Feedback:User/NagaBishii/Review skill updates since last login
Review skill updates since last login | |
|---|---|
| User | NagaBishii |
| Categories | Mechanics |
Idea[edit]
Assuming that Guild Wars 2 will have regular skill updates similar to the original Guild Wars, I would welcome the possibility to check skill changes per class since my last login or between a date of choice and now. This would greatly simplify staying up to date with the latest skill versions.
(This can of course be applied both to Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2. I posted here, as implementation into the upcoming Guild Wars 2 would be most significant.)
Background[edit]
There should be more players who need to take an away-time from the game for longer periods and I find it annoying to return to the game after some weeks and realize that my skills changed in the meanwhile. This forces me to puzzle which skills are involved, what the actual differences are and how they are impacting my style of play. For me that makes it less pleasant to pick up the game after a longer break, as it often involves digging through update lists to get back on a working build. In my view a large part of the game's fun originates from experimenting with skills, finding working combinations and putting them into action, so I think that the game would profit from more accessible skill updates as described above. Less time spent with finding out the differences, means more time free to use them and actually play the game. My goal is to make updated skills a challenge, not a nuisance.
Implementation[edit]
The idea would probably require an archive of all skill versions with their respective introduction dates, which can then be compared to the present version. An algorithm could fetch all skills changed since a requested date (e.g. last login), and present their current versions together with the skill versions that were running on the requested date. When updating skills, entering them into the database should be sufficient to let the algorithm do its work.
A possible UI for the skill update review would be the character selection screen. In addition an in-game UI would be preferable for adjusting builds. As not to disturb the feel of the game with technical details, the review should probably stay optional via a button or a setting. Making the review selectable per class should further ease the accessibility. In an extended version of a class-based view, the display could also take relevant cross-class effects into consideration (e.g. Firewall changed, so my Ranger firing through it will be indirectly affected).
Example[edit]
(purely hypothetical) The player doesn't log in to the game for some time after 5 January due to holidays, work, etc. In that time there was a major skill update on 12 January and a skill tweak on 14 January. The player logs in on 2 February, clicks the skill review button and sees already at character selection what skills changed between the last login and the present date. He selects his warrior and sees his favourite crippling skill requires a condition now, making it useless unless he chooses a skill to supplement it. He jumps into the game with his warrior, switches some skills to address the changes and can concentrate on putting his new build idea into action without further ado.
A more technical representation:
Last login Skill A Jan01 Skill B Jan01 Skill C Jan01
update Skill B Jan12 Skill C Jan12
tweak Skill B Jan14
Current Skill A Jan01 Skill B Jan14 Skill C Jan12
The skill review panel would only show the changes occured from the last login on 5 January till the current date 2 February:
Skill B Jan01 -> Skill B Jan14 Skill C Jan01 -> Skill C Jan12
Summarizing[edit]
I appreciate and fully support the skill updates. I am aware that my idea addresses a minor problem and that for many people this might not be an issue, but it is meant to smooth out a bump I keep on running into. The longer you stay away from the game, the more is changing between the last known game state and the current. Of course the impact of this varies depending on how much the skills differ from their previous versions. While some general changes (quest-wise, etc.) need to be checked by update news anyway, I find the skill updates to be one of the most important and central aspects of the game (also one of the more frequently changed). As such a then-now comparison would ease the re-joining of the game.
