The pros of 8v8 - Blue Tracker

#1 - Nov. 11, 2013, 9:59 a.m.

This is something that bothered me since beta tbh. Why did they ever introduce 8v8 instead of keeping conquest 5v5 only?

Tbh i only see downsides.

- new players who try to learn their class struggle. They either get zerged or zerg someone else. In both cases its unclear if their play made the difference. And in both cases they learn close to nothing from it.
- Veterans get annoyed since despite playing good they might end up losing due to being vastly outnumbered.
- 8v8 promotes a very blob like playstyle where properly defending and pushing points is discouraged. Just autoattack and stay in the group of 5+.

Can someone fill me in on any pros?

I understand that you can pick 5v5 servers or go tpvp. But esp for guys that try GW2 for the first time this will be a problem. Their first impression of pvp in this game will be 8v8 conquest (really depressing if you think about it).

Justin ODell

#21 - Nov. 11, 2013, 9:10 p.m.

Actually, half our hot joins are setup to be 5v5, but due to a bug discovered today the 8v8 matches are being preferred incorrectly.

We’re talking about this internally, and we may be able to get this changed as soon as the 26th.

Tyler Chapman

#39 - Nov. 12, 2013, 11:35 a.m.

This is one discussion we’ve had multiple times internally as of late. It’s tricky because 5v5 is much more plagued with autobalance issues than 8v8. We agree that 8v8 doesn’t teach players the type of PvP we wish to pass along to our youngsters but there are still surely players who enjoy it. I personally would like to see 8v8 removed but we might need to visit how hitting play now prioritizes matches that haven’t started.

Tyler Chapman

#43 - Nov. 12, 2013, 1:58 p.m.

Israel.7056:
I don’t think 8v8 should be removed. Obviously it’s a game mode some people enjoy, myself included. If you don’t agree with my values then don’t play 8v8, simple as that. Play whatever makes you happy, let no one interfere.

If anything we need more game modes, let the players play what they want to play.

This paternalistic attitude of “what we want our youngsters to learn” is absurd. Let people decide for themselves what they want to learn. If you don’t agree with other people’s choices then keep it to yourself, no one needs anyone else’s permission to play this game as they see fit and I don’t see why they should.

It was simply a joke, I’m sure you’re fully capable of taking one. It’s a video game and we are simply attempting to provide the most quality experience we can for our players in game so they can play as they wish.

Anyways concerning the topic, there are players that impeded from getting better at our game and something we wish to do is help players understand how PvP works and help them get better if they do wish it so.

The decision on this topic has yet to be made. Either Josh or myself can give an update when a decision is made. However let me ask this, would you guys like to see less 8v8 servers? no 8v8 servers? Possibly re-work the play now so that it looks for 5v5 matches as priority?

Josh Davis

#66 - Nov. 19, 2013, 8:35 p.m.

Hey folks,

Just to clarify – we don’t have any immediate plans to remove 8v8. Justin is looking to make changes so that servers prefer to be 5v5 rather than 8v8, but they wouldn’t be removed completely.

We may revisit that decision in the future, but for now, 8v8 is safe.