Some contrys do have many players in this game. What will happen the day when whey splitt support teams in to 2-5 other WoF teams ?
It was a big alliance that did break LG, what will happens if 1-3 contrys off friends do join WoF whit 5-7 teams. At some point there will be people that think it will be a fun thing to do, see if they can met themselft in a final...
Will you then think about a rule change then... ?
It's not the normal support that is the problem... the problem is the main team supportshoters in the finals. That is a thing that is easy to police whit main team players can not support other contrys in anyway or just have a 3-5k HP mof in the final and use the ~15k HP mobs in the round before.
Just to discuss the statement in bold; How is it easy to police? The event takes place planet-wide and further, with teams split to hunt different mobs in different spawns in many locations per hunt. So without marshalls or judges at each and every spawn, attached to every scoring player, how could anyone police softening shooters and their involvement?
To make, as you suggest, something like an Armax Provider the top mob in the final, while early stages feature dasps and spiders, would cancel smaller teams chances earlier, and take away from the progressive nature of the rounds.
I can't quite see what you're saying with the splitting of teams; only one Main Team per nation is allowed. If those Nations are "made up" (e.g. Team Dijibouti) then they are still not fighting for their own country. But yes, if massive use of underhand strategy ever dominates the event then I will be concerned, and you can say "I told you so". I truly can't see it happening. Most teams find it hard enough to field 4 good players each match, let alone co-ordinate a massed offensive.
To Wildman Alpha: Firstly, thank you for your input. I'm not in the habit of telling everyone with an opinion to not bother telling me; this
is a suggestions thread, and I'm sorry if my rejection of your suggestion seemed like a blanket refusal to change. I really don't think you know what you're offering when you say you'll perform the extra duties required; the hours of the
WoF are many, and unrelenting, for a long time. Those who just have to hunt for 3 hours every fortnight have it easy
But again, your offer does show you have thought out your suggestion.
Here's what I've concluded from looking at the issue of mercenaries in the
WoF.
1. The main aim of the
WoF is to involve as many people as possible.
2. A secondary aim to make it as easy as possible for these people to take part.
3. I can't make rules that can't be enforced, or rely on trust or hearsay.
Main Teams and Support Teams cannot be verified as being from the country they represent. Many players live elsewhere to the country they love. Many players feel stronger about other countries than the one they call home. The question of patriotism is therefore answered by the simple choice of which team you opt to fight for.
The Main Teams make up on average 75% of each match score. This leaves 25% for the Support Teams.
Countries with a larger EU-playing population theoretically will have larger support teams. Those with lower numbers of patriots are able to call on their friends to make the difference. This is fair.
The use of softening shooters was one of the first examples of thinking outside the box used in the
WoF. I had no problem with that. To co-ordinate a team as well as those helping while trying to compete with another is no easy feat. It also brings up the issue of recompense. Some "softeners" were given a share of the loot, some were paid for their ammo, some were shooting "for free" just to help their team. All of this I also had no problem with. Working out loot after a team hunt is notoriously problematic for large numbers of EU players, and many threads are testament to this. Working out, through a combination of trust and judgement, how much to reward supporters for their actions without offending them or giving away money for nothing, is not a task I envy the teams.
So there are several types of National team that take part.
There are those who proudly field teams entirely of their own nation. This is rare, as not many teams have the playerbase to achieve this.
There are those who are mostly from one Nation, but allow anyone sympathetic to help them. These make up the bulk of the teams.
There are those who join teams out of an unwillingness to join a team representing their own nation, or any earth nation, such as Eudoria, Amethera, Tibet and Cuba. This is also rare, but welcome; a victory by any of these teams would surely be a huge statement, not least in favour of the virtual world we spend so much time in.
There are those who find they have less support than others and advertise for help. Here is where the issues start.
Given that it is common practice, not to mention polite, to reward supporters, there is NO difference in asking for help, e.g. "Help Tunisia" or asking "Help Tunisia in the
WoF and we'll pay you for your ammo". If teams privately arrange to reward more generously, or "pay for each global" with whatever amount of reward, then that is as un-policeable as their country of origin, it's
within the Rules, and it's merely a tactic all can use.
I did think of ways of stopping mercenaries. I came to the conclusion that
I don't want to. I don't want to label anyone who has used them in the past unfairly, and I don't think their use leads to any corruption of the scores.
To say those who advertise for mercenaries would be penalised; would that be those who offer ammo, a share of the loot, or only if it was more than that, say 100 PED per global? Even if decided, how would this be enforced, given that any payments are a private matter between the parties concerned?
EU is full of soldiers of fortune, they can play in the
WoF too. If, as some seem to fear, this will lead to "money calling the shots", then we'll see the richest countries win every year, I'll get more complaints, and the Rules will be reconsidered. This hasn't really been evident so far. The big names are mostly on Main Teams already, hunting for their country of choice for the 75% of the score the Main Team get. Those who hunt for another team do so at the expense of their own, and with no guarantee of reward (
WoF loots are not always wonderful). I see nothing wrong with offering incentives.
Those with the resources to abuse this are the teams who do not need to. They have the players and skills and equipment already. Those who pay for help are doing so as a last resort. To fund this kind of assistance throughout the tournament would cost the Main Team thousands of dollars. If anyone's willing to do that to win what is essentially a bootleg event conducted for fun and national pride, then those people have a much higher value placed on both fun and patriotism than I have, and I salute them, while remaining bemused.
The fact remains that the 2008 Final, with around 300 people shooting at spiders and taking them down 4 seconds at a time for three hours, giving in 3 hours of hunting the same stats on tracker for spiders as in the previous 12 DAYS, was nothing short of fantastic. To me, that was the day the
WoF came of age. An army of avatars against an army of mobs, all working together towards a common goal... it doesn't get much better than that.
So in conclusion:
Free to Enter, Open to All. The other Rules are secondary.
I do listen to suggestions, but I can't implement all of them, or agree with all of them. Many changes have taken place for next year, based on suggestions and comments in this thread and in-game. The 10th of November will see them posted. Keep them coming.
Hurrikane