What is GvG?
The cost of getting a full defence sector is ridicilous, hundreds of goods and 100 troops. And before that you have to conquer it! Which might mean 100 dead rogues and a siege cost of 5 x 500 goods (if you have a big area). The "prize" is some GP, way too little to be worth it and some prestige. The prestige is the more valuable part as it is the measurement unit of guild rankings so those guilds who want to be at the top have a reason for paying the insane cost of GvG. Now prestige given from owning sectors was cut (my guild lost over 50% prestige) while the insane cost of GvG stays the same. This directly decreases the reason to play GvG to those guilds who want to be at the top, but this is not all, GvG is something else that can not be measured by numbers..
GvG is a platform for global guild on guild diplomacy, politics and conflict. It is like the Game of Thrones, alliances, wars, terrorists (MB taking sectors without trying to hold them). It is a platform for the global politics of this game. Without GvG there is no global politics. When you step into the GvG platform, you step into global politics, and you can be a player in those politics, you can have a role there, no matter how small, maybe it is just one defiant defence, maybe it's a statement of a small guild, maybe it's a dragonian world war between two alliances and you pick a side. GvG is the true life of this game, it is the land we fight on and what we fight for, it is the only land that can be conquered in this game as cities are untouchable. You are free to not take part in GvG, but if you do your blade will be tested and your holdings will be earned. And therefore rightfully I say that a guild that has holdings in GvG SHOULD have a huge boost in their prestige and SHOULD dominate the ranking list because that is the final measuring stick (or should be) of your cunning in this game.
And Inno wants to get rid of GvG? I see the potential of GvG, I would make it 100x better over night! But even as it is , clumsy, repetitive, with very limited war tactics, it is still the heart of this game. Because it is what this game should be, you just made it very poorly (by making it clumsy, repetitive and all but tying the hands of a war strategist). Now you stand at the verge of ending the life of your clumsy work, instead of letting people who love war strategy games to redesign it.
Fine, it is your right to destroy your clumsy work, but I dream of a game where the idea of GvG is made well and embraced, anybody know such a game? Maybe it's time we all change our platform?