Guild Wars 2

Best way to solve this issue is put a couple devs part time on watching the meta build sites… We all know what they are no point listing them here. Each week they make small tweeks to destroy the most current metas. There is a problem when you see 10 of any one class and 9 are all playing the same metas. Original does not mean you play the meta with a single utility skill change or a slight change on armor stats. BTW, the talk about MM’s…. play a necro for one day and you will never die to another MM, they are way to easy to counter.

Swagger.1459:

I looked at your post history and you have issues with “blobs”… Sorry, but wvw was designed to host “blobs” so you don’t get to have 4 wvw maps to host you and 20 of your buddies. If you can’t handle “blobs” then wvw is not for you…

You also want PvE zones free of megaserver… This kills off maps and players will struggle to accomplish meta events…

You want emptier maps across game modes, but this is an mmo, not a multiplayer PlayStation game for a few of your buddies…

Some comments here show some of you only care about yourselves, not the wvw community as a whole… Y’all also want the devs to keep the light on for struggling wvw maps…. Those are both pretty selfish.

Your right when it comes to blobs, there is an economy in the game much as there is in real life… When you give out participation trophies to everyone and devalue your game currency you end up in an inflationary spiral… While you are correct this is an mmo, playing together is a goal, when you have to give out “free stuff” to get participation you will have undesirable effects to the market. Low risk, high reward, leads to issues. Zergging is all to popular, be it champ tains in FG, the Train that ran in Divinities, EotM, back in the day there was karma training in WvW Thur and Fridays, chest trains in SW I could go on… They sound about as much fun as a coloring book with only a blue pen.

However, your other comment about what I posted about mega servers, you should re-read. No where in any of those posts have I ever said I was against them other then the major cities minus LA. Your Realm lost an important place to mesh and come together other then just a Borderland. It was a place you could call out for help, and it was a place to build a community. Totally opposite of how you are trying to paint what I said.

Back to topic though, I’m not here to turn this personal, I know there is an entire volume on the forum for me to cherry pick through. Majority of my guild who used to WvW have stated they quit because unless they are with the zerg they are looked down at and they grew tired of mindless zerging. The few others have stated it was getting stale, same old. Not a one said it was a shortage of numbers. That is why I am speaking for myself and my guild. I can not speak for my server or the community in the game… apparently you can? Let the vote run its course, then we will decide how to go forward. I am at least glad Anet is giving us a little control when it comes to this.

Silverkey.2078:

I am on AR, a “dead server”. And guess what… I didn’t bother playing because whenever I go there, there is no one else on the map. I don’t play WvW to run solo killing doors and AI. Else I would be playing PvE.

Now I am joined with YB and it is a lot of fun. Whenever I go, there are people to play and interact with, as well as enemies to play against.

Sure, it feels more than before that my own contribution is diluted. Sure, my small guild group cannot completely swap a map as it could have before. And sure, there are queues…. But I have more fun by a large margin.

So I don’t think the world linking has solved all population problems, but it is a much healthier start.

It was always an easy thing to transfer to a higher server. However, I am glad you are having fun and I hope you voted Yes then, although I am against it, I will live with it if it is actually the will of the people being effected by it and not just those that benefit from more numbers.

Swagger.1459:

Actually you don’t unfortunately, anymore than you understand what the design purpose of wvw is…

“I’m fine on a fairly “dead” server and I will have fun"…

Dead servers are not good for RvRvR, but ya know, lets keep empty maps running for you and a few of your buddies lol… But seriously, if y’all don’t like running into zergs there is always spvp and guild hall fight clubs…

The quote on a dead server is nothing more then a generalized statement that many, probably even yourself, have used to describe any server lower then yours. The low tier servers where far from dead, only reason someone would have described them that way was those people do not play your way and you think you have a better use for them by forcing them to merge with you. Your other statement, your right, if you don’t want to RvRvR and do all those things that come with it, but instead want to fight blobs all day, you can go to EotM, I heard there is a large blob out there. Your not going to win me over, and all your doing is painting my picture for me. This will cause more losses to the game then any good coming from it. I stand with my other sub T4 servers on this. Merge the lower servers, I dont think many of us would mind to much as long as we are not blobbing all day.

