So.. I'm going to SOE Next week. Top Issues?

[Malorn]

Originally Posted by Hamma

They hate sanctuaries for some reason so this would fall on deaf ears.

I've seen a few good arguments for them. Saying "we need sanctuaries!" isn't going to get very far, but explaining why they are needed might.

So far the arguments in this thread for sanctuaries are not very convincing. The AFKing is a resource/auraxium issue, not a foothold issue. Even if there was a sanctuary people would still AFK in the warpgates or somewhere remote on the continent. The problem is Auraxium gain, not the foothold system. I believe Cutter put it well many moons ago... Foothold = Sanctuary + Warpgate - Loading Screen.

If you want a sanctuary back there should be a reason why the sanctuary should be its own continent. The only real problem that I believe a Sanctuary addresses uniquely is population distribution and allowing people into the game when the continents are locked so they can at least socialize or get into a continent queue like in PS1. Effectively it becomes a lobby in the game, though it could serve multiple purposes. There are other possibilities like having zero resource costs in the sanctuary so you can always pull vehicles or having a super fast resource recharge rate while there so you can use it for staging / recovery purposes, or just to learn how to drive vehicles without having to wait for the resources (a way to get the same result as VR training).

I see sanctuaries as more of a scaling issue and handling population changes throught the day or between continents. It could also give people a place to come back and have fun.

The downside to sanctuaries (and the reason why I believe they do not like them) is that it's another layer removed from the action. I've already seen several videos and testimonials from friends that they get into the game in this warpgate and have no idea where to go or what to do. Sanctuary can't be something people start out in or get easily transported to - we really need new players to start out in the action as soon as possible. The game is boring until they see the massive combat. Sanctuaries are another way for a player to end up in a place without action and not being able to figure out how to get out of that situation because they need to understand how warpgates work. Warpgates are bad enough for a new player to get stuck, if they happen to end up in a sanctuary chances are that is a player that will get lost, bored, and quickly grow tired of the game.

So they need to serve a necessary purpose and they need to not be boredom traps for new players who stumble upon them.