I made another thread on this subject, that reached even more popularity than this one and went to the top of the popular topics section within an hour. It's more about the cheating aspect instead.
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/9938503946
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another season has ended, which means those players that meet the requirements, will receive a certain reward in the form of a title or perhaps even a mount. Today, I want to talk with you about these and other rewards in PvP, as well as going a bit off-topic and express my view on what the ladders should look like.
Rewards
I am a player who solely enjoys player versus player combat in the World of Warcraft. In this kind of combat, one shows his or her skills on a character and compares them with other players by challenging them, whether that be in a duel, arena or a different environment.
If the environment is created to be entirely about comparing players' skill with each other, you want to remove a lot of other variables that may interfer with this idea. This is for example why I, and many others, think that one should receive a full set of gear upong entering a battleground or arena, as this removes the most significant difference in power between players. If this idea is to be implented, it disables gear as a form of reward, which is something I gladly accept. However, we will need different rewards.
I feel like the rewards we currently have are perhaps enough to get players to step into PvP, but not enough to keep them participating on a consistent basis, and more importantly in my opinion, to improve themselves.
One doesn't need any rating at all to unlock, what is currently, the most important rewards available through PvP: gear. All it takes is to collect X amount of points. This can be done at any rating, or even through losses in rated battlegrounds.
The rewards that become available after meeting a certain rating or completing an achievement are too few.
I don't find the 'win 100 3v3 matches or 40 rated battlegrounds'-achievement very interesting. I see how it's a nice addition and how it can positively change the participation in PvP, but grinding is just something that in general, PvPers tend to not enjoy.
The transmog that becomes available at 2000 rating is definitely a very good concept, but it's just one thing. After that, you have an enchant at 2200 and the tabard and cloak at 2500. This means that a player who has reached 2000 rating, need to climb 500 rating with just one reward. That's a LOT for that level of gameplay. Do you realize how flawed this is? How big the difference is between a player at 2000, at 2200 or at 2500?
The only thing that might be available at other ratings are the end-of-season titles. However, due to plagued ladders, these have lost most of their prestige. I will come to this point later.
Ask yourself the following question: what is the purpose of rewards in PvP? First of all, they should motivate players. Secondly, they should give a moral boost or satisfaction when received.
With this in mind, let's think a minute what kind of rewards we would like. I think rewards should not increase the power against another player in PvP. In the past, players that reached 2200 rating were able to buy a stronger weapon. However, the later in the season, the more people around 2200 rating had this weapon. This created a barrier for new players to reach this rating.
I also think it's a good idea to have season-bound rewards. Currently, a lot of rewards are a 'one-timer'. For example, the Arena Master achievement. It shows that a player has reached 2200 in 2s, 3s and 5s at some point. However, it does't show which season, which completely changes how hard the achievement is as well as the prestige bound to it, as it was signifcantly easier in season X to reach that rating than it was in season Y. After you have achieved Arena Master, you can permanently wear this title through the seasons, even though the environment has completely changed. Wouldn't it be far more interesting if you could do the Arena Master multiple times? If it showed which season the title was obtained in?
I have a few suggestions for the rewarding system.
If players are to be motivated, there should be rewards for all levels of gameplay. As an example, I have the following idea:
1500: Cosmetic item (a flag to plant upon enemy corpses, a toy version of the season-bound mount similar to the Sandbox Tiger http://www.wowhead.com/item=45047/sandbox-tiger , whatever - something small);
1650: Season-bound Mount (T1);
1800: A bag of gold, not too little, but not too much either (money to the PvPers!);
2000: Elite transmog set;
2100: Season-bound Mount (T2);
2350: Season-bound tabard;
2500: Season-bound Flying Mount (no longer awarded together with the Gladiator title);
Tie all of these rewards to achievements. For example, the achievement [Get Skilled or Die Tryin': 2000] unlocks the Elite transmog set vendor.
Although I find the concept less interesting, I think it would be good to keep a 'win X amount of games in arena or Y amount of games in rated battlegrounds'-achievement. Award it with a pet or something similar.
Also make a lot of temporary achievements, for example [Grievous Arena Master] awarded to players who reached 2200 in 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5. The title would be permanent, but the the achievement turns into a Feat of Strength at the end of the season and is replaced by [Prideful Arena Master]. The same goes for the end-of-season rewards, for example, instead of just Rival, you would have Grievous Rival. The title remains permanent, but the achievement is temporary following the same idea as the Arena Master achievement.