Swagger.1459:

I’d suggest you go back and read the conversation so you know what you’re commenting on.

I know what I am commenting about, do you? Forcing people to play the way you wish they would play will only lead to the inevitable collapse of your way. I choose to stay on a server as we collapsed from T1 all the way to T7. WvW is and has always been more then blobbing, however in kitten the community, the players have changed in so many ways that only encourage “If you are not with us you are a waste to our server” Blobbing has destroyed so many of the game mechanics, including WvW. Easy loot, easy high, no risk, all reward, all about numbers… I would rather play a facebook game then roll around with what your proposing. That is why I choose NO and I hope many more agree with me on that. I am fine on a fairly “dead” server and I will have fun, if you want to just be another number, move to a higher tier. At least without server linking we have a choice.

Swagger.1459:

Watch the video…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dnOhMeYxhRM

Some of you have me worried here that you don’t even know what wvw was designed for…

Did you even watch it? Objectives? Control? Small group behind enemy lines?…. or are you only hearing Blobbing? This video supports both game play styles we have both been debating. Difference is, I am not promoting Anet force you to play the same way I want to play.

Swagger.1459:

Umm the original intent was to create a space for hundreds of players to do mass pvp…

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/World_versus_World

“World versus World (also known as WvW) is a Player versus Player game mode where players from three different servers, or worlds, battle in the Mists. It features open-world combat on five large maps with up to several hundreds of players per map.”

Is this a real debate?

I’m pretty worried that the future of wvw is going to be decided by players who do not even know their own game…

You do know that the wiki can be edited by any individual with an agenda or there mother right? I could go on there and change that myself and would that then mean what I type in there is the truth? Just cause its on the internet does always mean its fact. If it was nothing more then blobbing, don’t you think the basic scoring mechanic would not have been in place? I’m not talking PPK either For as worried as you are about it, I am also worried, but as you guessed, for the opposing reason, if I wanted nothing more then to blob 24×7 I would go out with the rest of the EotM players. I want the command and control, the strategy back in the game.

Besides, why not go back the 8Tier system, then you get to play the way you want, and I get all the strategy and the play style I want.

Swagger.1459:

Bolded…

Funghetto votes no because (s)he doesn’t like casual players and zergs…

So the person who doesn’t like casual players and zergs in wvw is going to help decide the future of pvp zones designed for zergs primarily?

That is a selfish vote for those reasons provided.

That no vote is akin to players voting for spvp to be for 1v1 because they like spvp, but they don’t like 5v5… And these votes count, they are not just “opinions” anymore.

Edit- wvw isn’t designed for me and my 10 friends vs you and your 10 friend vs someone else and their 10 friends… It’s designed to hosts hundreds of players… These are not private pvp server maps, they are mass pvp community maps…

WvW was less about massive zergs and massive PvP then it was a command and control game. It was designed in much the same image as RvR in much older games. Large scale fights are a desired side effect however it was not supposed to be a scaled up PvP match. When you start exceeding a party group for size it becomes less and less about skill and more of just a numbers game. So someone voting NO and sticking with original intent is not a bad thing, its just a difference of opinion. Unfortunately going for the last few years with no real focus on WvW has allowed this illusion that it is all about massive zergs and nothing should matter other then bags and fights. Original idea was you and your group of 10, along with a few other groups of 10 could spread out and try to take a map, coming together for a few random large fights and going about there own way on the map when they where done. Unfortunately there are no groups of 10 anymore.

