Feedback:User/Guild Wars 3 perhaps/Follow Ally Command
Follow Ally Command | |
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| User | Guild Wars 3 perhaps |
| Categories | Mechanics Player vs. Player |
Go here to see a list of my other GW2 suggestions and discussion contributions.
After watching GW2 beta videos it became apparent it is very easy for players to lose track of one another; especially in WvWvW . Now that the GW world has gone persistent MMO while being filled with so much detail, so many events, renown heart quests, enemies, and other characters, players were - in many instances - having difficulty locating one another.
For those videos in which players were members of a party and were also using a voice chat system, there were constant calls of "Where are you guys?" and "Which way did you go?". Fortunately, with their voice chat system in conjunction with the mini-map, they usually managed to sort things out and regroup after a minute or two. However, for players who may not have voice chat for one reason or another, it might prove daunting to keep a party together. Besides, who wants to waste time just trying to find one another when that time could be spent playing the game?
I suggest adding a "Follow" function to the game. This would permit a player to automatically follow another player they've selected for this command. Furthermore, more than one player can follow the same character at a time. In this way, a party leader could run to a location while all of the other party members set themselves to follow him or her. This will only affect movement, not combat. If the leader moves, the following players move. If the leader stops, the following players stop. But that's it; no jumping, dodging, strafing, auto-attacking the same enemy as the leader, etc. Lastly, the following players can break out of follow mode at any time by simply pressing any movement, targeting, or skill key or manually disabling the "Follow" function.
This will also have utility for someone who is already lost or otherwise seperated from their party. Activating the "Follow" command on a player who is not otherwise in view (by selecting them using the party interface, for example) will cause the follower to move to the followee's location. This assumes of course there exists an unbroken path to the followee with no jumping involved. This way it prevents abuse of the "Follow" command as a way for players to move through a jumping puzzle on autopilot by following someone who has already successfully completed it.
If there are obstacles in the way of a player, the "Follow" command will move the follower as close to the followee as possible without breaking the "no jumping" restriction. If the follower comes to a point where a jump is required, I suggest canceling the "Follow" command; they will just stop at the edge of the jump. By doing so, it prevents abuse of the "Follow" command for getting through jumping puzzles; but neither does it punish the player by making them fall off a ledge, take damage, and/or have to work their way back to the ledge from which they fell.
If a follower aggros some enemies on their way to the followee's location, they will come under attack. Whether this cancels the "Follow" command or not is a matter best decided by testing. I'm leaning towards any damage a player suffers will automatically cancel a "Follow" command. This prevents another potential abuse of the function. For example, a followee manages to get past some enemies a far enough distance to break their aggro; he or she came under attack while doing so, but not enough to kill them. A follower then puts on a Swiftness boon and some regeneration, activates the "Follow" command, and also slips past the enemies by running to the followee's safe spot. By making the "Follow" command cancel when taking damage, it will force the follower to have to take the same risks and use the same degree of skill to get past the enemies as the followee did rather than just cheat their way through the encounter on autopilot.
To initiate this command should be very simple but have multiple methods to invoke it. For example, the "Follow" command could be activated by any of the following (after having first selected a friendly ally, of course):
- Press a key assigned to the "Follow" command.
- Type "/follow" in chat. If an ally is not already targetted, typing "/follow player's_name" will move the follower towards that named character; even if they're not visible in the main world view. This would help players who are lost or can not otherwise target their friend (because they're out of viewing range or hidden by obstacles, for example).
- A small icon could be added next to all players' names (both in the party interface and the main world view). Something very clean and simple; a small arrow, perhaps. Clicking this icon will activate the follow command. Clicking it a second time will deactivate it.
Thank you for reading.
Guild Wars 3 perhaps 23:26, 13 June 2012 (UTC)
