Controversial Guild Wars Game Design changes

http://www.polldaddy.com/s/CE622DCA62C10E57/

I have created a poll of ten controversial design changes Anet has implemented over the years.

My intention is to get a slightly (and I do mean slightly) more valid result by putting all 10 changes together in one place. This way, more people than those passionate about a particular topic will be sampled.

I have my own views on each of these subjects, but I have attempted to use as neutral as possible language to not skew the results.

Once I get some decent number of responses - ideally around 100 - I will post the results in this thread.

The controversial changes that are the subject of this poll:

Title-based, cooperative Favor System
Loot Scaling
Trading with Search Menu
Title-based PVE skills
Soul Reaping changes
Ursan Blessing
BMP offered for Sale in game
In-game report system
Heroes
PVP/PVE skill separation

Thanks for your participation.

Actual Poll questions:

1. Title-based, cooperative Favor System for entry into the Underworld and Fissure of Woe (replaced PVP competitive, regional favor system)

2. Loot Scaling (replaced Full drops for soloers with Anti-Farming Code that made value of drops worsen after multiple zone re-entry)

3. Trading with Search Menu (replaced trading system based on All channel trade spamming in dist 1 of certain outposts.)

4. Title-based PVE skills (replaced system of all skills being class-specific and unable to be improved after maxing attribute points and applying runes.)

5. Soul Reaping changes (replaced no limit to Soul Reaping triggers from all deaths including pets & spirits)

6. BMP offered for Sale (replaced assumed exclusivity of BMP to original promotion participants)

7. In-game report system (replaced external reporting system & an easier way to get AFK faction)

8. Heroes (replaced a system of human and/or hench only grouping.)

9. PVP/PVE skill separation (replaced a system where PVP and PVE shared skills, although skill balances were primarily PVP driven.)

10. Ursan Blessing (replaced a system where elite areas required particular class/build combinations or high degree of skill to complete)

All poll "questions" used the same 5 multiple choice answers:

1 = Much worse than what it replaced
2 = Somewhat worse than what it replaced
3 = Really didn't affect the game for me.
4 = Somewhat better than what it replaced
5 = Much better than what it replaced


(Sorry for only putting the questions in the post now. I may have created some confusion by only using the shorthand descriptions).

As of this morning we had almost 400 responses. I will update the results below with the latest data probably this weekend.

Updated Results after 413 votes:

For the purposes of this report, I'm going to talk about the total, the US only, and the "non-US" result". For some questions, there was no difference. For others, there was a big difference. At the bottom, I have added some information about each of the top 5 countries that participated.

Countries that made at least 3% of the total include:

US: 47%
UK: 12%
Canada: 7%
Australia: 6%
Netherlands: 4%
Everyone else: 24%

Of the 10 questions, only one was not controversial in the least, and as several people suggested should probably not have been included. That was the addition of the search menu (Q3). Of those who expressed a preference, 95% thought it was either somewhat or much better than what it replaced. That was as close to consensus as we got on any question. In my defense, I remember some pretty hot threads about it back when it was introduced. It appears, however that the community has embraced it. This is, of course, not to say that the search menu is perfect - only that it is universally recognized as being better than what it followed.

Of the 10 issues, 5 are now seen as net positive changes, 3 are close to 50/50, and 2 are seen as clearly negative overall. In general, the older the issue, the less polarizing it now is. By comparing US responses to all others, we find that the US generally sees things the same as the rest of the world, with a handful of exceptions that show very different results.

I have all the raw data, so you can slice and dice it in almost limitless combinations. To create a high-level, single number to represent overall acceptance of a change, I threw out the "did not affect me" votes and just compared the percent positive versus the percent negative. For example, if 12 people voted with 4 (worse), 2 (neutral) and 6 (better), I would call this a 60% in favor [6/(6+4)]. As I said, I have all of the raw data, but was looking for a way to get a high level, single representation of acceptance. I will try to include as much of the detail later, so people can do their own interpretations.

The 5 net positive changes:

In descending order of the overall level of acceptance:

Search menu: 95%
In-game report: 91%
Heroes: 87%
Favor: 68%
PVP/PVE skill separation: 68%

As discussed above, the addition of the search menu for trading is the most popular change of the 10 polled.

8 2% much worse
10 2% somewhat worse
53 13% neutral effect
133 32% somewhat better
210 51% much better
95% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.


