Guild Wars 2

Lag continues… however, the opportunity for the collision of 2-3 zergs of 50+ participants is diminished due to the calendar.

Disconnects on JQ/TC/BG.

Seems commanders are particularly vulnerable. <boggle> Could be because they are (or define) ground zero.

Chris.3290:

Ignore the trolls. Try to find your server’s community website and honestly ask what you can do to get up to speed on things. Many servers are even holding training sessions for folks who don’t normally WvW and it would be a good idea to get involved with something like that so that the WvW event is not a painful experience.

Kaineng was the only server I thought had people this nice (excepting one particularly ineffective, bloviating, cheezedoodle commander with a pug-hating ego the size of a planetary gas giant).

That said, the operative take-away for me Chris.3290, is:

WvW is and should be “appropriately” painful. Depending on the server culture, it might be tragically painful. It is through our pain that we learn and grow. There should be little tolerance for sloth. And while the field can absorb and uplift the ignorant, no one in WvW should tolerate stupidity.

Finally, to the OP… there is a generally accepted principle that if one must display ignorance, one should patiently await the arrival of wisdom humbly.

Other than that… I’ve been told there is something on the internets called the google. It is supposed to help move one from a place of ignorance to a place of reduced ignorance. Although, I would not hope for enlightenment. One’s mileage may vary.

@Chris.3209, good on you for your attitude.

Daddar.5971:

Don’t you see, this whole trolling, slow-rolling, drip-dripping rollout is entirely and exactly timed to coincide with ESO early access opening. That by the way is at 7 a.m. ET on March 28. Regular access ESO launches on 4/4, the same day ast the last scheduled GW2 blog post reveal. Coincidence? Yeah, right…

Unfortunately, by the 28th it will be too late. The time to commit for early access is now. By 7am ET on March 28 decisions WILL ALREADY BE MADE.

I know a lot… A LOT of people made their decision to switch from WvW to AvA this past weekend — and the lag fest, disconnects, and skill nullification was a huge factor. There was a huge amount of chat about it in the channels, forums, and mail.

The train wreck that ANet calls risk management doesn’t seem to realize that their timing ends up cementing the exodus. Major releases always bring with them bugs and exploits. Simultaneously starting Season 2 and releasing substantial changes to the meta is monumentally stupid.

Furthermore, many might only have dabbled with ESO. Now there is a real possibility that any that consider returning may be facing a catastrophic Season 2 Starter. Why return to a disaster (worse than was left behind)?

I honestly don’t know which train I’ll end up on or if I will stand near the train tracks and watch… <sound collision>

Truly, it ends up being a wash because the maximum impact is RELATIVELY minor.

While it is not my intention to flame bait or create discomfort, there is an undeniable culture of acceptance and support (on every server) for the spying and insurgent behavior that benefits “YOUR” server.

We have all witnessed amusement when another server suffers. That said, there will be those that must project their sense of moral superiority; good on them.

Just after release, I accepted…

• …that if/when I pin up, I might be trolled or tracked or targeted.
• …that if I built siege, there was a risk that it would be trolled.
• …that if I spammed to pick up bags, I might pick up troll food instead.

I even accepted that I must endure those that exploit, hack, or grief.

There are things I/we can control… and there are things that are outside our control. As I often tell people, ‘less kitten, more fight’.

One can choose to ACT or REACT. How one handles those things that are beyond one’s control is the mark of maturity and a reflection of one’s character.

Troll’s feed on angst.

If one is feeding a troll, then one is reacting. If one is reacting, then the troll gains power over those that react. Don’t give trolls (spies, haxxors, griefers) control… it is all a matter of choice.

In the end, the only one that suffers is the one that chooses suffering.

Ahmrill.7512:

A gamers life and interest is limited. It’s been almost two years since people asked for a functional and flexible grouping system. By the time they “get around” to it most of the dedicated WvW players will be gone.

It needs addressed ASAP.

It’s all about risk management. The “burn-down” board the scrums are working off of is being populated by deliverables that are chiefly valued by bean counters.

IMHO, we are live witnessing (here) the downward spiral of the latest in a long line…

People have traveled different paths to get here and many have witnessed splendor and innovation. For example, some have traveled through (some version of):

• MU*
• Meridian59
• Ultima Online
• Lineage
• EverQuest
• Asheron’s Call
• Anarchy Online
• Final Fantasy
• Eve Online
• City of Heros/Villains
• World of Warcraft
• Star Wars Galaxies
• Dungeons & Dragons Online
• Lord of the Rings Online
• Age of Conan
• Warhammer Online
• Champions Online
• Star Trek Online
• Star Wars The Old Republic

…and some have traveled through them all (or even more that are not listed here).

