Shields - Fixing an utterly broken game mechanic

Unknown

Maybe it's just me, I play games to have fun. Strangely enough the PvP events seem to be designed around the opposite, dishing out at much frustration as possible. You get matched against opponents you haven't got the slightest chance to beat, or which offer next to no reward, pay to skip upcoming. You get the progress you've made taken away within minutes by attacks you can't defend against. You can pay to protect yourself against point loss, downside being that you can't really continue playing the game while you do.

So, how could this still be turned into a rewarding experience for players, preferrably one they are willing to pay money for so D3 will continue to host the game? Quite simple, remove the point loss on getting attacked successfully as well as the point gain for somebody yielding against you. Points only increase (or stay the same), not decrease, you keep what you worked for. Spread out rewards to accomodate for higher scores. Change the combat nodes to select an easy, medium or tough opponent instead of the environment you will be fighting in. Possibly remove the second/third attempt mechanic to reign in expected points gain somewhat. And finally, change shields so they increase points gained on winning matches (e.g. +50% for 3 hours, +100% for 8 hours), allowing players to rise faster.

Speaking just for myself, I'd *very much* prefer to play PvP events under this set of rules. They would encourage me to play PvP events during their whole duration, not just the final hour point grab. And they make me feel like I'm getting something for the money I pay instead of paying for something not getting taken away from me.

mischiefmaker

If your points never go down and there's no limit on how many matches you can play, then tournaments become a matter of who can play the most.

I'm not very fond of that idea, and the implementation of rubber banding seems to indicate the devs aren't either.

Unknown

It's a matter of who can play the most efficiently, which seems far better than who gets most lucky. If that rewards players with much time on their hands too much just throw in diminishing regenerating returns. Meaning the first fight is worth 100% points, the second one 95%, all the way down to a single victory point like the repeatable missions in The Hunt. Wait 8 hours for point gain to slowly scale back up to 100%.

Unknown

Yeah, but then it's still just who can play the most out of every 8 hour window. I'm not saying the current system is working, but there's definitely something to be said for a system which rewards win percentage/quality and not just win volume.