Curse

0wn3d · Apr 29, 2008, 11:24 PM // 23:24

I have recently started playing guild wars, about 2-3 months ago, at this point I have all campaigns and GWEN and 2 lvl 20 PVE chars, but I definitely like PVP better. Once I got faction like 2 months ago I started ABing and I love AB. And at that time I could join a group and we could queue up for AB and get in after 1-2 minutes. Lately it seems any time I try to AB it takes 5-20 minutes to get in, 5 only if I'm lucky. I was wondering if its been like this for a while or if its a recent thing that people are doing less AB.

If this is more of a recent thing I think Anet needs to do something to get people more motivated to AB, for example reward like a little more faction and maybe 50 gold for a win or something to get people to AB more.

fearfactory · Apr 29, 2008, 11:41 PM // 23:41

There are too many players in AB that people just want to avoid and most people going into AB do not know how to even play AB. That drives a lot of people away from it now, and most people now will only go if they have a full guild/alliance group for themselves.

Get into AB and see how many times your team mobs vs. captureing the points, how many times you lose because someone on your team is screaming at someone at the other team because they were fighting a 1 on 1 (HELLO, AB Does not equal 1 vs 1) and someone else ran in and killed them. Too many bad players.

As well, mostly people only AB when the map gives them more rewards for playing. IE. 1 side is winning too much, less faction per win with map shift. Other side starts playing, gaining more faction. Pushes the other side back, repeat in opposite.

Whisper01 · Apr 29, 2008, 11:50 PM // 23:50

i think that more(or just different) maps would get a lot more people ABing

Chthon · Apr 30, 2008, 12:00 AM // 00:00

1. At least this past weekend, they've all been at the festival.

2. While HFFF definitely draws a lot of people away from AB, hat's been around for quite awhile, so it shouldn't be responsible for a decrease.

3. There's a definite problem with the American-prime-time Kurz just giving up and not playing if the Euro-prime-time Kurz have pushed the line into Luxon territory. The root of the problem is that the Euro-Kurz, generally, are pretty good, while the Ameri-Kurz, generally, play like they've all got an extra chromosome. Since mob tactics equal an almost-certain defeat on maps that disfavor the mobbing team, and since the Ameri-Kurz don't seem to know any other tactics, you often end up with the Ameri-Kurz choosing not to play at all over playing and losing. Unfortunately, that just leaves the line stuck in Luxon territory that much longer.
Possible fixes would be updating the line more often and/or counting X total timer restarts for a defending team as a victory for purposes of moving the line. (IE, if the line is in Luxon territory, and th Kurz aren't playing, every 48 times a Luxon sees "no opposing team..." counts as 1 win for the Luxons.)

0wn3d · Apr 30, 2008, 12:10 AM // 00:10

Im an american kurz and I see like 2 districts full of people on kurz side always but yet get no opposing party all the time which makes me think there are not many luxons or the system is broken and not matching people rite resulting in long wait times

joshuarodger · Apr 30, 2008, 12:25 AM // 00:25

this is just a little theory i have and it could just be silly but i think there is some merit to it. it used to be that kurzicks and could just jump right into AB with no problem whereas luxons had to wait a bit. and i always thought this was because there were more luxons trying to AB so when there were enough kurzicks to form a complete team, the match just started right up. Well when all those luxons maxed their friend of the luxons titles, they had to start in on their kurzick titles. so the reverse would now be true. this means that more kurzicks are trying to AB (since they already have their luxon titles) now and whenever there are enough luxons to form a complete team they can just jump right in.

the reason i came up with this little theory is i started a character in factions about 8-9 months ago and used AB as my way of gaining faction for the storyline. back then when i was grinding out luxon points i had to wait through 8-10 "no opposing team.." messages, but could just jump right in when i was playing on the kurzick side. well i started another character about 3-4 weeks ago and just the opposite was true. I had to wait for the kurzick side, but just jumped right in. it also seems lke there are more people in the Kurzick districts right now, and not many in the luxon districts, which kind of led me in this direction.

i don't know, maybe it's just me, but that's my theory.

scythefromunder · Apr 30, 2008, 02:06 AM // 02:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshuarodger

this is just a little theory i have and it could just be silly but i think there is some merit to it. it used to be that kurzicks and could just jump right into AB with no problem whereas luxons had to wait a bit. and i always thought this was because there were more luxons trying to AB so when there were enough kurzicks to form a complete team, the match just started right up. Well when all those luxons maxed their friend of the luxons titles, they had to start in on their kurzick titles. so the reverse would now be true. this means that more kurzicks are trying to AB (since they already have their luxon titles) now and whenever there are enough luxons to form a complete team they can just jump right in.

the reason i came up with this little theory is i started a character in factions about 8-9 months ago and used AB as my way of gaining faction for the storyline. back then when i was grinding out luxon points i had to wait through 8-10 "no opposing team.." messages, but could just jump right in when i was playing on the kurzick side. well i started another character about 3-4 weeks ago and just the opposite was true. I had to wait for the kurzick side, but just jumped right in. it also seems lke there are more people in the Kurzick districts right now, and not many in the luxon districts, which kind of led me in this direction.

i don't know, maybe it's just me, but that's my theory.

LOL i had the same theory too

Azreal911 · Apr 30, 2008, 02:16 AM // 02:16

sometimes when there are like 2 districts and up of ab going on it's usually the server queues are full and they will not accept any new games until the ones playing are done. I've seen it happen where one group shows up cause their game is over and then we pop in right on the recount.

