Feedback:User/Shawn at GWW/Post-Campaign Party Size

Post-Campaign Party Size
User	Shawn at GWW
Categories	Mechanics → Game features World → Places

Hope this suggestion is in the right combination of categories.  : )

Let's have a big party

First, I'd like to acknowledge that I have been so excited about the change that allows a character to bring 8 heroes instead of just 4 (and the mercenary heroes as well).  I think this welcomed change is definitely leaning towards the good trend of relieving stressfulness among other good things.

On the subject of party-size, my humble suggestion is that, after a character finishes a campaign (e.g. Prophecies), the character should have access to a party size of 8 from that point forward (for that particular completed campaign) regardless of which independently explorable area the character chooses to enter.  It would make sense that we don't have to revert back to 4 people party sizes like when our character wasn't yet an "important" hero.

For example

After completing Hell's Precipice, one of the Ascalon NPCs (don't remember which) suggests that we can go back to (the Ruins of) Ascalon and help with the Charr problem there.  If the character then tries to vanquish Flame Temple Corridor, such as for a Zaishen Challenge Quest, it's very difficult with 4 in a party.

In my case, a ranger with 3 heroes (I don't have all available heroes and hero skills) was impossible to complete many vanquishings in general, but I'm not the best in the game; however, does one have to be so good at a game in order to enjoy the fruits of investing resources/time in a game?  Ultimately, a player could research all the information regarding professions, builds, upgrades, strategies, heroes/henchmen, etc. to hopefully complete something.  I love GWW, but even with all that information, sometime it still means that a particular character will never be able to reasonably complete the whole game in a real-human lifetime.

Love a difficult challenge?

Of course, for those who still wish to have the challenge of only 4 in a party, they can do so, and the rewards automatically increase for them anyway (more gold shared per party member, higher likelihood of a good drop for the player due to the less number of heroes/henchmen in the party when going solo, etc.).

At work or at play?

Some examples of other generally difficult areas that raise stress and blood pressure

I feel that the available playable sections of the game ought to be achievable by the majority of players, especially when it's made available for the purpose of playing.  Repeat playability or longer playability shouldn't have to mean near impossible to complete.  There's already very difficult, hard-to-obtain, or even unattainable aspects of the game:

• gold and green miniatures (randomization and temporary availability make it as rare as winning the lottery in some cases, and some require a certain expired promotion)
• various areas like the Underworld, especially if you don't have certain exact professions/builds
• places like Heroes' Ascent, especially if you aren't online enough to maintain enough guild members

Many difficult places (like the Realm of Torment in Nightfall) require more reading than playing because the only way to reasonably complete the area is to read about it on GWW.  (I'm thankful that we have GWW, btw!)  Even then, it took around 10 tries before passing an area, especially for quests.

What is the function of a game (entertainment) in an already stressful real world?

Doesn't it seem odd that we're using valuable real-life energy in stressing out or doing research in order to complete an area/quest/etc. for entertainment purposes?  I wonder how many of us have to then proceed with other commitments the very next day (or even the same day) with nagging thoughts of frustration from the game (which can result in a very real-life negative outcome)?  I'm sure there are many who are mentally very strong and don't feel bothered, but I believe they might at least agree that it's more stress than before playing the game, which results in an irony, paradoxical to the purpose of buying/playing the game.

To complete a challenge (like those for Zaishen coins), one has to give up real-life and treat the game like work.  I'm not sure how many people actually can afford enough time outside of school, work, family, etc. to stress out with what little free time they have; that time is to relax, have fun, and get ready for the next day of work.  Even fun jobs are still jobs that can cause stress.  With so much anguish and stress during gameplay, possibly it makes lots of us cranky, and a cranky community isn't likely a happy one, perhaps?

Ultimately, I think the goal is to keep the things that make GW great, but make some changes that generally reduce the psychological turmoil that some situations present.  A happy fan-base and gaming community will generally be good for everyone in the long run.  Good entertainment can even make a better real world.  As I wrote in another feedback talk page:

My friends and I got this game for stress [relief] and possibly an escape from the real-life difficulties at various stages of our life. If the experience in the game simply duplicates all those problems (economic issues, class issues, [hate], hardships, concern over minute detail, etc.), then there's not much relief. I love the adventuring aspects, but if the playing becomes a chore, especially when I can't pick it up after being away for a while (too much information), then where's the fun?

Hopefully, I'm not being crazy, and I'm definitely open to friendly discussion.  Perhaps I don't fully understand the term "game" or its concept?  Am I just whining?  I hope not, but at the same time, I'm not demanding anything; hopefully it's evident that I'm just offering a different perspective.

More broadly, philosophically

Someone once offered another perspective (regarding an unrelated real-life discussion not about GW).  They suggested that the object that some people perceive to be the source of frustration is actually not the true source; the true source is the person using that said object.  This someone then proceeded to give an example: if a gun is left on the ground, and someone sees it, picks it up, and the shoots a person, is it the gun that is the problem, or the person that is the problem?

I wasn't ever given a chance to reply, but I always wondered: if guns were left on the ground everywhere, and someone ends up shooting a person with one of those guns, should we not make an effort to prevent guns from being on the ground, free for anyone to use?  I guess I'm concerned whether an entertainment provider should care about the outcome of a person using that entertainment?

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