@Panda
in all honesty i do believe that HeRO IS really baby-ing the woe-going crowd. But there is still a difference in feeling that you can hang around castles just for fun or having to join one of the big boys if you don't wanna keep banging your head against a brick wall. The way i see it, as people and their guilds grow, they will tend to converge into the "select" castles thus allowing for even newer guilds to start climbing the woe scene through the "lesser" castles. This way will still be more organic than facing them with a brick wall with only four gates from the get-go.
Furthermore, (at least to me) the point in talking out these suggestions is to find possible ways to "relaunch" the server to entice new people without actually relaunching the server (wipes, etc).
I personally don't think we would ever need to do this, but if people keep saying things like "the server will die without the woe pop and it's the social guilds' fault", then perhaps they should realize that woe being the way it is is their own fault for wanting to farm god item ingredients effectively.
@inasad and merellis:
the 4 big guilds that you name will probably focus more on those few "select" castles with the god item ingredients that they want (please refer to "the next step" i refer to when people are tired of wools and obs). This concentration by the "big guilds" will mean that other "lesser" castles will still be accessible to newbies.
and sure, you could break up into 3-4 man parties to hold all 20, but then the other big guilds will converge on you. Then everyone has to rethink their strategy again to adapt to the various threats coming from all sides. It's about a more fluid (and constant) challenge in calculating your benefit cost ratio; "do i relog as my sinX for that gefx castle that that noob guild is holding or should i go try to swipe payx while that other big guild is busy sieging my prontx castle that i am sure my guild can hold even when big guild B is sending 75% of their forces or perhaps i should help my friends def that castle... hmm..."
@Gojira
We care about the server. That is why we actually spend time trying to talk out possible ways to make the server "better" for all.
Again, I have nothing to gain from this particular change (if it ever happens), but i still care enough to try and find ways to make the server more "fun" for others even though i myself derive no pleasure from it.
If anything, said 4 big guilds could try out my suggestion and break themselves into several raiding parties to try and find out which one is superior to prove the aforementioned claim that they are not reward-driven.
TL/DR: i know it's moot, but opening all the castles and/or changing the woe times could be considered significant enough for a "relaunch" without actually relaunching the server. CMIIW, but relaunches (especially ones that are well-advertised) seem to be able to draw crowds.
