The huge April update for Guild Wars 2 brought a lot of fresh air to the online role-playing game last week – and huge trouble! The idea of Mega-Servers is fundamentally great, however, there were issues with the implementation.
Soon you will be able to easily play any PvE map with your friends, regardless of your home world! By rearranging the relationship between players and the world, we can connect you with people who provide you with the best social experience in PvE. […]
What does this mean exactly? We will get to the technical side shortly. But fundamentally, this means that on every map you play, you will encounter more friends, guildmates, people who speak your language, and overall meet more of the same players. It also means that there will be more players on all maps going on adventures, allowing us to provide you with the best possible PvE experience.
Sounds like a good idea at first, right? But just a few hours after the update, there was criticism of the new system. Screenshots with excerpts from chat logs were posted in the official forum. Everything was present, from three languages in just a few lines of a “conversation” to wild insults. Those who didn’t intend to refresh their repertoire of swear words in foreign languages were quickly very annoyed.
Unfortunately, this was not the only problem. The system does not take into account factors such as friends and guilds – which were actually decisive reasons for starting this system at all. Guild members reported that it is still not possible to gather in the capital for role-playing, or even to see each other. A no-go! But the good news is:
ArenaNet has responded
In the meantime, a hotfix has been implemented that optionally puts an end to this distress. In the chat options, you can select that only messages from players who have set the same language in the client will be displayed. This initially alleviates the biggest pain by not displaying foreign-language messages. However, this gives rise to further/new problems:
- What about players who play in English but play with their German friends?
- How will guild members and friends be able to meet up again in capitals? How are guilds supposed to initiate joint actions when everyone is assigned to different maps?
- How will WvW raids be organized if the enemy is eavesdropping?
- How can you avoid the risk of landing on a completely different map while waiting for an event and just porting to the capital to look for allies – and not being able to participate in the event?
It’s a shame that ArenaNet hasn’t learned from the issues in Rift , where players constantly clash on battlefields because one side does not understand the other’s language or does not want to speak it. We will keep you updated on how the Mega-Servers in Guild Wars 2 continue!
