Okay, I'm a bit late to the party, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents.
The titan update seems like a good one. I hardly ever titan hunt myself, but anything that would make it harder to cheat gets a thumbs-up from me.
PvP ladder hits being un-bountyable? Okay. I don't think it would really make a huge difference, since few people do this anyway, and the ones who do are typically laughed at and used as hourly chew toys... but it makes sense since the ladder is opt-in, and I suppose there's an off chance that it would encourage more people to participate, which is always a plus. The ladder is dead right now.
Bounties no longer being able to expire? Meh... don't really care either way. It was never something that made any sort of difference for me. I suppose it would prevent high level players who want their bounties to expire from taking clears personally (like some have mentioned). I've never had any problems with this, but if others have, I guess it could use tweaking.
Then there's this...
Furthermore, we are thinking that anyone who takes a bounty cannot be bountied for taking it. This would mean being a Bounty Hunter would no longer be more damaging to the Hunter, making it a viable part of the game again. However, we would like constructive feedback regarding this.
No! Nono! Nnnnnno! Bad Cows! Bad, bad Cows!
There are so many reasons why this would be a terrible idea. It would allow just about anyone to accept a bounty and smash indiscriminately... with no fear of reprisal. Smasher medals would be utterly meaningless since there would be no risk involved in earning them, mercs (people who smash for extra payment) would run rampant... again, with no fear of reprisal. Players would be free to accept a bounty that's already being cleared, and give up whenever they want.
The rampant smashers and mercs would result in more levels lost, further discouraging PvP. Also, counter bounties against random smashers or participants in a guild war comprise a significant number of the bounties on the board. Eliminating these bounties would just kill the BB even deader. Like many have already pointed out, the problem isn't that there aren't enough people willing to take bounties. If anything, it's the exact opposite. There are too many BHers, and not enough bounties to go around.
Not to mention the enormous discrepancy this creates between the risks associated with Bounty Hunting versus normal PvP. In normal PvP, I could theoretically lose 5 levels just for stealing 10% of a level and some gold. Heck, if Deflect kicks in, I could lose 5 for taking absolutely nothing! That almost never happens, but as someone who has chosen to PvP, I accept the possibility that it could happen.
The same goes for bounty hunting. I accept the possibility that I could be counter bountied and smashed... even for a 10 stam clear. Again, this rarely happens, and I wouldn't be very happy if it did (and would probably counter bounty the smashers in that case), but I accept that it could happen.
Why are you proposing to coddle the Bounty Hunters by eliminating risks that a lot of us are perfectly content in taking in the first place?
Edited by Vladimir00, 28 March 2014 - 03:45.