WoW Strategy III: Bases / Guild Bases

Standard base

In order to avoid the problems that came with the WoD-garrisons, the entire endeavor should above anything else be optional, and also more cosmetic and specialized on top of that.

• There should be multiple spots in the WoW universe where players can build their bases (including the past expansions). Another option would be to allow a player multiple bases by using several spots.
•  The player should be able to select a style for his buildings instead of being forced to put up with the Human or Orc-style by default - it's not as if there weren't more architectural marvels in WoW.
•  An option would be to "pool" the base building endeavors for multiple characters on an account (or at least for players of the same faction and on the same server). This would mean that a player has the option to pool his resources according to his needs and also has access to already finished buildings and already trained followers.
•  Alternatively, a player doesn't pool his basebuilding endeavors, but is allowed free access to each of the bases on his account (again, think of SWTOR).
•  The base should be more of an ongoing project than it was in WoD: there, the garrison was indeed interesting - until it was completed. Once that was done, the novelty factor quickly wore off and ennui set in. Here on the other hand a player should be able to sink lots of resources into the base, but also be aware of the fact that having a great base is supposed to be a reward in itself. Also, should the player complete the base as far as possible, he shouldn't be forced to stick around if there's nothing else to do except quests.
•  The base should also be more like in the RTS: buildings should be prerequisites for other buildings, and different buildings make different units available for recruiting. 
• The base should also have more elements that are akin to housing, i.e. allow the player to customize at least the interior of the bases to a considerable extent.
• The buildings in the base should be more focused on the needs of the base instead of those of the character: it should be more a self-sustained ecosystem. This means: the mine has basic resource metals (see above), the orchards, gardens and acres have basic resource foodstuffs etc.; and this also means that the blacksmith is there to craft weapons for troops and not for PCs. A base as a generator of standard crafting materials and similar resources should be the final result of a working base, not something that’s available right off the bat.
•  Also, for additional fun, certain buildings should be unrelated to the base, and depend on achievements instead - like, say, cool or useful buildings for people who have gotten AOTC achievements that are separated from the base building aspect. That way, a player who doesn't want to put up with managing a base would still have use for it.

 

A low-tier base, Dwarf-style.

Guild base

An alternative (or an addition) to personal garrisons/bases would be the guild garrison. In a few regards the guild garrison would be handled differently and open up a few new options:

• Partially, the schematics are unlocked by completing guild achievements.
• The size of guild garrisons depends on the number of max level characters from unique accounts in the guild (lower level characters from one account can stay in the commons) - small guilds with few accounts get cozy little bastions, while large guilds with lots of accounts get hamlets (if they have a mixed roster) or fortresses (if their roster is max level)
• The building style of the guild garrison has to be decided from the start to avoid confusion later on (a single player can do what he wants by mixing styles, something that might lead to disagreements if done in a larger guild).
• Guild garrisons may have restricted areas that are only available to members with a certain rank.
• As opposed to personal bases, the guild garrison would be more focused on the needs of the guild instead of introducing elements of strategy games into it (meaning that for example the blacksmith is indeed a building where blacksmithing work is done work - most notably PC blacksmiths instead of NPC ones). While the idea behind personal bases is that the player has the option to have unique content that's based on being a builder, this shouldn't be the case for guild garrisons which are more supposed to be convenience features for guilds.