The titan cooldown still applies to guilds. The change means that if you're in a guild that is on cooldown for a particular titan, then you can still hit it and get your own contribution towards it (as if you weren't in a guild). If you are also on a cooldown for the titan (ie. you were the highest contributor) then you won't be able to hit it again until either you or the guild isn't on cooldown for it.
Happy New Year everyone!
This quote above seems incomplete to me. The wording indicates to me that an individual could solo secure a titan on day 6 of the Guild's cooldown, then, the next day when the guild cooldown is over, the player that solo secured the day before will also be able to hit the titan again. "you won't be able to hit it again until either you or the guild isn't on cooldown for it." The either is very important in that line. That seems to be far too much in favour of guilds containing multiple players capable of solo securing, they can take all week after the guild secure taking turns, and ALL be refreshed at the same time when the guild cooldown is reset. This means they will all be good to go again the next week, and squeeze out the competition.
If nothing else, personal cooldown should last until it is done, and if the guild cooldown resets while your personal coodown is in effect, the rest of the guild can hunt, but you can't, not until your own cooldown is completed. After all, the only reason you are on a personal coldown is because you managed to gain an epic. You have gained a reward, you aren't being punished by having the personal cooldown last a full 7 days. That way you don't have players gaming the guild cooldown period, but still having chances to gain their own items if they want to go for it.
I have a fair bit of experience with titans. I got my ruby medal before titan doubler was introduced. I know the grind of 3+ hour secures on the Terror Titan, one titan hit point at a time.
This change to cooldown, even if my reading above is wrong and personal cooldown does last a full 7 days, has a net effect of concentrating titan drops in large guilds with multiple titan hunters and maxed temporal beacons. Because one guild can gain its TKP secure, or outright win, and then have multiple individuals win more epics for themselves. All into one guild. The little guy, and I include myself here, is left to scout around the margins looking for TKP, and the odd alignment of the stars for secures.
That is exacerbated by the presence of Teleport 200. Before this change Teleport 200+ was contained by the fact that it couldn't be used as often by as many players to good effect - guild cooldown limited individuals' chances of using them. This has been removed by the introduction of personal cooldowns. The effect is quite dramatic, I have seen a few instances this season where one player goes on a run and clears multiple titans over a long stretch after his guild has secured. The next day, one of his guildmates does the same thing. Those are all secures that would have gone to other guilds, and would not have been made as easy for individuals without the presence of teleport 200+. I could invest in such a potion, but come up against another player with a better connection and lose out - I've experienced that in flat races before teleport, and in races against folk with Temporal Beacon I have known the advantage gained by the beacon was significant, and made it very hard to compete. The idea of laying out a bunch of FSP, taking my chances on employing it during a favourable window of opportunity, and then still coming off second best, is a poor risk given my level of resources. To those with more it is a more reasonable risk. (Also you just can't assume Gospa, or any other highly valuable titan will show up when you have it running, so it could be wasted that way too) It also assumes I as an individual have the luxury of picking and choosing when I can hunt to maximise my chance of success.
Individuals in large guilds can co-ordinate among themselves to know that alone in their guild they will be the one using teleport 200+ at X-Y window. I think we have seen this in action this seasonal period.
Should Teleport 200 go away? It is a valuable source of income for HCS. A reason to donate. It depends if its use here causes more people to lose interest in the game than people prepared to pay for the advantage gained. That is for HCS to analyse and judge. I was okay with TP 200 before. Now it is running rampant this season due to the change in cooldown rules, it is adversely affecting my enjoyment of the game. I titan hunt less than I used to, because the opportunities are fewer, but I've still gained an almost full set of seasonal drops for my guild, and will complete the set, Gospa aside unless I get very lucky, by the time the event is over, and probably get 2 of a few. So I'm still reasonably effective, but I have more patience than most. The question is how is this effecting other players approach to titans.
My overall impression is that titan hunting has been concentrated into the hands of those with more in-game resources. Those in the biggest guilds tend to have the most resources available to them. Cooldown was introduced to stop guilds (one in particular that held the rest of the game to ransom with its dominance of titan drops) from dominating the competition. I believe that what we are seeing here is a return to big guild domination by the back door. This is not a good thing, in my opinion.
I have made a couple of first place secures this season, but both times I think because another hunter chose to stop hunting prior to secure to manage TKP gains and timing when their guild went on cooldown to maximise item gain down the road. So I benefitted via another's tactical choices, and just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Many other players would not have started hitting in that circumstance, suspicious that they were being lulled into doing a bunch of hits only for the player or guild near the finish line to return and take the kill. I went for it because I love titan hunting, and had the stam to lose if it went for nothing when I was trying to get a personal item gain. In a game of resources, I had enough to spare in that particular instance, I didn't burn big potions or chest items to do it, just cranked a counter attack and didn't care about the extra stam. Not every other titan hunter has that luxury.
So I think HCS should review this policy, and certainly look at the personal cooldown reset when the guild cooldown ends. That at minimum should change so a successful solo artist within a guild has to wait a full week before she tries again at a solo secure. This change was inspired by people complaining that titan hunters in large guilds missed out on the fun of titan hunting. Well, now they all can, and many other players are being squeezed out by letting the big boys and girls have their fun. The less well resourced miss out on the fun of getting secures, or even as much TKP as they did before as every extra player hunting after their guild is on cooldown is taking TKP that would have been available to the wider community. Individuals are taking hits that could have been another Guild's TKP. It is up to HCS to decide which format they think is healthier for the game. I know which one I think was healthier.
My lengthly 2c. I hope everyone enjoys their New Year's Day!