Each reaches(ed) a plateau. RARE is it that any company can achieve the necessary support to push their (own) production product through a significant upgrade to the user experience.

I don’t deny that there are “tweeks” that enhance features that were not aligned with the original “cast in stone” (internal) expectations. I simply observe that the heritage player develops a sense of acceptance (akin to surrender) until a new innovation disrupts hir loyal play or that of the majority of hir friends.

Yes, gamers’ life and attention is limited. I would build on your statement and suggest that elite gamers’ tolerance and loyalty has explicit bounds. That boundary is influenced by both economic suitable substitutes and relationship gravity.

Game companies flirt with this risk when their product does not remain competitive in the entertainment market.

A year of waiting for a mature UI/UE for commanders is an eternity. That is a terribly long time for angst to build over stupidly simple things like chat suppression, pin colors, etc..

Add to that lag issues, rubber-banding, disconnects, and skill nullification — and the pump is primed for a mass exodus or population disruption as soon as the next mass combat offering is released.

To date, there has yet to release a “new” or “viable” (forward looking) alternative to WvW.

So, I agree, Ahmrill. Although, I fear the event horizon has already been crossed and gravitational forces will soon be ripping the elite community to another venue.

Yes, sad please. Can I has your stuff?

The entire premise of this thread is flawed. Luvpie, let me begin with — “You are a good commander. You teach well and you generally take defeat well — turning it into learning (for yourself and those that follow you). You have lead well since you and [Fang] were on CD. I would rank you as a senior talent.”

However, you also have a long history of trying to architect perfection — managing and controlling things outside your purview — resulting in you getting all unfocussed and losing perspective on “that which is possible, that which is pragmatic, and that which is beyond your control.”

You are fun to run with and you are fun as skilled opposition. But nonsense efforts like this simply fuel dissension and resentments among a population that needs little provocation to spoil about “unfairness.” — a read of the thread is illustrative.

If for no other reason, Nash Equilibrium quashes the notion that in a non-cooperative game, n+1 (rational) people will change their strategy when there is nothing to gain.

Altruism is not a sufficient motivator and “everyone benefits if they cooperate” (while idealistic) is not rational so long as non-cooperation is incented.

Please don’t misunderstand, I do not seek to squelch your voice or desire to ring-fence your creativity… I instead urge you to focus your voice in a more productive direction — to dedicate yourself to dialog (or at least outreach) with corporate actors that actually have accountability and are empowered to affect change.

My main is not a mesmer (although I have an 80 Mez). I have no problem being the “victim” of Mesmer lurve.

But let’s be clear about one thing: While temporal Temporal Curtain is nice, it is neither the only nor the greatest (read best) “knocker downer” available to defend JP.

• Necros can be devastating in JP
• Warriors can make your life a living hell in JP
• Hunters and Thieves both have exceptional “keep Copain away from the chest” abilities.

And that’s just a sample.

Please, please… think, make friends, and don’t sweat the small stuff.

I have long said that WvW JPs (along with all SPs and POIs) need a qualified PPT objective worthy of their capture and defense. If there is no PPT objective associated with a geographic location, then it is broadly considered fluff.

As to the specifics of the original post…

You can continue and take the blue pill… or, take the red pill and join the rest of us.

All fairness aside, from a WvW perspective, the “customer value” of any individual is directly proportional to their potential for post-purchase transactions.

We do not have any published statistics on the ratio of player commitment to PvE/sPvP/WvW. This forum is WvW centric and biased.

Paragraph Context — WvW — T6-T8 simply needs to go away. There is no WvW in those tiers (being at best, ghost town skirmishes). I’ve invested substantial time there and the play is neither compliant nor actionable to the design. T6-T8 servers exist for two principle reasons: 1) to handle burst, overflow play, 2) brand equity and image integrity in the marketplace; that is, both technical and business risk management.

Paragraph Context – PvE — While the general presence of “others” is diminished, I’d posit that the lower tiers offer a higher “open-field” PvE challenge to potential non-casual gamers.

Paragraph Context – sPvP — I have nothing valuable to contribute on the subject of sPvP but felt to omit it would be a tragedy.

The dissatisfaction of a petty economic minority does not (and should never) constitute a crisis of conscience on the part of the plurality of semi-molified, economic contributors.

Aurust.8961:

[/snip]
Id like to repost the post that one of my guildies managed to copy paste before it was deleted here, but it will get deleted again. If some1 can point me to kaineng forums ill gladly repost it there.

