Guild Decay Should Be Removed

[Karranor]

I posted this in another area and probably should have put it here.

It's an argument on why I think that Guild Renown Decay and Loss should be removed from the game. It is causing a lot of undue stress and drama which is not good for DDO.

I'm not going to re-post the whole thing here. However, if you have some insight into this please stop by the other thread and post your thoughts on the matter. There has already been great discussion about Guild Renown and how it is affecting game play.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=349029

Thanks for your thoughts!

Play smarter, not harder!

[Uska]

No without it no point to guild levels at all maybe decay needs adjusting

[umeannothing]

There really is no point to guild decay. I agree with the loss of renown and levels when people are removed from a guild, however not with loss if a person removes themselves from the guild.

I do not see player characters being punished with experience loss for not logging on, what they earned they keep, I don't see players losing experience when they are removed from a group, nor taking other player's experience when they leave a group, what they earned they keep.

My opinion is there just is no use for guild decay unless PC experience decay is also added to the game in the same fashion.

[Such755]

I agree with some ajustments:
Keep guild decay, but don't keep the ability to LOSE levels.
For example:
A guild reaches level 60. From this point, he will not be able to lose levels. He will lose XP only to the point the guild ls lvl 60 again.
Maybe do it every 5 or 10 levels, to keep the "Stress" that the current system does.
The stress and drama that comes from the level loss is just pointless, really.

Why not remove it completely? Because:
A) You'll have level 100 guilds poping out like mushrooms after rain. Player skill will have no roll in guilds anymore, and guilds will be just big pugs.
B) You gotta have some compromizes.


This is one change that I would cetainly love to see, and see it soon.

[umeannothing]

I agree with some ajustments:
Keep guild decay, but don't keep the ability to LOSE levels.
For example:
A guild reaches level 60. From this point, he will not be able to lose levels. He will lose XP only to the point the guild ls lvl 60 again.
Maybe do it every 5 or 10 levels, to keep the "Stress" that the current system does.
The stress and drama that comes from the level loss is just pointless, really.

Why not remove it completely? Because:
A) You'll have level 100 guilds poping out like mushrooms after rain. Player skill will have no roll in guilds anymore, and guilds will be just big pugs.
B) You gotta have some compromizes.


This is one change that I would cetainly love to see, and see it soon.

I agree with compromises. I also agree with if nothing else, setting tiers to which a guild cannot decay beyond (level wise).

Ever fifth or tenth level seems fair to me as well.

[HarveyMilk]

Here's one simple solution: Keep the decay, but make every 5th level safe, sort of like on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, go ahead and try to answer the question, because if you lose now, you'd walk away with how much you've already banked.

So every 5th level is a plateau level, once you reach it, you will not go down. You're safe. You've achieved it (grats).

Now, if you want to focus on it, your guild could become more active, and work hard to get to the next plateau. Of course, as someone else suggested, there should be some point where this stops, to give the highest echelons of guild renown the competitive edge it demands... maybe the highest guild level should be 99 instead of 100? Make the level 99 award something AWESOME, something guild characters can wear to show off how uber they are, perhaps?

With focused effort, every guild should be able to work HARD to get to lvl 95. Higher than that may just be unattainable. And that's just fine, the highest echelons shouldn't be accessible to anyone but the most dedicated.

But the lower echalons (everything up to 95 I say here, but really any threshold is fine, as long as it's not too low) should be absolutely reachable for guilds willing to put the hard work in. And taking breaks from the game, due to the myriad of reasons that normal people would take a break from a computer game, shouldn't make or break a guild's renown.

PS- I am in the OP's guild and it is a wonderful sort of mix of people that highlights how DDO's player skill-over-grinded-out-gear gameplay makes it one of, if not the, best MMO's out today. Things like guild renown should be structured in a way that encourages team-work and organization, but doesn't punish when people have to take breaks from the game.

[Vanquishedfo]

There really is no point to guild decay. I agree with the loss of renown and levels when people are removed from a guild, however not with loss if a person removes themselves from the guild.

I do not see player characters being punished with experience loss for not logging on, what they earned they keep, I don't see players losing experience when they are removed from a group, nor taking other player's experience when they leave a group, what they earned they keep.

My opinion is there just is no use for guild decay unless PC experience decay is also added to the game in the same fashion.

lol except they are not even remotely comparable. a guild is meant to be an optional thing, as are the bonuses from a higher lvl one. Those buffs can be very substantial and even game breaking at lower lvls. Its why the system does work, high level guilds that have buffs that would trivialize the game content for new players dont typically bring in new players who cant support thier share of renown.

Guild leaders are actually suppose to be encouraged to get rid of dead weight if you run large active guilds, if your guild is casual then dont expect to have the same power as big guilds.

[R0cksteady]

There's a guild on my Khyber that seems to hit 70 daily. I don't need to see that announcement every day.

Decay is a good idea. But no losing levels. Use it as a way to stop progression or slow it down, but not to make the guild move backwards.

[HarveyMilk]

There's a guild on my Khyber that seems to hit 70 daily. I don't need to see that announcement every day.

Decay is a good idea. But no losing levels. Use it as a way to stop progression or slow it down, but not to make the guild move backwards.

This, exactly. Such a simple way to do it.

[Uska]

Here's one simple solution: Keep the decay, but make every 5th level safe, sort of like on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, go ahead and try to answer the question, because if you lose now, you'd walk away with how much you've already banked.

So every 5th level is a plateau level, once you reach it, you will not go down. You're safe. You've achieved it (grats).

Now, if you want to focus on it, your guild could become more active, and work hard to get to the next plateau. Of course, as someone else suggested, there should be some point where this stops, to give the highest echelons of guild renown the competitive edge it demands... maybe the highest guild level should be 99 instead of 100? Make the level 99 award something AWESOME, something guild characters can wear to show off how uber they are, perhaps?

With focused effort, every guild should be able to work HARD to get to lvl 95. Higher than that may just be unattainable. And that's just fine, the highest echelons shouldn't be accessible to anyone but the most dedicated.

But the lower echalons (everything up to 95 I say here, but really any threshold is fine, as long as it's not too low) should be absolutely reachable for guilds willing to put the hard work in. And taking breaks from the game, due to the myriad of reasons that normal people would take a break from a computer game, shouldn't make or break a guild's renown.

PS- I am in the OP's guild and it is a wonderful sort of mix of people that highlights how DDO's player skill-over-grinded-out-gear gameplay makes it one of, if not the, best MMO's out today. Things like guild renown should be structured in a way that encourages team-work and organization, but doesn't punish when people have to take breaks from the game.

I like the idea of locking every 5 lvls

[Drekisen]

/signed

I think guild decay totally ruins a lot of the "just have fun" mentality of some guilds.

On the other hand it gives guild leaders and officers more motivation to keep a tighter ship, which is actually not a bad thing.