DISCUSSIONS AROUND ONGOING PROJECTS

You're not required to stand in a pod the whole time or use pods at all, and that also often fails. Regardless of the battle duration, some players still haven't put the time into practicing PVP combat.

As someone who resembles a heal pawn, I find OP wars fun and very entertaining. Not only is there the tension of whether or not my side will win, but being an effective healer during OP is more challenging than regular team PvE.

As for the time, I initially didn't really care but after reading the comments feel that 1 hour is too short in most cases. Maybe compromise with 1 1/2 hours?

Another thought that crossed my mind was adding a Surrender button. The only times I've found OP boring was when one side gives up really early but we have to stay just in case they come back. If the attacker (phase 1) or defender (phase 2) could surrender, that would end it early in the cases where it should be shorter. The side surrendering would then automatically lose all remaining rounds. Having a surrender button for both sides might also be useful if a guild wants to just hand over the OP to another guild.

Just 2 more of my dapper :)

I like the idea of the "surrender button" provided it has enough safeguards to prevent accidental triggering. It would have to be limited to GL of the attacking or defending guild. (Your GL can't make it? Have her appoint one of the HOs as temporary GL. If you can't count on the HO to hand it back, then he shouldn't be an HO.)

I might agree with you if I lived in a country that only had 1 or 2 times zones, and/or any of them were even close to CET where a fair number of Ryzom players live. But unless we make them long enough to get both coasts of the US involved on any day other than Saturday, I don't think 1 hour battles are any worse than 2 hour ones.

That said, even the 2-hour battles pretty much make OP battle and EU-only thing much of the time, and anything convenient for one coast of the US will have the other coast either still at work/school or getting ready for bed. So how about if we go the other way and make OP battles more of a siege; something long enough that all time zones have a chance to get in on, and the time zone shenanigans that currently happen just can't happen.

You appear to be describing issues that better relate to the battle 'tactics' that are currently being utilised at OP wars and your role in said battles rather than the battle 'mechanics' as the issue. In respect of the former, these factors are determined by the player base and you as an individual.

Naturally, battle leaders will seek to use players in the most efficient way and by directing them to the role they are best suited to. In Ryzom battles, I'd say there are probably about 4 main roles but I have added a 5th as I feel it has become a more popular role -
1. Tank - moves away from their heal pod to get close to the enemy heal pod. Requires a lot of upkeep due to this and especially when they are out of radar of their own healers. To be an effective tank you need a dedicated healer, good pvp jools, good gear and a wide variety of melee skills. This rules out new players as tanks in most battles.
2.Nuker - Can be part of the heal pod and can attack enemy tanks that are close enough. However, nukers are pretty inefficient for DPS as most players equip pvp jools so unless you are especially skilled at nuking and have necessary tools like Cheng amps and know how to use them effectively then you will just be draining your stats and soaking up heals.
3.Launcher - by far one of the best DPS in the game and extremely effective in OP wars but it is a difficult skill to level and requires a lot of prep before battle including the multiple levelling of crafting and digging and organising of mount/packers and inventory space. Not very easy for a new player.
4.Healer - anyone can heal and any heals, no matter how small, are useful. There are more advanced forms of healing ofc...
5. Multi-tasker - a player who is able to melee/nuke/heal as required. Multi-master relying on other multi-master-multi-taskers (lol theres a mouthful) who can be self-sufficient. I'd say this is probably more of an end-game role.

The point I am trying to make is that chances are, even if you are a master melee or master nuker you will probably still be best utilised as a healer in an OP war. That's really just how it is... We've all been the noob at the battle healing and most of us have also been multi-masters healing in the heal pod - it really is one of the most effective roles short of being a multi-tasker in a self-sufficient team. So, If you want to change this I can think of two ways:-
1. Train skills. Train pvp. Get better gear. Become a formidable tank or a master launcher... or a pvper who can do all 4 roles!
2. To change the actual mechanics of OP battles, you are then looking at something like... adding objectives to wars that any player can complete such as capture points. However, even with this suggestion, most players will still be best utilised as healers...

