Please make f2p accounts unable to play in competitive modes

[Voltekka.2375]

What the title says. People make multiple f2p accounts, use various tools to lessen the fun of others who try to play legitimately in said modes. I firmly believe WvW and sPvP should be unavilable to those accounts, as even when caught red-handed, they can simply make another f2p and keep doing what they do. Banning WILL hurt if they pay for an account, making em think twice before using means prohibited by the ToS.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@"Klipso.8653" said:We aren't allowed to talk about cheaters here, we're supposed to pretend they dont exist

On the contrary, there are plenty of threads that discuss issues plaguing competitive modes, including cheats.

What isn't allowed: naming names or discussing details. The first leads to arguments and derailed discussions and "I know you are but what am I" levels of discourse, and in the end, only ANet's decision matters about whether it is or isn't cheating. The second runs the risk of encouraging more cheating.

[Safandula.8723]

So what about f2p accounts that are not troll/spy accounts?

[Rabbi Rick.3194]

I sort; of agree with this -- F2P accounts should only be allowed in unranked PvP and EotM. That way, they would be able to experience the "flavor" of competitive modes without affecting the players that pay.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@Voltekka.2375 said:Please make f2p accounts unable to play in competitive modesPeople make multiple f2p accounts, use various tools to lessen the fun of others who try to play legitimately in said modes. I firmly believe WvW and sPvP should be unavilable to those accounts, as even when caught red-handed, they can simply make another f2p and keep doing what they do. Banning WILL hurt if they pay for an account, making em think twice before using means prohibited by the ToS.

Competitive modes are open to F2P in part to increase the numbers. PvP in particular suffers from insufficient competition in certain areas, at certain times; including non-paying accounts helped address that. The question is: what fraction of F2P accounts play legit and at what threshold does it become time for a change?

In contrast, F2P cannot join WvW until level 60. Without specific evidence, I think it's a weak case to say that it's more than an all-too-visible handful, i.e. that the vast majority of F2P in WvW are probably playing legit.

Perhaps it would be worth changing the restrictions on sPvP, perhaps require a minimum PvP rank of X (earned in unranked?).

[Klipso.8653]

I like the idea of letting them play unranked but not season games

[Voltekka.2375]

@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@Voltekka.2375 said:Please make f2p accounts unable to play in competitive modesPeople make multiple f2p accounts, use various tools to lessen the fun of others who try to play legitimately in said modes. I firmly believe WvW and sPvP should be unavilable to those accounts, as even when caught red-handed, they can simply make another f2p and keep doing what they do. Banning WILL hurt if they pay for an account, making em think twice before using means prohibited by the ToS.

Competitive modes are open to F2P in part to increase the numbers. PvP in particular suffers from insufficient competition in certain areas, at certain times; including non-paying accounts helped address that. The question is: what fraction of F2P accounts play legit and at what threshold does it become time for a change?

In contrast, F2P cannot join WvW until level 60. Without specific evidence, I think it's a weak case to say that it's more than an all-too-visible handful, i.e. that the vast majority of F2P in WvW are probably playing legit.

Perhaps it would be worth changing the restrictions on sPvP, perhaps require a minimum PvP rank of X (earned in unranked?).

The thing is, you can have certain restrictions. Do eotm till wvw rank 100 (random number) and unranked till a certain level, too. That will deter most illegitimate players.

[zealex.9410]

@Safandula.8723 said:So what about f2p accounts that are not troll/spy accounts?

Let them play unranked? Or put rather high reqs in spvp lvls and maybe being lvl capped for wvw.

[Illconceived Was Na.9781]

@Voltekka.2375 said:The thing is, you can have certain restrictions. Do eotm till wvw rank 100 (random number) and unranked till a certain level, too. That will deter most illegitimate players.WvW already restricts characters to minimum level 60. Do you really think that WvW r100 is going to discourage those who already got that far? Isn't it more likely to discourage legit F2P from trying WvW?

I agree that ANet should reconsider adding similar restrictions for sPvP (and if they already have, perhaps it would be wise of them to explain their reasons for not implementing any yet).

[Shaogin.2679]

As stated, there is already a restriction to get into WvW since they must first reach level 60. Their is also a restriction for Ranked sPvP, since they must be rank 20 before they can start playing ranked games. Now whether or not that restriction is high enough, I don't know. I really can't say how much time is required at this point to reach rank 20.

