I have to agree Courtney the systems weren't there to begin with, you then scrap it and say "if the PvP community gets larger it might come back in the future". That is unlikely in and of itself unless BW comes out with amazing features that draw back a huge PvP community again. Maybe Arena's will do it but I doubt it.

 

That's not to say the PvP community isn't happy to see arena's coming, of course.

 

Here's hoping space PvP is awesome and brings players back!

Are there going to be any measures in place to prevent 'fight-clubbing' in Ranked arenas?

I can guarantee people will form 2 groups and Queue together, leaving if not put together and re-queuing.

As the 'fight-club partner teams' will remain of a similar ranking, the chances of them being put together will only increase as they gain ranks and make the process easier.

 

Pretty much what I was saying earlier in this thread... Has not been addressed by a Dev yet.

It seems so obvious that people will do this, so I am hoping that they have some sort system to deter it.

Hey Sammenn and Scriffle,

 

Alex is not intentionally dodging your question nor are there looming higher ups telling him not to post. The truth is he answered your question in the blog itself:

 

"We are sad to see it go but the truth is that because of many factors not enough people played them and we didn’t support them well enough, so they are going away for now. Getting eight friends together and hoping another eight people are doing the same at the exact same time AND your two teams were equally matched was a nightmare for the players. It is possible that Ranked 8v8 Warzones will come back at a later time if we can solve some of the problems with them and if the population is there to support them."

 

We will now be focusing 4v4 Ranked Arenas, but as the blog says that doesn't mean Ranked 8v8 Warzones are off the table forever. But not until we can solve the issues around them.

 

Unfortunately, the quoted text does nothing whatsoever to answer the questions. So there are problems with 8v8 ranked which hurt nobody who isn't queing for them. There are many subscribers who play the game for 8v8 ranked, and many guilds which exist for no reason other than to do ranked. Some of these people will be happy to do 4v4 arenas, but many of them will also leave when 8v8s are removed. Recalll the very large exodus of PvPers from the game when 1.2 was launched without ranked matches: this could be similar.

 

The question that has really been asked is, what potential proportional gains are there to take these enormous risks by removing 8v8 ranked when it does no harm to let them remain, satisfying some and harming nobody?

 

To put it in business terms, as that is understandably what really matters, what is the opportunity cost of maintaining the option to que for 8v8 ranked?

Edited August 14, 2013 by Skolops

Well this is going to be interesting. I'm really happy to see some love for PvP. However, once again, we PvPers are getting something while something else is taken away.

 

A smelly part of those Tauntaun guts is that for Game Update 2.4 we are removing 8v8 Warzones from the Ranked Queue.

 

I know a ton of people weren't running Ranked, but like the original Ilum, it's better to have something than nothing. Not thrilled with this decision. Even if they weren't hugely popular, it was a fun extra PvP dynamic in this game, and the only real dynamic with a team emphasis.

 

Hopefully, 8v8 Ranked will return soon, but this time with a better matchmaking system.

 

Two teams of four each will battle against each other in a best of three rounds match. Each round will be unique, and no effects will carry over from round to round, even if you survive. This also means that class ability cool-downs will be reset between each round, so no need to save that Force Barrier or other long cool-downs for a specific round!

 

TDM will make the derpers very happy. So you will get no complaints there from most of the players in this game.

 

However, I'm not sure I like the cooldown reset idea. Sort of mixed in my feelings about this.

 

In addition to being matched by rating the match making system also determines the role of the character (DPS, Tank or Healer) and matches them with an analog of the same rank on the other team. This means that in the Ranked Solo queue you will always have a character of the same role for ones you have! No four healers versus four tanks matches here! We think this is a very exciting feature of the Solo Queue as it allows for team parity and creates better matched, more enjoyable PvP experiences. In Group Ranked Arenas however team composition is up to the group. Group Ranked Arenas will still have matchmaking based off of rating but role parity will not be a requirement.

 

Was really excited to read this, and am very interested in seeing the new Arena Matchmaking System in action. This will be the biggest gamechanger for PvP this game has seen, even bigger than Bolster. Props to you guys for finally working it out.

 

Will there be an Arena Ladder System as well?

 

In addition to these Ranked changes players will no longer be able to respec while in the PvP Queue or while in a Warzone, Giradda didn’t find that fun anyway.

 

Meh. More giving in to the QQ and gripes of baddies, and another layer of strategy gone from PvP combat. So now PvP in SWTOR has been reduced to straight TDM, smaller Ranked teams, RNG procs instead of Clickies, no Adrenals, no Respec, a Resolve system that doesn't penalize spammers, and a Bolster system that requires no gearing up. Honestly, is there any way to dumb PvP down more in this game?

 

I'm glad to see the new stuff coming for PvP, but really disappointed that the combat itself will be so banal and rudimentary. Just going to be a DPS race with a few ACs dominating after peeps have figured out how to best exploit the Bolster system this time around.

 

On a lighter note, is that a Quesh Huttball Map I see??? Nice!

