Edge of the Mists FAQ

#1 - Oct. 18, 2013, 9:14 a.m.

I’m on the bus ride in to work but I’ll start this thread answering a couple questions and try and keep it up to date for the day.

UPDATE: Devon is going to answer most of the questions and then we will update the OP with his answers. Also I didn’t reserve enough space so the F.A.Q. will continue on a post near the bottom of this page…

Jon

Q: Is the Edge of the Mists only open when all maps are full?
A: No, it’s always available from the list I maps it simply is the only WvW map that can overflow.

Q: What happens if you get into a copy of Edge of the Mists with only people from your world?
A: There will be stuff to do. More to be revealed as people start playing the map. For example, if server A have queues for the capacity of 2 overflows and server B and C only for 1 overflow, one copy will have a 3 way battle, the other copy will have just people from server A, however the map will still function similarly based on some solutions we are talking about that will be fleshed out once the tests begin.

Q: I don’t like feature X about this map what should I do?
A: That is ok, this map is in its first stages of development. Apply to be involved in the test and give your feedback. Even if you don’t get into the test there will be NO NDA so you will hear about the progress of the map and be able to comment on it.

Q: Where can I sign up for to help test the Edge of the Mists?
A: Any guild can sign up, regardless of whether or not they play WvW or even play Guild Wars 2. Your Guild can sign up at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GW2_WvWCommunityTest

Q: Should everyone who wants to be tester register here?
A: 1 person per guild, please. The idea is that we’ll use one person as a point of contact. More registrations will not increase the odds of your guild being involved.

Q: Are players affected by the bloodlust buff while playing in the Edge of the Mists?
A: Maybe. This whole endeavor will be a collaborative open test and answers to questions like that will evolve as the test does. As of now the answer is no because this map is not intended to contribute to score which the bloodlust buff is capable of doing.

Q: OMG, Edge of the Mists is a bunch of floating islands, the gameplay is going to be all about knocking people off the edge of the islands.
A: There are certainly many larger islands as well as many areas with rails. There will certainly be some places where knocking players off will be beneficial, however we expect to use this test to find the right balance that will satisfy both types of combat.

Q: How does the overflow work? Is it possible to fight against other servers? Is it combined with EU and NA or just one specific region?
A: The current iteration is that you will only be matched up against the other worlds in your current WvW matchup. That is one of the many aspects of the map that we will be actively getting feedback on from the community and the testers.

Q: Will there be any advantages to get on the map? Such as a King of the hill thing that grants buffs, or will it be one giant pit to fight on at equal grounds?
A: The map has objectives, from resource camps to keeps, much like the other WvW maps. Once people get into the maps we’ll talk more about the specifics of those objectives. But this is not going to be far removed from WvW, just new.

Q: Can you enter the map from the good ’ol WvW UI Panel? Will there be portals for it in major cities / Border Waypoints too?
A: Yes to the dropdown. We haven’t put portals in the cities yet, but most likely we will.

Q: Can you place siege on the map? Or is it limited to player skills and teams only?
A: Siege is intended to be an important part of the map. Again, this map is WvW so there will be objectives, siege, etc.

Q: What will the max players be on a map from one server?
A: It’s our policy not to release those numbers. And we haven’t settled on that yet. This is something we will be experimenting with over the course of development/testing. It will be somewhere from the limit on the current maps, to some number less than that.

Q: What do you view under ‘We want the best WvW experience’? What is the goal of WvW and what would be the best WvW experience with the addition of this map?
A: The goal of this map is to provide a place for the thousands of people who queue daily to be able to experience the WvW experience rather than being left out. There will be massive battles, epic sieges, stirring defenses, and crushing defeats on this map. We want as many people as possible to be playing WvW and as we expand into other territories we want to make sure they don’t experience the massive queues that we saw at launch in NA/EU.

#18 - Oct. 18, 2013, 9:55 a.m.

Jayne.9251:

The survey link doesn’t work. Just a heads up.

It’s the wrong link, apparently. It will be updated. In the meantime, this is the actual link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GW2_WvWCommunit

#21 - Oct. 18, 2013, 10:16 a.m.

rhodoc.2381:

DevonCarver.5370:

Jayne.9251:

The survey link doesn’t work. Just a heads up.

It’s the wrong link, apparently. It will be updated. In the meantime, this is the actual link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GW2_WvWCommunit

Should everyone who wanna be tester register here? or only 1 representative person from guild will registeR?