I posted on the other forum about this a little… Here is a few of my thoughts on this vote. I like that Anet considered weighing the vote to 75%… I think that number may be a little lower then it should be, should have considered 80-85% however if in fact the in game email concerning this poll is up, that would mitigate it a little. 40% of the population of WvW will probably be in one of the T1 servers, followed with another 25-30% of players in T2. That leaves 30-35% of players spread out in the other 6 tiers. Since server linking I have seen a much less active guild, many of my members want no part of blob-fest 2016. They are not reading these forums, they are inactive now for the most part in WvW. You conduct a poll after causing those potential “NO” voters from leaving the game or WvW how do you reach out to them? Server linking is exactly what T1 and T2 wanted, they don’t even have to dig into the old war chests to help “move” anyone…. They will all for the most part say YES. T1 commander in TS can remind his blob of 60+ to come do this poll. A person from T7 has only his/her guild and or friends list for the get out to vote campaign. This influx of players has more to do with Alpine coming back, and reward track then any server link.

Here is a simple idea and it fits with original statements from Anet. Anyone in T1 should have a free pass to any server T2-T3 or lower as long as they are in T1. In addition to this, bring back DBL for all Tiers higher then and including T4. Much bigger map for a much larger population. This also provides motive for those people in T1 with a free pass to go south of T4. This alone would make things a lot more fluid and might help prevent the stacking. Of course you may have the T4 server that will intentionally loose matches to try to always stay on top of T5, but thats a risk I think worth taking.

Please do not turn this into another EotM. Keep trying to break the zerg, encourage the command and control feature to WvW. Its not all about fights, its about taking control of the field including structures. No matter what happens, please do not merge everyone into just three worlds, thats the worst idea anyone can have on this.

How is this poll exactly working? If less then 75% choose yes it goes back to 24 servers? Please explain this out a little. If that is the case, I personally think it would have been weighted a little more to NO, so requiring 80-85% to say this should stay. Majority of WvW population is on what would have been the top 3 tiers, it was pretty much established that none of them will dislike this change except for queues. Of course when you are running a blob 24×7 it is easy to encourage your server to vote yes. When you are from the lower tiers at the moment all you have to go off of is your old friends list to encourage people to vote no matter what they choose. Its not like a low tier server has much of a say in todays WvW. I will hope you have decided that the only way it stays is if 75% or more say yes and not 74.9. If 75% have to say no…. Count me done with WvW.

Maybe the linking is something that can be considered when you want to do tournaments and return it the way it was?

BeepBoopBop.5403:

Every small group these days is just made of condition mesmers, necros, and thieves. It is getting really stupid, as if the last 2 years of condition roaming meta wasn’t stupid enough.

For every person that asks for a nerf on condi, there will be an equal number asking for a nerf on regular inflicted dps. At least with that you are alive even in the worst case, 15-20 seconds in a 1v1 fight? Why do we have thieves in two hits taking down someone with full vitality gear, or 3 hits on someone with full toughness? A warrior or guardian taking someone down in 5 seconds? You want to nerf anything, I suggest we start with all the HOT builds. I would support Anet putting a dev on the one builds website everyone seems to love so much, and make it there goal to never allow a build to sit on that website longer then a week without a nerf or counter. Its sad when I know what someone is running simply because of the class type they are on.

I’m done! WvW will no longer exist in my life. This is possibly the dumbest thing done to date in this game. People in less populated tiers where there for a reason. We all get merged into high population, not only do we have to contend with queue but now we have to deal with all the broken builds, the hacks, those that manipulate any little advantage they can find with a broken system to troll people. I have been trying to give this a chance since the start of this beta, I have been in T1 before being from SoR… The game was newer then, we didnt have the the balance issues to the extent they are now from the introduction from HoT. You mix this all together and in this tier the only thing you can do is 1) Join the Blob…. 2) drop to the same level and run the same dumb few builds you find on metabattle that are all bases on HoT classes, or 3) run a havoc group and have the blob hunt you down every few minutes. There is no skill in these tiers, its all about your blob out lasting your opponents blob or running a hack of a build and targeting randoms for giggles. I’m no longer posting here, I’m done with WvW.

lil devils x.6071:

If they make the objectives actually valuable personally to the Players by increasing their LOOT and PPK for fighting over them, you will not just have 60 vs 60 vs 60 blobs, those blobs will be forced to disperse and make hard choices when multiple targets are hit at once to be able to defend multiple objectives.