The in-game report system is the 2nd most accepted change. We see a marginally different response from the US versus non-US survey takers. Non-US respondents (97%) are even more supportive of the change than those in the US (84%).

13 3% much worse
17 4% somewhat worse
87 21% neutral effect
115 28% somewhat better
181 44% much better
91% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.

Heroes were the next most supported change. The overall score was 87%, and there was no real difference between US and non-US support. Very few people (3%) saw this change as inconsequential. No other question had so low a "neutral" response.

21 5% much worse
32 8% somewhat worse
11 3% neutral effect
85 21% somewhat better
265 64% much better
87% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.

The change to the Favor system is generally seen as positive, although it does show a difference in regional support. The overall score is 68%, but this drops to 62% outside the US. The US support is 74%. This makes some sense in light of the fact that the US region rarely had favor at the time the change was implemented.

45 11% much worse
53 13% somewhat worse
107 26% neutral effect
117 28% somewhat better
91 22% much better
68% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.

PVP/PVE skill separation is more popular than I expected given how recent a change it is. The response between US and non-US was nearly identical. Compared to some other questions, this question was heavily weighted at the extremes. That is, there are more “much” votes than “somewhat” votes. This suggests this opinions are strong, which is logical given how recently the change was implemented.

66 16% much worse
44 11% somewhat worse
62 15% neutral effect
84 20% somewhat better
155 38% much better
68% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.

The 3 "split decisions"

BMP 53%
Soul Reaping 52%
Title-based skills 41%

BMP. The decision of Anet to offer the Bonus Mission Pack for sale in the store provided some unique results. It had the highest percent of people who felt the decision had little ultimate effect on the game (46%), but those who did have an opinion were almost evenly split. Also, outside of the US, this change is largely seen as a good thing (61%), but within the US, it is seen as a net negative (44% support).

71 17% much worse
34 8% somewhat worse
189 46% neutral effect
29 7% somewhat better
90 22% much better
53% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.

Soul Reaping. Anet's change to soul reaping to limit the number of times it will trigger continues to split the community. It was the closest decision with 52% support. It too shows a sharp a regional difference with 44% support within the US and 60% support outside.

63 15% much worse
66 16% somewhat worse
143 35% neutral effect
73 18% somewhat better
69 17% much better
52% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.

The community is fairly divided over the introduction title-based skills although is tending negative with 41% support. The US versus non-US response is trivial. The "no effect" votes were comparatively small, (only the addition of Heroes and the search menu had fewer "neutral" votes). Given the strength of the votes -- many more "much worse" votes than "much better" -- this change could arguably appear in the next category - net negative.

126 30% much worse
82 20% somewhat worse
64 15% neutral effect
97 23% somewhat better
45 11% much better
41% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.

The net negatives

Loot Scaling 29%
Ursan Blessing 27%

Loot scaling remains unpopular (despite many posts I've submitted supporting it!) with 29%. There is almost no difference in the US vs. non-US lack of support. This is considerably higher than the prior Guru poll which had support around 14% if I remember correctly. This may be due to its inclusion with many other issues or it may have to do with the wording of the poll.

147 36% much worse
86 21% somewhat worse
85 21% neutral effect
54 13% somewhat better
42 10% much better
29% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.

That takes us to the most unpopular change amongst those polled: Ursan blessing. It has overall support of 27% with little difference between US and non-US survey takers. It should be said that even though it was the most unpopular change amongst Guru voters, it has its supporters. More than a quarter of those with a preference support it.

196 48% much worse
55 13% somewhat worse
66 16% neutral effect
49 12% somewhat better
46 11% much better
27% of those who saw a difference thought it was a change for the good.


Country Analysis:

As with the US, most of the countries with significant participation mainly followed the general pattern. However each country had a few exceptions. Statistically, one should be careful to draw too much from the differences, but I found them interesting anyway! So, here they are:

Great Britain:

Those in the UK had less support (58%) for the new Favor system than the average of everyone else (69%), although they do support it overall. The less than average support may be due to Europe’s dominance of the halls at the time the change was made.

The only other difference was a markedly less support for title-based PVE skills. Their support was only 29% versus an average of 42% for non-Brits.

Canada:

The Canucks only deviated on one question from the rest. They really like the separation of skill balancing between PVE and PVP with 80% support versus 68% for the non-Canadian. Lot of farming going on north of the border?