Good luck with that, there are a ridiculous number of “kaineng forums”.

www.wm-united.com
www.kaineng.enjin.com
www.neverendingodds.com
www.kainengserver.com
www.kainengcenter.com

Enjoy.

Kaineng TV has the best daytime lineup of drama lhama superstars!

CHIPS.6018:

General.7803:

[/snip WM forum pvp]

[/snip]
2) Forum discussions
What forum we use doesn’t sound like a huge issue. I don’t think Kaineng has an official forum yet. There is one (www.kainengcenter.com) that is trying to get started. Maybe used that one.

Actually, there are an unbelievable FIVE official Kaineng forums. It’s just maddness…

www.wm-united.com
www.kaineng.enjin.com
www.neverendingodds.com
www.kainengserver.com
www.kainengcenter.com

The first two sites don’t claim to be “official”. The third is an alliance site. And the last two have magically sprung up in the last week making wild claims to official status and the credible home of the community. /facepalm

Growing pains are not fun. I’m just particularly juiced that there is a cost to transfer now. “Sound collision. Brace for impact.” I think there are some rough times ahead for Kaineng.

You’d have to pry my tickets to this Drama Lhama prize-fight from my cold, dead fingers. Pass the popcorn…

This is just a ragequit thread. [FANG] and SoS are getting facerolled.

• It wasn’t easymode for [FANG] on Crystal Desert — solution: bandwagon to SoS.
• No more easymode for [FANG] on SoS — solution: rage quit.

It is one thing to thread up a discussion about coming change, exciting potential, or even impending developmental concerns; however, the entire tone of the dialog changes when one threatens to quit.

Chaster Sharpshooter.3640:

Jabtangs.9251:

I thank you your welcome Chaster.

Sorry for the late reply. I got informed that this thread existed by one of my guild mates. [/snip]

[/snip]

Please inform me directly if you have encounter any problems with any of my SoS members, as I’m the only authority at the moment over my 900 minions xD

PS: This is not like a “rule”, it’s more like simple respect of other cultures, and I believe this simple language respect is not too much to ask.[/snip]

And how has your simple respect approach been working out?

Rumor has it that the honeymoon is over. Rumor has it that [WM] has not been seen in WvW recently (only in sPvP and PvE). I suspect that some supplication is necessary.

If ever there was a time to strike, CD and YB should be cross-server grouping and in full on rally right now! Looks like mom and dad are having a spat.

shanmugong.6750:

For the first time in this match-up, we can take a well deserved break, in the middle of a battle, without being run over by the Kaineng Zerg.

Interesting key mappings.

Caedmon.6798:

And for people saying..“now you just have to use 3 mesmers to portal bom them all in the same spot”…Please think for a second,they make a change like this for a reason,you’re trying to find a way to bypass it simply by making More portal bombs..You want them to do something about that too ?

Within minutes of the patch going live, the Tier 1 response was… “Ok, cool. More Mesmers, same results.” (Reference Thread: Mesmer Portal Nerfed)

We have been living with this patch now for several weeks (~25 days since patch as I write this). There has been little or no change to business as usual. ANet can lower the cap to 5 players and the net effect will be… MORE MESMERS. Because portal bombs (and leveraging culling) offers too great an incentive.

It is not a bypass. Measure behavior — incentivize results.

“Tell me how you measure me and I will tell you how I will behave.”
— Eliyahu M. Goldratt, author , The Goal — A Process of Ongoing Improvement

Azerwyn is my 80 mesmer. I have no problems with the changes that have taken place with the class. I hit what I legitimately target. I portal, invis, timewarp, null field, etc when appropriate.

I’m not dissatisfied with the changes. In fact, I find that mesmer services are in higher demand now than at any time in the past.

Average and below-average mesmers are being forced to learn and grow to be above-average and excellent mesmers. Mesmers can’t just hover on the sidelines anymore, the now must roll up their sleeves and become an intimate part of planning and execution.

@Quillixx and @ Durkon,

I question your motives for doing your laundry here. JQ culture has had no problem with introspection, self-analysis, and port-mortem debates at jadequarry.com

You are entitled to your opinion. However, public forum cannibals instantly lose respect and credibility. All comments are welcome, however, don’t expect anyone with integrity to respond to or defend against cannibalism in this venue.

Thobek.1730:

What area of the world do JQ’s players mainly come from? are they mostly asian? US? australian?

Mainly? That might be tough to nail down precisely. I don’t keep counts, but I do count countries. I just find it interesting.