Players NOT caring about the score is due to flaws in the game mode that gave them little reason to care. That should be corrected to make the objectives and score actually matter again. All that the score proves now is that you PvD and siege hump REAL good. Not exactly something to be proud of.

Or it shows how well you defend… Defense is not scored other then through passive means, its not that your server is not getting points for defense, you are saying points should mainly be rewarded from offense(kills). As far as players not caring, then why is it so important currently for TC to crush its opponents even if it means countless guilds going there from T1? You wouldn’t have the siege humping if you didn’t show up at a paper tower with 60 people and 10 defenders. Players will not care about score if the reward doesn’t justify it. What is being asked, to weight the matches even more on PPK is essentially asking Anet to reward you more for what you are already doing. Seems a little entitled to me(I’m not calling you that, it just seems as a whole for the community to want to be rewarded more for something they are already doing, is like getting my company to pay me for just getting out of bed). Maybe I am just to old school, but I go out there to actually have an effect on the outcome, not to just mash buttons and swarm people to death. Only point I will give to those who want something changed, is peak hours vs empty hours, but at the same time, that is something we as servers should be working out, or taking advantage of. Maybe all the points need to be given for PPT, then prove you can hold it all. Its inevitable you will get a lots of fights over objectives if they where the only places that rewarded points and loot.

I don’t know the answer to this, but I do know the community wouldn’t be in this situation if the population balance was better controlled from the start. Keep the ideas coming in, but for each person wanting more PPK to be factored you will have the same amount wanting more PPT counted. What is a system that doesn’t use either of those two and still keeps things balanced and active?

briggah.7910:

Everyone has there own reasons for leaving wvw but there was a time where many of us used to say we do not wvw for rewards. Those are the days I miss.

PvP doesn’t help my server out so please stop trying to tell me if I want small scale fights I should go to pvp. I want SMALLER scaled fights happening in several spots. Not look at map for battle swords and go join every single person from all 3 servers in one spot..

There was a time where you blobbed it up to take a big objective and that was it. You actually had to ask the other groups and guilds to gather up so you can make a big push on a keep. Now its blob it up to take paper towers.

Sorry but the players have changed and if they continue to just blob any change we get isn’t going to make a difference. IMO your suggestions will just push for more blobbing..

Exactly! Sorry guys, a 60 vs 60 blob fest 24/7… No thanks, you will loose me and the other half of the community that is still in WvW. I used to like to go out there to see what my influence on the match up was. Blob Wars is not a new thing, I want to see less focus on it. What difference does the PvE aspect have on WvW currently? None, it just gets blobbed. Very few commanders actually make a difference in a large fight anymore, many are just rally points for the blob. Take the Blob Wars to EotM where it would actually be funny to watch the Farmers handle. You want to see skill you need to stop the Blobbing. Drop the loot for kills, increase reward for defense, drop the maximum cap size on map. Make it where you have to do more with less people.

lil devils x.6071:

lil devils x.6071:

What needs to be on the poll is :

• Make scoring based on PPK over objectives rather than rewarding PvE game play in a PvP game mode, and I do not see that option there.

As long as the fighting over the objectives is rewarded more than the objective themselves it will improve the way players are rewarded for their efforts, both offense and defense. PvD Should have never been part of the score in a game mode where you want to encourage players to fight one another instead of NPC’s.

The problem when you allow for " avoiding fights" to be rewarded is it will encourage players to do exactly that in a PvP game mode. What is the point of playing a PvP game mode if the players who do not do so are the ones who win?

THAT is why so many stopped caring about the score. If you want them to care you have to make it value their PvP efforts in a PvP game mode.

