Feedback talk:User/Tennessee Ernie Ford/Competitive questing

Bad idea

Events in which only one team can succeed is an extremely bad idea, because it turns PvE from being a cooperative game where people help each other into a competitive one where they do the opposite. Competition between players belongs in PvP, not in PvE.

A few moments thought should highlight how ill-considered this would be. If only one team gets the prize then teams will interfere with each other to be the one that succeeds and to deny success to the others. This would introduce all the nasty problems we've seen in other MMOs such as kill stealing, training, camping and so on, all designed to tread on your fellow players so that they lose and you can win. This does not belong in a good PvE game. Morgaine 15:48, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

This isn't competition between players; it's a team race to see which group of players can cooperate best to achieve their goal first. Everyone gets some type of reward (but some get a better one).(edited)

I don't see how teams could possible interfere with each other. There's no loot stealing in GW2, one cannot attack other players, or heal foes. The only mechanic I can see would be to send dozens of players into the competitor's fight (thus increasing the mob difficulty) without contributing. Since those players would not get any reward for this, it's hard to see how this would be any different from any other event.

I admit that this isn't strictly Player-vs-Environment, but that's partly the point: GW2 is supposed to massively multiplayer and has room for more than PvP and PvE. Some level of healthy competition is fun. I trust ANet to get the balance right. Thanks for your comments. Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) Originally: 18:59, 12 February 2012 (UTC) Edited: 21:25, 13 February 2012 (UTC)

I like this suggestion; support. Though I understand Morgraine's reservations, TEF was correct in pointing out they only really apply in a game in which kill stealing, training, camping and so on are possible (*cough* WoW and its ilk *cough*). Healthy competition is not only fun it is...ummm...errr....healthy...for a game. It introduces an element of the unknown, randomness, or variability (take your pick); which in turn keeps the game fresh, engaging, and replayable.

Traditional quests rapidly devolve into "do X to accomplish Y to achieve/receive Z". They are linear, static, and predictable. Consequently, there's very little challenge because all the players are doing is following a script. By turning these challenges into a competition between real players - even if indirectly through the intermediary of an NPC and/or computer-controlled enemies - it introduces an element of the unknown. Real players competing against other real players are not assured of the outcome the way a traditional static, scripted, linear quest is. Such variety and unpredictability adds greatly to the experience, the challenge, and the "fun-factor" of such missions/quests. Guild Wars 3 perhaps 03:58, 3 July 2012 (UTC)

That's what I was thinking. Although, I have to say, I think your idea for putting this sort of thing in WvW is brilliant (and better for the current state of GW2). That's exactly where ANet is already blurring the lines between PvE and PvP. If questing can work there, then maybe there's room for competition in standard PvE areas, too (just for completing quests, not for loot or xp or etc).

Thanks for taking the time to comment. – Tennessee Ernie Ford (TEF) 04:41, 3 July 2012 (UTC)