This is the list of 86 countries I’ve compiled from the people with whom I’ve met, grouped, and socialized with on JQ:

Australia, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Republic of (South Korea), Macau, Taiwan (Republic of China), Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Russian Federation, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Anguilla, Barbados, Dominica, Martinique, Montserrat, Virgin Islands (U.S.), Indonesia, Cyprus, Fiji, Guam,
Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Bermuda, Mexico, United States, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Great Britain, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, New Zealand, American Samoa, India, Philippines, Singapore, Albania, Greece, Italy, Montekitten, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Chile

Not all were playing from where they were “from” and not everyone was “from” where they were playing.

I think JQ’s cultural diversity is (for lack of a better term) great. Not to mention I get jazzed when I encounter someone from someplace I can’t quickly find on a map!

Very good spread and cover, SoS. Nice protection even on your softer objectives. Effective flippage and response to crossing up. Multiple 15-20 man teams + picnic ants for added muscle. Some tough competition in the wee morning. /tiphat

I reject the premise in the OP argument. In order to have a solution one has to agree on the problem. I don’t agree that “zergs” or “zerg’ing” is a problem. I also don’t accept the characterization of “zerg servers.”

I have spent time on about half the servers in the fleet. My main; however, is permanently parked on JQ. I have met some amazing people on HIGH pop servers and LOW pop servers and I have come to understand that there is extraordinary cultural diversity among and between our servers.

Vomiting out a tantrum and threatening a rage quit is simply unproductive.

I’m sorry that your experience has not been aligned with your expectations. You can either seek out new experiences or change your expectations. There are alternative server choices for you. And you can always reset your definition of success.

Ultimately, you must accept personal responsibility for your own “meaningful play” and quality recreational time. ANet does not own your right to decide what server will bring you the most joy.

The decision to transfer is yours… and yours alone.

Bottom Line: Own your own happiness!

Slick Ling.6451:

I think there should be an unofficial Voice chat server for our servers. in my case, TC. It’s address is stickied on the GW2 Official Forums (this forum: it would list 1 address per server)The owner mutes everyone by default and only gives voice to those intelligent enough to lead. It’d be a community effort that would require a substantial amount of work and coperation. Guild leaders may request access of course to speed thigs up. Admin would use their discretion…the community would police itself.

To accommodate server costs the TC community can send items/gold to server host through mail. Likewise, any fan sites can donate some of their revenue to the host.

Thoughts??

IMHO, every server needs Website and VOIP services.

A few thoughts… all of these are elements that influence server Web/VOIP issues.

• Every server develops its own culture from the unique mix of social DNA.
• Every server’s culture is ALWAYS in a state of change.
• Guild loyalty, guild VOIPs, and xenophobia often trump Server Web and VOIP Needs.
• “intelligent enough” <— OMG, that is slippery slope, BAD wordsmithing. VETO!
• Alliances are rarely sustainable and cause more problems than they solve.
• Cults-of-personality should be nurtured but never allowed to rule.
• Altruistic individuals and cannibals both exist on every server — it’s up to YOU to know who they are and protect one from the other.

Every effort must be made to disassociate RL money issues from the use and advantages of services enjoyed by the community.

People will naturally resist change. People will not joyfully come running to third-party service. It is a long, continuous slog to drive “cultural norming” to participate. Participation MUST be easy. People must always feel welcome. People must always feel their participation is advantageous (provides greater benefit to THEIR play) over non-participation.

ALL of these perception issues MUST be from the point-of-view of the general membership. No one cares what benefits someone else. No one cares what YOU think. WIIFM — What’s in it for me? You must drive the benefit, demonstrate value, and practice the change that you want to see in order for it to become real for everyone else.

You asked for thoughts… I hope there is something in my experience, strength, and hope that you (or someone) finds helpful.

[ed-grammar]

Discussion of exploitation or hacks is inappropriate. This thread is way off the reservation. Please lock and/or delete.

I agree.

I normally measure my words or softpedal a message; however, there is no diplomatic way to express my cynical and casual disrespect for such stupid (and easy to fix) design failures:

The Three Pillars of ANet Layout & Design

• “Prototype is production.”
• “The perfect must always oppose the good.”
• “No good deed goes unpunished.”

A bucket of talcum powder could figure out that the placement of waypoints and vendors is wacked and unbalanced. My seven year old nephew commented that it was “silly” to have to “run like that to fix armor in the castle” when it’s so “handy in the look” (he meant overlook). <boggle> A seven year-old figured it out!

