PvP needs another GARO-like event

[briarth0rn]

I'm not saying we need to specifically bring GARO itself back (and I doubt it's feasible at all for legal/licensing reasons), but I think another long-term PvP event similar to it would restore a lot of life to PVP. I think GARO had a number of things going for it that a new, similar event would benefit from:

1. First, it had a wide variety of rewards, which included a full gear set with weapons, titles, and three different mounts.
2. The rewards were a mix of long term grinds (Makai Master, Raigo, etc) and short term rewards that could be obtained more quickly (Like if you only wanted a specific chest glamour or weapon).
3. The rewards involved a mix of token grinding (buying weapons/armor via wolf marks) which gets people queuing regularly, and winning matches (the mounts) which means people have to put effort in and there's less people playing poorly because they'll get marks/their roulette bonus regardless.
4. You could obtain the rewards via both Feast and Frontlines (in terms of wolf marks and racking up wins), but there were also a few specific to each, namely the FL/Feast-specific horses. Rival Wings wasn't a thing when GARO first launched, but if there's a new similar event, putting at least one reward behind winning RW matches would be a good idea too, I think.

I understand that it takes a lot of work on the devs' part to come up with an entire gear set/other rewards and model them and get them in game, so if something like this isn't already in the works, I won't expect it soon- But GARO provided a great many rewards that got people doing PvP, and if SE made a mistake, I think it was ending the event without any word on plans for something to replace it. Its absence is a not-insignificant factor in the longer queue times.

I won't argue if GARO should have been permanent or not- I personally don't really like event rewards that are unobtainable forever when the event ends, but I got what I wanted out of GARO and I'll be fine if it never returns. If we get a similar event, I think the amount of rewards devs need to make paired with PvP being niche in this game means the event spanning a few expansions, but not being permanent, is probably fine.

I also won't argue that GARO ending is the only reason PvP queues are terribly long right now, either. SE forcing 72-man matches is, IMO, probably a bigger problem when we're just talking about the length of queues, but there are already other threads discussing that.

I'm not too picky about what a new long-term PvP event should be. I think the GARO rewards fit neatly enough into the game's general aesthetic while still being unique and most people I know think the outfits looked pretty good. If SE wants to work out a licensing deal with another franchise, or even comes up with something all on their own, I think either would work just fine.

[Divinemights]

I am going to say "No!"
I am unable to support this idea.
PvP does not need to use reward to attract a crowd whom have no interest in PvP at first place.
What PvP need is a stable and solid population of players who actually want to PvP whether there is a reward or not

[BloodRubyXII]

One of the rare occasions I'll agree with Divinemights. People need to want to PvP, not just have an excuse to. That is exactly why the mode goes through periods of intense activity and then promptly dies. I'm playing Onsal Hakair because I want to, not because there's a mount in it tied behind the achievement. But that is a minority, once the novelty of it being new wears off and people give up on the achievement for the most part, we'll be back where we started. I remember playing battlegrounds on WoW for hours a day just because I genuinely enjoyed playing the mode, I had nothing to gain from it (had most of the achievements, I had better gear from ranked/raids, I had no reason other than "cos it's fun").


Part of the problem is caused by these events, there is no reason to consistently play the mode. Just get the reward and stop. It needs to actually have some kind of progression to make it worth doing as well.

[JamieRose]

NO! That event was garbage and an undue cause of stress! The rewards were too difficult to get because of the insane requirements and PVP in this game is horrible anyway!

[BloodRubyXII]

NO! That event was garbage and an undue cause of stress! The rewards were too difficult to get because of the insane requirements and PVP in this game is horrible anyway!

so dont play it then

[Toffa]

They could make wolf marks a more attractive currency to accrue and spend in general.
As of now, I only really use it for prisms and dark matter, seeing as how desynthing for BC3s has become trifling.
When anything new comes out, the queues are popping fast enough, I can usually get the new shiny stuff I want within 3 hours or so.

[Canadane]

NO! That event was garbage and an undue cause of stress! The rewards were too difficult to get because of the insane requirements and PVP in this game is horrible anyway!

That's the wrong reason to not want something.

[Nalien]

We need events that encourage playing PvP, not events that simply encourage queuing up for PvP. Getting people who frankly don't want to PvP into the mode is not a good thing, if anything it's a bad thing. It ruins the quality of matches and ultimately turns people away, then after a week once the hype has died down and people have gotten their reward? Dead mode. People who don't enjoy PvP were never going to stick around, people who might have enjoyed PvP and active PvPers will have been put off by the abysmal quality of matches that an influx of people not interested in PvP brought about. It's hard to have fun when you're looking at a constant stream of "We've already lost" and other pointless complaints, honestly I think they should give FL the Feast treatment and just block chat at this point, give some more Quick Chat options for FL, because I'm sick of watching half an alliance type instead of play...

If SE cannot design an event or system that actually gets people to engage with PvP properly, I'd rather they just not bother at all. I'm so sick of the prevailing attitude of "I'm just here for the new reward and I'll just complain if you don't carry me" that Garo/Mog Tome/IronMan mount bring... Problem is, if SE designs an event like that... Guess who complains that it's too hard for them to do? People not interested in PvP to begin with. No... Just don't bother with these events at all... Focus instead on polishing up PvP and implementing things that almost all other PvP related games have to keep player interest. Why we don't even have a prestige system, for example... Just Rank 50 PvP and that's it? I haven't seen PvP EXP for years...

[UnrealTai]

I am going to say "No!"
I am unable to support this idea.
PvP does not need to use reward to attract a crowd whom have no interest in PvP at first place.
What PvP need is a stable and solid population of players who actually want to PvP whether there is a reward or not

This x1000

Implementing a stupid reward and event system like the garo event to lure PVP wanna-bes into the fray is not a solution.
No one wants those type of players on their team, period.
NO PVP EVENTS. Fix pvp.

They need to fix PVP, not band-aid it with band-aids that don't even work.

[Niyuka]

I agree because FFXIV will never have good PvP. They tried for years, and it hurts me to see how much wasted effort went into PvP that nobody really wants to play. For a game this size, PvP activity is remarkably low, unplayable even. I simply dont see SE suddenly waking up and making a good system when there is zero evidence they even have the skills in their design team for it, much less technological backbone. As such, these events are the only chance to have a week or two of activity while we wait for new content to come. The game is REALLY content starved, and PvP events are a nice way to get some cheap playtime into it.