What do you think Anet's plan is for 90% of the unused game?

[satenia]

Wait, what, where are the "I play for fun and with my low-level friends thanks to awesome downscaling" posts?

To me it seems natural that the population shifts to new content and/or the one with the best rewards. From this point of view, the maps don't hold replay value past map completion. Nevertheless, I would consider it a bit early to "overhaul" maps to better suit the needs of people with full map/story completion; wouldn't this sort of take away content of an initial "play-through"?

I don't think that this should be on Anet's priority list, but it might be something to welcome in the far future.


On the Orr maps:
Smartly using the terrain, a speedboost and/or condition removal will get you far enough to map complete even on your own. I wouldn't call these areas difficult, but they can be quite annoying and dull (same few risen mobs all the time).

At this point, a map feels attractive to me when it's well suited to complete the daily, Orr doesn't qualify due to the almost non-existent mob variety, the rest would be fine (as in, same as any other map).

[Lady Rhonwyn]

Wait, what, where are the "I play for fun and with my low-level friends thanks to awesome downscaling" posts?

I'd love to play with my friends. Sadly, ANet won't allow me.

At this point, a map feels attractive to me when it's well suited to complete the daily, Orr doesn't qualify due to the almost non-existent mob variety, the rest would be fine (as in, same as any other map).

Good point. I love Frostgorge. It is varied, you can never leave and still finish your daily, it looks awesome, there's a nice batch of easy foes and more difficult foes. I can really go there for R&R.

[satenia]

I'd love to play with my friends. Sadly, ANet won't allow me.

Would guesting really help spreading the population across the maps? I'd guess that the behavior is similar across all servers, so unpopular maps remain just like that.

Good point. I love Frostgorge. It is varied, you can never leave and still finish your daily, it looks awesome, there's a nice batch of easy foes and more difficult foes. I can really go there for R&R.

Yeah it was also Frostgorge that I had in mind Nice variety and still gets some players thanks to meta-event, farming and harvesting. Usually my choice for the daily.

[kokabel]

If I could go play with friends on other servers, I think I would get groups together to 'clear' certain zones - go get all the poi/vistas/skill points, which would be much quicker with a group. If others thought the same way, I guess some areas might see more action from such groups. I dunno.

Seems a shame, because some of the design of structures etc in Orr is pretty cool and I would like to really look into every corner - but going alone takes so long, is boring and doesn't give you the change to just take in the landscape at all.

[Lady Rhonwyn]

Would guesting really help spreading the population across the maps? I'd guess that the behavior is similar across all servers, so unpopular maps remain just like that.

Not so much the spreading, but the grouping, which, apparently ANet finds important, because why else have all those Group DE's and champions? If guesting was in, you could assemble your friends, and not just the ones that may be on your own server, and focus your effort on one map. It's not ideal, but at least it's a start.

The server split was the most stupidest thing ANet has implement in GW2, in my eyes at least. I still cannot see why they couldn't implement a district system for PvE...

[Fluffball]

They should do mass invasions if an area is left for too long. If you leave the Skritt alone for too long they attack farmers and take all the food in the area. If you leave the harpies alone for too long they take over the whole map. etc.

This is actually one of the reasons the other 2 Orr maps DON'T see play. There are no open waypoints, ever, so travel or dying is painful. Retaking them a) is impossible alone and b) lasts a matter of minutes. The O2OMs could be used as an example of what NOT to do.

Even Cursed Shore and Frostgorge may be underpopulated once they open up rest of the map, which looks like it will nearly double the playable areas, with presumably less players as people slowly drop off over the next 7 years. I know I'd like to revisit Southsun Cove once they add the real content. At least Frostgorge only has as far as I know a single event chain that needs a group (Claw). Even the champs in that area I've been able to solo. Cursed Shore is not possible to solo other than mapping and a few minor events.

I like the idea of underflow servers. If you combined all 2 million people in to one potential server (if needed), every map would have events being pushed.

[Alaris]

Wait, what, where are the "I play for fun and with my low-level friends thanks to awesome downscaling" posts?

Well, I have enjoyed plenty of times playing with people of very different levels.

Also, I still plan to go through all zones with at least one character, my already lvl 80 guardian.

What is natural is that people go to the highest reward. Why not then let mobs get richer if they get killed less, so eventually the highest rewards are to be found where nobody is. Or like zaishen, each day pick a different area and give it higher rewards and more DEs.

[satenia]

If I could go play with friends on other servers, I think I would get groups together to 'clear' certain zones - go get all the poi/vistas/skill points, which would be much quicker with a group. If others thought the same way, I guess some areas might see more action from such groups. I dunno.

The goal would be map completion though, which is a one-time per character thing. Maybe you'd be tempted to roll another alt due to this, but basically you just delay the effect described by the OP.

Not so much the spreading, but the grouping, which, apparently ANet finds important, because why else have all those Group DE's and champions? If guesting was in, you could assemble your friends, and not just the ones that may be on your own server, and focus your effort on one map. It's not ideal, but at least it's a start.

Personally I found that when going back to low/mid level areas as a decently equipped lvl 80 character, I can take DE's and even champions on my own. You still keep certain advantages even with downscaling. While this would certainly be more fun to do with friends, I'm still not convinced that you'd go back to low/mid level areas for this, while you could get better overall rewards out of it in a zone closer to your actual level.

It would however solve the problem with some Orr areas described in this thread... in either way, I'm very much looking forward to guesting.

What is natural is that people go to the highest reward. Why not then let mobs get richer if they get killed less, so eventually the highest rewards are to be found where nobody is. Or like zaishen, each day pick a different area and give it higher rewards and more DEs.

While I love the zaishen idea in theory, I do not think that it would work too well. You simply shift the daily Cursed Shore zerg to the zaishen area, turning it into the same farm-fest for a day.

After the Lost Shores weekend, I'd even go as far as saying that I'm totally against focusing popular events on a single map only. You'd have to make the zaishen boosts over several areas, but even then you'd run in danger that over time people figure out the best map to farm it and stick to that.

[EnoughAlready]

Mass invasions of Harpies with rifles using battle tactics? ;-)

I have a solution to the problem of not being able to play with your friends.
What you do is you allow groups of guilds to form 'alliances' & these 'alliances' could communicate in chat...

For under populated areas there could be special npc's, or 'Henchmen' that the player could hire for a share of the loot. Or, even better those npc's could have stories of their own, be 'Heroes' in their own right...

For every problem GW2 has, GW1 has a solution.

As for quiet areas where not much happens, I'd guess most of them will remain empty.

[sorudo]

i hope they change nothingit's fine the way it is and i really don't want it to change.
i have plenty of lvl 20 and less characters and i don't want low level places to change because of lvl 80 whiners who think it's never being used.