There have been many industry “leaders” that have driven the market by having a product that is both high-end spec’d and very desirable. But in those cases, quality is also a battle standard.

I believe the business decision making is overly risk averse (conservative).

Jedahs.2713:

I have a new view on this. In order to make WvW work again, we should simply move all WvW guilds to the top 6 servers.

That way, there would actually be people playing. Even in tier 1, at least 2 boarderlands is constantly empty.

There are brainstorm ideas. And then there are Bad™ ideas.

No. Just no.

There is so much to this suggestion that is myopic, arrogant, discriminatory, and just plain obnoxious. There is nothing that isn’t manipulative, self-serving, or abusive if this were to be put into motion.

Jedahs.2713:

At the moment its just all empty boarderlands. I’m talking about the situation with tier 1 for the past 5 weeks

And SoS just happens to have won 1st for the past 5 weeks. Coincidence? Or myth?

I think you are practicing revisionist history. Which is a diplomatic term…

Azerwyn is my 80 mezr and I echo the wierd “buggish” nature of Spatial Surge (1), Mirror Blade (2), and Phantasmal Berserker (4) when it comes to siege combat.

Much of the time I get “Obstructed.” Sometimes I get “Out of Range.” But there are wierd times when I legitimately connect and then the target moves (to an obstructed location)… and auto-attack sometimes (rarely) connects but generally fails.

For my part, I don’t consider it an exploit. This is my basic thought… I don’t care how large your kitten is… and please don’t feel offended, but if I can’t see you then you’re really not significant enough in my world to care about.

I am certain that every enemy Mesmers out there shares your concerns. So please, stop standing behind obstructions and creating all this confusion. Present yourself as a clear target so there is no uncertainty! That way there is no question whether you are exploiting… be a good target!

Golems and trebs will despawn faster than 30 minutes with the latest patch.

Golems have been reported to despawn as fast as 10 minutes of inactivity. I have not witnessed this, but we no longer leave golems unattended. We now have golem minders that “tend” to them like sheep. They hop into, punch them, and hop out in rotation. When you have 20-30 of them across four maps… they are simply too expensive of a shared investment to risk.

I’ve seen trebs despawn in 20 minutes of inactivity since the recent patch. At 100 supply they are as expensive as golems (in terms of supply), but oddly because they don’t cross that 1g psychological barrier people don’t seem to mind that they go poof as much <boggle>. Given that they have so very little stamina and fire rate… the abacus says, their bang for buck hurts all the more when they are lost.

Are there plans to change the timers on siege equipment? Changes just happened… the times were decreased.

[ed- now, I do like juicy rumor… and this one I thought was good: “there is discussion to make siege persistent across flips (change ownership)” I personally don’t think it will ever happen. I think it is/was a wishful thinking rumor. The concept cuts into the gold sink that is siege. But I thought it was flirtatiously amusing… so I share.]

Since the game isn’t about grind <cough>, I’ll kindly await the Legendary Fairy to come skipping through WvW. Some say it will be a cold day in Jumping Puzzle hell, but I think it’s more likely than the impending Valentines Day massacre some suspect is on the horizon. No doubt, after which, we will probably collecting bloody stumps as Bunny season approaches and soon after that it’ll be all about eating stewed Leprecauns!

Oh my, the work of a legend never ends…

Yes, timers exist at locations that have waypoints.
No, there have been no announcements made to remove such (nor might I add has this even been raised as an issue, afaik). INAD.

BroScientist.9875:

I never know if I should run back and forth for supply to repair walls/gates. (/snipped)

This is a complex question. But at its heart is the question of repair and supply usage. I’d agree with the comments from my friend from SBI. I would add the following—

Default behavior: NEVER draw down supply from garrison, keep, or towers… unless specifically instructed to do so by the map commander.

If you are the map commander, well you should know when it is appropriate.

You should always draft supply from camps for repairs and build-outs. While less convenient, it will save your kitten in the long run.

And NEVER, NEVER, NEVER… put repair into a wall or gate that is being actively range trebbed — UNLESS you just want/need to burn supply to keep the enemy from getting it — but again that is a command decision.

If you are ever unsure just ask, “Are we burning <location> supply?”

Never let your supply discipline get sloppy. Drive your server culture with regular, consistent, and repeated messaging to remind the old timers of the boundaries and the newcomers of the expectations.

Some of the nuance in the rest of your question is really better learned from listening or following others (or on the tough days, from the school of hard knocks… from making mistakes).

I do not agree that message suppression should change.

