Ok, this topic is in no way not advocating non-conquest game modes, but it has been made clear in the past that balance in PvP will be surrounding the conquest game type.

So this is my idea to propose a different- ish game mode that could be very beneficial for the community. As the title suggests, what I'm proposing is smaller conquests maps that contain two nodes, with a power up usually in the middle. It'll be three players per team, and first to 250.

What I'm also suggesting is an additional feature be added to PvP: allow players to swap characters on death, akin to what Overwatch has. You cannot re-trait your character though, these characters will need to be set up pre-game via a character assembly interface. You also cannot swap to a class that is already in play, on your team.

So what are the benefits to this smaller conquest mode?

Less players = more games = more balanced matchmaking

Whether or not you believe the population is in decline, the above will always be true. It'll be easier to match-make because their are simply less variables to balance.

Better quality fights

3 vs 3 will mean the standard battle will be 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, and 2 vs 1. I feel one of the deterrents of PvP for newer players is that large team fights are often too confusing and difficult to practice and improve in. Again, there are simply too many variables in a large team fights. There'll also be way less visual clutter.

Faster matches

This one may purely be my preference, but since there are less players it seems to make sense that the scores are adjusted accordingly.

Two nodes

Smaller maps, but with more terrain features. Frequent Power ups at the middle of the map.

And perhaps controversially, character swap on death. What is perhaps the problem with PvP at the moment is the notion of being outplayed simply for team compositions. Pre-patch, there was a general consensus that it is incredibly difficult to defeat scourges, firebrands and spellbreakers if your build didn't specifically counter their abilities. This feature will allow players to select another character they have stored in their PvP interface, and respawn as the newly selected character. Players can store a maximum of three characters, each of different class, so it'd probably make sense to be able to play an offensive, defensive and support role. To make this feature work, a player cannot select a class that is currently being fielded by their teammate (no class stacking).

So what are the benefits of this feature?

Balance is still preserved

As the game mode essentially is still conquest, there won't be any extensive re-balancing required. The removal of class stacking furthers this also.

Less random counter-build win/losses

Games will be less about what class you entered the match with, and more about how you choose to adapt throughout the match by switching classes.

Its going to be a heck of a lot more fun

It really, really is.

ignoring that anet have stated that they have no intention of developing new pvp gamemodes- actually no wait i don’t think we can ignore that.

so i guess my review has to be cool idea (i really like the character switching + class locking), big waste of time to write it out. sure i’d play it if i could queue as a three man party, but i’d also use a time machine to date a young catherine zeta-jones. both of which have about equal likelihood of happening.

@choovanski.5462 said:ignoring that anet have stated that they have no intention of developing new pvp gamemodes- actually no wait i don’t think we can ignore that.

so i guess my review has to be cool idea (i really like the character switching + class locking), big waste of time to write it out. sure i’d play it if i could queue as a three man party, but i’d also use a time machine to date a young catherine zeta-jones. both of which have about equal likelihood of happening.

I think they dont want to make new pvp game modes because of the balance issue. This wouldn't have that issue because it'd still be conquest.

@kKagari.6804 said:

@choovanski.5462 said:ignoring that anet have stated that they have no intention of developing new pvp gamemodes- actually no wait i don’t think we can ignore that.

so i guess my review has to be cool idea (i really like the character switching + class locking), big waste of time to write it out. sure i’d play it if i could queue as a three man party, but i’d also use a time machine to date a young catherine zeta-jones. both of which have about equal likelihood of happening.

this requires:new mapsnew UI (for both queue & class switching)heavy coding for character switching

all of which mandate a pretty heavy time investment. anet has never said they don’t want to do new gamemodes due to balancing issues. considering how negligent they are with both WvW & PvP balance i would doubt that is their reason too. i would guess they just don’t want to devote resources to it.

consider the fact 2v2 tournaments have been successful & popular in the past with conquest balance, & that there is a 2v2 custom map- & that anet have said they intend to do nothing with 2v2. adding a 2v2 queue would be significantly less work than what you propose so i just don’t see it happening.

sorry dude, but i’d be preparing myself for a big load of nothing.

@kKagari.6804 said:

@choovanski.5462 said:ignoring that anet have stated that they have no intention of developing new pvp gamemodes- actually no wait i don’t think we can ignore that.

so i guess my review has to be cool idea (i really like the character switching + class locking), big waste of time to write it out. sure i’d play it if i could queue as a three man party, but i’d also use a time machine to date a young catherine zeta-jones. both of which have about equal likelihood of happening.

Well that, and every new game mode they have created has been an epic failure due to poor implementation. Even decreasing the team sizes has an effect on balancing though, and Anet has made it clear they no long have any desire to put in the effort to work on anything other than 5v5 conquest for PvP.

@choovanski.5462 said:

@kKagari.6804 said:

@choovanski.5462 said:ignoring that anet have stated that they have no intention of developing new pvp gamemodes- actually no wait i don’t think we can ignore that.

so i guess my review has to be cool idea (i really like the character switching + class locking), big waste of time to write it out. sure i’d play it if i could queue as a three man party, but i’d also use a time machine to date a young catherine zeta-jones. both of which have about equal likelihood of happening.

hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng :(