SORRY FOR WALL OF TEXT... But, if you know me, you seen this coming. XD lol
I believe I have read through all your post Buddha. If I have forgotten any, I apologize. I just wanted to get a good idea on where you stand before replying with my thoughts on your opinion.
First of all, and not to try to sound rude in any way, it is indeed a bit aggravating trying to defend against your 'opinion' when you have no actual experience in using the arena or arena's of other sites. So, I'm going to try and break this down quite a bit to give you a better picture. Because, while I have went out of my way to try and understand your point, I hope that you can come away with this with a better idea of how the arena works, so that perhaps you can help formulate a better solution to your proposed problem. Not that I am agreeing with you, that it is a complete problem. Though, I will acknowledge some things, and those will be presented to you shortly.
Let me start off with your side of things first. I love playing Devil's Advocate. It helps me think outside the box. An excellent creative tool, as well, might I add. So, let's say we go with your idea. Be Put the Arena into 1x1s. What are some things that could be improved by that.
-It could potentially make our community look bigger and more active than it is.
-Guest to the site might be more likely to stay because they don't see areas of the forum that don't look as if they haven't been posted in for a few days. I can understand that. I've seen sites I've personally been to where I have seen areas that look like they haven't been posted in for a long time and kind of cringed.
-We could split the arena into more segregated sections that might be beneficial to new writers who might like to spar with someone with less than average writing and linguistic abilities. And those who want more thought out fights could find those in a "Advanced" section. This could also work if we split them by our current levels rather than into 1x1. Either way, it'd get rid of the arena section.
-Perhaps doing so could make others that don't typically play in arena fights, more apt to give them a shot if they happen to see them in 1x1s and not feel so forced to make it completely about the fight. I admit, I see that as an issue at times. Where arena players can tend to skip the story and only feed you a tiny portion of what it could be in the midst of pure battle.
I think the above are all great points. Points that you or others who have agreed with you have spoken about, in addition to my own input. A great start to a conversation. One that certainly needs to be discussed. Some of this has been in the past, others have been just passing thoughts that might have been brought up now and then, but left idly aside as we continue our pursuit to glory.
Now, this is the part that might put an itch on you. I apologize for that. If I need to elaborate on something more fully, please feel free to question me on it. Now, I shall not look at the benefits of keeping the arena as it is, cause I'm sure we can all agree that some changes can be made. But some of those changes are bigger than just our section. They are site wide, but I'll get into that later. For now, I'm going to explain why your proposed changes are actually damaging and or not helpful. I suppose the best way to start this is by deflating all the great and well intentioned points above.
-While it might make our community look bigger and more, active. It actually isn't. And in all actuality, it would make it smaller. The more you hide the arena, the more you are simply going to do to extinguish it in it's entirety. Cause if a new user decides they want to Roleplay a battle. First off, a majority of those are going to stop immediately when they see there is no arena section. Point Blank. Don't agree? I can guarantee you. I myself have visited sites where I have simply not even bothered because there is no arena section. Was there some hiding in there somewhere? Possibly. But they would probably have been buried under all the other RPs and or died out cause no one thinks they actually exist. Sure. We don't post a lot. But we do post.
-The second point only solidifies my above point. There are always areas of a forum that are less used than others. Any Roleplay site you go to. Matter of fact, the Arena is like that on MANY sites. Let's see. I just checked Roleplaygateway. And at the time of writing this, the last post was on Thursday. That's 4 days ago. And let me give you a better idea of why I brought Gateway up. Gateway is actually one of the most populated Arena's on just about ANY roleplay forum. Just about any Arena fighter that has been around for any given time has heard of Gateway, either on this site or another RP site. Cause Gateway used to host tournaments that would attract a lot of players from different sites. A few individuals on this site have even participated in them. And yet, their last post is 4 days ago. Yes, Arena tends to go slow. It always has. And it will have times that it peaks. It always has. So, to say it's dying it very far-fetched. It is going plenty strong, as far as Arena fighters go. And many Fighters will take breaks between Tournaments. Cause I'll be blunt with you... It's freaking exhausting sometimes! You aren't just telling a story, like any other Roleplay. You're trying to cleverly and continuously outsmart your opponent. On top of making some of the most precise character sheets in any Roleplay. Ask any of these guys. I'm sure they can all pop out a character sheet they have, longer than most advanced RP post right there on the spot. All of them reading this right now, probably have the exact character they are ready to share with you, cause their laughing at the excruciating amount of time they spent on it. Not to mention, I can't begin to explain the amount of time, I myself have spent researching for Arena RPs. You can't just slap together anything for an Arena RP. You will find yourself googling the strangest things. Many of these fighters could explain all sorts of real life combat techniques and the physical properties of metals, they spiritual aspects of nature, as well as microbiology, and quantum mechanics, because these things are things they have researched JUST FOR THE CHARACTER. SO YES... I'll say it again... Arena RPs tend to move VERY SLOW!
