Locking a continent is completely counter productive for getting MORE players on a server. Locking means: Breaking up good fights and battles that are currently fun to play I can remember the times when it was possible to fight all day long on my favourite continent (Indar) w/o getting forced to switch to something that I dont want Tearing down all the bases that have been build with effort Losing the feeling that you can build something stable for more than a little while all the work done, crushed in seconds and you have to start from scratch People usually take a lock to leave the game - the number of players on the server usually rapidly decreases All this and probably more reasons will only lead to a loss of players on the server. Loss of players also means that fights and battles become smaller and less interesting. Which also means: less players... I would suggest to remove the continet lock, when a faction "wins" (gets 20 VP), but apply the continent benefit and reset the VPs. I wouldnt recommend to reset the territories as well, because it also breaks up a lot good fights. The VP scheme should be a little bit reworked to fit in the whole process, i.e. you cant get the VPs for linking to another warpgate again right from the start when the VPs reset and the faction is still in possession of the certain territory. Another thing: Remove the continent queues for balancing the population. Even members wait a few minutes to get to their favourite continent, when it is currently imbalanced. Rather give a lot more XP to the underdog faction than it currently is. Waiting in a queue is generally a bad thing, especially when people try the game and want to play exactly THERE - and they cant... because they wait a lot more than members. Queues might be good, when the server are filled up, 80% and more, but in the current state I doubt they are more filled than 30% at peak times. Queues and continent lock - remove both please!
This is the second thread over this. It means as little purpose there is to actually trying to use the lattice, there is some manner of goal. As well means the maps beyond indar get used - So it ain't the same singular fight or warpgate escape for all eternity. Most PMBs are in hell holes, that took 10-30 minutes at best to build. A grand majority being for Hives. People usually stay for the Alert or match that they had during the lock as the last one they'd bother with. They'd leave regardless. Your idea is worse than the last guys; You want to literally make it possible to lock someone into the warpgate, gain the benefits and keep them stuck there until they manage to break free from most likely a Zerg surrounding their warpgate. Whomever gets zerged to the gate first, likely wouldn't be able to leave for nearly 24 hours unless they got overpop. Those balance ques prevent one side from being 70-80% of the server pop. Which means they can devote more than half of the enemy's numbers to each bloody side of the map. It makes it near impossible to attack that faction let alone if you attack anywhere that isn't that faction. Whom can handle both the other sides with more pop as well. XP is useless when you are outnumbered 200:1 since one side has unlimited overpop on the entire continent. Like dear lord. Why do you think you hit a que? Your fac has a grand majority when you hit that que. Any more, and you'd have even more overpop into a snow-balling effect from hell.
Remove the ability of HIVEs to generate VP points and instead allow them to manipulate and change lattice links. Currently HIVEs can generate an absurd amount of VPs (I remember sometimes them generating 8-10 VPs in a short time span) and completely break map flow. If they did something unique and somewhat useful other than capping continents then you'd see slower continent caps, which is a good alternative to no continent locks. The problem with removing the queue is : how would you balance pop imbalance? As LK said, XP doesn't mean much when you're being out-numbered massively and can't do much. The Black-Ops feature that was supposed to be added was pretty cool, it lets some of the over-popped players to play the under-popped faction and even it a bit. Would be interesting to see and be a somewhat good counter-measure to over-pop. PS ; Indar sucks donkey balls.
The only issue then, is that Hives would again dictate the Lattice severely. Which means again, you have no choice but to use them or engage them expect this time be rendered unable to use the lattice at all.] Rather than the Hives make the Lattice worthless compared to the effort needed, VPs granted, and the duration of Hive VPs. I do like the changing of map flow; Just depending on how severe the Hives manipulate the Lattice, means how more important hives are compared to the actual bases. Which unlike PMB, have crap for defending.
The best way to have a dynamic map flow is to remove lattice altogether. Don't like a hive? Destroy it.
Yes so zergs can avoid each other like in Hex. Any defense that offers resistance? Avoid it , making it pointless. You act like Hives are easily destroyed, or that their destruction matters. Any progress gained or VPs generated are permanent unlike everything else you can get multiples of. No base can equal a Hive. Destroy a Hive, it can be rebuilt right where it started off, at 1% to 99%. Lattice prevents forces from avoiding any fight they can't roll over. Lattice also means defense of a zone doesn't void any certs to be gained, by the enemy avoiding it entirely making it pointless. Hex is far worse than Lattice.
