I feel like the majority isn't considering the whole picture, and are more focused on the timer not feeling good with only a specific lens in place; getting your PvP enabling materials fast. I could agree that:
10 minute timers for extraction is way too much,
IF, you are stuck doing nothing waiting for it.
That is
not the case.
That 10 minutes is free, open time. You can move, leave, even come back late (if your extraction bag isn't stolen). Some
casual things I commonly do while something is extracting, based out of Fabernum:
- Walk to town to craft.
- Walk to town to check trade broker.
- Take a quick ride over to the GY and grab a few kills.
- Mine more Ore.
- Chop a nearby tree.
- Gather wild plants.
- Hunt a Springbok or two.
That right there? Is multitasking.
It actually increases productivity when done correctly.
Something else to consider, for the PvP/Hardcore crowd...
You want people to be able to process that much product
freely? To be able to take 5 stacks of something, process it in a short time and bail out before anyone can really do anything? Or do you want the ability to
control those points and be able to patrol them for PvP and content?
If people are able to process materials so swiftly and safely, banks will get filled. When banks are filled, people leave town less. When people leave town less, the game decays. Suddenly the world feels dead and people only log in when a ping comes saying "PVP!!!"; making material production fast, degrades the game-play loop.
Concerning PvP, 10 minute timers enable:
- Vulnerability.
- For an attacker, this is opportunity. For the defender, it can be exciting to have to be vigilant.
- The machines activate and make noise when they are first used.
- A player could be sighted at the location.
- A patrol could easy pop in to check now and again during rounds.
- Control
- BC of the above points, a governing guild or alliances could effectively shut down an entire areas production.
- This breeds conflict, as it forces defence or relocation (or, people quitting, if the camping is too intense).
It's basically like Capture the Flag, or, Tower Defence.
I feel like the system is set up to enable dynamic, control point orientated PvP. I like it. *shrug*
EDIT:
I do think tweaking could be made. I am not against mini-games, or options to lessen yield for a faster timer. Such things would need to be broken down and dicussed with the entire gameplay loop in mind, though. Not just "reduce the timers!"~