What Would You Want The Next Guild Wars (GW3?) To Look Like

Let's have some fun for a change. I play mainly WVW and, to be honest, I've grown tired of the debate on how to fix that mode. But that debate got me thinking that a solution that addresses only WVW and not the whole game may not be best for the longevity of the Guild Wars franchise. Why can't we have something that integrates all the modes into a Guild-centric game reflective of the franchise name "GUILD WARS?" What would the Guild Wars franchise look like if Arena Net decided to use the mechanics and maps currently found in GW2 and introduced an economy and strategy system that rewarded Guilds and Alliances and not just individuals? Want the best gear? Want to spend less for "necessities" like food and utilities? Want to waypoint from one map to another with less cost than other people? Join a guild, start a guild, form an alliance between guilds.

The basic structure underlying GW2 is strong enough that making changes to the economy and rewards system could produce an entirely new game. The intent of this post was twofold: generate ideas that would foster the growth of the Guild as the center of the game community (now I don't want my WVW server back so much) and identify ideas that would reward guilds who are successful across the spectrum of the game and not just in one mode. So, what would that look like? What follows are my ideas only. I would love to hear what others in the GW2 community, would/could be looking for in GW3 or a future "realignment" of GW2 or in GW3. There are several boundaries I'd ask everyone to stay within:

• Existing GW2 maps are to be used (all maps...open world PVE, WVW, EOTM)
• Existing GW2 game modes (open world PVE, WVW, and PVP) must be integrated into one "rewards" structure
• GW2 game mechanics such as use of skills and NPC interactions will not be changed

So, to start things off, here's what I was thinking:

• This version of the game would be focused on guild level performance during "seasons" which run as described below-- Each season is three weeks long-- There is a one week "intermission" between each season

• Guilds will be grouped into size/experience classes based on-- Number of Guild Members-- Participation rates in all modes (PVE, WVW, PVP)-- Guild size will be limited to 200...Yes, decisions will have to be made on who stays and who goes

• Players can be in multiple Guilds but only play in one Guild per size/experience class at a time-- I'm in a guild that is 500 strong, does WVW, has multiple PVP teams, and does world events - my large guild-- I'm also in a 50 person Guild that is PVE only - my small guild-- Players must declare/change their play guilds during the intermission week only

• Guilds will receive an overall Guild Score at the conclusion of each "season"-- PVE Component--- World Events participation score--- Map Completion--- Fractal's Accomplished--- Dungeons Completed--- Raids Completed--- Life Skills Accomplished---- Gathering---- Lumbering---- Mining--- Guild Missions Completed-- WVW Component--- Participation-- PVP Component--- ??? Need help here as I don't/have never PVP'd-- GVG Component--- Guilds can declare war on another guild but that declaration must be accepted to be in effect---- Makes each member of each guild "vulnerable" to the other guilds members across each map/mode--- War makes players of each guild vulnerable to each other on any map (PVE, WVW, EOTM)---- Large scale combat - Scheduled GVG, Raids on "hostile" Guild Maps----- Waypoints can be used by both...---- Small scale combat - 1 v 1/some v some on a non WVW/EOTM Map--- A guild declining a GVG challenge will pay a fine to the declaring guild...amount TBD

• Alliances between guilds would be encouraged and rewarded-- A lead guild will form and manage each alliance--- Build alliances based on proficiencies of all guilds...PVE, PVP, WVW--- Lead guild negotiates terms with other guilds...will require a new user interface to feed score/reward algorithms---- Share of revenue streams from guild controlled maps---- Transfer of guild items between guilds (can't build WVW siege, your partners can transfer/sell some to you)---- Schedules/plans for WVW commanders, Raid leaders, crafting needs, etc.-- The size of an Alliance must somehow be "controlled" to promote competitiveness--- Maybe award bonus points for an alliance that is comprised of multiple small guilds more than one of large guilds-- The Guild Scores of alliance members would be factored into the overall end Guild Score of individual guilds--- I'm not sure what that algorithm would consist of but it's needed---- An additive score may give a large alliance too much control of everything and not promote competitiveness---- Something that amalgamates inversely proportional to Guild size is interesting----- The smaller the guild the more their guild score counts for the larger guilds in the alliance individual score----- This could compel fight guilds to seek alliance with smaller PVE guilds (crafters/gatherers/Raiders/etc.)

