A long time ago, when purge timers wouldn’t decrease and kept racking up over time, I was quite active on CE, not necessarily because I wanted to, but because I had to. I cared for my stuff that much.
Played daily between 6-11 PM (purge window), and so did everyone else. Global chat was alive. People would go “OMG I got an impending purge!” (if it’s a beast purge) and people would either flock to the rescue, or someone would keep silent so they got dibs on purge crafters (if it were a human purge). The game was so alive.
Even though I did not enjoy this forced chore, I did find myself actually enjoying PvE more, because it gave PvE a sense of impending danger, for which you need to build defenses for, if by any chance you can’t be there one day between 6-11.
It also gave you a grim satisfaction watching other people’s bases get trashed. “If your not dedicated enough, then get wrecked. This is about survival.” comes into mind… except this phrase also applies to the current state of things in the vein of “If you don’t log on once every 7 days and do a timer-refresh you lose your shyte” but… that isn’t fun, or conducive to any meaningful gameplay in the long run.
Whereas having the danger of purges regardless of activity gives official PvE a certain purpose. A certain gameplay beyond capturing rare thralls and having territory bytch fests with immature megalomaniacs.
It stands to argue that decreasing purge timers based on (the lack of) activity is more respectful to players time… which actually translates to respecting players decision to play other games while holding territory on official PvE servers. It stands to reason that people with jobs have no business playing (or won’t be enjoying) a cold competitive time consuming multiplayer environment, where time itself is a strategic resource. Some may argue that some people play CE PvE to chillax… but the reality is there is always a local idiot who raises everyone’s blood pressure, no matter how chill one wants the official PvE server to be. Might as well have purges be a release for the high blood pressure.
I believe time-based accumulative purge timers would make the game more frustratingly interesting, than frustratingly boring.
It might not be a popular move, but I know I had alot more fun when i had to defend my things, as opposed to now, where I need only log on once a week, and i’m off the hook.
I keep CE on my HD and maintain my PvE base not because it’s fun, but because i’m a habitual preservationist. To me an official PvE server is a garden of memories.
I’d like to have some fun preserving things, not just out of habit.
In the end it’s really not up to me, but you know it’s true. Fun works that way.
Stress & Release, vs. Distress.
Purges are the perfect stress & release because it comes in waves.
The uncertainty of purges as akin to the uncertainly in PvP, where you feel vulnerable at all times.