So, this may not be completely appropriate for this thread’s current discussion, but it has been eating at me, so here it is. I’m not bashing anyone’s preferred style of play here. These are just some observations that I, like many others, have made over the past three years. And I pre-empt the guy who will inevitably say “QQ cry moar”, with a friendly reminder that it takes more effort to discuss things as an adult, so please don’t strain yourself.
If Anet wants to make gaining legendary armor a raid thing, fine. Go for it, and all you raiders enjoy your shiny loot- you earned it, and I say that without sarcasm. But in the meantime, why can Anet not offer some nicer incentives for WvW players too?
Raiders like to say that raid content requires skill- which it does- but remaining in the top tier of WvW certainly requires just as much skill. Hardcore WvW players will tell you that smashing two blobs of peeps together doesn’t cut it in the long run. World vs World is not, contrary to what some believe, a red=dead scenario most of the time. In order to stay competitive, you have to be strategic and learn to play your profession, improvise with that profession at times, coordinate with your commanders and complement your squad, etc… And might I add that, unlike instanced areas of play, one cannot keep running WvW over and over to get the timing and mechanics of the encounters down to a memorized science. You are fighting other players and no single battle is predictable. So, basically, you have to have skill to be successful.
That being said, why are the WvW adherents not getting equally rewarded for the skill they exhibit in their preferred method of play? These guys and girls are in those borderlands because they enjoy it, and the challenge it brings, because they certainly aren’t doing it for the loot.
They get no ascended crafting materials, no cool skins (some may argue that the skins available from tournament tokens are ‘cool’, but I certainly haven’t seen anyone wearing them), no chance at ascended or legendary back pieces or even just materials to make those things. They could at least have the option to spend their WvW currency on ascended mats or something. Seriously, I am sitting on so much WvW currency because the things you are offered are total crap in comparison to what sPVPers get and now, apparently, what raiders will get. Heck, they’re even less rewarding than mindless Silverwaste loot.
I remember a time, shortly after the game launched, that Anet made the comment “play your way” a catchphrase they used to promote the game. And that is a wonderful vision to have and promotes longevity if done properly. But lately, a good portion of players who are “playing their own way” (and not just WvWers, to be fair) are being pushed to the wayside.
It makes me King Arthur sad.