I don’t want to call this player out for his/her view, it is all good, however I disagree when you say PPK should be scored even more then it is currently. If you have been around since the start of GW2 and for that matter games such as DaoC… WvW has never been about PvP… In fact, Anet themselves have called WvW PvE… Your PvP or like we have in WvW Zerg vs Zerg, is usually a desired side effect. WvW is about world domination, how much of your enemies turf can you take and hold. We have a great example here in this game of what happens when you make either one of these two systems more rewarding then the other… EotM, I think we can all agree is way to rewarding to Capture then it is to hold (PPT) to work, while WvW is way to rewarding for PPK. I have been in T1 all the way through T8(I am currently on SoR who is teamed up with Dragon brand). T1 all they are concerned with is mobbing stuff or Zerg vs Zerg fighting which again usually, but not always comes down to who has the largest Zerg, while in T8, Its not about zerg size, its about who has any numbers on at any given time of the day to cap when no one is on.

I know many in higher tiers want to see large scale fights, bash there heads against each other 10 hours a day 7/days a week… Those in the lower tiers want to have a challenge once in a while taking something. You have to balance PPT and PPK or you will in effect see larger zergs, or EotM repeated. While I like seeing that in theory a 60 against 60+ fight is possible, in reality, it happens way to much. 20 vs 20’s should be the norm. Break up the zerg and you can reward all you want on PPK, Don’t break them up, then they should have to hold as much as possible (PPT) I would propose you go back to 8 tiers and drop the player cap per map to say 40 instead of 80… Those that want to play and can’t do to queue, give them the option to transfer… For free if needed.

Ariel.6291:

2. One thing that might help is if you identify your situation (as I have at the start of this post) with if you are NA or EU, The tier you were in. Whether you are on a guest(sub) server and who you are linked with. This will give ArenaNet a better idea of who this has impacted the most and why we see things differently. The NA solution may end up looking different than the EU solution, for example, and it would be helpful is ArenaNet could see where you are.

NA/Tier7/Sactum of Rall/Guest(sub)server currently linked with: DragonBrand

So we are on Day 4 of Beta with linked servers.

I would have to say with exception to a small minority within my guild, this has been a headache so far. Within my guild of 160 PvX’rs we usually run anywhere between the one solo roamer taking a few camps, sparring off with other roamers, up to about a 25 person squad on our event nights. We have never been all that great, but have won our share of fights. Problem in these higher tiers is unless you are part of a blob, or very well organized and built group, you don’t stand much of a chance. Sure you want to train people, you want to make them better, but lets face it, there are a lot of players you will never make better. They have had this part of the game taken from them, they will not touch WvW again if this is how the game will be set up. This means, given enough time, you will not have the new incoming population in WvW to offset any losses of population, at least within my guild and I am guessing many other lower tiers guilds.

I know many in the lower servers have complained about the lack of people… Its not the lower tiers asking to be part of this mess, they where just asking for a little balance. Make the lower tiers have an incentive for people to move to, Spread out the population. I would argue for my guild, to reinstate the 8 server system or even 6 servers, install Alpine maps just for the lower half of tiers, and maybe a slightly better loot scale or reward tract points. Give an incentive to move down and not just up. Make guilds want to grow and carry servers, not for them to just get enough practice and move to a higher server. As long as my guild is constantly being run down by a 60/70 person blob, we have no reason to go into WvW… Give us a reason, and I am not talking about a K-Train or another EotM. I have also recommended in an above post somewhere, disconnect the mega server from all major cities except LA(LA was the neutral common ground for all people in the lore) Let us rebuild server identities, even if it means a fairly unpopulated Black Citadel. Leave the Mega server on all other maps.

Im not opposed to other ideas, maybe some that havent been mentioned anywhere on the forums yet. I am opposed to just being thrown right back into the mix. I am one of just a handful left on SoR that was active in WvW for our T1 days and witnessed all the drama, all the infighting, and elitism there was. There was a reason I never left SoR when we collapsed, and it wasn’t just that the server was welcoming to me. I want to see a better solution.

BTW, Dragonbrand has some really great people in it, people I could grow to really enjoy playing with, so this has nothing to do with them, this is about how I and my guild mates enjoy playing the game.

Rasudido.6734:

Most if not all of our guilds are willing to share builds, resources and even open recruitment for people in ET if they wish to join and play with a BG guild.