[TexZero.7910]

@Shaogin.2679 said:As stated, there is already a restriction to get into WvW since they must first reach level 60. Their is also a restriction for Ranked sPvP, since they must be rank 20 before they can start playing ranked games. Now whether or not that restriction is high enough, I don't know. I really can't say how much time is required at this point to reach rank 20.

level restrictions are kind of a joke as leveling in this game is extremely easy to do.If they want meaningful restrictions they need to lock it behind gameplay hours. The kicker is they don't want meaningful restrictions.

[Hesacon.8735]

Other than ranked spvp, I don't agree with the OP.

[Safandula.8723]

@zealex.9410 said:

@Safandula.8723 said:So what about f2p accounts that are not troll/spy accounts?

Let them play unranked? Or put rather high reqs in spvp lvls and maybe being lvl capped for wvw.

i can agree on unranked pvp, since core rangers and engis can ruin someones competetive game, but not for wvw. but forcing them to grind certain lvl on eotm first might me good idea

[Aaralyna.3104]

I am actually against this idea. I don't like the exclusion of f2p players in game modes (read full core game incl spvp/wvw/pve). Most players play without cheating and theres only a few bad apples. When it comes to bans... they could just ban the ip the banned player uses (or mac adress or something). Then it won't even matter how many free accounts they make as they simply will not be able to connect as starter. Also, everyone should be able to play any build they like, be it core or spec, be it meta or not. Its just a game....

[AlexxxDelta.1806]

I might be wrong but I don't think they'd do that. What better way to showcase the benefits of having an elite spec in a competitive environment than having you joining it yourself with your core f2p build?

[coso.9173]

wow, no. I don't pvp but this is an awful idea. many f2p honest players don't have to pay for the actions of others.Maybe if we find a cheater from your country we should also ban everyone from your country too? since we're making terible generalizations.

[Shaogin.2679]

@TexZero.7910 said:

@Shaogin.2679 said:As stated, there is already a restriction to get into WvW since they must first reach level 60. Their is also a restriction for Ranked sPvP, since they must be rank 20 before they can start playing ranked games. Now whether or not that restriction is high enough, I don't know. I really can't say how much time is required at this point to reach rank 20.

level restrictions are kind of a joke as leveling in this game is extremely easy to do.If they want meaningful restrictions they need to lock it behind gameplay hours. The kicker is they don't want meaningful restrictions.

Leveling your first character on a brand new account though is still a chore. It is a pretty sufficient gateway. Asking for anymore of a gateway is just petty and is more discouraging to new players that are legitimately interested in the game.

[Safandula.8723]

Mby just don't let free accounts pre 100 lvl, use tactivators?

[ArmoredVehicle.2849]

Let me just say this, I play a F2P account and I participate in both sPvP (of which I'm level 80) and WvW, especially the latter. Blocking access to such game modes is not an ideal solution.

I would however be in favor of a constructive way to lessen the rate of cheaters.

[DreamyAbaddon.3265]

@"Rabbi Rick.3194" said:I sort; of agree with this -- F2P accounts should only be allowed in unranked PvP and EotM. That way, they would be able to experience the "flavor" of competitive modes without affecting the players that pay.

At first I was going to disagree entirely because I take new players with F2P accounts to Heart of the Mists PvP to train and teach them combat but only allowing them to play unranked PvP and EotM seems fair to me. As long as they are allowed in HotM, I personally don't care because I need them to be able to go there to teach them combat early so they can get a taste of the game and most of the people if not all that I trained bought the game because of it.

[Westenev.5289]

I always found it odd how F2p got access to wvw and pvp before level 80... but it's not like wvw has an influx of upscaled level 60's, trash talking or otherwise, so who cares?

[Gop.8713]

The trouble with restricting f2p accounts to EotM is it would give them the perception that wvw is even less populated than it actually is . . .

[sephiroth.4217]

@coso.9173 said:wow, no. I don't pvp but this is an awful idea. many f2p honest players don't have to pay for the actions of others.Maybe if we find a cheater from your country we should also ban everyone from your country too? since we're making terible generalizations.

Thats how the world handles terrorism lol

Also PvP in this game is rigged by all the top players using alt accounts to win trade, so much so that the leaderboards have actually become a joke and even players who earn thier way to the top are stained with win trade accusations.To make matters worse, its a common practice for a top player to fill multiple top spots using alt accounts.

My opinion is that F2P should not be allowed to play ranked at all. That should be a privelage reserved for the paying players.

[Ashen.2907]

I expect that the competitive game modes would be ghost towns if the OP's idea were implemented. FTP players are not freeloaders, they are content.

[coso.9173]

preventing 2 clients to be run on the same pc at the same time would also fix this. and no one would be banned from pvp or WvW.