On the latest episode of Guild Chat, host Rubi Bayer was joined by Game Designer

McKenna Berdrow and Environment Artist Kyle Bash to discuss the recent updates to
World vs. World as part of the June 2017 Competitive Feature Pack.

Skirmishes are intended to make two-hour chunks of playtime within a much longer
WvW matchup feel meaningful, and the new Skirmish reward track lets combatants
earn pips toward rewards for their efforts on the battlefield. McKenna explained the
conditions for earning bonus pips, and said that these gave the development team new
opportunities to reward certain behavior and activities. She also said that the current in-
game description of the Loyalty bonus is unclear, and doesnt accurately communicate
the requirements for earning a bonus pip. After collecting feedback and discussing the
issue, the bonus category name will be changed to Commitment to reflect that it was
meant to reward players who spend a lot of time playing WvW. The team is also scaling
down the time required, so players will start earning the bonus pip after one week
instead of three. While this still incentivizes frequent play, it isnt as punishing for players
who go on vacation or are otherwise unable to earn all tiers of wooden chests over
three consecutive weeks. The change is planned to take effect on June 20.

In addition to implementing the reward track, the team repurposed existing WvW
Tournament Claim Tickets into WvW Skirmish Claim Tickets, which players can
continue earning and exchange for new armor, weapons, and other rewards. In
balancing this, McKenna wanted to make sure that hardcore WvW fans have long-term
rewards to work toward, while still rewarding casual players.

Kyle worked on the WvW-exclusive legendary backpack, Warbringer. The theme for the
design was siege weaponry, and the team experimented with multiple ideas, including a
design in which McKenna combined every siege weapon model in the game into a set
of wings. Other ideas includedto varying degrees of seriousnessa backpiece
covered in spikes, a baby dolyak with a jetpack strapped to it, a siege golem helicopter,
and a fighter jet. Kyle said that the final design is meant to be massive and
intimidatingsomething players can see a commander wearing at a distance and think,
That persons going to kill me.