Dear Anet, At least be subtle about it

[Tzasame.9201]

Let me preface this by saying that I am aware that activity is an imperfect metric. However, it is the best indicator that we as players have to judge server population and coverage. Since I can't explain how it "feels" right now, I've provided activity numbers to give others a sense of what is going on.

I am on Blackgate. I know it's not a popular server among the WvW community at large and I expect to get flamed quite a bit in the replies, but hear me out.

Here are the activity numbers for the last several NA matchups in reverse chronological order. For simplicity's sake I've called the highest activity "100%" and the lower activities as a percentage of that (to be as charitable as possible I've rounded up to the nearest whole percentage).

Current T1 Match (8/17/2018 - 08/24/2018) as of the time of this post:SoS: 59,769 (100%)HoD: 59,468 (100%)BG: 35,057 (59%)

T2 Match 08/10/2018 - 08/17/2018:FA: 83,422 (100%)NSP: 70,622 (85%)BG: 58,698 (71%)

T1 Match 08/03/2018 - 08/10/2018:HoD: 100,605 (100%)SoS: 97,402 (97%)BG: 70,802 (71%)

T1 Match 07/27/2018 - 08/03/2018:HoD: 98,191 (100%)Kn: 85,208 (87%)BG: 66,444 (68%)

T1 Match 07/20/2018 - 07/27/2018:HoD: 116,594 (100%)SoS: 96,779 (84%)BG: 76,939 (66%)

T1 Match 07/13/2018 - 07/20/2018:FA: 101,794 (100%)SoS: 98,370 (97%)BG: 80,013 (79%)

I think you get the point. Despite these numbers, Blackgate has been closed for over a year (and even then it was open for less than a day) and has never had a link. We have lost guilds and individuals and cannot recruit or repopulate. If you're wondering how we've continued to do so well, keep in mind that for every match I've provided the numbers for, we were the only server with a kill/death ratio greater than one.

It feels like we're being punished for being good at the game mode. Many people on my server are discouraged and (understandably, imo) developing a persecution complex. We are by and large dedicated veterans of WvW, but people are getting fed up and leaving the game altogether. I'm fighting the urge to do the same.

It also feels like ArenaNet has their thumb on the scales, which should concern everyone.

[Blodeuyn.2751]

This is a "problem" created by BG players. If you over-stack, expect consequences. If you are still over-stacked then you do not need to repopulate. Sorry, no sympathy here, I was on BG at one point and decided to leave because I did not care for the ridiculously large population.

[MedievalThings.5417]

The problem with the adjustment to 100% is it changes the way it looks. Instead, the average activity should be placed at 100%, which would then show just how much above 100% the stacked servers are for this metric. Despite losing a LOT of players, BG would still be above the 100% mark, those higher than BG just show how Anet has continued to allow server stacking, which will translate later in to broken alliance activity numbers. WvW was ruined by transfers and server stacking, so I can't feel bad for any server at this point for how the population ruined it's own game mode.

[Heibi.4251]

I see this as a conscious choice by the Blackgate players. They seem to be quitting for the week once they fall behind by a certain amount(many servers do this). They may also be trying for a link, even though we know they are a full server. It's a known tactic all servers use is to act like they have low activity so they can either open up the server for transfers or to get a link. That's the biggest problem with using a metric like activity to indicate how many players are on a server. And we know that Blackgate is completely stacked.

[Tzasame.9201]

@"Heibi.4251" said:I see this as a conscious choice by the Blackgate players. They seem to be quitting for the week once they fall behind by a certain amount(many servers do this). They may also be trying for a link, even though we know they are a full server. It's a known tactic all servers use is to act like they have low activity so they can either open up the server for transfers or to get a link. That's the biggest problem with using a metric like activity to indicate how many players are on a server. And we know that Blackgate is completely stacked.

"It is known, Khaleesi."

We had ONE BL queued on reset. How many did HoD have? Or rather, how large were the queues on all of your borderlands?

P.S. I'm aware that the bandwaggoning to SoR may well have been out of your control, so I don't blame you personally for the current state of HoD.

[Heibi.4251]

@Tzasame.9201 said:

@"Heibi.4251" said:I see this as a conscious choice by the Blackgate players. They seem to be quitting for the week once they fall behind by a certain amount(many servers do this). They may also be trying for a link, even though we know they are a full server. It's a known tactic all servers use is to act like they have low activity so they can either open up the server for transfers or to get a link. That's the biggest problem with using a metric like activity to indicate how many players are on a server. And we know that Blackgate is completely stacked.

"It is known, Khaleesi."

We had ONE BL queued on reset. How many did HoD have? Or rather, how large were the queues on all of your borderlands?

P.S. I'm aware that the bandwaggoning to SoR may well have been out of your control, so I don't blame you personally for the current state of HoD.