• The one week "intermission" period between seasons exists to:-- Allow Anet time to process which guilds control which maps-- Allow guilds to change/form alliances for next season

• Guilds "bid" for control of one existing PVE map-- Map control based on overall Guild Score achieved during the last "season"-- Maps with "World Events" more desirable than those with no "World Events"--- Collect a fee when non guild member enters map through portal from another map - transfer fee--- Collect % of fee when waypoints used to access world events like Shatterer/Tequatle/etc-- Map control starts at reset for the start of the next "season"-- Owning Guild receives a percentage of funds collected when marketplace/sales point NPC's used--- Food/Utilities (for example) cost less in a map your own guild owns--- Emptying your bags on a map your guild doesn't own gives percentage of sale to owning guild-- Guilds can designate their maps PVP or PVE for the period they own the map (this might not go over well)--- PVP map is open warfare but reduces the opportunity for collecting fees--- PVE map is fewer opportunities for fights but more opportunity for collecting fees--- ANET WORK: mark maps in some manner to indicate status to everyone prior to entering-- Cultural cities (Lions Arch, Divinity's Reach, Etc.) count as a map and are available for guild control

• Guilds must be in existence for two seasons before they may bid on control of a map

• "REVENUE" STREAMS-- PVE--- Marketplace (MP)---- Ten percent (10%) of each sale within a map goes to the guild storage coffer---- Alliance guild members are not charged the additional fee--- NPC's---- Ten percent (10%) of each sale within a map goes to the guild storage coffer---- Alliance guild members are not charged the additional fee--- Cultural Vendors---- Ten percent of each purchase is converted into some credit guilds can spend for guild specific items---- Alliance guild members are not charged the additional fee--- Waypoints---- All Waypoint fees go the guild controlling the map at the time of the transit---- Alliance guild members transport for free across Alliance controlled maps--- Map Portals---- Entrance to map your guild doesn't control will require payment of an entry fee (TBD) to the controlling guild---- Alliance guild members are granted free entry into Alliance controlled maps-- WVW--- MP vendors send ten percent (10%) of each sale to guild having highest score on that map at the time of the sale--- NPC's send ten percent (10%) of each sale to guild having highest score on that map at the time of the sale-- PVP--- ??? Need help here as I don't/have never PVP'd-- GVG--- Each guild in a GVG situation contributes gold from their guild fund/storage (cost TBD) to the reward kitty--- Winner take all--- Losing guild pays a doubled fee for using waypoints within the winning guilds maps for that season--- Losing guild pays a doubled fee for entering the winning guilds maps for that season

• REWARDS-- Guild Store--- Guild members procure "better" stuff here---- Weapons---- Armor--- Guilds procure stuff here that makes them better at guild things across the modes---- Siege---- Buffs and Boons--- Purchase additional Guild Content---- Access/early access to new Raid Wings---- Access/early access to new and/or higher level Dungeons and Fractals-- Crafting--- Guilds will be able to craft items and place those they deem "excess" up for sale on the Guild Market Place--- Individuals will be able to craft items and place them onto the Market Place---- A fifteen percent (15%) placement fee is charged at time of each sale, fee going to the member's guilds fund---- Should a player not belong to a guild, the 15% fee goes to guild that controls the map where the sale occurs

I would love the game to become one where "success" is determined by those guilds that are proficient across all modes and know how to cooperate with other guilds. I would not desire seeing one where one guild could become so large that it could dominate on it's own. I'm not sure where the cutoff line on size should be but I believe there needs to be one. To rise to the top, a guild would need to be adept at both strategy and button mashing.

As I said above, my main play mode is WVW. I thought about placing this in the WVW forum but I think that people who participate in other modes would have to make contributions for this discussion to be fun. I don't want to put a post in every forum. So, if anyone thinks this thread is worthy, please let others know it's active (big assumption) in this area. My apologies if this has been done before (I haven't seen that/those posts). Thanks for reading and let's hear your ideas.

It's a bit confusing. Do Guilds get to opt out of wanting to PvP, and not have to pay a fine for doing so? Are maps available without any PvP whatsoever?Must members of non-PvP Guilds pay to enter maps, even though they want nothing to do with PvP? If there are enough PvP-Guilds to control all maps, where do non-PvP-interested players play?

@"Inculpatus cedo.9234" said:It's a bit confusing. Do Guilds get to opt out of wanting to PvP, and not have to pay a fine for doing so? Are maps available without any PvP whatsoever?Must members of non-PvP Guilds pay to enter maps, even though they want nothing to do with PvP? If there are enough PvP-Guilds to control all maps, where do non-PvP-interested players play?

For me, I would want guilds to have the option to declare a map for PVP. I guess it could be possible that every map could be declared as PVP during a given season. The question would be does this hurt the overall game or would it cause guilds to form different alliances to prevent it from happening in the next season? If every map in the "Large" Guild realm were PVP then maybe most players would play their medium or small guild characters during the remainder of that season. Or, maybe this feature would be so polarizing it doesn't make the cut for implementation. Many ways it could go and, to be honest, it's something Anet would need to weigh wrt the overall benefit/harm to the community. Good point, one I'd never considered.

