This is a solid idea for a solo queue, but because human interactions and rating systems are complex on their own, it will require any reader to use their head and not be afraid to read, because I’ll link source material used for this idea and if you don’t read it then you will fail to understand what good it will do and why it’s different from previous suggestions.
I’m advocating for the return of the arena servers, to join the list of the regular servers (not in an obscure place in the list of servers under a different tab), but with large changes.
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It should include only a few areas.
Only a few. Not separated into shards, no layers, and no long travel time between each area. This keeps the relative visibility of the queue NPCs pretty ok, without too much lag, considering not everyone would be occupying the spaces at the same times since such servers would only be for entering instanced PvP after all.
It’s important to not split each area into its own shard, because it affects the creation of the group identity of the server’s community (i.e. it would feel less organic, the exact same effect you see from shards), and would have devastating effects on the mere-exposure effect and perception of the social space, exactly like on live servers.
People can sort themselves between the areas, and some would inevitably be more popular due to strong reverence and/or curiosity in individuals that excels. -
Gear should be obtainable,
for free from a vendor, with different stats options, to both open options for displays and feelings of individuality, as well as for reinforcing social immersion and emotional investment. But without the need to grind yet again for something on a different server. -
Most importantly,
the classes and specs needs entirely different designs on these proposed arena servers. A constant problem for the developers, which is felt strongly by the players too, is the designs being influenced by both the PvE side of the game and the PvP side of the game all the time.
This is a problem that will never go away to a satisfactory degree. PvP will never have that proper balance and feeling of individuality and immersive progression which reinforces the emotional investment, while the PvE side will have cool designs for gameplay in PvE content, because they contradict each other.
PvP is typically about both outsmarting and overpowering your opponent, and that’s what creates the challenge. While in PvE, it’s more linear with first the aim of getting the power to do it, and then figuring out the coordinated “dance” of dealing with the mechanics. So these two design directions will never work together in perfect harmony, because it’s like trying to walk in two opposite directions at the same time but with only one body.
Which is solved by splitting the designs into two, but not with the compromise of the PvP talents which you’ve all felt is horribly inadequate in these regards. But with a true separation, and thereby proper freedom without being tied down to the other aspect which it’s not designed for, it’d be possible for major improvements for both sides of the game. -
Rewards.
To talk about rewards, I first have to mention the emotional investment and how you psychologically identify with a virtual representation of your choices. So let’s say you have a game that only shows a sphere in the middle. With your choices, you make it turn left. You make it turn right. You can make it go forward. You can make it go to the sides. So on and so forth. This makes you identify with the sphere when you immerse yourself in the game.
This is however only one part of it, progression also feeds into this immersive process as well as rewards, social immersion as in when you identify with your character you then immerse yourself in its surroundings, like in a virtual town for example, and on and on it goes.
So the rewards needs to be tangible and not only limited to rating, because then it becomes stale and repetitive very fast. Yet you wouldn’t want the rewards to be limited to those PvP servers, right?
The answer lies in the account-wide achievements. So what you earn as rewards on those servers also works on your characters on the PvE realm, which is the “main part” of the game (PvP is so horribly neglected, it’s so sad). -
Characters.
But what about the characters? If they’d be designed completely differently, and basically wear gear you don’t have on your “real” characters on the PvE servers, why would you feel like you’re even playing the same game, like the reason given in a Q&A for why PvP talents aren’t utilized better to bring better balance in PvP?
Back then, they said that it’s because it “wouldn’t make sense” to feel like you’re playing two different characters based on the content you’re doing, except it’s the same character.
But there are multiple choices for this!
Either they use that system where you copy your character to a test realm, but to one of these servers instead, and you basically “change” to a PvP:er fighting only for glory on those servers (Cuz of RP).
Or they can just allow free character and class creation with no limitations and no need to level first.
But the point is that with account-wide achievements (and rewards), and account-wide access to collected transmogs (although the use is limited to the class and stuff like that ofc), it makes it possible to dress up your character on the PvP realms the same as on the PvE realms, in this suggestion.
Same with mounts and so on, reward on a PvP server enables it for the PvE servers too, and vice versa. -
Now here comes the little more nitty-gritty.
As explained in a different thread, rating systems and matchmaking systems can be optimized for different player pool sizes and activity. So it’s a misconception that more players = faster queues. It depends mainly on rating ranges and limitations in matchmaking, but more metrics involved in the process also makes it take longer. You can read more about it in the link to the sources for this.
What more players does however, is offer more “fair” chances to win for both sides. Because more players creates a much smaller gap on average in skill level differentiation between the two sides, in the matchmaking process with rating ranges (again, referring to the source material).
The larger the rating range is for the matchmaking, the higher the gap will often be between the two sides when it comes to skill levels in the matchmaking process. Metrics meant to average this out will always make the matchmaking take longer, in varying degrees.
Massively larger player pools also has a negative sociological effect on people once it goes past a recognizable limit, and conditions people to behave like what you see in the game today. It’s covered in greater detail in the source material for social design.
This is what the use of the proximity principle and familiarity effect and its effect on group identity creation and social hierarchies are meant to alleviate. -
This is why regions should be reduced in sizes,
at least for the PvP side of the game. A solo queue would still work fine. But it wouldn’t feel so isolated as it does now, because you’d be seeing the same people more often, grow rivalries more organically, and feel better about the sense of accomplishment when you achieve something, and it’d make it more immersive overall. It would however make the skill differences slightly larger in the matchmaking process, but that’s just a consequence you’ll have to live with. You wouldn’t feel as upset about when it goes badly either like this, nor want to choose to emotionally numb yourself if you’re of the apathetic persuasion instead (which has a direct negative impact on the sense of accomplishment as well as a side effect, and it basically makes you less immersed than you could be).
Now, even though I called it arena servers, I’d actually argue these servers would be good to have for all instanced PvP activity. Better alignment of interests, better sense of familiarity, and better design for these things too.
These are the sources, beneath this paragraph, which you NEED to read to properly understand the reasoning, benefits and possible demerits of this concept of a solo queue. You also need to read them to properly understand why the other suggestions so far of a solo queue are nonsensical and based on nothing but selfish frustration, and would carry nothing but huge demerits overall.
Rating systems (there's a summary at the bottom) (including the link at the bottom).
and
(You need to read the whole thread as well as the report to properly understand it and to help put it into proper context concerning WoW).
Get on my level.
/ Bewarê
(I just posted on this char cuz I figured people who still remembers the name Bewarê and carry prejudice against it, will avoid a thread created by that name, in the list of topics, on pure reflex/principle.)
