The Problem with 6 vs 6

One of the most requested addition to Warhammer Online is a permanent 6 vs 6 scenario.  So far, we have only had these party vs party scenarios during special events.  I can certainly understand why players would want one permanently, but overall I think it is a bad idea for the game.

First, lets look at the pros.

Teams.  Since six is the party size in WAR, it can be a true team vs team competition.  In a larger scenario, other players can hold your team down to tip the balance in your favor.  With those variables out the window, it can truly be about bragging rights (as much as a video game can be anyway).

Speed.  Scenarios like The Eternal Citadel are among the fastest in the game, win or lose.  This is great if the sides are not evenly matched, as your suffering won't be drawn out.  It is also great for racking up Emblems and Insignia's 

Now on to the cons.

Fun Factor.  The Eternal Citadel and to a lesser extent, The Ironclad, are not very fun for most ranged careers. One features a small flat area and the other has many indoor corridors  which make it well suited to melee careers.  I'd rather do anything else than play EC on my Engineer.  This is important due to the next reason.

Frequency.  The queue system seems pretty basic, whichever scenario fills up first pops. That means ones which require less players will happen more frequently.  During the recent Eternal Citadel weekend, it was pretty much the only scenario played.

I wish a significant amount of players did what was fun and not what got them tokens faster.  That would lessen the severity of this problem, but it does not seem to be the case.  A number of people I talked with said they didn't enjoy the scenario, but it was a great way to earn their scenario currency.  I ended up logging off, as it was better than playing the one scenario over and over.

Another solution is to make 6 vs 6 a group queue only.  I don't think this will fix the problem of using the 6 vs 6 to farm currency, but it may help other scenarios to pop.  Until then though, I'd rather only see a 6 vs 6 during weekend events or other special occasions.

Posted in: WAR