So finally someone says what we are all thinking, this is why T1/T2 servers will not speak out against this, they gain with this change exactly what they have been looking for and paying for, for so many years… Why should they have to pay to attract guilds and people… Anet will just do it for them…

When people read forums, what everyone needs to know, those who think there is nothing wrong, things are going good, Why would they ever post? Only the minority, people with issues with how it is going or being done will post. That is why I am here, I am not sure yet if I am in the minority and honestly if I am, so be it. I will get used to it. But, before you go off and start trying to turn this back on me, we have been merged for less then 24 hours and now have 4 forum pages and will be on #5 within a couple hours. Have you ever seen a forum gain 5 pages in one day about how dead WvW is?

sionnach.5391:

Hi all,

Guild leader from Kaineng here; we’ve been on our server since launch, never transferred – we’re core WvW and have fierce pride in our server and our players. So, as you can imagine, server identity and a sense of community are important to us and part of what we love about GW2 and this game mode.

First, I’m pleased that Anet is paying attention to WvW and attempting to address the population issues. I also realize that this is Day One of the beta. However, I hope you take this early feedback to heart.

Being pushed to a T1-2 server might very well destroy our tight-knit and hitherto happy community, so this is a plea from the heart:

Server identity: The sense of server identity for the low tiers is being erased – we don’t show up when we cap, we are a hover-over on the WvW panel, basically we’ve been reduced to non-entities. This may not seem like a big thing but it’s noticeable and has a morale effect.

Playstyle: Guilds like ours stuck around on Kaineng for a specific reason; we don’t transfer up to higher tiers because we love our server and we like the playstyle – creating a system where 90% of the time WvW is zergs/blobs is going to drive many of us away.

Weekends: The queues are bad, although hopefully that will ease up. However, if there’s always a queue on the weekend nights, and if it’s always zergs and blobs those nights, the weekend warrior guilds like us are in trouble – this is when we get together to WvW and without that, well I have no idea what we’ll do.

Outcome: There are many Kaineng players (including me) that will have to stop playing WvW if this change stays. We’ve spent 3+ years playing this mode, learning it, loving it, fighting hard and building our guilds and our server up under tough circumstances. We’ve learned to stick with things through thick and thin, so when I post here please know it’s not idle whinging – I’m worried.

I thank you for listening, and we’ll stick around and see how this shakes out. If I have any advice to give, it would be to pair the lower tier servers or just put it back the way it was (again, not everyone WANTS to play on high pop maps – and I hope our voices matter too).

We have faith that Anet will listen to the players and help us enjoy our favorite mode with the friends we’ve made here.

Thanks for listening,

Nanesh of Kaineng

If there is one thing this test has done, it has brought all the lower tier servers to agreement. Just last match up myself and a few in my guild where cursing the guild of the gentleman/woman I am quoting and today I am standing in full agreement with him/her I am one of the last remnants of SoR’s old T1 days, there is a reason I am still on SoR and have not left for the imagined glory back in the top ranks.

I think many of us are in agreement, this is beta testing, we know our servers have died and needed some changes, but to this? Here are a couple of my thoughts for what they are worth…

-Go back to 24 servers.

-Remove the mega-server in all PvE cities except Lions Arch to allow server identity to grow, even at the expense of almost empty cities. Rest of PvE would remain on mega-server.

-In all lower tiers, (5 and down) in WvW you reinstate Alpine BL’s, smaller maps for smaller populations. This give Anet the added ability to utilize what has been made and also gives incentives to those in the top tiers who really enjoyed Alpine to move down in the ranks. Alpine maps are smaller and a much better fit to lower tiers.

-Make server transfers free for a short time frame, I know this is a gamble as it may do more harm then good, but we need the stability. After this initial transfer time, change the amount of Gems it takes to transfer, moving to T8 should almost be free, and increase in increments through Very High, close off transfers for Full servers. This is a quote straight from wiki… “Periodically, ArenaNet will offer incentives for players to transfer to lower population worlds, including waiving transfer costs.” I dont think I have ever seen a transfer fee waived or an incentive to move.