I do; however, believe that people are generally xenophobic, self-absorbed, and ignorant to the point that they are unwilling to consider centralized voip (ventrilo, teamspeak, mumble) services. By that I mean,

• People don’t know what they don’t know.
• People do what they know.
• People don’t like change.

On servers where there is centralized voip service,

• Commanders spend less time typing and more time:
  1. looking over the horizon
  2. sharing the strategic vision
  3. communicating tactical resteers
  4. collaborating among themselves
  5. facilitating pug and new player success
  6. managing proactive teams instead of firefighting or anti-terrorism
• There is more organization and coordination.

Yes, there are challenges. But there are also challenges with chat. It is stupid to simply discount a tool or technology because one has fear, uncertainty, or doubt.

Until you achieve suppression satisfaction, consider that there are alternatives out there to augment your comms. AND yes, that might mean you have to move your guild voice comms to the server comms. YES, it may mean that you have to move heaven and earth to get people on your server into the server voip… But it is worth every bit of blood, sweat, and tears!

Why let the perfect get in the way of the possible?

Post-Script Edit — Jade Quarry owes much of its collaborative sustainability to its cultural embrace of server-wide teamspeak3 (and JQ web resources). And yes, JQ still struggles every day with those that would rather stand apart than be a part.

The challenge is that such rewards are ethereal… or perhaps spiritual. The OP is speaking almost more to the “art” of play than the “mechanics” of play. And I cannot necessarily disagree.

IMHO, in addition to the chest incentive, there should be 3 objectives in the EB JP that offer WvW ppt incentives (and one ppt incentive per BL JP).

The objectives should be “placed” in such a way that neutralizes (or marginalizes) portal supremacy. Mesmer portals should still be allowed and beneficial, but it should be difficult to single portal to any objective. <— I don’t seek to enrage either pro/con mesmer factions.

But back on point… In WvW, JPs, NPC Champions, and PvE objectives TAKE AWAY from the WvW play experience. As they are implemented, I believe they violate the spirit of WvW broadly and diminish the potential of WvW.

Every element in WvW should have a meaningful connection to the atmosphere, mechanics, or playful execution of WvW or it should be given serious consideration for removal.

This is not rocket surgery. Keep it concise for the profoundly uninformed.

• Incentives encourage behavior.
• Disincentives discourage behavior.

We reward those things that we want to see more of and punish those things that we want to see less of…

It is important to understand:

• each and every player has a different “feel” for what is meaningful play (to them),
• each and every player projects his/her beliefs of meaningful play on others,
• factions form when “like minded” groups of similarly “feeling” players connect.

Therefore, threads like this that attempt to establish a “silver bullet” premise are simply obtuse and myopic. That said, while I disagree with the title and premise of the OP, I honestly believe there is good intention behind the thoughts. The OP almost begins to hint at achieving a pedestrian argument (socio-economics).

But, it all goes to hell in the end. I would not throw out the baby with the bath water.

For more information:

• Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (“The Ivory Tower”)
• Meaningful Play Conference (“Keeping it Real”)

Jedahs.2713:

:( Still on vacation

This is what I’m talking about. I am spending time with friends and family for new year and all I’m feeling is guilt and shame because my absence is contributing to the loss.

Before new year SoS was leading 10K. Wake up and see JQ ahead by 20k. Worst new year morning ever.

Thanks Anet

Yup, Anet deserves all the credit for your guilt and shame — and miserable celebratory awakening. <boggle> There are some villains that just have a way of eroding our better angels. I’ll leave it to you to ferret out the villain and to what better angels I refer.

Eviator.9746:

How about those with the commander triangle on not commanding. So we get random people giving orders and nobody knows if there is real leadership, or someone unknowingly walking others into a trap.

There is a distinct difference between command and leadership.

• Commanders have those that obey (or not). — Leaders win followers.
• Commanders react to change. — Leaders create change.
• Commanders have good ideas. — Leaders implement good ideas.
• Commanders communicate. — Leaders persuade.
• Commanders direct groups. — Leaders create teams.
• Commanders try to be heroes. — Leaders make heroes of everyone around them.
• Commanders take credit. — Leaders take responsibility.
• Commanders are focused. — Leaders create shared focus.
• Commanders exercise power over people. — Leaders develop power with people.

I have been decidedly mistaken on many occasions. But when I dedicated myself fully to the service of facilitating the success of others, never have those that have put their faith and trust in me allowed me to falter. It is to them that I owe everything, for they are the real success.

