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If the player has the achievement unlocked, then he or she is placed in a separate overflow/server from other players. This would help to keep people who have already done the event from telling others about it, while making them feel they have done something that caused immediate and permanent change to the world.
ANet has previously stated that they don’t want phasing-style mechanics since it results in people not being able to play together i.e. your friend is on phase 1 your on phase 2 and now you two can’t play together.
Thanks for the reply, I can see why they wouldn’t add it in then. As stated in my post, two friends would only be separated for a small increment of time if they were on separate phases, but there would be no avoiding the split. To me I would rather have to go through a phasing type event to get to play with a whole group of people who are doing an event for the first time. Of course this is simply my preference, I can see how it may bother others to be separated from his or her friends upon entering certain areas even if it is a short period of time.
(edited by Devils Crusader.6508)
This is a suggestion that came to mind that I chose to write down. I have been told this is similar to WoW’s phasing. Please let me know what your thoughts are.
Goal:
The purpose of this idea is to create a way to deliver world changing content to the masses that give a permanent result. This idea utilizes nothing the game doesn’t already have, it simply takes what is there and uses it in a different way.
Idea:
In order to keep it simple, the idea is split into two topics: instanced events and layered overflows.
Instanced Events:
When a player joins an area where the event is supposed to occur, a notification pops up asking if he or she would like to participate. The notification would be appear similar to asking a player in an overflow server if he or she would like to join the main server or reenter the overflow. This allows the game to cap a set number of players for each instance of the event, and a timer could be implemented to show when it would be available again. It is important that there is a set amount of time for players to join each instance for this lets every player participate in the event from the beginning. It would also be possible to immediately start the event once the instance reaches the player cap. Assuming many players would join these events, there can be multiple instances of the event to accommodate the number of players. If the time limit is reached and not enough players have joined, the event can scale either by adding a certain number of allies or adjusting the enemy difficulty to however many players are in the instance.
Layered Overflows:
At the end of each instanced event, every participating player gets an achievement. If the player has the achievement unlocked, then he or she is placed in a separate overflow/server from other players. This would help to keep people who have already done the event from telling others about it, while making them feel they have done something that caused immediate and permanent change to the world.
Example:
To show how this idea would work, let’s take an event that has already occurred (keep in mind that this could work for any living story event, this is just one example). The Queen’s Jubilee could easily utilize both ideas. Here is how it could have been different with instanced events and layered overflows.
Emissaries from each major city appear in Lion’s Arch talking about Queen Jennah’s anniversary. Hot air balloons are set up over Tyria, which transport players to Lion’s Arch where he or she is invited to hear the Queen speak. Every half hour a notification pops up inviting players in Lion’s Arch to participate in the event. Each instance caps out at 50 players, who can play mini-games while waiting for the event to begin. Once the time limit is reached, the event immediately begins. Queen Jennah walks onto her podium and begins her speech about the resilience of humanity. She reveals the clockwork enemies and the watchknights. After her speech, the players are transported to the Colosseum to participate in the inaugural match. Just as it is about to begin, a portal appears and the aetherblades make a surprise appearance. Players fight off the aetherblades alongside Rox and Braham, to save the jubilee and protect the Queen. With the enemies defeated, Rox attacks a suspicious figure, which prompts Thackeray to try to double the guard around the Queen. Players earn an achievement for their help in the Jubilee, and potentially a new title. When they leave the instanced event, they are taken back to Lion’s Arch, which is now decorated for the Jubilee. After maybe a week, the Jubilee has officially arrived, and all players have access to the new content regardless of whether or not he or she participated in the event.
Conclusion:
Implementing this idea would add an element of surprise into the game. Players would be excited about what the team will think of next, while everyone feels that he or she has personally contributed to a permanent change in the world. This system opens up thousands of new possibilities for delivering meaningful content to the masses. I hope this document was successful in showing how this content will promote player participation, and increase the number of players who will return each week for new content.
There are a couple of problems with this map. 1) The blue patches that randomly turn into holes. This could be improved if there was some way of knowing when they would disappear (allowing for tactical usage of them instead of luck). 2) The skyhammer has only one entrance. Engineers, necromancers, and rangers (to some extent) can have a field day trapping a single entrance making it next to impossible to capture without a zerg. 3) The layout is awkward. The numerous altitudes are a challenge to use effectively. I see most fights occurring around them, instead of with them. It is almost like they tried to incorporate the Z axis without using water, which (as is painfully obvious from Raid On Capricorn) everyone avoids.
I hope that ArenaNet can either fix this map or make it temporary. This map does not belong in the tournament PvP realm.