mcbluefire
Baronet
Like it when someone answers their own question/concern.
Try as I might, I cannot find any philosophy or psychology where entertainment is listed as a need. I was leaning towards physiological needs, however I can see the argument for mental/emotional needs, yet still don't see any instance where one groups mental/emotional needs outweighs another. Entertianment can provide shallow "sense of connection", "achievement", "acceptance", or "purpose" which are psychological needs. This might be better known as the right to pursue happiness which should not be denied;however to indicate that a group playing a game is somehow denying another group's right to happiness while playing the same game is far-fetched at best. To enjoy the game one must compete. Those unwilling to compete (or wanting to compete only on their own terms) are NOT playing the game and are thus denying themselves the opportunity to reach their own goals, not the other players.
Take, as an example, a more direct PVP game where players want to get to a reward that is available in a hot combat situation only. Should the opposing PVP players stop playing and let the player seeking the reward walk in unhindered to pickup it up, should the player have to fight in co-ordination with their own team against the opponents and work out a strategy to enable them to obtain the reward, or give up and forget about the reward? One does not fix this issue by nerfing the shields of all the PVP players, but apparently that's what Inno thought might be a good idea.
But, I suppose the players that worked up their level and fighting tactics should be demonized as ruthless "point stealers" "preventing" those who want something instantly without undertaking the endeavors others figured out and executed.
Over the past two years the guild I am a founder in has gone through extremes and I solidly plant most of those issues on GbG in it's current state. We were one of the first guilds in Diamond. We won a full on war with no alliances and 2 adversaries focusing on us in the first season of GbG. It was very fun. The next season we worked with those two guilds to form an alliance to ensure we not only stayed together, but would be at the top of the pack for seasons to come. Not until our 7th season did we find ourselves separated by the influx of new diamond guilds and under full attack from our 4th ally that we had included into the circle; found ourselves locked down for the first time ever. As time went on the top guilds found themselves shrinking as players quit the game. Then a new wave started of players understanding how to grow fast using GbG as well as their Arc. Some of us viewed them as abusing the guild treasury (helps to announce free sectors instead of hoping others don't notice) and we watched one GbG lead leave to go and jump guilds until they finally found a group they could grow fast in. Meanwhile our guild attempted to get more and more players involved in GbG and burned out GbG lead after GbG lead with the responsibilities needed to keep the guild engaged, the map watched, and the sectors flipping. Then the new recruits started to be much less than the veteran guild mates leaving for another guild or done with the game. Eventually we found ourselves down from 80 with a wait-list to 40ish players, always 10 or so who knocked out GE but found GbG worth ignoring. We merged with a guild that didn't quite pan out due to leaders getting burned out and differing play philosophies for many of the players. Then we merged with another guild and got up over 70 for a bit, but several of the players had other plans and went to another guild they had been considering for quite some time. So that leaves us as a diamond guild but not one with a bunch of players that can push through the nerf, so as happens occasionally now we will likely be permanently banned as a swap partner unless we merge with another guild that is like minded and ready to roll in the entertainment reduced environment. Yet again I see no positive benefit out of the nerf that would address any of the trails we've been through the last couple of years and figure it will likely be quite the opposite.
I find it interesting how little diplomacy has been discussed here as one of the features of GbG. I have found it as vital. With it you can negotiate yourself a spot in the swapping and then your guild just has to be able to keep up; we've never had a problem there. We've been on both sides of the tablefor permitted/denied though and I'd rather still see the ability to get free hits than banking my GbG participation on RNG.