And for those of you out there that do not have a commander pin… you don’t need a title or a badge to be a leader — they follow because they are inspired to achieve more…

And people wonder why I wrote this Best of 2012 post…

DeadlyRush.1620:

The spirit of the game is to have fun. What the hell you guys been playing come on? As I said this is not an exploit as there was nothing gain from what they done.

Are you braindead? Did you read the thread?

Destroyer.1306:

Cover Girl.2580:

they destroyed a lot of siege golems parked in citadel.

Well then I guess they did benefit, lol.

DeadlyRush.1620:

Let me assure you that it is no wall jumping or exploit. It is an easy jump. As easy to jump in as it is to jump into the vale supply camp from the south east exit.

This by no means an insult. Its the end of the week and i think these guys just want to have fun. You all get free loot from them so whats to complain.

This violates the spirit of the game. Exploitation should not be tolerated anytime, anywhere, for any reason. Defense of exploitation is intolerable.

Keep it up. Perception becomes reality. When does the apple become an apple core? How much of this kind of exploitative “fun” is acceptable before damage to reputation begins? How many times is exploitative “fun” defensible, legitimate?

No. This exploitation unacceptable. And, in rare form, I’d suggest this day, the gold in the crown has become tarnished.

IMHO, there are a few people who are (what I refer to as) community “linchpins” — people who are central, pivotal, key figures. Jedbacca is one of those figures. While I presented a dab of humor in my previous post, I wish to embellish, revise, and extend my remarks with a somber, sincere appeal for ANET to give serious consideration to reviewing this case.

Jedbacca is one of those rare individuals that transcend guild and server boundaries and has a significant, if not profound and uplifting, effect on the community. I believe the brand integrity would be better served by a thoughtful and face saving graceful sidestep from what might otherwise be a painful impact to the community.

Put my free Jedbacca in a thong, dipped in white chocolate and covered in sprinkles!

wha? OH… this isn’t the Shopping Channel, after Holiday Madness Sale?

Cover Girl.2580:

SOS once again ending up where they don’t belong. Sad to see TSym and OCX involved in this one.

OMG … That is just …. OMG!

They are all up in your holiday gifts! That’s some serious Bah Humbug™!

TSym has some ’splaining to do… or they can just transfer to Kaineng.

SBI, because I believe that a plurality of their membership demonstrate remarkable humor in the face of adversity, poise in the face of indignity, and humility in victory.

My SBI siblings hold me to a higher standard than the other competition and remarkably, they expect me to return the favor. Together, I believe we make a better battlefield and living landscape.

SBI is fun to fight. But SBI is also fun to occasionally stare at… point at… laugh at… and even skip and go naked through the forest with! Or stand in a damp jumping puzzle tunnel surrounded by smelly, drooling, “sorrowful” souls.

I shared my 7 Things Successful Leaders Do Differently at jadequarry.com. It is still publicly available and I believe it is very material to the OP topic.

However, since it is impossible to plagerize ones own work, I’ll reprint it here for your pleasure (although I think the formatting there is prettier)

1. Successful Leaders put relationships first.

Successful leaders not only build networks, but they also nurture the connections they make. Robert Martin illustrates this point well when he says, “Taking an interest in what others are thinking and doing is often a much more powerful form of encouragement than praise.”

2. Successful Leaders know that meaning matters.

Many people, particularly millennials, build their lives around having fun, giving back and doing something that will uplift others in some way. Successful leaders know how their efforts fit into a broader, more significant context.

3. Successful Leaders use humor appropriately.

Successful leaders deal with tough stuff, but they fight back with levity. Since humor builds positive emotion, it can also help reduce feelings of anger, depression, and anxiety. Top leaders know just the right amount of humor that is appropriate.

4. Successful Leaders lead and live with their strengths.

Successful leaders understand that they cannot be everything to everybody and still remain effective; instead, they have a keen awareness of how to leverage their unique blend of strengths, skills, and talents.

5. Successful Leaders manage pessimistic thinking.

Successful leaders reign in their pessimistic thinking in three ways:

• First, they focus their time and energy on where they have control. They know when to move on if certain strategies aren’t working or if they don’t have control in a specific area.
• Second, they know that “this too shall pass.” Successful leaders “embrace the suck” and understand that while the ride might be bumpy at times, it won’t last forever.
• Finally, great leaders are good at compartmentalizing. They don’t let an adversity in one area of their life seep over into other areas of their life.

6. Successful Leaders make their own luck.

The concept of “grit”—perseverance and passion for long-term goals, is not new. The best leaders are not more athletic, well-rounded, or smarter—they are grittier; in fact, grit is now the principal test for success at West Point than IQ or standardized test scores. Successful leaders pursue goals with passion, don’t back down from challenges, don’t allow a failure to define who they are as a person – simply put, they don’t quit, they don’t surrender, they don’t give up.