-Splitting the arena does nothing but exactly that. Split it. Makes it even smaller. The goal in the Arena whether just beginning or whether you've been here a long time... is to get to the top. It always has been. We debate and argue so much, and yes, unfortunately sometimes we catch the nasty side of some of our fellow fighters, but at the end of the day, we all walk away with utmost respect for one another, cause we're all trying to constantly improve. Our biggest line when a new person comes in and wants to join in on the arena and wants to learn... every single person reading this will tell you.... "The best way to learn it, is just do it." We've always been about adapting and growing. That's the most unique thing about the arena compared to other sections of ANY RP site. And the best way to do that is to fight. It doesn't matter how much better they are at it. How long they've been doing it. You learn the ins and outs fastest and most efficiently by just fighting. You'll learn what you need to describe and when. You'll expand your vocabulary just in a single fight, because you'll find new ways that you never thought your character could be exploited just by simple words on the page. Yes, you need a bit of a backbone in the Arena. That's just an unfortunate part of it. Everyone wants to win, but someone always wins and someone always loses. And we will argue tooth and nail about it till a judge comes in and makes the final decision in the most unbiased way they can. And I have literally NEVER seen anyone really argue with a judge on a fight. Cause we all know that just how it works. We take our wins and we take our losses and we move on. And we simply understand that we will not always agree. And honestly, some of the best fighters are those that know when to take the loss, even without a judge. Cause they take it, adapt, and evolve. Period. Splitting it really doesn't do anyone any good.
-This is an interesting one. Cause already, tucking it away hides it... and thus hides it from the populace, and just as I mentioned above... makes people simple not seek it out. But, the other part of that is what I'd like to touch on more. Some fights, are less story oriented, but in all honestly, many of them are not. They can just sometimes seem like it from an outside perspective. Arena tends to have a multiverse type of effect. Many of our characters have fought multiple battles and evolved a story over a series of post. I would like to see more post that are more strictly story based about each of these characters. I think that would be awesome to see. What a fighter does when there is no one to fight. But, many of us simply don't fight without some kind of story. I for one, have NEVER started a fight without creating some kind of backstory, that folds into my character's continuously growing story as to why I'm even participating in the fight in the first place. For many of us, before we are opponents, we are allies. We work together to make our stories stick. Creating new plots and twist that lead to these epic moments where our characters first confront one another. My first post in every one of my fights, is ALWAYS my favorite. But anyone that ever has fought with me or has seen my fights, already know this... I tend to go all out on my first post. I create these huge vivid stories that are often on the receiving end of jokes about, "Guru just wrote a novel length post, guys" Not that I mind at all, and i know others enjoy them... cause they create a story behind my character and his appearance on the battlefield. And some people just like the battle bits, cause they want to get through it and get up on those ranks. That's ok too. Not all of us do it for the same reasons, but none of them are wrong.
How we can improve the Arena... Well, honestly, the Arena isn't really THAT much of a problem to begin with. It's a niche' Forum, I admit, but putting it Somewhere else does it no justice at all. Our Arena is actually fairly busy compared to a lot of Arenas on the net. And as I said before, it does go slow. Doesn't make it inactive or dead. If anything, I'd like to see more story oriented stuff that doesn't stick strictly to fighting, but still allows that as an option, if for nothing, but background on our characters and a way to get the stuff in our heads out in the open so we can continue to evolve it. As far as activity... A LOT of that is based on Guild activity in general. More people on guild, more potential members in Arena. But never expect Arena to hit those numbers like the rest of the forums. The Arena is NOT for everyone. That's why it's niche'. There is A LOT that goes into Arena Fighting, and most people... even in advanced sections... don't want to give it that much time. Cause they just want to create a story. The Arena has it's stories as well, but as I've previously mentioned... it requires A LOT more than that. And it's a headache. That's why you see a lot of us disappear for a while, till we can come back with a refreshed vigor. But we enjoy it.
It made me laugh when I seen your post. Cause, I already knew what was coming. Arena people don't shy from arguments or discussions at all. No, we're probably the most loud and vocal group of people on Guild. Cause that competitiveness is in our blood. That's why we love the arena. And why we keep coming back to it. And I apologize for some of our hot headed individuals. They are just very spirited, and love this section as much as you care about the guild as a whole, otherwise you wouldn't be trying to improve it. But Arena section, outside of what I mentioned, doesn't really have any problems outside of what any other forum on this site has. We're just smaller, cause it's not something for everyone. But as small as we are, we have an extremely strong and tight-knit community here, and anyone that wants to come in, provided they have the thick skin it requires for this type of RP, we welcome them in.
We're loud and we're proud. Arena for life! :P
(And yes, as Melonhead said... Not everyone displays their combat stats, so really... the Leaderboards aren't accurate at all. And not everyone even participates in ranked. That's optional.)
