Loki.1763

Somehow I allowed myself to be convinced to return and play this current season. Initially I thought the only feedback I had was about the timing and tweaking of balance patches. Then I played through my placement matches. While hope springs eternal, with the response to this thread we may start to see some real balance, a few other thoughts sprang to mind. Balance is important, but no matter how "balanced" the builds are, that won't fix stupid. Nor will it stop bots, afk's etc. When considering the state of spvp, balance is only one part contributing to the "unfuness". There also appears to a push by Anet to make core builds competitive against elite specs. I'm not specifically against this, but makes it easier for people to bot on a F2P account with little to no consequence. Basically, balance is a starting point, but it will not "fix" spvp.

"Be careful what you wish for."How long have we been waiting for build templates? And look what happens when we get them! Utterly dismal implementation by Anet. Does nothing to assuage my complete lack of faith for the future of spvp.

Taken a long break from spvp, and don't believe there is anything I can say that hasn't already been said. BUT..... The one thing I would ask for is to stop dropping balance patch mid season. You get 8 weeks of seasonal play to determine balance changes needed. Balance patch should drop immediately at end of season, to allow players time to muck about & familiarise with new builds. It also provides a two-week window to wind back any changes if necessary.

You now know how Aust/NZ/Oceania players feel. I think I'm lucky if my ping is only 250As for the OP's suggestion: can't see why it couldn't be made an option. Similar to choosing a WvW server.

Devs don't play pvp. They used to, but not anymore. If they do, I too would be interested to watch the matches.

What does it say about a player's skill if they have to use exploits to get a spot on the leaderboard? I mean it's not like we're playing for anything real, it is all virtual rewards. How frail must some ego's be if the need the buffer of multiple alts to keep their main account "safe".

Matchmaking uses the higher duo's rating when placing them in matches. For example, a legend and bronze que together. Matchmaking will use the legend's rating. Not true. I played in the final week with a Top 10 Plat 3. https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/83854/how-does-top-10-player-appear-in-gold-1-match

No F2P in RankedNo rewards for losing

Appreciate the walk down memory lane of Anet's previous responses. Just a reminder the player in question was not Legendary & neither was their duo partner. TBH I don't know what is worse....That Anet allow this to happen, or that the general response has been apathetic & resigned to the status quo.

I couldn't care less what the number is beside my name. I'm happy with my level of mediocrity. However, I'm sick to death of being force-fed BS that the MM is "working as intended".

Can anyone at Arenanet explain how a Top 10 player with a rating of 1789 (teamed with a partner who is not in the top 250), ends up in match with Gold 1 ranked players? I was under the impression that where there was a difference in duo partners ratings, the duo would be placed in a match at the higher rating. If that is incorrect, then what will it take for it be a reality? To date, I have resisted the temptation to whinge & moan about the matchmaker. I understand a decreasing playing population and time of day has a major impact on MM quality. But seeing this happen is basically the straw that "broke the camel's back" for me. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should this match have occurred. Just for the record, I was on the winning team, a team that had an unfair advantage. I'm not accusing any individual player of anything. But I am accusing Anet of, at best, poor administration of the sPvP game mode. At worst, the circumstances which allow this to happen might indicate a blatant disregard for the player community and the not unreasonable expectation of a fair match up.

Those are called CI Chaos Mesmers and they're a feature. Yeah, I'm sure an actual human is racking up >2500 matches. Couldn't possibly be a bot.

A whole lot of folks were very vocal in their whining about not enough maps for Ranked. Skyhammer got reworked (not for the better IMHO) and added to rotation. There is so much about this map I don't like, but I'm not gunna write of a wall of text that will bore everyone.

Aussie player here, I feel your pain. Seems like match ups have been particularly bad this season, which I imagine is a result of the queuing issues. There is already a low player population and with the added frustration of queue issues, I've had more blowout matches than usual. This is an observation I can't prove. Playing during NA peak times is only an option for me occasionally. Without attracting new players in droves, I can't see this situation for OCX is going to change any time soon.

Only balance and new modes can save us. Oh, and 5 man team queue. I don't disagree. TBH I don't have any specific ideas on how to get players back. I think it's along the lines of "if you build it, they will come". Folks lurk on the forums, connect on social media. If pvp was improving and not constantly devolving, word would get around. Whereas currently, few people have anything good to say about it, myself included. Frankly I feel like pvp is on life support, waiting for the plug to be pulled. Yet hope springs eternal :)