7. Successful Leaders manage their energy.

Jim Loehr, co-author of the Harvard Business Review article entitled, “The Making of a Corporate Athlete,” describes an ideal performance state as prolonged and sustained high performance over time. Burnout is a potential reality for troops in combat, athletes on the field, workers in business. Successful leaders become adept at moving between energy expenditure (stress) and energy renewal (recovery).

Joel Baker said it best when he said:

“A leader is a person you will follow to a place you wouldn’t go by yourself.”

coronbale.3894:

TSYM from SoS (server not guild) here, if I might make a suggestion.

This weekend, with family visits on me, I had a few hours to kick around. In that time I was able to throw together (with zero knoledge on design) a fully made site for my guild.

My site used http://www.enjin.com/

SoS (again, the server) has a server site, complete with forums. We use it for all sorts of things, including getting through grievances between guilds. My recommendation is to fire one of these up, invite your powerhouse of a guild lineup to join, and start handling little things like this internally.

If you do it on the main forums, you will get EVERYONES input, including mine

Best of luck!
TSYM

Kaineng Community Server? Apparently, someone took your advice. kaineng.enjin.com

Kyiv.9621:

In tier 1, they would help you up until the point where you could see the chest, then kill you, followed by dancing, laughing and jumping on your dead body.

<scribble notes> Got it… thanks.

(actually, a lot depends on time of day and music selection… there is a huge difference between the willingness to cooperate when we’re rocking a polka instead of a thumpa-thumpa house groove)

[ed – on a serious note – and I write this carefully because I don’t want to get infracted – one of our opposition is demonstrating a new camping tactic in the JP drop/spawn that is “innovative” and creating substantial amount of dirty underwear for people spawing in… I’ll leave it at that.]

Hand-me-down tactic. It was a disgusting trend in Tier 1 a couple weeks ago.

SBI Complained About Rams In Camp

There is little that can be done except to report it or to seek out a modestly friendly contact in the opposition that is willing to help wack them down for you…

But keep in mind, there are logistical challenges, npc challenges, etc. And if your spy decides to defend his rams… <grumble>. Just have your screenshot camera ready!

If you don’t already have a couple names in the opposition in your contact list, you might consider finding/adding a few… there has to be at least a couple people (opposition) in the forums that you’ve come to appreciate or respect.

Send them a PM some time… it can never hurt to have a back-channel contact in the opposition. If nothing else, you can always threaten to recruit them. <evil grin> … or worse yet, send them the rare in-game whisper and thank them for kicking your teeth in on the field.

Churros.7196:

Have some foreign people next to you that were speaking in chinese(or whatever language) and started to burst out in laughter? yeah, they are making fun of your clothing preference, or your face.

This is an issue for professional therapy… not for this forum. I’m not inclined to report this, but please don’t go down this rabbit hole any further.

MiceElf.6897:

Wow. Again, I feel the need to point out – it’s just a game, and we are all just normal people. Really.

Normal is relative. I think there is normal and there are those that are normally possessed of qualities normally found in leadership. In the normal world this is normally not questioned.

People rise to the level of expectation that surrounds them. You want average… model average. You want normal… model normal.

I want exceptional. I want excellence. I demand excellence from myself and no other. If people choose to model on that behavior, good on them. If not, good on them. It is not my place to tell others how to have fun. But it is my place to demand excellence from those that presume to lead me and model good followership.

Harbinger.8637:

It’s a game chill out.

That chill out thing works for you does it?

Two points:

1. Fun is winning to some people — Not just chilling out. Why then do we keep score?
2. Remind the community again what rank your server is… what’s your ppt?

This is the game I play. I don’t ask you to play my game nor will I shun you if you choose not to play my game.

I reject the premise that normal is an acceptable standard.

I want everyone to feel special. I want everyone to feel important. I need everyone to feel that electric vibe that lifts them all up to a place of greater achievement beyond their own imagining… attaining success beyond their own belief.

We serve epic disaster upon our enemies and marvel at the sheer audacity of our courage and determination. Everyone in our army is extraordinary! It is from extraordinary contributions of extraordinary people that legends are born, legacies are forged, and tales are told across worlds.

THIS we do not achieve with normal.

I have enough normal in the RealWorld™. We bring Extraordinary™ to GW2 and you can always count on Jade Quarry to provide a home to others that seek an Extraordinary™ experience.