Deathmatch, but better

[Huskyboy.1053]

As a community we are starved for a new game mode. Stronghold was a great idea, but is very one-dimensional and sacrifices player vs. player interactions for fights with NPCs. Not the reason I came to sPvP.

My proposition

Put Deathmatch back into the game. The idea is to bring the fun parts of the GvG and outnumbered situations in WvW, and bring it into a smaller, more structured environment. Attributes of this new Deathmatch game mode (feel free to tell me why these individual points are bad if I'm wrong):

1. Mortality debuff: In order to prevent endless kiting (like with Druids in Conquest), each player must achieve a kill/resurrect within 3 minutes of their last spawn, kill, or resurrect. Downing someone does not reset your Mortality, only a full kill. Kill credit can be shared if the target is struck within 10 seconds of its death.
2. Each player has 3 lives, rezzes are allowed just like in other sPvP game modes. A resurrect does not subtract from your lives, only a full death and respawn.
3. The only scoring mechanism is kills, which comes into play if the match hits the time limit.
4. Team size should be between 5-8, without testing I don't know which is optimal. I prefer 5v5 or 6v6.
5. Maps should be no smaller than Forest of Niflhel, Courtyard-sized maps are too small and promote 2 unskillful behaviors:
   • Zerging.
   • Nuking small enclosed areas with AoE skills.
6. If the game mode is 5v5 or 6v6, no class stacking. If 7v7 or 8v8, a single class duplication should be allowed (i.e. 2 necros)
7. When this game mode is introduced, it should only be available for ATs and unranked, could get its own ranked queue in the future if it proves to be viable.
8. Time limit on Deathmatch games should be 25-30 minutes.

Let me know what you think! To me this is more accessible to players in general than Conquest, which turns off people who are more interested in killing than dancing on/around a node.

BONUS IDEA: To complement Deathmatch, make a new map that has lots of twists and turns, possibly utilizing a tunnel system under the main map to allow people to show up and surprise the other team. Use some of the more jungle-y parts of Auric Basin as a template but without PvE stuff like bouncing mushrooms.

[Abazigal.3679]

The general idea is nice, but i'm not sure it would encounter a huge success since matchs are probably going to lead to the butterfly effect after a death. We're having a good example on legacy of foefire lately, where people are usually splitting on sides after any death.

That being said, the system would work in a " codex arena " way, having 1 build only available for each profession. With no scourges, spellbreaker or holo, deathmatch can lead to fun battles.

[Huskyboy.1053]

Actually I think the 3 specializations you listed are mostly OP because of Conquest. Scourge isn't a problem at all if you just wait for its AoE to run out, they're an attrition build that requires you to be in melee range at the right time for maximum results. Spellbreaker would be strong in Deathmatch but not OP since you wouldn't be forced to fight them on a cap. Holo would be the strongest of the 3, but lots of their damage in holo forge is AoE again.

[Ashgar.3024]

People literally implode in 2 seconds at times in this game, how do you balance deathmatch around that?

[Huskyboy.1053]

@Griever.8150 said:People literally implode in 2 seconds at times in this game, how do you balance deathmatch around that?

Dodge

[Allarius.5670]

I agree. I think death match is more accessible to players. I think by being more straight forward it would reach a greater potential player and viewer audience. I think gameplay feedback in death match for player actions would be more immediate, more obvious, and require less game knowledge for a viewer to understand. For these and many more reasons I think it could have increased appeal and viewability in the long run.

I would structure a match structure different from how you suggest:

(1) Structure: Best 2 out of 3 rounds.

Allows smaller, finite increments of play within a match to give players breathing room to reconsider strategy and approach.

(2) Win State: Each team has a pool of respawns equal to team size; for example, 5 respawns for 5 person teams. Teams win rounds when they (1) score a kill and the other team has 0 lives available in their pool, (2) have more lives in their pool than the enemy team at the timer, or (3) have the greatest damage output when all else is tied.

This structure allows one-sided matches to finish quickly but still provides enough flexibility for give and take within a round.

(3) Death and Respawn: Downstate still exists. Players that are killed respawn at the cost of 1 life from their team's pool. Respawn time is minimal if not immediate.

A huge complaint I saw from feedback on Courtyard's match structure was how it could quickly snowball by preventing pug teams from regrouping. Allowing Downstate keeps a key element of GW2 gameplay, but minimal respawn time does not overly punish a team that has already lost momentum.By giving teams a pool of respawns rather than individuals, no player is ever stuck waiting to get a chance to play while waiting for a round to end. It also allows teams to always function as a team, creating consistency of play experience.

(4) Build Options: A new tab on the PvP build panel for death match, similar to how stronghold has one. This tab holds the build for that character for death match and may have different options than conquest.

A major complaint I saw in the feedback for Courtyard was a lack of build templates to allow players to swap to a build designed for death match rather than use their conquest build. Regardless of possible work around, this was a common complaint I saw. This suggestion would not provide true build templates, but may alleviate this issue for this gamemode. Additionally, it might allow a way to create alternative build restrictions different from conquest.

(5) Map Structure: Map size needs to have enough room for players to maneuver and split, but not so big enough players may kite indefinitely. There needs to be line of site and choke points, but should otherwise be quite open and every location should have multiple approaches.

Courtyard may have been more accepted by the community if it were stretched to about double its size, opening up choke points without overly favoring ranged or melee strategies.

(6) The Problem of Support, Bruisers, Bunkers, and Tanks: Win conditions, build restrictions, and team play should help alleviate problems here. I don't think Mortality is the solution, you want support minded players to be able to play support builds without arbitrary restriction on their role function. You also probably don't want a team full of supports or builds that eternally run and hide.

I don't have a perfect solution for this, but I'm not sure it necessarily needs one if conquest doesn't have one either. That said, death match's narrowed focus could exacerbate salty feelings when cheese comps happen, so here is an idea:

Death match build tab allows three builds defined by role: support, offense, defense. Each build has it's own set of options. When you go into a match you select your role. Only so many of any one role is allowed per team.

It's not perfect and sounds pretty lame and restrictive, but could help down play the negative impact of problematic compositions.

(7) Time: Ten minute limit on rounds with 30 to 60 sec of time allowed for swapping aspects of your build in between.