Happy to be here. tl;dr at the bottom.
As we know, Node Sieges are an important part of the server and regional gameplay loops, allowing for changes in the landscape of the world, most notably, changes in the available content in the world. Current design statements around Node Sieges state that they enable players to destroy Nodes at or above stage 3 (Village). Additionally, all vassal nodes of the sieged regent node are destroyed.
It is worth noting that nodes become vassals not by their choice, but by the higher ranking node's ZOI algorithm. (This is a related question: that it is precisely these enslaved vassal nodes that would most likely want to siege the higher regent node, but they would be destroyed in the process, a significant conflict of interest).
To the point at hand, the following scenario would be possible: a stage 6 Metropolis is sieged and loses. This stage 6 metropolis, as well as its two stage 5 cities, two stage 4 towns, four stage 3 villages, four stage 2 encampments, and four stage 1 expeditions also get destroyed.
This means that 17 nodes are fully destroyed. Potentially a thousand or more players would experience full loss of their investment.
The most intriguing aspect of this reality would be how earthshattering of a change it really would cause. An entire stage 6 ZOI is completed razed. Surrounding ZOIs push in, causing a totally different setup of node stages.
The most devastating aspect of this reality would be how many people will quit the game if this happens. This reality has been born out over every single territory control MMO.
I believe that MMOs with significant guild level loss should follow this simple reminder:
The more investment that went into creating something, the more painful its loss is. The more painful the loss is, the more likely players quit. As a corollary, the more significant the investment, the more imperative it is that the loss is not complete loss; recovery should feel possible.
I want to propose that losing a Node Siege should result in the sieged regent node to de-rank by 2 node stages, and its vassals de-ranking by 1 node stage, instead of experiencing full destruction.
In the above scenario, that would mean the following:
- The stage 6 node becomes stage 4**
- The two stage 5 vassal nodes become stage 4
- The two stage 4 vassal nodes become stage 3
- The four stage 3 vassal nodes become stage 2
- The four stage 2 vassal nodes become stage 1
- The four stage 1 vassal nodes destroy to wilderness stage 0
In many ways, this will be a similar shake-up to the server and that region, especially. The ZOI would shift significantly and a new race to stage 5 and stage 6 would begin.
A different scenario: a stage 4 node is sieged and loses.
- The stage 4 node becomes stage 2**
- The stage 3 vassal becomes stage 2
- The stage 2 vassal becomes stage 1
- The stage 1 vassal destroys to wilderness stage 0
This approach, where the sieged regent node loses 2 stages causes a similar reset of the world make-up, but not as severe. Further, it quickly energizes vassal nodes to engage even more because they have a legitimate opportunity to become the more influential node. This contrasts with the current design structure, with full destruction.
With this approach, it would be useful to allow vassal nodes to siege their regents, if they so choose. In this case, it could be adjusted so that the sieging vassal node and its vassals do not experience the stage loss, but the regent and all of its other vassals do (AKA a civil war).
Related questions:
*What does the vassal shuffling look like after a node siege? That is, how do vassal structures shift after a regent node is destroyed? This question is relevant under our current understanding or this proposed design.
*What are the ramifications of the current design with respect to node stage-gating? We know that vassal nodes must remain at a lower advancement stage than the regent node.
*How does the ZOI algorithm have the potential to change after a siege loss? It seems like an end-stage server with its 5 tier 6 nodes would not really be able to redraw ZOIs. The destroyed regent tier 6 node and all its vassals would still be a "ghost" ZOI. This is a mathematical reality that is not well-addressed. This proposed system would successfully navigate this reality. Note: Two simultaneously destroyed stage 6 nodes with bordering ZOIs could free up the world to be redrawn.
Anyway, I could go on, but I hope this sparks a useful conversation.
tl;dr the current design structure involves incredibly significant loss and resets. I believe the excitement of the full reset of the ZOI is overshadowed by the proportion of players who would quit after the significant loss of stage 6 or 5 to 0. I propose that a de-ranking hybrid destruction/reset is a better design for player retention.
