PvE got Raids, time for PvP to get Battlegrounds?

[Lonami.2987]

@masskillerxploit.2165 said:Yes we need a new gamemode or completely redo stronghold

Stronghold could work as a MOBA-like map, but it needs 3-5 lanes, lots of NPCs, and 10 players per team. Their biggest mistake with Stronghold was trying to be different just to be different, with no solid plans behind it.

@ellesee.8297 said:Pvp is battlegrounds. Literally every mmo has big group objective pvp as battlegrounds and extremely small scale arenas as the competitive pvp.

Yeah I really miss that here. WvW is good, but it doesn't cover that type of gameplay. Battlegrounds would provide a WvW-like experience, except with more balanced teams, and more abundant action.

@zealex.9410 said:If they added battleground wvw would prob die since every wvw guild would simply gvg there. So ye... pls big battlegrounds.

I don't think it would die, but the way it's played would change a lot, probably for the better.

[Razor.6392]

GW3 .

[JayAction.9056]

We already have something like this with WvW. I rather they put more time into WvW and somehow manage to create a rule set or system in that which guarantees a lot more action with the new server system.

[Draco.9480]

I'd like a capture the flag like in WoW with 10vs10 or 15vs15 or something.

[Yannir.4132]

There's an equally important factor to this other than just having a new game mode. The supporting systems like rewards, integration and incentive also need to be figured out. For example, if this becomes a platform for GvG, what do the guilds actually gain out of it? Decorations? New guild levels? Will there be a re-haul of the Guild Mission system, so this can be included? And what about guilds that can't fill a full roster of 10? Is there a mercenary system to patch that up? What do the mercenaries gain out of it? How many mercenaries can a guild have?

Those are all in addition to the regular issues you have with increased player numbers. How do you prevent zerging? If you make separate objectives to divide players, why make it 10v10 at all? Do you provide players with additional defenses to prevent 10v1 focusing? How do you deal with 1v1's in this scenario of increased defenses? How much killing NPC's (PvE) does it include?

Via guilds GvG actually touches upon PvE and WvW as well, and if they add something for your guild to gain in PvP, how does ANet make that available to the people of those game modes as well? The rewards don't need to be exactly the same, unless you're talking of guild levels, but things that can be compared with each other. By what means are these similar rewards gained in PvE and WvW?

[Lonami.2987]

Figured I would post my final ideas for battlegrounds, used in my Cantha expansion idea. In this idea, battlegrounds would be one of the selling points of the expansion, including a total of four, available for everyone, owners of the expansion or not, accessible either from hot join or solo/team queues.

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New PvP mode: Battlegrounds

Battlegrounds are the ultimate Player versus Player challenge. Form a squad of 10 players, and face 10 other players in combat. Each battleground has unique mechanics, and can be queued individually, with no random map selection involved. Queue as a team or as a solo player, in either unranked or ranked mode.

Battlegrounds use real world locations, which you can visit during your adventures across Cantha. Players who don't own the expansion can access this new game mode through the Heart of the Mists.

The rules are simple: The team who reaches 1,000 points first wins the match. Each player death gives 5 points to the enemy team, other secondary goals providing bonus points as well, and more rarely, instant victory.

Capture points may be present to gain control over various special mechanics, but they don't affect the score in any constant way.

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Nahpui Quarter

The gang wars of Kaineng City have taken its toll on this quarter. The docks at the southwest controlled by the Jade Brotherhood, and the northeastern tunnels by the Am Fah, the constant warfare has been going on for years. The Imperial Guard, content to see the gangs vent most of their violence far away from the palace, decided to relocate the citizens and just let the gangs take over.

Nowadays, Nahpui Quarter is no man's land. The map represents an urban battleground, with the abandoned houses now in ruins. Fires are commonplace, and many houses have been burning for months, the dirt and the moisture preventing the flames from taking over for good. Houses can collapse at any time, trapping or killing unwary passerbies. The sewers are in disarray, and entire sections can flood with no warning. The environment itself will be your first enemy.

Gang members clash constantly against each other, fighting for control over the quarter, seeking to establish secure routes for their smuggling activities. Mercenaries often join these fights, looking for money or just a good brawl. Groups of enemy NPCs spawn every few seconds, patrolling the streets and fighting each other.

Both gangs have built forts at each side of the quarter. Inspired by Guild versus Guild, the secondary goal of the map is to sneak into the enemy fort and kill their Gang Lord. Allied NPCs can be used as cannon fodder to breach the gates, or alternatively, players can take secondary routes through the sewers or the rooftops. Whoever kills the enemy lord achieves instant victory no matter the score.

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Monastery of the Thousand Daggers

High in the mountains, this monastery belonged to an ancient order of assassins long ago. Now only the snow and the chilling wind make it their home. Its remote location makes it a really unattractive target for looters, and if that wasn't enough, most of its trap systems are still up and running.