Side-scroller or text adventure.

If the map is declared PvP, what difference does it make which character one plays? If one does not want to play in a PvP-available map, where does one go? Are PvE-centric players relegated to only maps that those Guilds do not desire, if any?Again, what keeps larger or more competitive Guilds from demanding payment from Guilds/players that opt out?

If gw3 will look as good as Roselyn Sanchez then I’ll consider gw3.

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:If the map is declared PvP, what difference does it make which character one plays? If one does not want to play in a PvP-available map, where does one go? Are PvE-centric players relegated to only maps that those Guilds do not desire, if any?Again, what keeps larger or more competitive Guilds from demanding payment from Guilds/players that opt out?I havent read all of OP as I find it pointless to go into details, but presumably something was mentioned in line of what I would want to see from the next gen of GW:

One world.

Unified WvW and PvE, a place where both things can coexist side by side yet still satisfy the needs of everyone good enough. A living, changing world at endgame maps - maybe not all the maps, but at least endgame. Like, its peace now on several maps. The war rages on 4 other maps, much like how WvW works today, but the maps are part of the world. When the skirmish ends in one map, the effects can be seen - guilds hold towns and keeps, towers are in ruins or heavily fortified, etc. Peace settles and the war goes on to another map. Etc and so on as the maps are constantly cycled.

Of course its a dream scenario and I wont argue any pros or flaws with such an idea because again, I fail to see the point. It would be cool though.

I want dwarves

I want the old Guild Halls and Guild Wars back

I want the old builds back (no more pregiven skills via weapons, I want things like 50 HP monk UW farm back)

A lot more dungeons

A free and open world, no portals to get from one region to another

WvW is nice but the battlegrounds are too huge, I'd focus more on sieges

More skins freely available and not locked behind black lion tickets or w/e

One mount for everything

No more Jungle expansions, focus on desert, snow mountains and fire ring islands

I liked the big Meta events/Worldbosses

No thanks.

I like the guild I'm in and the people in it, in this game; but, I hate feeling tied to guilds, in any game.

The main reason I'm not playing ESO anymore, is because they tied selling (yes, all selling) to guilds.

However good the game may be, in general, that is not my idea of fun.

I don't mind if there are a few small advantages to being in a guild; but, not anything that is, in any way, essential.

Considering that a fair section of the population is PvE only the game would need a way to opt out of players being attacked by other players on the PvE maps. Perhaps a toggle like WoW is adding where there is a PvE world shard and a PvP world shard and you can toggle which you want in a major city. This way players who only want to PvE can do so and those who want to fight other guild’s members can do so also.

if PvP would be everywhere i would never play it, GW has always PvE friendly and to destroy that part is to destroy what GW stands for.

@Just a flesh wound.3589 said:Considering that a fair section of the population is PvE only the game would need a way to opt out of players being attacked by other players on the PvE maps. Perhaps a toggle like WoW is adding where there is a PvE world shard and a PvP world shard and you can toggle which you want in a major city. This way players who only want to PvE can do so and those who want to fight other guild’s members can do so also. I also play Black Desert Online and the amount of spontanious, unwanted PVP is overwhelming at times.

Well, keeping the PVE maps PVE does make sense and a big part of what I would want to see revolves around combining efforts from the three current modes into one guild score. If you don't want to participate in a guild you should still be able to play as you want, just not contribute to an overall socre or have any of the advantages given to guilds (whatever that would turn into).

Scrap open WvW and enable open world pvp with pk (make pk severly punishable). Make it less casual, meaning at least some form of lvl and gear grind. It does not need to get on Korean lvl, but still, I enjoy lvling a class, skill by skill, gear by gear. The way it is now is super convenient as you can insta lvl alt characters , and just send over ascended gear, but this hurts the game "replayability" as I lost much fun in my 5+ years career. Being able to play with newbs on early maps doesn't help, if you are just casually strolling there. Instead, if ppl would be actively rerolling and making new tons from scratch, it would increase player count over all maps, so it would not appear dead to new players.

The way GW2 works is fine, it's worth every € I spent, and imho it's currently the best mmo around (ESO and BDO are close, but, ESO needs to fix that loading screen bugs before I could dedicate my time to it, and BDO is trash unless you can play with max graphics ..texture poping etc.), but the fact is, it just doesn't scratch my "mmo" itch. I came from old school Lineage 2 to this game on beta, and it was fine on the start, till there was new content/classes/gear to explore, but it soon became obvious that I would need a side mmo for that "fix". I guess I just need some grind etc., can't really put it into words, but I guess majority of players will know what I'm talking about.