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/9938503946
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another season has ended, which means those players that meet the requirements, will receive a certain reward in the form of a title or perhaps even a mount. Today, I want to talk with you about these and other rewards in PvP, as well as going a bit off-topic and express my view on what the ladders should look like.
Rewards
I am a player who solely enjoys player versus player combat in the World of Warcraft. In this kind of combat, one shows his or her skills on a character and compares them with other players by challenging them, whether that be in a duel, arena or a different environment.
If the environment is created to be entirely about comparing players' skill with each other, you want to remove a lot of other variables that may interfer with this idea. This is for example why I, and many others, think that one should receive a full set of gear upong entering a battleground or arena, as this removes the most significant difference in power between players. If this idea is to be implented, it disables gear as a form of reward, which is something I gladly accept. However, we will need different rewards.
I feel like the rewards we currently have are perhaps enough to get players to step into PvP, but not enough to keep them participating on a consistent basis, and more importantly in my opinion, to improve themselves.
One doesn't need any rating at all to unlock, what is currently, the most important rewards available through PvP: gear. All it takes is to collect X amount of points. This can be done at any rating, or even through losses in rated battlegrounds.
The rewards that become available after meeting a certain rating or completing an achievement are too few.
I don't find the 'win 100 3v3 matches or 40 rated battlegrounds'-achievement very interesting. I see how it's a nice addition and how it can positively change the participation in PvP, but grinding is just something that in general, PvPers tend to not enjoy.
The transmog that becomes available at 2000 rating is definitely a very good concept, but it's just one thing. After that, you have an enchant at 2200 and the tabard and cloak at 2500. This means that a player who has reached 2000 rating, need to climb 500 rating with just one reward. That's a LOT for that level of gameplay. Do you realize how flawed this is? How big the difference is between a player at 2000, at 2200 or at 2500?
The only thing that might be available at other ratings are the end-of-season titles. However, due to plagued ladders, these have lost most of their prestige. I will come to this point later.
Ask yourself the following question: what is the purpose of rewards in PvP? First of all, they should motivate players. Secondly, they should give a moral boost or satisfaction when received.
With this in mind, let's think a minute what kind of rewards we would like. I think rewards should not increase the power against another player in PvP. In the past, players that reached 2200 rating were able to buy a stronger weapon. However, the later in the season, the more people around 2200 rating had this weapon. This created a barrier for new players to reach this rating.
I also think it's a good idea to have season-bound rewards. Currently, a lot of rewards are a 'one-timer'. For example, the Arena Master achievement. It shows that a player has reached 2200 in 2s, 3s and 5s at some point. However, it does't show which season, which completely changes how hard the achievement is as well as the prestige bound to it, as it was signifcantly easier in season X to reach that rating than it was in season Y. After you have achieved Arena Master, you can permanently wear this title through the seasons, even though the environment has completely changed. Wouldn't it be far more interesting if you could do the Arena Master multiple times? If it showed which season the title was obtained in?
I have a few suggestions for the rewarding system.
If players are to be motivated, there should be rewards for all levels of gameplay. As an example, I have the following idea:
1500: Cosmetic item (a flag to plant upon enemy corpses, a toy version of the season-bound mount similar to the Sandbox Tiger http://www.wowhead.com/item=45047/sandbox-tiger , whatever - something small);
1650: Season-bound Mount (T1);
1800: A bag of gold, not too little, but not too much either (money to the PvPers!);
2000: Elite transmog set;
2100: Season-bound Mount (T2);
2350: Season-bound tabard;
2500: Season-bound Flying Mount (no longer awarded together with the Gladiator title);
Tie all of these rewards to achievements. For example, the achievement [Get Skilled or Die Tryin': 2000] unlocks the Elite transmog set vendor.
Although I find the concept less interesting, I think it would be good to keep a 'win X amount of games in arena or Y amount of games in rated battlegrounds'-achievement. Award it with a pet or something similar.
Also make a lot of temporary achievements, for example [Grievous Arena Master] awarded to players who reached 2200 in 2v2, 3v3 and 5v5. The title would be permanent, but the the achievement turns into a Feat of Strength at the end of the season and is replaced by [Prideful Arena Master]. The same goes for the end-of-season rewards, for example, instead of just Rival, you would have Grievous Rival. The title remains permanent, but the achievement is temporary following the same idea as the Arena Master achievement.