Originally Posted by
sudostahp
It's a change for the worst, and I think that's nearly universally agreed upon at this point. I don't think it's necessarily because the change itself is bad, it's just poorly implemented.
The assumption is that mega-groups (the zerg) are really boring. In some cases that's probably true, but it's only true because current design limitations only allow content to be balanced for solo and group play. If content is balanced for 6, then a smaller group will be frustrated and a larger group will find little challenge in it. From a design standpoint, it's much easier to force everyone into a predictable group size and adjust content to that size. That works fine for some things, like dungeons with simple objectives, but it's a poor design for open world content.
Rift was one of the early pioneers in creating adaptive content. Events were dynamic, grouping was automatic, and everyone could contribute and earn rewards. Guild Wars 2 followed with a similar system that also worked quite well.
As a player, I'm less concerned with the innovative coding that allows for dynamic content. It's neat, sure. I like loot, I like playing with others, but I really want a sense of community. That's what keeps players engaged for the long haul, and my real fear is that this change is directly harming the community. Peak numbers are down at least 30-40% from two weeks ago. Mants/Pask is no longer a chance to catch up with familiar faces. Guild runs have become only about maximizing a chance at success, and players with lesser gear are stuck watching from the sidelines. I used to run lower level dungeons for folks, but I haven't since the change. I'm not going to tell a player that they can't come along, or even worse, they can watch while only a few others loot -- and I won't have a part in it. Tonight, I won't even be logging on.
Community keeps games alive. A better change would have been to create an incentive for cooperative play. Have you seen the amount of cooperation that goes into killing those silly Scape Goats? There's no loot, it's low tech, but it's fun. It wouldn't be hard to simply scale global events (currently limited to druid events) based on progression. Kill the easy green ones, advance to the gold ones. Kill them, advance to the red ones. Kill the red ones, final blue boss. If loot inflation is an issue with the event, then award "participation points" like Dreva's blessings that can be redeemed for keys. Problem solved.
I have no idea why forcing group size is a good idea in dungeons. If players want a challenge, then they can create a group that it's balanced for, but players and guilds should have the option to have fun in whatever way floats their collective boat. That's the whole idea of a sandbox, right? Players ought to be able to create their own experience.