Removing diminishing honor to the fix the AFK problem
by Mike Schramm 
Feb 6th 2008 at 5:00PM
Relmstein's latest post asks an interesting question: will the removal of diminishing honor returns in patch 2.4 help Blizzard combat the ongoing AFK problem? His suggestion is that removing the diminishing honor will mean that there is more honor available in the BGs, and that that will drive players back from the "peace cave" out into the battlefield (since they were only AFK-ing because they didn't think they could earn honor fast enough.But I've got to disagree-- people were (and are) going AFK not because they couldn't pick up enough honor, but because they didn't want to play at all. Going AFK is free honor, and it will keep being so until Blizzard just plain cracks down and starts kicking AFKers. Diminishing honor returns means nothing to serious AFKers-- all they care is that they're earning honor for free. When (or maybe if) Blizzard stops that from happening, then they'll be able to stop AFKers.
As for the removal of returns, I can only think that it'll mean, if anything, more honor farming and turtling. Blizzard says they've crunched the numbers and determined that it's the right thing to do, but I don't see how supplying those Iceblood turtlers will constant honor is going to help things. We'll have to see what effects arise when the new patch drops on the PTR.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Cheats, Blizzard, PvP
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Shat Feb 6th 2008 5:04PM
what about all you bridge turtlers on the ally side?
Spirit Feb 6th 2008 5:09PM
Oh... those Iceblood turtlers...
..wait, what? That doesn't exist in my battlegroup. Most of the turtling? When we (Horde) go pretty much all offense (like most games), but instead of immediately losing when they run into our base untouched (Don't you wish FWK defended itself?), they spawn back up north (thanks SF cappers), and the collision at the SPGY bridge equals a turtle like no other.
And I always end up with no honor because I was staying down south on "defense".
ogletree Feb 6th 2008 5:13PM
AFK is not only people not in front of their keyboards it is people watching TV while randomly running around or pretending to defend something. They can never get rid of Semi afk then their are the people who are actually trying but just suck so bad they might as well be afk. Or people who are just jerks who like to pull every npc they can into somebodies aoe. Have you ever seen people who go to defend the base first thing. they are afk as far as i'm concerned.
Todd Feb 6th 2008 5:15PM
Blizzard, simple fix. The moment a player goes AFK they begin losing the amount of honor they would be gaining. Simple, teaches a lesson.
FireStar Feb 7th 2008 9:13AM
Todd. If a player for they get kicked already. It's not the problem, because they simply start jumping. It's being able to tell they're afk jumping or spinning or whatnot. Not simple. become a programmer like me :P. If they start kicking out of the peace cave for being in there for so much time they'll just move somewhere else, so please dont suggest that next. There's a reason the afk problem hasn't been fixed yet.
Outside of that reply, getting rid of diminishing returns will only slow people down who need marks (i.e. my 6 alts that are all levelling and just want the low level rewards in which marks are much harder than the ~400 honor required. It was always a rallying cry to start actually capping the flag, the thought that they were no longer getting honor.
Adam Feb 6th 2008 5:16PM
I think the diminishing returns removal will make defense more appealing in a BG like AV, since you'll get a bunch of honour from standing some place and killing the other team over and over again as they try to take whatever you're defending.
Also, I foresee a lot more games being decided through reinforcements in my battlegroup. Now, both teams kinda still play it the old way most games with a mad dash to the general and in those games "defense" means a group of 4 or 5 stealthers going back and recapping towers.
superfrank Feb 6th 2008 5:16PM
The problem is the honour gain system - you get honour for doing nothing. No wonder people join to do nothing and get honour.
A solution is to make it so that you have to kill people to get honour, however this screws over badly geared people and healers.
Matthew Feb 6th 2008 5:27PM
Even a system where you have to land just a single blow or a single offensive spell on someone before any honor could be gained would be helpful. Or have all the honor that you gain go into escrow until you do something offensive, at which point you gain it all. Even a healer could pop a SW:P on someone once a fight.
infection Feb 6th 2008 5:48PM
Umm.. then you get locked up by a rogue and 3 shotted because you have crappy gear.
Remember: not everyone is epic'd out and not everyone gets to play for X amount of minutes in fights.
If you had a stupid system that gives honor due to damage done or healing done, you would be screwing a lot of people.
Ex: Those that go to the front of the line and those who don't have the gear that are in the back that dismount and start to heal and a rogue gets on you and kills you.
Now you are back down south and running to get back to some action. Rinse and repeat.
This idea has been posted many times. I'm glad some people on these blogs do not make the bg rules...
p-diddy Feb 6th 2008 6:42PM
What about the people that stick around the capped points to defend them. Arguably they are "doing nothing" but in reality they are keeping control and keeping the point cap rolling. But what if the enemy O just sucks and never comes? Do you release and go on O? No, because that's always when the enemy O sneaks up and assaults your base. Defense gets no credit.
-p-
nav Feb 7th 2008 6:56AM
I think Matthew needs to rethink that a bit (to put it politely). That or explain what's wrong with having a system where you get honour if you heal someone who is in combat (or some variation of that) - that requires the same level of nonAFKness as casting an offensive spell anyway.
LostOne Feb 7th 2008 9:26AM
That also means people are less likely to defend if the opposing faction isn't in view. They'll stand around for 10 seconds or less and say "screw this, I'm not getting honor just standing here" and run off, so 3 minutes later when the army of horde get to Stormpike GY, it's undefended.
Vort Feb 6th 2008 5:28PM
I'm more worried about WSG becoming the HK farming BG not AV.
Khanmora Feb 6th 2008 5:59PM
My thoughts exactly, as if I don't avoid it like the plague now, post 2.4 forget about it.
Oneiroi Feb 7th 2008 10:41AM
I mean, if it's not a problem now I don't think it will be after this change.
It was really annoying at first when you always played on the same server against the same people. Now with the mixed servers, you tend not to kill the same people over and over. You get different ones as you queue up.
Naix Feb 6th 2008 5:29PM
Turtlers? Ha! Just sneak behind them and take some towers. When they run to retake the towers slay them all!
FOR THE HORDE!
WP Feb 6th 2008 5:30PM
i dont see this fixing the problem at all. it gonna take blizz getting out the ban/beating stick to get ppl out of AFK. for me..its a good thing cuz now i can get more honor while im out there trying to help the team win. now AV will turn into nothing but a turtle fest. i see more ppl that are actually playing.. out to get more HKs then by completing the objectives to actually win the BG. hopefully im wrong...
mike Feb 6th 2008 5:37PM
ROFL, the ONLY reason people continue to AFK is because they know blizzard will NEVER take any serious action against them.
Sky_Paladin Feb 6th 2008 5:42PM
It doesn't address the reason why people are going afk, and that is because it is more time efficient for getting honor than actually participating in the battle.
You should only get honor if you participate in combat - by attacking an enemy, buffing or healing an ally who is already in combat - or within a short distance of a pvp objective.
Gogey Feb 6th 2008 5:41PM
Iceblood? Turtlers?
Lolwut?