you can press 2 buttons doesn’t mean you can actually play the game. Playing the game, using the combat system as intended is actually a disadvantage on this map. Skyhammer is as suitable for rated play as Keg Brawl. It’s basically just another PvP minigame.
Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love this game, I just want to say, stop pursing FPS games, because everything that’s wrong with PvP comes from this intention.
(edited by witcher.3197)