Ok, finally got around to reading everything in the thread. Going to toss my 2 cents in on a couple of points that stuck out at me.
1st up, Pistis keeps harping on the point that Ald doesn't divide people's forces, arguing that if they choose a castle to attack they are "all in" and shouldn't be anywhere else. This argument is flawed since it misses the entire point of WoE. The point of WoE is to hold castles. As many as you can. You want the castle's for the chests since they are the only source of God-item components. If you can take 1 castle and hold it, you do it. If you can take 2 castles and hold them, you do it. If I could take every castle on the server and leave the other guilds with none, I would do it and every single WoE guild would do the same. The only reason anyone ever stops at one is because they lack sufficient forces for both a secure defense and a strong offense. And each WoE, those who can separate some forces from defense to go attack, DO. Having to make separate chars to go WoE at Ald does split one's forces, so stop trying to argue that it doesn't. The merits of having the option of doing so are what's under discussion here.
The other point I wanted to address is some people's contention that the God-item components be removed from non-trans WoE even if it gets modified away from it's current state. I think that's ridiculous. The God-item components are the only items from castle chests that cannot be obtained through regular monster farming elsewhere (if memory serves). A non God-item drop from a castle treasure is by definition a consolation prize. Castle treasures exist to provide shots at these components for the most powerful items in game and they are fiercely fought over for a reason. As it is on this server, collecting those components is harder than normal because of the way castle treasures are mixed with each other. The odds of getting what you need are significantly reduced. A castle that didn't have the potential to drop a God-item component is a useless castle. The other drops can be farmed with far less effort as NPCs are easier opponents than humans.
To sum up my personal opinions, I dislike the concept of a non-trans WoE. I also feel that, if it had to be implemented because of demand, it was a mistake to exclude the Expanded classes. That being said, I also acknowledge that my feelings about WoE are not universal and obviously some people took advantage of the fact that there is non-trans WoE by getting themselves organized and securing their interests.
To demand that that niche be removed when you yourself are not willing to go in and fight them is hypocritical in my opinion. We can see the advantages as well as they can. The difference is they made the choice to capitalize on it. The main advantage the Ald castle currently has is one that we all afford them by our own actions. As long as peopel refuse to allocate resources to Ald, they will continue to have it easy. It is inconvenient to do so. There's no arguing that. But making tough cost/benefit decisions is the norm in WoE. Deal with it.