Australia:

The Aussies had a number of interesting differences. They support loot scaling more than anyone else (I knew I liked those guys). 40% support for LS versus 28% for non-Aussies.

On the other hand, like the Brits, they really dislike title-based PVE skills with only 19% support.

Finally, no one hates Ursan as much as those down under: only 5% support!

Netherlands

My Dutch friends blew me away with this stat: 92% support the changes to favor versus 67% for the non-Dutch. This, despite the fact that as Europeans they were disadvantaged by the change! Americans and Brits both tended to vote more consistent with their self interest. Impressive.

On the other hand, boy, do they hate loot scaling. Only 17% support versus 30% for the non-Dutch.

Finally, like the Brits and Aussies, they dislike title-based PVE skills more than most. 27% support versus 41% for non-Dutch.

I answered, I like the idea as well.

I took it. Can't wait to see the results.

I put my answers in. I'm curious about the results, also.

Nothing about the necro minion cap, AoE scatter, or doing away with the bundle trick?

These were controversial? AoE scatter and inscriptions please.

Why does the middle choice differ from the other four options? A change could not affect me yet still be bad or good for the game.

took it but there were definetly other things that were more controversial as savio said

I am limited to 10 questions. Depending how this poll goes I may make another. If anyone else has any ideas for other changes to put to a vote, please let me know.

I don't like the descriptions for some of these.

PVE skills - I HATE grinding. I absolutely hate it. However, profession specific is not related to this. Why is there even a mention of profession specific as a "previous" state? They're unrelated. I love that there are global skills, but I hate the grind.

Heroes - Replace humans? My heroes did not replace any human players. It replaced 3 hench slots. By selecting that you love heroes, it seems to be implying that you play less with human players. Far from the truth.

Took the poll.

What's the bundle trick ???

I don't get the reason for the Poll, but I'll just mention that Anet doesn't care about it. They probably would if it wasn't so easy for idiots (like me, since I thought about it) to cheat and sway the results.

Answered. I'll keep my mouth shut too for impartiality until the results are made (although anybody who has followed these forums long enough probablly knows my opinions on everything).

Other controversal ideas for future polls:

AoE Scatter
Unlimited Minion
The Z-chest/Z-title
Titles (in general, their existance)

Done...I'm interested to see the general response to this also.

Hmm - you make a decent point. If I do another poll, I'll probably make the middle choice something like "neutral". Then, I'll add a separate option for how much you are personally affected. I was just trying to not go crazy with choices.

BTW - 40 responses so far. At this rate, I can definitely have something by tomorrow.

I can't stand the Z-title, i don't mind the idea of the chest but the title, i mainly hate this title because of the emote, i'd rather see an emote for Gladiator or Hero Battles.

Took the poll.

Done and done.
Nice initiative

i wanna c the results

Definately interested in the results.

The bundle trick is where you have a tank hold a certain item and all the enemies will be aggro'd onto him. It made for extremely easy grouping and nuking. Was a very cheap tactic that Anet removed.

I entered my information. That's about all I can say until results are shown.

How is the bundle trick even controversial? It was defiantly a broken mechanic and Anet removed it.

This poll is meaningless. The people participating in it are not a random cross-section of the GW community. Sorry Hallomik, you're wasting your time.

interesting poll. please post results.

OK - I have the spreadsheet built, so I can now get results very quickly at any time. We're not quite to 100 responses yet, so I'm going to publish tomorrow, although I do know the percentages for each question so far.

So far, 80% of respondants are from the US and 10% are Canadian. I assume if I wait a day, I will get a more "global" response. I will check to see if there are any big regional or country differences on any of the questions.

Thanks again for the good response.

Replied before heading to bed, interested in seeing results. Also interesting to see 'em based on country o.o.

Your poll is flawed.

For example, the current favor system is MUCH better than what it replaced, yet still very bad in its own right. It was an improvement from truly terrible to very bad. The poll fails to capture this.

It also compresses too many issues. Example: The change to Soul Reaping that removed triggers on spirits was an unambiguously good change. The rest were unambiguously bad. (Unless you count the improvement from the totally broken 5 sec timer to the merely awful 15 sec timer.) On balance, the Soul Reaping changes taken as a unit are more bad than good. But the poll fails to capture the fact that I'd like to praise some changes and damn others.

