Ideas to Retain Players--especially during off peak hrs

[CannonFodder1]

First off...love the game and a big thank you to the Devs for keeping it going.

As everyone knows this game is built off PvP play; whether its in a WB taking keeps and forts or playing scenarios. This setup of game-play requires a fairly large player base to be on at one time to make it fun, exciting, and constant. During off peak hours, players often succumb to long scenario queues, dead RvR, and minimal WBs. This often leads to frustration and eventually less players logging on during these hours because they know nothing is going on, which leads to player loss. This has nothing to do with how great the game is, it is just the fact that it relies heavily on a large number of people to be on at a time.

Imagine Return of Reckoning were every time was Peak Time! Retaining players that play in time zones that are not during the peak times will eventually lead to a more massive player base and more PvP for all time zones. So how do we retain and grow the player base during off times?

1. Allow turn-ins for Scenario Quests both at the City and at the Quest Giver. Rationale: during long queue times, solo play and just being able to keep queuing without returning to the city for turn in and then fly back for solo play.

2. Add Medallions as a quest reward for RvR player kill repeatable quests. Rationale: off peak players don't get much RvR time this would help them gain Medallions which are harder to get than emblems during off peak times. Afraid of watering down the time it takes to get gear during peak hours, maybe grant these quests only during off peak time, remember we are trying to grow the community and the retention.

3. Add the capability to exchange Emblems for Medallions. Rationale: See #2 rationale. In addition, Medallion and Emblem sets have different stats and since Emblems are easier to get than Medallions during off peak hours, we tend to see more spec'd to that gear set and are missing healers with healer sets. Maybe 1 Medallion for every 2 Emblems exchanged.

4. Add Emblem and/or Medallions as reward options for PvE Dungeon quests. Rationale: No scenarios popping, or the same uber team every pop does not lead to fun game play and with the player pool low there really isn't much to do. Finding a pug for PvE is a pain and with more incentive it may increase retention by giving time zones with a low player pool the incentive to team up for a dungeon.

5. A better wiki to aid new players.

Even more crazy ideas for player retention!!:

6. Different RvR, Fort, City objectives/game play. Rationale: I love scenarios because there are many of them, they rotate so you see different ones and they all have different strategies and objectives. RvR and Citys are always the same set up, which can get monotonous. How about adding rotating different objectives/game play into the Cities so that not every city pop is the same. The End game has been the same forever, this keeps the same End Game but mixes it up and keeps it different without losing the idea behind the WAR.

7. More world events. Rationale: Just to keep it mixed up. Imagine a game play that Order and Destruction had to team up/work together to destroy a Boss just to open up a RvR zone (of some importance) to smash faces.

I think the first 5 would be easy to implement and the last 2 would be fun and keep it interesting while keeping intact the premise behind the game's PvP style and End Game...... but would require a lot of Development.

Feel free to discuss, sling mud, or add your own creative ideas for player retention and growth.

Have Fun!!!

[Sponn]

Piggybacking off this post, honestly T1 alone probably turns off a lot of newer players.


I think the whole T1 experience needs a revamp or at least a spit shine. Give classes more abilities at rank 1 and give them more of their toolkit on the way to rank 16. Also It would be awesome if there was 50% more xp for 1-16 than it currently is. Feels like T1 is one of the longest, barren, most boring parts of the game right.


Besides from that I am a fan of your suggested changes.

[sighy]

I'd say for the 6th point that the game already had a better system, as it is currently people fight on the direct line from wb to wb, in all zones which facilitate it Nordland, BI/Charce, MoM, BV, Shadowlands, Ostland, Talabecland, Praag, Avelorn, TM, etc and if your blob is lesser you're effectively ****, especially in T1, where one side is shoved all the way to WC and even if you try carrying the boxes you get killed by people sitting just outside guard range.(very boring on both sides)

Like it or hate it the tics enforced the idea of taking a stand to hold the BOs and going out of your way to claim them, with potentially better ticks for the ones which were farther/out of the way. Idea being that if there is a reward people will fight to get it and keep it. I still remember the great fights we used to have over the boat in Nordland. The criticism for removing it was that it would lead to a much more zerg oriented gameplay experience, which is exactly what happened.