The Monastery of the Thousand Daggers has a lot of verticality, with bridges and stairs linking the different buildings. Every few minutes, a snowstorm hits the exterior, impairing visibility and applying chill to unsheltered players. Inside the buildings, players can deactivate and reactivate all sort of traps, from spike pits to swinging axes. Be careful though, for the traps can kill your allies as easily as your enemies. Each room has a different theme and a different trap.

The secondary goal of the map is to deactivate all the traps, unlocking access to the altar room. Once there, you can try to overcome the final set of traps and reach the secret artifact inside, achieving instant victory no matter the score.

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The Aurios Mines

One of the oldest quarries of the Luxon, the Aurios Mines are famous for its mysterious relics of unknown origin, as well as the demonic plague that haunts them. In the recent decades, water has found its way into some of the quarries, and with it, various sea monsters as well.

This map has a deep PvE component, being filled with enemy monsters that will attack both teams constantly. Luxon miners dig the jade for treasures, but they need help bringing them back to the main outpost. Inspired by Capture the Flag, the secondary goal of the map is to retrieve said treasures from across the map, and bring them back to the main outpost for bonus points.

Treasure bundles have different properties and values. Some are heavier but more valuable, others will break if you drop them, and few might be cursed and injure the carrier. Usually, the most valuable loot will be the one at the deepest points, surrounded by more monsters. Bosses will spawn periodically across the map, and killing them will spawn additional treasure.

Be wary of other players, for they can steal treasure from you and then deliver it themselves. Enemy monsters can also be lured against the enemy team, to keep them distracted while you hoard all the loot.

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Amatz Basin

The site of an ancient battle between two of the Kurzick houses, the zu Heltzers and the Vasburgs, Amatz Basin is still used as a battleground to this day, testing the mettle of new Kurzick recruits.

Inspired by King of the Hill, the secondary goal of the map is to capture a series of points, spawning every few minutes in seven different locations across the map. Sometimes, a single capture point will spawn, and others it will be two. Capture requires at least 3 players, and takes around 20 seconds. Capture points despawn after a few minutes if no one reclaims them. Players need to react to the point spawns, and move across the map according to them.

The terrain of the map is pretty irregular and full of vegetation. Pools of stagnant water can slow you down, and some zones are shrouded in darkness, requiring you to carry torch bundles and light braziers to improve visibility. Alternatively, you can try moving in the shadows to ambush the enemy team.

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As you see, battlegrounds have a lot of potential. If done right, they could become the main PvP activity of the game, leaving sPvP and WvW in a second plane. While this might sound negative at first, both sPvP and WvW could receive updates catering to specific audiences to strengthen their own playerbase, updates that now would cause an uproar, because there's way too many players with different interests and you can't make everyone happy.

@JayAction.9056 said:We already have something like this with WvW. I rather they put more time into WvW and somehow manage to create a rule set or system in that which guarantees a lot more action with the new server system.

An open world experience will never match an instanced experience where combat is the only goal.

[Blackdagger.9670]

TL;DR. But keep an eye on thiş guy's ideas. He got what it takes to create things.

[Arheundel.6451]

They won't do anything of that sort..not now not ever, they're entirely concerned with making money using the least amount of effort and they can do that by keeping pumping out additions for the cash shop as a mean to control the fashion wars. Soon they will introduce player's housing and with it all the exotic memorabilia you can imagine. Near glider, mount and weapon skins...you'll soon find chair/bed/kitchen skins lol ....everything else is there to keep the whales entertained enough to keep coming and coming...let's not forget the mobile version for which there is a programmer job opening ...they can't miss on the whole mobile gaming cash cows.

You guys are dreamers..but dreams don't make money

[MissCee.1295]

If I thought Anet could actually do it right, I might actually support this idea. Unfortunately, season after season of fiascos, lack of balance, continual decline of player population; leads me to believe that pvp should be slapped with a DNR order or euthanised.

[Lonami.2987]

@Blackdagger.9670 said:TL;DR. But keep an eye on thiş guy's ideas. He got what it takes to create things.

Appreciated =D.

@Arheundel.6451 said:They won't do anything of that sort..not now not ever, they're entirely concerned with making money using the least amount of effort and they can do that by keeping pumping out additions for the cash shop as a mean to control the fashion wars. Soon they will introduce player's housing and with it all the exotic memorabilia you can imagine. Near glider, mount and weapon skins...you'll soon find chair/bed/kitchen skins lol ....everything else is there to keep the whales entertained enough to keep coming and coming...let's not forget the mobile version for which there is a programmer job opening ...they can't miss on the whole mobile gaming cash cows.

You guys are dreamers..but dreams don't make money

They could monetize battlegrounds through guilds, leaderboards, etc. The demand is there, and let's be fair, housing is not for everyone, it won't make the same money as gliders or mounts.

It's good to have multiple streams of revenue, and this can be one.

@MissCee.1295 said:If I thought Anet could actually do it right, I might actually support this idea. Unfortunately, season after season of fiascos, lack of balance, continual decline of player population; leads me to believe that pvp should be slapped with a DNR order or euthanised.

I think the best thing they could do is stop trying to balance it so much. Let people have fun on their own, and stop changing things every few patches.