Done. can't wait to see the results. Perhaps this is one of the things you could post a link to in game. I think there's many players who don't post on forums who wouldn't mind completing it and having their say.

I don't suppose many would say it is. It definitely needed to be nerfed for the introduction of the ritualist, but it lasted a long time. People got used to doing it that way, and some were probably upset to see it go. Personally, I fondly remember the old 5 person Sorrows Furnace run. I absolutely loved it, but its horrible now with limited minions and a tank that can't hold aggro.

Answered them for you hallomik,

Still as others have said theres a few problems,but i know you'll work them out with the way the choices and that are.


BTW guys its not bundle trick. It was actually known as the gear or book trick and was fixed to to the holding rituals of rits when they were introduce so they werent always auto targeted.

filled out the survey but as others have said it is flawed. However its hard to get a perfect survey done.

I answered all the questions, very good survey. I look forward to seeing the results.

nice idea...and have finished it for you.

Great idea man, I hope people are honest with their answers and not just 1/5 to sway the pole.
I have to admit cebalrai has a good point. I always thought MMOs should have in-game poles so they can get at their players better (ppl with multiple accounts would sway it, but hey.. )
btw, you're gonna want far more than 100 responses to get anything worth looking at.

Dude, so what? Seriously. You think it's meaningless, you're totally free to, you know, not read it and not worry about it. Why do you even care that the OP is (in your words) wasting his/her time?

I think he's one of those "GWGuru is only 1% of the community" type trolls. It's getting pretty damn old. Anyways I voted as well.

The average player has no idea what is good or bad for the game itself, or how the game works. An in-game poll would need to be used on issues that didn't relate to balance design.

I agree with gareth and Bekkr. So what if this isn't a "scientificly accurate" poll? We aren't trying to get this poll published in some academic journal. This poll is more for our own curoisity then anything else.

Title-based, cooperative Favor System - The system is pretty lame and it took away some of the excitement to winning halls (yes, HAers found it cool to compete for and win favour, even if most of us didn't farm UW) but I realize that the old system was even worse because one region would have favour the majority of the time. If the old system somehow worked out to roughly equal distribution that would've been better imo.

Loot Scaling - /care. nothing worthwhile is scaled anyway?

Trading with Search Menu - a poor improvement, but something is better than nothing. Pretty obvious that we're not getting a good trading system in this game.

Title-based PVE skills / Ursan - whoever thought of this, please shoot yourself.

Soul Reaping changes - good change, SR is fairly balanced now.

PVP/PVE skill separation - I like it because it gives anet more freedom to balance PvP, but they do not seem to be taking advantage of that freedom yet. Too early to tell imo.



How are the rest controversial? IMO you should've included stuff like aoe scatter, greens, inscription system, locked gates or running in general (restricted mission access and linear progression from cantha onwards, as opposed to freedom to run anywhere in proph)... I'm sure there's more.

Hmmm, interesting poll. I will do it tomorrow. I am doing pre bedtime trolling. But, nice setup.

I vote Avarre as god for the week. All opposed? (other MODs are excluded from voting... as is Malice! )

Some of the topics have little or nothing to do with actual game design.

Search Menu added, Soul Reaping balanced, BMP selling, Report system added. Nothing about these affected the way the game was designed to be played. They may be controversial balance or business issues, but not game design issues. The same goes for some of the suggestions in this thread (Minion cap, AoE scatter, Bundle trick).

You could have replaced them with better options, like the addition of perfect Green Weapons, the Inscription/Insignia system, implementation of Hard Mode, Dishonor for leaving PvP matches, or removing the ability to run through campaigns.

Regardless, I answered all the poll options.

Add the moronic idea that is titles affecting gameplay.
(Yeah you can leave out the "moronic" part. Just give me the option to vote for that! )

(Took the poll - the questions seem a bit strange though. I mean look at the Ursan one. Based on that question - Ursan actually comes off a a much better option then what we had before (eg. "the holy trinity" (warning: the trinity may not include only three classes nor might it include the classes you think it should. It's just an expression to show that the entrance was limited!)) So hopefully you won't try to generalize the given results - since the questions ARE fairly limiting. (And yeah I did give a 4 to Ursan! Like I said - given then question - it's better then what we had before.) Still doesn't mean that both options aren't complete and utter shit. )