Edited August 14, 2013 by DarthOvertone

Hey Sammenn and Scriffle,

 

Alex is not intentionally dodging your question nor are there looming higher ups telling him not to post. The truth is he answered your question in the blog itself:

 

"We are sad to see it go but the truth is that because of many factors not enough people played them and we didn’t support them well enough, so they are going away for now. Getting eight friends together and hoping another eight people are doing the same at the exact same time AND your two teams were equally matched was a nightmare for the players. It is possible that Ranked 8v8 Warzones will come back at a later time if we can solve some of the problems with them and if the population is there to support them."

 

We will now be focusing 4v4 Ranked Arenas, but as the blog says that doesn't mean Ranked 8v8 Warzones are off the table forever. But not until we can solve the issues around them.

 

If we thought this answered our questions, we wouldn't have asked. Getting 8 people together at the same time other people have 8 together is tough, but happens regularly on POT5. I don't see a point in removing this game type when there are people who want to participate in it.

 

Saying it may come back in the future means nothing. We were told Ilum may come back in the future. At the very least, why isn't this staying in game as a gametype with no rewards? Basically, if you want objective PvP you have to queue for regs and hope you don't get arenas. Seems legit.

Dev's can we please get a response on the below?

 

Hi Devs,

 

Can you please explain how Warzones will work with no ranked? Will PvP Guilds be able to queue a full group of 8 for normal Warzones? Previously you could only queue a full group for Ranked, but in removing that, will you be opening this up for Standard Warzones.

 

I see two major problems with both answers.

 

Firstly: No, you will not allow a group of 8 to queue for normal warzones.

 

What is the point of PvP guilds practicing, playing and queuing for warzones then, if they cannot run a full ops group? Have you not then completely taken away any incentive for PvPers to participate in Warzones?

 

Secondly: Yes, you will allow a group of 8 to queue for normal warzones.

 

Won't this just encourage PvP guilds to stomp all over PUG groups, and essentially see any unguilded players completely dissuaded from playing normal Warzones?

 

--

 

I really like the look of Arenas, however I would greatly appreciate a response to the above, with attention to detail on how you will be mitigating the fallout from removing Ranked Warzones. Hopefully you have a solution to both of the above, because neither scenario is ideal.

 

Personally I think you should LEAVE Ranked Warzones as a part of the Game, thus allowing 8v8 Ops Groups to continue to queue against each other when and how they please. You can still roll out everything you intend to without causing a significant negative impact on the PvP community at large.

Dev's can we please get a response on the below?

 

It says in the blog that you can queue with 1-4 people for regs. Probably why they aren't answering.

 

"As a solo player or a group of up to four characters you can join the Warzones queue which will place you and your group into a Warzone of a random type, including Arenas."

Hey Sammenn and Scriffle,

 

Alex is not intentionally dodging your question nor are there looming higher ups telling him not to post. The truth is he answered your question in the blog itself:

 

"We are sad to see it go but the truth is that because of many factors not enough people played them and we didn’t support them well enough, so they are going away for now. Getting eight friends together and hoping another eight people are doing the same at the exact same time AND your two teams were equally matched was a nightmare for the players. It is possible that Ranked 8v8 Warzones will come back at a later time if we can solve some of the problems with them and if the population is there to support them."

 

We will now be focusing 4v4 Ranked Arenas, but as the blog says that doesn't mean Ranked 8v8 Warzones are off the table forever. But not until we can solve the issues around them.

 

They may not be ideal, but I don't see why they need to go. Just leave them in there unsupported and as is and make a bunch of people happy. Remove the ranking if it gets in the way of the 4 man ranks.

It says in the blog that you can queue with 1-4 people for regs. Probably why they aren't answering.

 

"As a solo player or a group of up to four characters you can join the Warzones queue which will place you and your group into a Warzone of a random type, including Arenas."

 

I read the post before asking the question.

My post is specifically about ops groups queuing for Warzones, not Arenas, which are made up of 8v8 composition.

I read the post before asking the question.

My post is specifically about ops groups queuing for Warzones, not Arenas, which are made up of 8v8 composition.

 

Solo or groups of 4 is what I am getting. They totally removed 8v8 ranked so I really don't think they will add them to the regular queue.

Very disappointed.

 

I didn't really want small team arenas, as they ALWAYS turn into a balance cluster****, but was fine with it as 'extra' PvP content.

 

Who would have thought their solution to fixing the queue times (on SOME servers) for RWZs would be to remove them from the game? Way to live up to my exceedingly low expectations.

 

/sigh

 

I really hope Wildstar is at least vaguely playable.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Jherad

Where's the translator? Did somebody actually eat him after they won a game of Huttball?!

We will now be focusing 4v4 Ranked Arenas, but as the blog says that doesn't mean Ranked 8v8 Warzones are off the table forever. But not until we can solve the issues around them.

