Campaign momentum and stalemates
Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2020 8:44 am
I have been playing the game since live and have recently been speaking with guildies and people I play with about the current state of end game progression (specifically EU prime) and their thoughts on the current state of the game in general. One topic that keeps coming up is the lack of reward for time invested and the stagnant feel of zones not locking for several hours due to numbers causing stalemates that give little to no reward for players at RR80. Trying to obtain invader/sovereign sets feels out of sight for some and after several backwards and forwards style pushes where no one actually wins, people can kinda lose interest.
A couple of days ago I had some time to play and CW and Caledor opened at 2pm gmt (EU time) and were still the active zones at 10pm that evening.. 8 hours later! the numbers then changed during NA login and zones started locking again, cities happened etc.. this has been the case quite a few times in the last week (I got no reward for my several hours of play time on that day that could actually progress my character). Whilst I enjoy the numbers being healthy and will play the game regardless of just seeing it as a gear grind, it would be nice if there was an alternative lock mechanic when zones are active for that long, not just to keep the momentum going of battles moving and scenery changing, but to also give more of the player base a chance to see some end game content (forts/cities). A few people in my guild have accepted that their window of play time during EU prime means they will very rarely see either of these and have all but given up on trying to obtain the gear due to the grind, a couple have even quit the game for this reason and not wanting to fight in the same zone for several hours.
I understand we don't want everyone in full sovereign gear within a month, but this feels too far the other way and people are being put off by it, unless you are willing to get up at 3am (predominantly EU) you have little chance of seeing that content and people are not all willing (or able) to do this. I feel like a happy middle ground would be that a zone lock mechanic triggers once a zone has been active for say 3 hours (if not the 5 star lock system) where running a certain number of supplies and killing X amount of enemies is sufficient to lock the zone, this would actively encourage fighting where the outcome actually matters, whilst smaller groups/solo players could run supplies and help in other ways, meaning more active zone progression and participation from all players (wb and small scale) while still keeping sovereign gear as a hard to get (yet more reasonably obtainable goal). I enjoy the game and will continue to play with my guild and bring positive vibes, just a lot of the feedback I'm hearing lately is in relation to the zones dragging on for hours and gear being locked behind time zones/stalemates so thought I would say my piece. Happy hunting!
A couple of days ago I had some time to play and CW and Caledor opened at 2pm gmt (EU time) and were still the active zones at 10pm that evening.. 8 hours later! the numbers then changed during NA login and zones started locking again, cities happened etc.. this has been the case quite a few times in the last week (I got no reward for my several hours of play time on that day that could actually progress my character). Whilst I enjoy the numbers being healthy and will play the game regardless of just seeing it as a gear grind, it would be nice if there was an alternative lock mechanic when zones are active for that long, not just to keep the momentum going of battles moving and scenery changing, but to also give more of the player base a chance to see some end game content (forts/cities). A few people in my guild have accepted that their window of play time during EU prime means they will very rarely see either of these and have all but given up on trying to obtain the gear due to the grind, a couple have even quit the game for this reason and not wanting to fight in the same zone for several hours.
I understand we don't want everyone in full sovereign gear within a month, but this feels too far the other way and people are being put off by it, unless you are willing to get up at 3am (predominantly EU) you have little chance of seeing that content and people are not all willing (or able) to do this. I feel like a happy middle ground would be that a zone lock mechanic triggers once a zone has been active for say 3 hours (if not the 5 star lock system) where running a certain number of supplies and killing X amount of enemies is sufficient to lock the zone, this would actively encourage fighting where the outcome actually matters, whilst smaller groups/solo players could run supplies and help in other ways, meaning more active zone progression and participation from all players (wb and small scale) while still keeping sovereign gear as a hard to get (yet more reasonably obtainable goal). I enjoy the game and will continue to play with my guild and bring positive vibes, just a lot of the feedback I'm hearing lately is in relation to the zones dragging on for hours and gear being locked behind time zones/stalemates so thought I would say my piece. Happy hunting!