No idea who Khaleesi is.Like I said, conscious choice.That much is very true.

[Strider Pj.2193]

But as usual, the groups responsible for creating imbalances in the mode are the same ones doing it again on other servers.

That is of no concern evidently.

[Mini Crinny.6190]

Blackgate aiming for the link ;)

[Sarrs.4831]

You're competing in T1, but you need your server opened for transfers?

[Caliburn.1845]

If Blackgate being closed is a problem, take your players(the most organized in the game perhaps), and move as a group to a medium population server. Problem solved.

As far as activity numbers, those metrics are the best we have to judge populations, but they're really not good metrics at all. If Cookie decides to not run for a few days or a week suddenly BG is a ghost town. Add a new shiny in WvW, and BG population explodes.

[Chaba.5410]

So-called "activity" is not necessarily comparable to player hours. All "activity" means is Kills+Deaths. Players can add to their playing hours by doing many things that don't necessarily involve killing and dying. So a server can have high play hours with low activity. One way for that to happen is to have a lot of players who play long hours but don't necessarily group up and zerg in any particular time period. Servers can also have high activity with lower play hours and that can happen when you have a lot of players who only spend 2 or so hours playing but in that short time they get a high number of kills (and deaths).

The other thing this shows is how effective certain PPT-oriented play can be over PPK.

[Grim West.3194]

WvW is a broken game mode, always has been. Overstacking coverage, abusing transfers and deliberate tanking are the only tactics that matter. Everything else is pointless. And that is all ANET's fault.

BG benefited from overstacking (while abusing the system by tanking to open) for the last couple of years, now you are being singled out like JQ was. Enjoy your downfall, it is well deserved.

And ANET can't help you this time, because if they did, a huge amount of wvw players would quit the game.

You can join the transfer ktrain like the rest of the lemmings, or T4. Take your pick.

[style.6173]

I'm really not sure how the OP sees anything unfair.

1. You have a server that without a link is still top 3 and yet you think you need more people? Name one other server that without a link could even remotely compete with BG.
2. BG is a rather fair-weathered server. When they do really well, they bring big numbers. When they don't, they pack it in. It tends to happen even more the second month of the links. Last link, BG brought big numbers the first month. Then JQ/SoR started dominating the second month, and BG mostly gave up. Same thing this link. Dominated most of the first month. Then HoD/SoR started dominating and BG gave up again. In early September, BG will start dominating again until someone challenges them.

[Habanero.4035]

@"Ubi.4136" said:Instead, the average activity should be placed at 100%, which would then show just how much above 100% the stacked servers are for this metric. Despite losing a LOT of players, BG would still be above the 100% mark,

Here is the activity per server per timezone, normalized against total activity for each timezone (so sum of % per timezone = 100%). Activity = K+D.https://i.imgur.com/klGCBzU.jpgBG isn't even close to what you're describing.

Here is the average % of activity per server per timezone over the last 4 weeks (not including this week, too early):https://i.imgur.com/Qz1kr1Y.jpgAgain, nowhere near the legend of BG outnumbering everyone.

WvW was ruined by transfers and server stacking, so I can't feel bad for any server at this point for how the population ruined it's own game mode.

Except you're mad at 2018 BG for reasons due to 2015 BG. Buddy, it's been years since the overstack. HoD is just as much stacked right now due to linking. a LOT of players who stacked BG years ago have left BG. Some are bandwaggoning today.

Why is the hate against the ghost of BG instead of being on those who abuse the system TODAY ?

@"Blodeuyn.2751" said:Sorry, no sympathy here, I was on BG at one point and decided to leave because I did not care for the ridiculously large population.Easy for you to say "I am not responsible, the others are". Also How long ago was that? And where are the players who bandwaggoned then ?

@"Heibi.4251" said:And we know that Blackgate is completely stacked.

You're comparing a single server against servers+link. BG alone is a very high pop server indeed, but with links it is far from stacked. But everyone knows players will repeat this ad nauseam because they heard that somewhere.

I don"t think anet has any beef against a particular server. However their population calculations are based upon activity for every server instead of the whole link. This is why HoD and its links are still open despite outnumbering everyone in almost every timezone.

PS: inb4 "lololol bg crying about pop zomg" by the very ones who bandwaggon left and right.

[Towelie.9504]

Blackgate are the biggest group of whiney players in the game. Waaahhh we won't win every T1 match up on default Wahhhhhh

Yet they refuse to fight at all unless it's cookie or visual blobmanding

Blackgate is a ppt server with 2 blobmanders and a bunch of players who forgot how to play if they aren't in a zerg. Best players is a joke.

Can't wait for alliances to destroy blackgate once and for all

[Forum Moderator.5907]

We're going to go ahead and close this thread, as match-up threads are not permitted on the forums.