Regarding the duration of OP wars - 4 hours is too long. So:
1. Remove second phase and have one 2 hour long battle
2. Keep two phases but make the two battles 1 hour long each and create a custom respawn point for each OP to prevent losing out on wiped rounds lost
3.One battle lasting 1 hour with a custom respawn point for each OP

And, to link this back to tactics and player roles, I am struggling to see how reducing OP wars to 1 hour is going to change anything of what I have said above i.e. that most players will be best placed as a healer... or are you saying that 2 hours per battle of spamming heal in a heal pod is boring but one hour isnt?

I disagree. You can find yourself reaching 'end game' in Ryzom quicker than you think and typically the only reason you continue to play is because of the playerbase as there is not much 'end game' content. I think all the player base should be listened to and I would say probably more to the existing player base because I cant see many new players wanting to stick around in a zombie guild having convos in a zombie uni chat.

Years ago (pre-merger) we spoke about making changes to the way OP's and War used to be conducted, not because of any one faction controlling but because we felt that low-level OP needed more value. Mat rotation discussion is nothing new and actually eliminating some were discussed as well. If we can eliminate guilds from receiving Catalyzers (which is how I accomplished all of my masters pre-merger), then we can eliminate useless OP mats and bring some value to owning one.

The time-zone for OP wars will always be an issue regardless of change or not but, 1 phase to settle everything with a 2hr time limit, would be ideal in my opinion. I have taken OP during times when guilds were at work or sleeping because of where I live and that is called - life and then they were taken back from me in the same manner - that is part of life but people fail to realize that this is just a game and not real-life...

With regards to the declaration cost and drill grace-period, here are my thoughts, which once you read, you will think that I am crazy but if you seriously think about it, it does make sense. Lvl 250 OP war declaration cost should increase to 32M dappers, this will make some toons think twice and possibly encourage smaller guilds to merge and create a real sense of balance (or at the very least, a start to). Also, the cost of the drill should increase to 64M dappers for x1 speed and 128M dappers for x2 speed and if the dev-team is feeling generous, give us x4 speed for 512M dappers. I believe that by doing this, guilds will also have to take seriously the value of the OP Mat itself and possibly, as I previously mentioned, create larger guilds because the cost alone will require team-work. The grace period should be at least 90 days from the time the drill is dropped, this way, the guild can enjoy some of the benefits for all the dappers spent.

Parting shot: Life is simple, unpredictable and beautiful but always remember that even though something ends, something new begins, so take a deep breath and move on.

PS, let the criticism begin because most are really good at that and not anything constructive....

don't worry zatagra, there's a special forum post for those right here (unless they're being constructive, then they don't need that other post after all)the low level op's are often not a major desire since the bulk of the game is old vets that translates into no demand for the low level op mats, how long will a homin be able to use a Q50 anything before it's just worthless (even if it's the best for it's Q, it's useless for a multi-master that's far beyond that level.)often the low level op's are almost given away, WaO at one time was in stewertship of no less then 3 op's, all of them more or less unwanted by the rest of the community in terms of ownership, and because after sharing with my faction (as was the pratice for the kami when i was playing daily) the few mats anyone wanted, i would then open it up to the whole server if anyone wanted any, in the end the mat's just stacked up because who needs Q50 and Q100 op mats (the very worst possible ones to boot but meh)

I am only going to comment on the "availability" issue rather than any of the tactics oriented ones since I personally do not participate. Only think I will say here is, with a single server, the "We gonna attack you at your most inconvenient time .... and then you are going to do the same to us at our most inconvenient time' just seems 'silly"

Not quite sure I understand the complete idea but, if I am understanding what is proposed, I don't think it makes sense for a 50 level OP to produce 250 mats. The mat rotation makes sense and perhaps the chance of a 150 making a 200 makes sense at say twice the rate it does now would be good.

But remembering the "advanced occupations" that existed pre-merge... I would much rather see:

take two 50s to make a 100 ... take two 100s to make a 150 ... take two 150s to make a 200 ... take 3 200s to make a 250. So if I'm thinking right, you need 24 QL 50 mats to earn a 250. It's another skill to get involved in and gives value to the low level OPs.

Having a horde of 250 players invade a 50 OP is like having a bunch of college players doing pick-up games at the elementary school playground where the baskets are 6 feet off the ground.