1 person per guild, please. The idea is that we’ll use one person as a point of contact. More registrations will not increase the odds of your guild being involved.

#24 - Oct. 18, 2013, 10:33 a.m.

Grotesque.6479:

Q1: How does the overflow work? Is it possible to fight against other servers? Is it combined with EU and NA or just one specific region?

Q2: Will there be any advantages to get on the map? Such as a King of the hill thing that grants buffs, or will it be one giant pit to fight on at equal grounds?

Q4: Would ArenaNet have any plans on supporting the GvG scene in general after the release of the map? Such as supporting Teams, building features for competing GvG Teams?

Q5: Can you enter the map from the good ’ol WvW UI Panel? Will there be portals for it in major cities / Border Waypoints too?

Q6: Can you place siege on the map? Or is it limited to player skills and teams only?

Q7: Will there be new specialized Commander Tags? Or the option of using a tag for your party / guild only?

Q8: What will the max players be on a map from one server?

Q9: Where do you base the applications on from joining the BETA? Are anyone able to join or those heavily invested into WvW / GvGing? How many players from each guild are able to join up?

Q10: Will there be open space areas with plenty of room to muster GvG (i.e. like the south camp on a borderland)?

Q11: What do you view under ‘We want the best WvW experience’? What is the goal of WvW and what would be the best WvW experience with the addition of this map?

Q12: Is there a certain respawn area like a border waypoint of the likes, so teams are able to regroup / gather? Or is it one giant pit with random respawn?

Quite a lot, will drop more later. Hopefully you have the time to reply, that would be much appreciated!

1) The current iteration is that you will only be matched up against the other worlds in your current WvW matchup. That is one of the many aspects of the map that we will be actively getting feedback on from the community and the testers.

2) The map has objectives, from resource camps to keeps, much like the other WvW maps. Once people get into the maps we’ll talk more about the specifics of those objectives. But this is not going to be far removed from WvW, just new.

4) We’ve stated that our current goals are to support WvW. Guild vs. Guild is an intriguing game mode, but one that we currently have no plans to support. The WvW team is focused on WvW. If we decided to build GvG, there will be a team that is in charge of that game mode, but it will not be the WvW team.

5) Yes to the dropdown. We haven’t put portals in the cities yet, but most likely we will.

6) Siege is intended to be an important part of the map. Again, this map is WvW so there will be objectives, siege, etc.

7) This map will not include any updates to the commander system as part of its rollout. We believe improvements need to be made, but the focus of this map is the content itself and not the commander system.

8) It’s our policy not to release those numbers. And we haven’t settled on that yet. This is something we will be experimenting with over the course of development/testing. It will be somewhere from the limit on the current maps, to some number less than that.

9) There is a link to the registration form in the blog post. We are looking for any and all guilds to come. This is going to be the largest scale test of this sort we’ve ever done and our goal is to include all members of guilds that are accepted. There is no cap.

11) The goal of this map is to provide a place for the thousands of people who queue daily to be able to experience the WvW experience rather than being left out. There will be massive battles, epic sieges, stirring defenses, and crushing defeats on this map. We want as many people as possible to be playing WvW and as we expand into other territories we want to make sure they don’t experience the massive queues that we saw at launch in NA/EU.

12) There will be safe zones, much like on the other maps. We are also going to work to make these areas more conducive to comeback mechanics. We don’t want people being camped and we’d like to solve that with this map.

#26 - Oct. 18, 2013, 10:45 a.m.

Q: Is there a certain respawn area like a border waypoint of the likes, so teams are able to regroup / gather? Or is it one giant pit with random respawn?
A: There will be safe zones, much like on the other maps. We are also going to work to make these areas more conducive to comeback mechanics. We don’t want people being camped and we’d like to solve that with this map.

EDIT: From here on out Devon and I will just answer questions inline because the OP is too long to add to and maintaining a second list halfway down just feels impractical and confusing.

Jon

#27 - Oct. 18, 2013, 10:48 a.m.

Niim.9260:

First I generally like this idea. I think it can solve a lot of issues unrelated to ques and I look forward to seeing how it is implemented.

That said, this solution is really about helping those that have stacked to T1 at the expense of everyone else. This will have a negative impact on servers already struggling population wise and it will have a cascading effect on unbalanced match-ups, which is really most match-ups.

My question, for the FAQ, is how do you predict the new map will effect unbalanced match-ups? I am not asking you to solve the problem here, but I want to know that they are known issues.