 

I have a significant issue with this: arenas are team deathmatch. 8v8 WZs are a mixture, most of which involve a larger component of objectives. this allowed teamwork, and goal oriented players to compete A) against players who just maximize output better and B) classes that simply out dps other classes. in other words, objective oriented WZs helped balance WZs. I'm very concerned that ONLY allowing for rated in arenas is going to destroy any semblance of balance and push entire ACs completely out of them. I don't have a problem with 4v4. but if they're all TDM, that's very bad for the game. have you considered this dynamic? and what were your conclusions?

I read the post before asking the question.

My post is specifically about ops groups queuing for Warzones, not Arenas, which are made up of 8v8 composition.

 

I'll try to stay nice.

 

If you read the article, you'd notice that you can only queue for 8v8 and arenas at the same time. There is no separation of queues unless you do ranked, which is arena only.

 

So, since what I quoted you says 1-4 players for the regular queue, an ops group is out of the question.

Solo or groups of 4 is what I am getting. They totally removed 8v8 ranked so I really don't think they will add them to the regular queue.

 

But they are keeping all the previous Warzones as a part of that queue. So you could still end up in Novare/Hutball/Civil War/Voidstar/AH but can you or can't you queue for it as a full ops group? I would honestly like to know how the Bioware Devs are addressing this.

 

My previous points were -

 

No, you will not allow a group of 8 to queue for normal warzones.

 

What is the point of PvP guilds practicing, playing and queuing for warzones then, if they cannot run a full ops group? Have you not then completely taken away any incentive for PvPers to participate in Warzones?

 

Yes, you will allow a group of 8 to queue for normal warzones.

 

Won't this just encourage PvP guilds to stomp all over PUG groups, and essentially see any unguilded players completely dissuaded from playing normal Warzones?

 

---

 

I'm not trying to rip the Devs a new one, I'm not raging, I genuinely want to know how they intend to address this. It seems pointless to have 8v8 matches if you can't queue as a group of 8, but in removing Ranked, the only place you COULD do that, IF you allow an ops group to queue it'll just be LOLSMASH insta win to that team vs pugs.

 

Honestly, the best solution is the one they have. Leave Ranked for Normal Warzones so those who want to queue, still can.

 

Everyone can still enjoy all the new content, without losing your hardcore community and without having expert PvP'ers stomping all over PUGS.

Removing the F2P restriction for entering the Warzones

 

Will f2p be able to participate in rated arenas? Will there be a rated arenas pass coming to cartel market?

Edited August 14, 2013 by DkSharktooth

Thanks for the update on 2.4. I think many of the changes will help drive the game in the right direction and the effort that you all (dev team) has made is good.

 

My questions:

 

1. Will there be new gear in 2.4?

 

2. Are you planning to look at Bolster to correct the many issues that still exist with it?

 

3. Are you planning to adjust the Resolve system so we spend less time CC'd during matches and more time playing and having fun?

 

4. What are you having for lunch?

 

Thanks for your prompt and witty responses.

I'll try to stay nice.

 

If you read the article, you'd notice that you can only queue for 8v8 and arenas at the same time. There is no separation of queues unless you do ranked, which is arena only.

 

So, since what I quoted you says 1-4 players for the regular queue, an ops group is out of the question.

 

... Firstly - by saying 'i'll try to stay nice' you're not 'being nice'.

 

I fully understand what the article says, my question is completely unanswered in the article, please see above.

I'm glad I unsubbed. A terrible decision on removing Rankeds, period.

 

Oh well, makes it easier to leave the game.

Alex,

 

How will you be addressing class balance issues with Arenas fast approaching? Will you make any changes? If not, why not?

Will the solo que in ranked and regular arenas be the same que as the group que? i.e. if I que with 4 will we be playing people who have solo queued?

 

No. They are separate queues with their own ratings.

 

Is that just for ranked arenas? Or will regular arenas also have a rating attached?

 

Good question. So I will put it here as well.

... Firstly - by saying 'i'll try to stay nice' you're not 'being nice'.

 

I fully understand what the article says, my question is completely unanswered in the article, please see above.

 

IF 8v8 warzones are only in the normal queue

 

AND the normal queue allows you to have 1-4 people in a group

 

THEN you can't queue with 8 people for 8v8s

 

Is this a good thing? no

Should they leave ranked? yes

Does this answer your question? yes

Frankly I am not concerned at all about Ranked 8v8 going away. It's sad to lose a system that has a devoted following. I would be interested in a more detailed explanation of what the developers feel it would take to keep ranked 8v8 if that is possible.

 

My major problem with ranked 8v8 all along has been the poor matchmaking, coupled with the small population. It has always been an exercise in frustration for new ranked players to get up to speed. The only people who were having fun with it were truly the small percentage of the pvp player base that worked to play it regularly and were willing to play specific classes only. Winning ranked 8v8 matches is always about composition, although experienced players can (and do) take various off compositions into matches and can win with them.

 

I am excited about 4v4 TDM arena's. They will have the same composition meta-game, but with many more viable possibilities and opportunities to explore. My biggest question is about the new matchmaking system. Will it apply to regular warzones (objective based) as well?

What consumables will players be limited to in warzone arenas? Will it be the same as the current structure? (any type of health pots, warzone adrenals, any type of cybertech grenade?)