To be honest, WvW was the main reason I ended up purchasing this game.
First, I will give my suggestion, then I will rant as to why this needs to happen before any damage is done by the incoming (changes).
Suggestion, Add more NPC involvement. (A sad necessity when lacking a formidable opponent)
That’s a simple statement, but here is HOW it should be implemented.
Add in world bosses that appear when the score split is very great. Make world bosses that will siege Stonemist (owned by the losing team or 4th faction) giving a server wide prompt telling people a massive assault is happening in WvW (with proper rewards)
Add in a 4th Force. (no not server) A computer controlled force that tries (and at times succeeds) in taking over forts/supply camps. Have them concentrate on the larger populated servers… IE…
Server 1 has 20 people on a map..
Server 2 has 40 people on a map.
Server 3 has 60 people on a map.
Have enemy faction divide it’s forces so that 50% goes after server 3
30% goes after server 2, and 20% after server 1 ect.
Give outmanned defenders the options of utilizing NPC mercs like in GW1. (they can control large militia’s to defend against enemies.)
(make upgrades more robust, and have oil/arrowcarts a base starting point. Already used.) Have npc controlled defensive siege equipment.
Depending on the difference in size of the enemies, grant some powerful npcs to be called upon in different ways to help even the tide. (rituals, events, escorts) in order to summon entities or bring forth armies to help conquer things.
Add things which make the area known as the mists truly Dynamic. Events should be happening as often as they do in Orr. With as much variety and variability as possible.
It should FEEL like a warzone.
I have plenty more ideas, and it is too difficult to describe them in detail on a forum, I just hope someone is paying attention to the WvW aspect, I will now rant as to Why i found it necessary to actually post this stuff.
At first, the basic system in place was enough to keep my attention and warrant my activities throughout 3 characters lives up through 80 and beyond.
However, since its inception little has actually changed.
Sure, you could argue about a tweak here, and a siege commander there. These hardly change the dynamic that has been plaguing the entity that is WvW since the servers filled up though. (Which were nice tweaks, but really that’s all they are. Minor tweaks)
No new maps. (still 3 copycats with one EB), No new objectives. (Supply camps, Towers, Forts, Castle.) No new events. No new THINGS which change up the battlefield. And no, I don’t mean the new idea that changing some “rules” will affect much. (whatever these rules imply, like what, No arrowcarts this week? No golems the next?) Because this will do nothing more than give further advantage to those servers who already occupy all timezones. (the weaker servers must use more siege to balance the number deficiency out.)
Same with making it easier to occupy places that have no-one defending them. Servers with a lack of population already have a hell of a time defending a fort against overwhelming odds, you said so in your article yourself. Then you go on to state that you will make it harder for forces to keep “unmanned objectives” Meaning if you don’t have the population to set up a defense, you are even more screwed than before.
I mean really?
Then, to top it off, Arena net realizes that once the servers are marginally equal in WvW the rating system doesn’t change them much… because it can’t. They decide to throw in a “randomifier” to help pit different servers against eachother… great… that sounds wonderful… Until in practice a server gets sent against others just 1 tier above their average level.
Then, like always, they get thrashed into the ground and no-one wants to play WvW for another 2 weeks to lick their own wounds.
This is one of my few posts because I feel that if ANet continues to do what they are doing with WvW it will eventually ruin any and all reason for me to continue bothering with the game.
I am sorry this post is long, and at times disjointed. I am just tired of seeing little done in WvW while hearing these new articles claim of great changes (to come).
All this said, I feel PvE and PvP have been improving well. Keep up the hard work.