The Que system needs a complete overhaul

[jul.7602]

While Anet is trying to fix the que bug, we may as well overhaul the entire system. The following changes are most needed

 

1.  Auto-running should not count as activity.

Straight-forward change. You can no longer perpetually afk in a map without being removed simply by autorunning into a wall.

2. Queuing is now account wide .

Changing characters no longer forfeits your que. This allows players that want to enter WvW on a specific class to do Spvp/PvE on other characters. Should make the game more active.

3. Allow players to "Pass" on a que.

A player who is alerted that their que is ready, is allowed to "pass" their que. A pass simply swaps their que position with the person right behind them. So if you are in a SPvP match or doing some other content you can let the next person go while you finish up your content and only have to wait a small amount of time for your que to pop. To prevent abuse, maybe allow only 2 passes.

4. Time to accept que significantly reduced to 1 minute.

This one is probably the most controversial, but is probably necessary to allow #3 to happen. The current grace period is absurdly long at approximately 4 minutes, so just a few people afking at the front line can stall an entire map 15+ minutes. The system is too generous for hard-core afkers and at the expense of people that are ready to immediately engage with the WvW map.

 

 

[Solvar.7953]

While I agree in principal that #1 should be fixed (AFK runners), I suspect the reason Anet has not spent much time on this is they know those who want to AFK will just find some other method to do so.  I believe AFK running is already against TOS, so if that was cracked down, instead players would find macros/programs that automatically (and randomly) press other keys now and again - using skills, changing direction, etc.  This is of course also against TOS, but if they players don't currently care about TOS (and Anet doesn't enforce it), this is the end result.

For #2 to work, I would presume that you wouldn't enter with whatever character you were playing when you are allowed to join, but instead when you switch to another character, could join with that one.  But with #4 (1 minute to enter), that timing could be tight - I could imagine a situation where I'm in the middle of doing something that takes 30 seconds to finish up, and then logging out and switching characters and waiting for that character to load is now getting close to that one minute.  But I do like the idea of #2 - even something light weight like crafting could be done while waiting, and then switch to the other character when you can join.

I suspect there may be technical limitations on why this might no be able to happen (if at the character selection screen but not playing a character, the state of the character/account may be in some odd state that is hard to track progress), but I do overall like the ideas.

 

[Dawdler.8521]

5 hours ago, jul.7602 said:

2. Queuing is now account wide .

Changing characters no longer forfeits your que. This allows players that want to enter WvW on a specific class to do Spvp/PvE on other characters. Should make the game more active.

There is no need for this if they just add an NPC that allow you to change to one of your other characters on say 1h cd. Your idea would not work if the queue pops, unless you imply that even the queue timer maintains when relogging.

[TheGrimm.5624]

6 hours ago, jul.7602 said:

While Anet is trying to fix the que bug, we may as well overhaul the entire system. The following changes are most needed

Not no, but consider if the can't ID what wrong now, would it solve new issues? Like the idea but....

6 hours ago, jul.7602 said:

 

1.  Auto-running should not count as activity.

Straight-forward change. You can no longer perpetually afk in a map without being removed simply by autorunning into a wall.

Agree, but how? Auto-running is no distance, standing on siege and defending is no distances, standing while waiting for a wall to fall is no distance. 

6 hours ago, jul.7602 said:

2. Queuing is now account wide .

Changing characters no longer forfeits your que. This allows players that want to enter WvW on a specific class to do Spvp/PvE on other characters. Should make the game more active.

Agree but with a twist, give a player that is in instead a 60 sec option to change toons once they are in to account for differences.

6 hours ago, jul.7602 said:

3. Allow players to "Pass" on a que.

A player who is alerted that their que is ready, is allowed to "pass" their que. A pass simply swaps their que position with the person right behind them. So if you are in a SPvP match or doing some other content you can let the next person go while you finish up your content and only have to wait a small amount of time for your que to pop. To prevent abuse, maybe allow only 2 passes.

Agree.

6 hours ago, jul.7602 said:

4. Time to accept que significantly reduced to 1 minute.

This one is probably the most controversial, but is probably necessary to allow #3 to happen. The current grace period is absurdly long at approximately 4 minutes, so just a few people afking at the front line can stall an entire map 15+ minutes. The system is too generous for hard-core afkers and at the expense of people that are ready to immediately engage with the WvW map.

Yes but not until the fix the queue bugs since one of them is sending you to end of line if you are fighting while queue pops.

[Lucy.3728]

All cool but no to #4. I'm often on another wvw map while waiting, mainly because of #2 not implemented. And I do need the time to finish some stuff I started.

I'm really happy about the timer length.

Sometimes it happens when I want to travel I have to re-queue instead again -.-
That should be looked into.

---

I've another one:

5. The spot of a player that times out gets on hold for ~3 min for it to be able to return. Or it's a spot on overflow.
I liked such a feature in GW1 when my guild went to the underworld. I could rejoin them when I got a d/c.

Edited March 31 by Lucy.3728