The first point is that, regardless of the number of worlds that see queues, there are still tens of thousands of people in queues on a daily basis. As we launch in new territories, we are currently in Beta in China, we want to make sure that doesn’t happen to anyone.

The second, and larger point, is that this map is not intended to solve the unbalanced servers issues. This is a first step towards a few things.
1) We are creating a place that we can test significant changes to WvW in a near to live environment. This will help us make major changes to the meta, scoring, etc. while being reasonably confident in the results of those changes.
2) Some of the things we are building into this map are the first step towards eventually making headway on the server imbalance issues. We have some ideas that we are going to implement, but the first step is eliminating the queue. We’ve seen, regularly, that when we make a major change to WvW, people flood the game type and get stuck in queues. This will allow them to at least experience some of WvW when those changes occur.

I hope that explains it.

#28 - Oct. 18, 2013, 10:49 a.m.

OrangeSquash.7541:

Is the guild representative who fills out the survey, the person who will be carrying out the testing?

No, the entirety of the guild would be involved, assuming they want to be. That person would just be a point of contact for the guild members and would be responsible for organizing feedback and keeping in touch with the development team.

#32 - Oct. 18, 2013, 11 a.m.

Swamurabi.7890:

Are you going to try to balance the sides that test the Beta map?

Will you also test an auto-balance feature in Beta that could be rolled out to the current WvW system?

After release, will you continue to add Beta features for this map that might make it into the main WvW maps?

1) We will do what we can, yes, to make sure the matchups are as balanced as they can be in this format.
2) That is not currently something we are planning on. WvW will continue to be world based, an auto-balance tool would invalidate that concept.
3) We won’t be adding beta features to this map, but if the testing is successful we will entertain the idea of having additional tests of this type to look into major feature or rule changes prior to putting them into the live game.

#33 - Oct. 18, 2013, 11:02 a.m.

Okaishi.8320:

Would it not be a better idea for the Edge of the Mists map to not be tied to the WvW matchups? If one server is dominating their matchup they will be more inclined to visit the Edge of the Mists, however there probably won’t be many enemies for them to fight.

An alternative would be for the overflow maps to fill up with players from all servers. Green servers would be on the green team, blue ones on the blue, etc. I think there would be a higher chance for players to find good amounts of action this way and a lower chance for one side to be completely dominating.

I realize this is hardly a question for a FAQ and more like a suggestion, but I couldn’t resist :P

This option is very much on the table, but we want to see how the map plays before we make that final decision. This is just one part of why we are doing this large-scale test at this stage in development. We want to be able to make these decisions based on feedback from people playing in the map and we want to be able to quickly iterate based on that feedback.

#37 - Oct. 18, 2013, 11:11 a.m.

MeatShield.1983:

I like the idea of adding a new map, but I am concerned as a mid tier wvw player that has seen players already leave to higher tier servers. I felt like the long queue times was the one incentive for players to leave T1 servers for lower population servers. Now this will be gone. It seems that there will no reason to not be on a T1 server now. Should I just plan on saving gems to transfer now?

This is a totally valid concern and from our point of view the only answer to it is that WvW and winning in WvW is what people want to do. If that is not the case, that is a problem with WvW, not with this new map. We want the existing maps to be the place everyone wants to be and if that is the case, then jumping to the high tier worlds will keep you from playing in those maps. We clearly have more work to do to make WvW as good as it can be, but this map is intended to solve a very specific problem, queueing, while also giving us the space to work on some other issues we think WvW has generally. It is also the case that we will take things from this map and push them back to WvW generally, it will just take time.

#38 - Oct. 18, 2013, 11:13 a.m.

Niim.9260:

DevonCarver.5370:

2) Some of the things we are building into this map are the first step towards eventually making headway on the server imbalance issues. We have some ideas that we are going to implement, but the first step is eliminating the queue. We’ve seen, regularly, that when we make a major change to WvW, people flood the game type and get stuck in queues. This will allow them to at least experience some of WvW when those changes occur.

A follow up question. Given the above, is it possible that ANET will reduce the number of people being allowed on a map to help fight skill lag and server imbalances once those displaced players have the opportunity to play on the overflow map?

That is a very unlikely solution at this point in time. We are still working to eke out performance improvements that would combat skill lag. We would prefer to see more people on the maps, if feasible. We will do whatever is in the best interests of WvW and the players who play it, at the end of the day.

