The silence bubble surrounding sharding after endless complaints here lately, noted by the absence of a pinned blue post on the topic, has led me to think about ways to minimize the devastation that looms. For instance, we could mitigate some of the problem with new players finding each other if Classic WoW devs implemented a guild shard system, such that guild members would be automatically and solely placed in a shard dedicated to their guild if they so choose. For large guilds, multiple dedicated shards could be auto-generated, when appropriate.
Donât just say nay. Consider that players within a guild already are expected to have a preference for playing with guild mates. However, a checkbox would be an opt-in feature to do so. This will allow guild members to float outside dedicated guild shards to recruit, play solo, whatever. Moreover, players who are guildless will be grouped in the same shard, removing the worry of being trapped in a shard dominated by guilded players who turn out to be uncooperative (or worse) with guildless players.
Why should this be done other than the factors stated above? It will give players the feeling like they can do something to ease the problems that arise from sharding. We do not implement the game client, but, if given power to do so, we can participate in improvements to the design.
Blizzard, help us help you do it better. I think it is really that simple. We are part of the solution, whether you respect our input or not. Giving us options like what was requested here will empower us to assist.
So, we need to cover the big challenge when implementing this feature - doing so on day one when no guilds have been created. This is your opportunity to begin real community development. Reach out to people who will host guilds. Create a prerelease guild list that will allow guild leaders to create a guild petition with member signatures. Obviously a guild leader ought to approve members prior to their inclusion, so guild plebs will enter their name into a waiting list rather than the official petition. Notice that this gives your game tools programmer a chance to add creatively to this project. Sure this was not in pre-2.0, but neither was the savageness of sharding.
Please, include in your post any other idea that would be a easily implemented. Only ideas for improving the sharded experience. Thank you.
Who would get a shard? Every guild? What about my one person guild? Do I get my own shard?
So now it may be number based. This seems to be playing favorites. Blizzard hasnât shown any indication that they play favorites with anyone.
A guild getting their own shard due to number of players they have is a bit⌠much. What about the smaller guild of friends? Theyâd be stuck on a random shard and the large guild gets their own?
I was excited to have a good laugh about a guild bank of warlock shards saved up that they can share; which would be hilarious and awesome. I was severely disappointed to see what OP wrote, but it is also comical. This is a terrible idea for community aspect (if you arenât trolling). I wish this was about warlock shard sharingâŚ
If Iâm playing the game with only a select group of friends, then it practically isnât even an mmorpg at that point. I want to experience an open world with strangers, battle enemies, make friends, recognize familiar faces, and feel a sense of community. You know, the things that made Vanilla⌠Vanilla.
For a single player or otherwise limited experience, there is the option of BfA or maybe even Diablo.
Iâm against sharding beyond starting zones of launch. Hell, give me no shards if thereâs a goo infrastructure. Reailistically though, sharded starting zones of launch.
Awe, you did not read the original post. It did not advocate for shard solo play. It suggested adding a feature to sharding that would allow certain guilds to help ease the adverse effects of sharding by, essentially, joining a guild server, joining and exiting as they wish.
âFor a single player or otherwise limited experienceâ
Please read an entire sentence, thank you. And as I stated, I wouldnât want to play on a server by myself or only with select friends. It wouldnât be an mmorpg.
100% agree that sharding messes with the feeling of an MMORPG along with a slew of other important matters. I already stated in another thread that I would not play Classic WoW if sharding existed; however, they could convince me that it would still be worth trying if they made some changes to how sharding works, so that community building could work as it should.
In games with ânumbered shardsâ you can choose which shard you are on. So if there were ten shards, I could see players making a conscious choice to play on certain ones. But I wouldnât want that for this game. I suspect that after the initial population bubble pops that there wonât be a need for it either.
In the future, type the first word of the topic twice, so that if you get the forum bug where it gets cut off, the post still makes sense.
In this case, for example, you could have typed âBAD BAD IDEA: Dedicated Guild Shardsâ If the first word got cut off, it still would have made sense, if not, you would have just sounded emphatic.
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