(by you, i'm not referring to you specifically)

It depends on what is your perception of OPs. If you consider that OPs is only something that brings mats then yes having tons of 250 players trying to get an 50 OPs .... it's a bit ridiculous.
In an other hand, if you consider that OPs is an advanced position in a terroritory then it makes a lot of sense to put the effort to get it (OP = outpost so it's an advanced position). (And when I go to an outpost it's with this in my mind not the reward part)

I missed this poll because I rarely troll the forums.
But I like #2 and #4, none of the rest.

But also see my post in the suggestions forum section. Revvy expanded one of my thoughts there and I applied it to OP.

Imagine OP wars where if you are higher than the OP level, your skills and levels cap at OP level. It would make life more interesting.

Well yes, there is a % of the player base that's sole goal is to "have all the toys and not let anyone else play with them". There's nothing I can say or was attempting to say that would discourage that mindset.

I am speaking to the fact that level 50s players are limited in the size of their playground. And having the heroes from Marvel and DC fighting it out in THEIR playground is not conducive to player retention. And with level 35 players being subject to auto tagging when they want no part of it would not be welcome.

The lower level OPS only exist in the younger guilds hands because they have no value. Put 250 OP mats in there and you will have 28 Ops controlled by 2 groups who basically rarely log in for anything else but:

a) Server robots
b) OP battles

And everyone else is shut out from participating

Not just because I am a fellow bunny, but I truly agree with FF's sentiment. If 250s want to fight for a minimally advantageous OP let them do it at the level of the OP (scale them down). But certainly do not have lvl 50 OP produce anything BUT lvl 50 mats. That is just beyond game breaking for new players.

What happens if we get new players and they see high levels ruining/running every aspect of the game? They either aspire to get to that level as fast as possible or they give up.

With the bugs and performance of this game compared to other games on the market (even free ones) I'd think they would burn out or just quit. Then what? Do you want to play ONLY with the same old tired names that disappear over time slowly and not see many new people?

Start thinking of the big picture, having your cake and eating it too is not helpful to the majority nor helpful to growing our population. Think before you vote people. You'll vote yourself out of a game sooner than later if you don't think.

Well, OP or not, change or not; players are not interested into this very slow-paced game in 2019.
Gameplay is slow and boring and the mentality is slow and static (even if very helpfull and welcoming)

With all the free to play game outta here, that do provide content and surf on the modern wave.
One just try the game, realize what Ryzom is and leave ;)

It is certainly not because of 250 taking q50 OP that the game die, and will continue to do so.
Not to mention for 10€ sub i can have better game, so why spend my money here? -> is the real deal.

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At this state of the game, and the actual very low players base, we may be good to put all OP mats 250 and craft q50 to q200 weapons with it.
No waste anyway ;)

Oh.. and btw did you notice, its almost gonna be one year we are waiting the promised change ? :P

I was meaning in general. If changes are to be done to the game and people complain, they need to realize changes happen to attract new PAYING people. OP is just one of those. Votes on anything, if they are to steer the game direction, will have a impact on more than just OP discussions.

Please recognize that this is YOUR point of view and is not representative of the entire population. All of us experience the game depending upon who we interact with when we are on line. But when one's exposure is limited to a group that rarely logs in except under certain instances (Bosshunts / OP Battles), they're not interacting with a large portion of the server population. The people I see every day chatting in Uni and in PMs are clearly not bored, and do not consider the game slow paced. The games viability dictates that their PoV is just as valid as yours..

I've been playing 15 years, I'm not bored.... I maintain my subscription to the game even when I need a break to take care of RL. I try and say hello to any new players I see, ask if they have any questions and listen to the views expressed. I don't play in level 50 areas but I have no desire to take them away from them.

"Remember, grasshopper, it's the journey, not the destination "

If you want to have a bunch of 250 players to run around and bash skulls with, no one is stopping you. My sons played high school sports. But my 12th grader never played against the 9th graders and neither of those played against the 6th graders. Point of information ... it's not fun for the lower classmen as they'd be either riding the bench or, if they got in, would not have an opportunity to impact the outcome.

I don't have a horse in this race. I doubt there's a single GH that doesn't have a store of OP mats that would last months if every OP broke today. Making all OPs 250 ? What's the goal ? ... so every player at an OP battle has a 250 Supreme Vedice Boosted Weapon and Armor set ?