I think the added reward system was a huge plus and will bring some players in to at least try WvW

I know many of my guild which is PvX focused and run together in WvW, we will not be willing to just be a havoc group, on a T1 tier, and because of that we may not touch WvW as much as we had, or have planned if this remains the norm with large zergs everywhere.

The original game design of WvW was Capture and Hold, this is why PPT is calculated, in most of the top tier, PPT is a byproduct of nothing more then massive zerg fights. I want to see the impact that I make, and if not myself, then those following me and my guild when we go out into WvW. By forcing us to conform to the zerg does not aid in this concept.

Others have talked about merging just the smaller servers, this is an option but I recommend a system in which looks at active WvW players, maybe looks at who spends more then say 5 hours a week in WvW and make it fluid week to week or month to month to match up lower servers, if you lock it to current ranks, then you will continue to have the spread between T1 and TX divide more. Sure it adds some unknowns on resets as to what server you are going to be matched with, but its a change to prevent the degeneration of lower servers and people will adjust as its a minor issue as compared to 2+ hours queue if the remain the norm for a while.

These are all just ideas, I am not sure what the final solution will be and I am glad Anet is finally doing something to attempt to address it.

Lets see how a couple weeks of this plays out, Queues should come down, but I fear game play is forever changed by this for all of us that enjoy small scaled fights and tactics on taking objectives.

Rest of my T6-T8 friends, that are not pleased yet, lets give the beta some time, but know we are together on this.

I don’t want this to appear to be a slap in the face to you… But Remove the Poly-Luminescent Refractor… That is why you appear dark, “Cats Shadow”.

Bumping, would like to see a response on this from Devs.

Fog you have a point on the leadership of such alliances and I will agree with that…

I think what I am trying to steer to is more of a way to build a better community and better server pride. Now I know guilds are now a mix with people from all servers, but I think the server pride issue is probably a much more needed issue to address then two friendly guilds working together.

Not saying alliances are not needed, but what we will see happen if there is a system like GW1 had are large guilds allying up with one another and small guilds allying up with other small guilds and now you are almost no better off then before, especially if you add in alliance type events, or things of that nature. If we did not have a mega server setup everywhere in the world I think alliances would add to the community in a large way and beyond the social aspect. I think to introduce them now just aids in the social aspect and not a lot of other things. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to log in and say “Hey Smitty!” and get a response via alliance chat, but does it solve anything?

I like the idea of Alliances, and want to see them, but I agree with the post above from SkyShroud, “they need to have a purpose for the alliance and not just mere social benefits or guild missions. They also need to consider the effect towards WvW.”

Without server pride anymore being as how the mega server has been installed everywhere with the exception of WvW we can no longer in an effective way support one another. While I have no issues in PvE working with anyone from anywhere, I find an alliance system could be very helpful in the WvW world, and the social part anywhere else in the game. There are a couple changes I would like to make to the suggestion of such a system from what was recommended by Fog in the first post.

“Alliance Leader is the creator of the Alliance”

I don’t see a point in an official Alliance Leader role. I understand the real life implications of a Leader(s) of such roles, but not here. While Fog and I are on the same server and personally I can trust him with everything and making decisions on my behalf, I am not sure guilds on other servers would be willing to submit to another leader elsewhere. Unless this role of an Alliance Leader is only an image thing or restricted to same server alliances, I would rather see the guild Leaders of each guild be an official leader/ambassador to the alliance. Keep the control and power within each of the guilds.

I think if cross server alliances are allowed you would have even more planning across servers that could alienate people outside of that alliance in the WvW population. But at the same time PvE could be aided by cross server alliances so I am not sure how to balance that.

I would like to see a server chat option added. We have to do something to allow server pride as the mega servers have destroyed much of it. Something where WvW guilds could reach more members on there own servers, a way that a general message could be relayed to come help defend or save something. Just a way those on the server can communicate. Of course this could still be turned off by players not wanting more text scrolling on the screen.

