Area Control: A Gameplay concept

Area control is a type of gameplay that has been explored by mmo's but hasn't been particularly expanded upon in my opinion in honor of Nukes DPS


General Description
Area control Gameplay is a lot like a football game where both teams have a quarter back or runner and in the mean time there are a bunch blockers

The quarter back or runner deals most of the damage or has something that will effect the opponents greatly
While the blockers Try to keep all other opponents away from area x or take down person x or why

To do this effectively gameplay needs to focus on location more
Right now theres a few concepts that work out well
1) Knockback/Pullin-knockback forces a unit to be in a different location. If used properly, it can group up for heavy splash or seperate opponents allowing allys to deal with them without intereference




2) Auras-makes opponents not want to enter into an area or make allys in an area all get a buff
-This is probably my favorite type of area control because it forces players to think twice about moving in or gives allys a cusion area for safety.

3) Positioning
-Gang Bangs-When you and your team mates all focus fire on one opponent. This makes the opponent die pretty quickly allowing you to win a small. This also works in splash form if opponents are too close to each other



-Protective Positioning-your quarter back being a spellcaster with an extreme amount of casting time, your team must setup a perimeter to make sure no one is going to be able to get in

This isn't something that has been very clearly setup





Nonetheless, I'm a believe that auras (player and totem auras) have the potential to have a much bigger impact on gameplay
This is one of the reasons i'm so excited about Guildwars 2. I believe they are going in the right direction with it :)