#39 - Oct. 18, 2013, 11:27 a.m.

Vol.5241:

Can you share some type of features on this map?:

1.)Are there going to be camps, keeps, towers? Control points? New stuff?
2.) When you successfully release Edge of the Mists as a map to join, is it going to be constantly updated and act as a ‘beta’ for new ideas?

We’ll discuss the specifics of the objectives in the coming weeks. Each region will have unique objectives, which will all have unique mechanics. These are still in development and so will be subject to change based on the feedback from the test.

The map will likely not be updated any more frequently than the other maps, however, we do hope to use this process of public testing to try out other additions or changes to WvW on a large scale.

#43 - Oct. 18, 2013, 11:51 a.m.

Legno.6548:

If this map will introduce new mechanics who are liked from the large majority of the www population, are the devs considering the chance that this map will steal population from the proper www maps ? Do u believe wich once u create new mechanics into the edge of the mists, those mechanics can be introduced into the old borderlands maybe with a restailing of those maps?

Yes if there are elements of this map that are popular those elements will slowly make their way back towards the borderlands and EB, where it makes sense.

#47 - Oct. 18, 2013, 12:05 p.m.

Legno.6548:

JonPeters.5630:

Yes if there are elements of this map that are popular those elements will slowly make their way back towards the borderlands and EB, where it makes sense.

With this you mean we can expect either terrain modification and new mechanics (like bloodlust) on the border, this seems fair, but do the borders have enough space for those upgrade eventually or the devs have plans on amplifying those borders?

Btw Im very satisfied with just this announcement and will soon talk with my guild for the survey

I mean for example this Edge of the Mists map, we are intending that each objective potentially has unique guards and keep lords. If that works well we could make changes to EB or borderlands that make the guards/lords at objectives in those maps more unique.

#60 - Oct. 18, 2013, 1:32 p.m.

Shads.9468:

I’m missing something here.. how is this going to balance population imbalance? The queue was a reason to find a new home. Now, with what is effectively a fifth map you’re just.. oh forget it. I give up.

This is not, I repeat not,, intended to fix population imbalance. This is intended to address the population of people who are in the queue. We will make moves to address population imbalance as we can. This has nothing to do with that.

#61 - Oct. 18, 2013, 1:35 p.m.

Marcus Greythorne.6843:

JonPeters.5630:

I mean for example this Edge of the Mists map, we are intending that each objective potentially has unique guards and keep lords. If that works well we could make changes to EB or borderlands that make the guards/lords at objectives in those maps more unique.

Would be certainly interesting if these guards/lords would have real boss-mechanics.

Yes it would.

#64 - Oct. 18, 2013, 1:59 p.m.

docMed.7692:

This new map sounds very cool and I’m excited to learn more about and hopefully be part of the development process!

• edit ** Thought about it more; less-server allegiance doesn’t make sense no matter how much I think it may present an issue for the larger population server. With the seasons enabled though, there certainly will be a population issue an Server A having a much larger pop than Server B/C.

Q: What objectives and/or incentives would be available for Server A on a potentially empty opposition map?

We aren’t quite ready to talk about how we are addressing that, but it is a top-level consideration for the success of the map. It has to be fun when you are the only world and be fun when full of all three worlds. Once the testing begins we’ll talk more about the mechanics we intend to solve that problem.

#65 - Oct. 18, 2013, 2 p.m.

Boulderbolg.3460:

Anet has always had the general philosophy that WvW has been designed and geared towards large amounts of players fighting against other large amounts of players. Has this philosophy deviated at all to include small roaming groups, and if so will one of the gameplay objectives of the new map include incentives such as the Bloodlust to promote small roaming group play?

Thank you!

Yes and no. It will be a part of the iteration of the map that we try and make it fun for a small group and a larger one. The nature of some of the objectives should make it more viable for small groups to have things to do that aren’t just capturing towers and keeps.

#78 - Oct. 18, 2013, 4:43 p.m.

docMed.7692:

DevonCarver.5370:

docMed.7692:

This new map sounds very cool and I’m excited to learn more about and hopefully be part of the development process!

• edit ** Thought about it more; less-server allegiance doesn’t make sense no matter how much I think it may present an issue for the larger population server. With the seasons enabled though, there certainly will be a population issue an Server A having a much larger pop than Server B/C.

Q: What objectives and/or incentives would be available for Server A on a potentially empty opposition map?