I have a account on both sides and they both has 2+ districts full at the time when the wait was like 12+ recounts. ewe! During primetime AB is super busy and lots of teams forming and name calling going on during and after games. Gotta love that!

thinkingofaname · Apr 30, 2008, 12:52 PM // 12:52

Alot of the waiting time depends on map advantage. Generally speaking, if you are playing on the side with a map disadvantage, there are hardly any waiting time. For example, as a Luxon playing in Lands, the counter almost never reset more than 2 times. But if you are playing with a map advantage, the waiting can be VERY long depending on the time and district.

zling · Apr 30, 2008, 01:02 PM // 13:02

it has more to do with ANet's servers than with a lack of people, as those are usually plentiful...
servers are too busy, too many AB matches going on simultaniously, etc.
that's usually the reasons you wait till you enter, not a lack of people

Taurucis · Apr 30, 2008, 01:08 PM // 13:08

Well, the Kurzicks (which my alliance has recently joined) is just getting stupider and stupider, we pretty much lose every single battle because there's only me and a couple others who aren't in a mob... maybe people are getting fed up of the AB stupidity and are just quitting.

Shuuda · Apr 30, 2008, 01:28 PM // 13:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taurucis

Well, the Kurzicks (which my alliance has recently joined) is just getting stupider and stupider, we pretty much lose every single battle because there's only me and a couple others who aren't in a mob... maybe people are getting fed up of the AB stupidity and are just quitting.

I have to agree, and this is why I always guest for Luxons when the map is Grenz or AL:

- Less waiting times.
- More rewards.
- Less shame.
- More challenge.

MasterSasori · Apr 30, 2008, 07:46 PM // 19:46

Whichever side is stupid or not stupid always varies from time to time, this topic shouldn't even be debated.

As for the OP, you probably just experienced a time when the map is heavily in favor of one side and the losing side are just fed up for the time being.

AB isn't going to die. It's arguably one of the healthiest PvP options thanks to the huge differences in build variety and skill.

If AB dies, I don't see how the other forms of PvP doesn't either.

0wn3d · Apr 30, 2008, 07:51 PM // 19:51

I think if theres a cap on the amount of simultaneous AB matches then it should be raised if possible. I barely ever lag that much while playing guild wars so I don't think there servers have too much load on them and when you go through 20 countdowns and can't get into an AB it gets really annoying and discourages people.

MasterSasori · Apr 30, 2008, 08:02 PM // 20:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0wn3d

I think if theres a cap on the amount of simultaneous AB matches then it should be raised if possible. I barely ever lag that much while playing guild wars so I don't think there servers have too much load on them and when you go through 20 countdowns and can't get into an AB it gets really annoying and discourages people.

The real problem is that one side simply gives in for a time period while the other side is trying to get in.

If you think about it. Everyone is always saying how the wait times are terrible, but what about the times when your side is doing terrible? I guarantee that you can get in the first or second count, the only reason you probably don't experience this is because no one wants to play on the losing side.

Red Sand · May 01, 2008, 06:13 PM // 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0wn3d

If this is more of a recent thing I think Anet needs to do something to get people more motivated to AB, for example reward like a little more faction and maybe 50 gold for a win or something to get people to AB more.

I don't necessarily agree with more faction, but some increased reward would be nice, if only to encourage people to play AB instead of mindlessly PvE farm elsewhere. I suppose that increased Balthazar Faction would be good, to allow faster skill unlocks and more frequent Zaishen Key purchase. However, I am reminded that there is no material motivation to GvG.

You could make Luxon and Kurzick Armor available for purchase by PvP characters, that might motivate a few more people to play AB, PvP'rs and PvE'rs alike. (Stands by with cheese to compliment the whine.

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterSasori

AB isn't going to die. It's arguably one of the healthiest PvP options thanks to the huge differences in build variety and skill.

QFT

One thing about AB, unless I am running with my guild team, and we are working on a specific team build, I don't care what a person is running when they join my group. So long as it works for them (and we win) it's all good.

FoxBat · May 01, 2008, 06:24 PM // 18:24

There is no server cap. I have accounts in one guild of each faction, *every* time I've had several "no opposing parties" for one side, the other side lets me in with 0 or 1 of those. The populations are easily unbalanced depending upon which map and time of day.

example; 50 luxons vs 200 kurzicks. While there's plenty of luxons playing, kurzicks are still going to have a good wait.

Shuuda · May 01, 2008, 08:17 PM // 20:17

Bah, tonight has been the last straw, the kurzicks do suck. You wait ages, only to instantly lose on AL (is that advange really not enough for them), I can't help but uncontrollably flame them on how pathetic they are. I can safely say, I won more on AL guesting for Luxon than I have playing for Kurzick. Just /facepalm somedays. Don't they have any kind of shame whatsoever?

/end rant.

Taurucis · May 01, 2008, 11:23 PM // 23:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shuuda

Bah, tonight has been the last straw, the kurzicks do suck. You wait ages, only to instantly lose on AL (is that advange really not enough for them), I can't help but uncontrollably flame them on how pathetic they are. I can safely say, I won more on AL guesting for Luxon than I have playing for Kurzick. Just /facepalm somedays. Don't they have any kind of shame whatsoever?

Yeah, I really feel your pain... it took about 5 minutes to get into an AB, and when we finally loaded, we lost 100 to 500...

It's seriously disgusting, I spent almost the entire match being the only Kurzick on my minimap. Every now and then I would pass the rest of the team... and guess what? All 11 of them were bum rushing a minion master who managed to trap them inside our base.

I'm currently being flamed by some total moron who seems to have an obsession with calling me "master."

zling · May 01, 2008, 11:37 PM // 23:37

I dont share your experiences on AL.
I'm in a Luxon guild and usually when I play on AL we somehow end up losing. had a few wins too but mostly losses...
guess the Luxons arent much smarter than the Kurzicks heh... it just depends on luck.