During Beta, I was on IoJ. A buddy of mine that I play games with did some research and he was really attracted to Sanctum of Rall, and he made the decision when the game was released he was coming here. Of course I had almost no choice, I would follow him to insure I at least could play all aspects with the game with someone that matched or slightly exceeded my play style. Unfortunately he doesn’t log in as much as he used to… But, I am not at a loss… I can call most everyone on this server a friend, I can depend on them, and I have a great time with them all.

I do some commanding on the server for WvW, but mostly for the laughs and good times. I would like to say that SoR is the home of the “Rainbow Golem Rush” twice a month, and if I am available to organize it. We go out to have fun, and sure it makes us feel great to win, but it also makes us feel great to make people laugh and put a smile on there face.

Anyone considering making a change in servers or looking to join a family should check out our community website. If you are looking for a guild here, click on any of the links above in Foghladha’s post. And if you are only interested in the “Rainbow Golem Rush” I am sorry, I can’t share j/k look us up!

As I generally run a small guild group for PPT a couple nights a week, I think that eliminating white swords helps us be offensive… I would welcome the test on this one.

As far as PpK, I think this will just encourage more of the large scale fights that many of us have grown tired of. We need to stop the mentality that it is just a bag farm and/or even a karma farm. EotM also needs some testing as I am sure the original intent was not a large karma farm 24/7. Anyone say inflation?

I have another couple ideas that I would propose…. We run at least two tournaments a year… Lets lock the T1 first place server from any new transfers, still allow new accounts though. That allows Anet to still get a profit and provides some downfall to coming in first. T1 first place gets unlocked for transfers once they fail at being 1st in a future tournament. T1 second place could be locked for a slightly shorter time or not locked but have a very steep transfer fee, and so on down the entire set of brackets. Also a steeper gem cost to transfer, say 100gems for lowest 3 servers, and say 4k gems to T1 servers. I would also like to see a token system or something that I can gift to help someone transfer servers that is not in the form of gold.

A token or new currency is not the way I would head this… It brings us right back to gold, karma, dungeon tokens and every other currency in the game… Do we really need more? Instead of dropping those rares or exotics into the forge you have a proven method of obtaining a precurser by just buying it with the gold you just got selling those same weapons. I have over 5k hours in the game, 18k achievements, I have never had a precurser drop… I am not complaining, if everyone had a legendary, would it really be legendary? If you say precursers are to expensive, then one should consider nerfing the champ farms and EotM again. Less gold chasing same number of goods equates to lower prices. Inflation on the high ticket items is what is forcing everyone to farm and gamble away there earnings in the hopes of striking it rich. Its an endless loop and the people that get hurt in that loop are the casuals or people who can not put 6 hours a day into the game. Any increase in the amount of mid level goods(rares, exotics) has to result in a lowering of the drop rate of high level items(precursers). Inevitably if you raise the drop rate of precursers and or those mid level items without controls in place, it will lead to a cheapening of a legendary and I am sorry if you think everyone should get one as a participation trophy.

As far as I am concerned we should treat this in a capitalist way, you work hard you can get what you want, items you have earned you should be able to do with as you wish including selling of items you buy with dungeon tokens or karma.

As I mentioned before why not just revamp MF, make it a little more important with a for sure outcome at some distant point with a diminishing RNG, and remove the coding that I think we have proven that is there where it rewards those who took a long brake while overlooking those dedicated players that play almost daily.

I would like to see RNG still play a huge part in this game. I would suggest changing RNG to more of a diminishing RNG. This would work off of tiers of loot with maybe the only exception being Crafting materials and Precursers. So for example, lets say you have a 1 in 3000 chance at an exotic currently(seems to be my current rate)…. Change this number to a 1:4,000 add in Magic find that could be a 1:1 ratio or something like that. So I have a 1 in 4,000 chance at an exotic, minus my magic find, then turns it to 1 in 3,700 but heres the catch, for each drop I get without an exotic the chance gets greater….. 1:3,699 1:3,698 and so on. given this method I am guaranteed an exotic somewhere within the number I started with, when one drops that number resets to original number minus magic find. Take into account level of mobs if you would like, it could change the number, but the math behind it is basic.

Mystic Forge can work much the same way, but with different starting numbers and not taking into account magic find.