We aren’t quite ready to talk about how we are addressing that, but it is a top-level consideration for the success of the map. It has to be fun when you are the only world and be fun when full of all three worlds. Once the testing begins we’ll talk more about the mechanics we intend to solve that problem.

Sounds good. Seems like a tough thing to balance!

Another Q: Are there time limits regarding the duration of an edge map such as PvP or will each overflow essentially be a persisten server as long as there is some minimum population?

The duration of the map will be less than a full WvW map. We are currently looking at 4 hours per match, but that number is subject to change as the test goes on. The idea is that it has some heft to it, while still being an amount of time that feels reasonable to complete in one sitting. Feedback on this will be crucial to determining the final values.

#81 - Oct. 18, 2013, 6:18 p.m.

docMed.7692:

DevonCarver.5370:

docMed.7692:

DevonCarver.5370:

docMed.7692:

This new map sounds very cool and I’m excited to learn more about and hopefully be part of the development process!

• edit ** Thought about it more; less-server allegiance doesn’t make sense no matter how much I think it may present an issue for the larger population server. With the seasons enabled though, there certainly will be a population issue an Server A having a much larger pop than Server B/C.

Q: What objectives and/or incentives would be available for Server A on a potentially empty opposition map?

We aren’t quite ready to talk about how we are addressing that, but it is a top-level consideration for the success of the map. It has to be fun when you are the only world and be fun when full of all three worlds. Once the testing begins we’ll talk more about the mechanics we intend to solve that problem.

Sounds good. Seems like a tough thing to balance!

Another Q: Are there time limits regarding the duration of an edge map such as PvP or will each overflow essentially be a persisten server as long as there is some minimum population?

The duration of the map will be less than a full WvW map. We are currently looking at 4 hours per match, but that number is subject to change as the test goes on. The idea is that it has some heft to it, while still being an amount of time that feels reasonable to complete in one sitting. Feedback on this will be crucial to determining the final values.

Q: Are there going to be win/loss scenarios? First to 1000 points, first to take X objective, etc? If so, might run into scenarios that spvp faced on a small scale (i.e. premades vs pugs).

Thanks again for being so responsive.

These are exactly the kind of questions that are going to be part of the discussion that happens as part of the test!

#88 - Oct. 19, 2013, 9:44 a.m.

Tiborb.1453:

Q: Will Edge of the Mists have small PvE elements (i mean wolves, oozes, deers) like the others WvWvW maps or will be a full PvP map?
Q: Why the map is filled with orrery-looking-objects?https://d3b4yo2b5lbfy.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2426103-WvW-maps.jpg

Edge of the Mists will have a lot of content elements but much less arbitrary than the current maps. You won’t see random wolves wandering along the plains but there might be a nice cave with wolves and a Boss wolf den mother where players might go to farm and others might go to gank unsuspecting farmers. Here are some existing examples which are subject to change.

• Some bridges between islands are currently destructible and then can be repaired with supply.
• There is currently an objective that internally we call the altar which you capture by being the world who kills the most Elementals near it. Holding it allows allied players to run through and get a powerful buff that persists until they are downed.
• The desert region has an ogre theme currently where objectives may be guarded by ogres and their griffon pets. There may be unique ogre siege weapons in this area.
• The current arctic area keep lord is a Kodan with a giant hammer who can collapse the ceiling on enemies, breaks stuns with a powerful ability, has a in knockdown shockwave as his basic attack, and is constantly surrounded by a frost aura which chills his attackers and heals him.

Of course all of this is subject to change, but I think it lays the foundation for what to expect.

2) I think answer #1 somewhat Answers question #2. What you see in that screenshot in the distance is an objective currently dubbed “the observatory.” It is one of the “towers” in the jungle area and is captured with a series of control point and conveys unique bonuses to other jungle objectives if you hold them at the same time…

Jon

#104 - Oct. 20, 2013, 8:39 a.m.

I think a good way to look at it is that there will generally be the same amount of PvE, but more PvE variety in objectives. Right now in WvW, when no enemies are present the content is the same Door killing and meat sack tower lord fight over and over. In Edge of the mists, the activity you do when no one is around will have variety. The nice part of this is that it also means the PvP activity you do at those locations will have variety.

#139 - Dec. 5, 2013, 4:22 p.m.

Yup, we’ve sent out a very large amount of invitations and even more will be coming soon. They come from [email protected]!

Please remember to fill out the entire roster sheet, including email addresses. Do not put anything in the “Internal Use Only” area, as internal = ArenaNet.