Feedback:User/Guild Wars 3 perhaps/Karma Rewards for Mentoring and Assisting
Karma Rewards for Mentoring and Assisting | |
|---|---|
| User | Guild Wars 3 perhaps |
| Categories | Player interaction Mechanics |
Go here to see a list of my other GW2 suggestions and discussion contributions.
There is a subset of players for whom assisting and mentoring other players is one of the greater pleasures of playing the game. I'm suggesting a tangible reward system and title track be established for recognizing the contribution of these players.
I would like to see a system put in place where players may reward Karma points to those who have assisted and mentored them (for those who fear the abuse of such a system, don't worry; I address that further down).
The reward would not be arbitrary (i.e. no gifting of Karma points just for the heck of it). Instead, a player can only reward another player with Karma for quantitatively measurable assistance or mentoring. Furthermore, the assistance or mentoring has to be more than minor help. For example, a new player typing in chat, "Which button do I press to bring up my trade screen?" would not be able to reward Karma to the player who responds in chat with the correct answer.
Here are the situations in which I feel rewarding Karma would both be deserved and measurable:
- A player revives another player. This would be limited to the first instance of reviving a specific player; after which the reviver is not eligible for another Karma reward for reviving that same player. This prevents Karma farming as a result of players intentionally and repeatedly going into a downed or defeated state so their friends can continually revive them for Karma rewards.
- Alternately - in the spirit of encouraging cooperation among players and emphasizing the need for teamwork - players could continue to gain Karma points for repeatedly reviving the same player, but the reward would be limited to once per 24 hours per player revived. A Good Samaritan could continue to revive the same downed or defeated player any number of times within that 24 hour period, but they would only get one Karma reward for their efforts per player per day.
- A higher-level player down-levels to assist a lower-level player. Both players must be in the same party and must play together for some set amount of time before the higher-level player would be eligible for a reward. This reward can only be given out once by the rewarding player.
- For example, the first time Uber McUberstein down-levels and parties-up to help his friend Newbie Newberson, Uber is eligible to be given a Karma reward by Newbie. Any subsequent down-leveling and partying on Uber's behalf to help Newbie will not be eligible for a reward. However, if Uber down-levels and parties-up to help out a player other than Newbie, Uber would then be eligible for another reward from the new player he assists.
- A higher-level player side-kicks up a lower-level player and parties-up with him. Similar to the down-leveling reward, both players would be required to be in the same party and play together for a certain amount of time before the higher-level player becomes eligible for a reward from the lower-level player. Also - like the previous example - it would be a one-time reward per player they side-kick.
- A player (regardless of level) assists another player with a home-instance event/mission/quest. The assisting player must play through the entire event/mission/quest to be eligible for the reward. As before, this is a one-time reward; the player can't be rewarded for repeating the same event/mission/quest with the same player. However, they can be rewarded for helping a different player(s) with the same home-instance event/mission/quest.
- A player (regardless of level) assists another player with a dynamic event. To be eligible for the reward, the assisting player must play through the entire dynamic event and must meet at least the minimum participation level for the dynamic event. As before, this is a one-time reward; the player can't be rewarded for repeating the same dynamic event with the same player. However, they can be rewarded for helping a different player(s) with the same dynamic event.
- A player (regardless of level) assists another player in learning the game. This one is a little more ambiguous and perhaps a little more difficult to measure. However, if the game has a training arena or tutorial area, then real players could go there to help new players learn game mechanics and skill use. Granted, the tutorial areas would already have NPCs established for this purpose. But it seems to make more of an impact when you learn the game from a real person. Thus, I feel they should be eligible for a reward for their assistance.
- The way to measure this may be in the form of a player partying up with another player for a minimum amount of time in a training arena or tutorial area. The assisting player would have to equip and activate a skill at least once and the player being mentored would have to equip and activate the same skill at least once at some point during this period of time. Once those two criteria have been met (length of time and identical skill activation), the assisting player becomes eligible for a reward. As in the previous example, this is a one-time only reward. The difference here, though, is a reward could be given for each skill demonstrated.
- Another way to measure this would be to track how much damage is dealt/received using a specific skill by both the mentoring player and the mentoree. When a certain minimum amount of damage dealt/received has been met, the mentor is eligible for a reward. This could be used in addition to the restriction of being in the same party, remaining in the training arena for a minimum amount of time, and both players activating the same skill.
Now to the rewards themselves. I don't intend this system to be abused by becoming a source of Karma farming. Consequently, in addition to the restrictions noted above (one-time reward per assistance per player), I feel the amount of Karma rewarded should either be a single point or a very small amount (3 to 5 points) for each occurrence of assistance/mentoring. Regardless of how many points are rewarded, I believe it should be a set amount across all forms of assistance. This way it avoids corrupting the spirit of the reward, diluting the value of the actual points awarded, and "playing favorites" (i.e. player X gets awarded 1 Karma point for assisting someone while player Y gets awarded 5 points for the same form of assistance). A further potential limiter to abuse is to make the rewarding player use their own Karma for the reward; you give 1 of your own Karma points to the player who assisted or mentored you. Though I'm not personally in favor of this, I mentioned it anyway in an attempt to cover all the counters to abuse I could think of.
Besides, the Karma reward is largely symbolic as the true reward for such players is the satisfaction that comes from helping others. But I still feel there is value to the larger GW2 gaming community by making the reward tangible in the form of Karma. My rationale for this is the Karma reward acts as the measure of the second part of my suggestion; a Mentor title track. For each Karma reward a player earns by assisting or mentoring other players, they will gain one point in their Mentor title track. This will be a title that can be displayed by the player. By granting a visible title to such players, it marks them as willing to help others who are new to the game; which only furthers the comaraderie and sense of community within the GW2 world.
As such, the Mentor title should be able to be displayed in addition to any other title the player may wish to show. As it exists in GW1, only a single title can be displayed at any one time. Since I think it is valuable to let other players know that you are a Mentor, I believe it should be ever-present (if the player wishes to display it); even if another title is being displayed. Maybe instead of a text string next to a player's name, the title could be represented by an aura or something they can wear on their character's armor that marks them as a Mentor.
Keep in mind this is entirely a voluntary system. Rewards are not automatic; they can only be awarded by the vote of another player. A player who receives assistance is not required to give a reward to the assisting player. They will have access to a dialog box which will list out the names of players who have assisted them (perhaps listing the event or circumstances of the assistance). They can then choose to select a player's name from the list and then click a button to reward a Karma point to them.
While on the topic of lists, a roster similar to a friends list should be added which displays the names of all players who have helped you as well as all the players you have assisted. The list would have some additional stats such as whether or not you have received an award from them or rewarded them in turn (as appropriate), the level of the player, their rank in the Mentor title track, and the circumstances of the assistance (name of the dynamic event, home instance, training arena, etc.). There should also be a button that allows you to easily add any one in this list to your friends list.
Thank you for reading.
P.S. Be sure to check out the discussion tab, too, for additional suggestions from others and my responses.
Guild Wars 3 perhaps 00:43, 4 May 2012 (UTC)
