Guild Wars 2

I’m kind of sad, that my first topic on this forum has to be a complaint, but i really have to express great disappointment concerning the Guild Arena within the Guild Hall.

My guild consists of only 5 members and we’re all casual gamers, so it took quite a significant amount of our time and in-game resources to complete the “Arena Restoration 2” upgrade.
We wanted the arena, so we could practice for PvP, try other builds and experiment and practice in a controlled environment. And then, yesterday, when we had finally gathered all the necessary resources and completed the upgrade, we were shocked. Nothing of what we wanted to do with the arena was actually possible.

So, what’s the problem?
It’s simple: the arena is not a PvP environment. Yes, you can form teams and fight each other, but in a strictly PvE setting, meaning with PvE gear, traits and skills.
The consequence of that is, that if i wanted to try a new weapon for PvP, i’d have to buy or craft a top tier weapon plus the desired Sigils. With armor it’s even worse. All 6 parts of armor require runes which have to be bought, in order to try ones different from what you use in your PvE armor. If you want to further use your PvE armor as it was before, you have to even get 6 new top tier armor pieces, in order to be able to test your build like it would work in a PvP environment.
Furthermore, to try out a class you haven’t much played before, you are required to level that class to max level and, most likely. gain enough Hero Points to fully unlock the elite specialization.
That’s quite a lot effort, just to be able to practice PvP with your guild. In the Guild Arena you already put a lot of effort in to have, in the first place.

And on top of it all it’s not even entirely possible to test your builds in circumstances equal to real PvP, due to the existing differences between the game modes!

Of course i can see the technical limitations, since Guild Halls are a PvE environment and the Guild Arena is part of the Guild Hall. But wouldn’t the solution to that problem be quite simple, if the entrance portal to the Arena would simply lead to an Arena placed in the Mists, an already existing multipurpose PvP environment, instead of an arena that’s actually situated in the Guild Hall?

Maybe we just got the wrong impression of what the Guild Arena was supposed to be. Maybe the intention behind the Guild Arena has always been to provide a spot where PvE builds could bash in each others brains. But for any use concerning real PvP the Guild Arena is completely useless.

I think your expectations were a bit misplaced. Players have wanted a place to ‘PvP’ in PvE gear for ages.

I believe there are custom arenas, or some such, for practicing PvP with PvP gear available.

Good luck.

gotz to agree w/ inculpatus, the guild arenas were always meant to be pvp in pve gear, as players wanted.

custom arenas is your solution. u even get to practice you pvp on the actual pvp maps, so its better than a guild arena for that reason too.

now are there issues w/ custom arenas? definitely. but thats a diff discussion

As the poster above says, this is what you’re after:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Custom_Arena

It’s been available long before Guild Halls too.

So basically there needs to be better communication about the availability of custom arenas.

Well, i know about custom arenas. But let’s be honest: they are are very expenisve (i have about 250g, so spending 200g on a starter kit is just not a realistic option), they expire after some time and they are just not the same as having an arena for your guild.

I just don’t see the point of creating Guild Arenas in their current form. There’s a reason for the strict separation of PvE and PvP. The idea that people wanted PvP in PvE gear is genuinely new to me. Although i don’t get why anybody would want that, i of course tolerate the need for that, but wouldn’t it have been the more sensible thing to do, to create areas for this purpose in the persistent world, being not only the natural PvE environment anyway, but also the only place i could imagine where a need for PvE-gear PvP could arise…?

Well, whatever, thanks for your answers anyway. It’s just a real downer to see all your guild’s combined effort over the last months being a huge waste of time (and in-game resources).

Fully upgrading the guild arena cost around the same as 1.8years of custom arena time and that is assuming someone is in there 24/7.

yeah, you/your guild just needed to research it ahead of time. basically you invested your resources/time in the wrong place.

the reason people wanted pve gear for pvp is for guild v guild stuff, just like how wvw uses pve gear, but its a pvp environment.

these large guilds would have to try and sync up w/ whatever server they were playing w/ and find areas in wvw or the obsidian sanctum to battle it out, which from their complaints, was not great.

so guild arenas were made, where they could fill their guildly desires. at least thats how it played out from my pt of view.

since i don’t do it, i don’t know if it worked out for those guilds or not, but since i haven’t seen the complaints since guild arenas released, i have to assume its mostly been a positive solution

@Khisanth: Apart from the fact that we never intended to fully upgrade the Guild Arena… are you telling me that the time of a custom arena only gets used up while someone is playing in it? Meaning, if nobody ever used it, the arena would last forever?

I’m asking, because me and the guild play only once a week, so if the custom arena time gets used up whether or not people are playing in it, a 200g custom arena would last us 4 evenings. Obviously not a very attractive option.

@Jaxom: I can see, how this could have been prevented from our side, of course. But it just seemed so obvious that the Guild Arena would be a place for PvP practice. But as the old romans used to say: errare humanum est.

Even if you got what you are asking for I think it could still not truly represent what your experience in PvP would be. Well not unless of course Anet addressed those few issues and gave options to be able to. These problems are:

1 – I’m sure there is a difference with the stat system of armours. I think in PvP there are no stats on armour right? All stats come from the amulet?

2 – Our pve stats are changing all the time due to the WvW system and bonus they give us. Even if you don’t play WvW or are not doing it your PvE stats are always changed by a small amount due to how well your world is doing.

3 – Any and all buffs/boons from food/other consumables/guild hall bonuses etc would have to be removed.

I am sure there are other things I am over looking or have not included. But even so, these 3 things above might not sound like much but I am sure it would be a bit of work for Anet.

I just wish there were more testing options in the PvP lobby tbh. I mean in GW1 there were a lot more options and it did not only help for PvP but also for PvE. Some simple ideas could be:

1 – A golem with a break bar so we could test which skills are the best for breaking bars.
2 – Golems that pulse conds on you so we can test removal options.
3 – Golems that attack you for small damage so we can see the effects of healing on ourselves from not only our heal skills but also passives such as regens from traits.
4 – Golems that stand in place and will range you once you attack them.

5 – A training room where you could party with friends/guildies and practice fights against ea other. I know there is that custom arena thing. But lets be honest, something like this should be free of charge especially with the state of PvP right now and if they want to keep attracting people to try the game mode.

A few things like this would be great!

Tharos.5712:

@Jaxom: I can see, how this could have been prevented from our side, of course. But it just seemed so obvious that the Guild Arena would be a place for PvP practice. But as the old romans used to say: errare humanum est.

yeah its an understandable mistake. and as i said, i think there are a lot of issues w/ custom arenas too, which make them much less useful than they could be.

Paulytnz.7619:

……. I mean in GW1 there were a lot more options and ….

if only i had a copper for everytime i’ve heard/said this…

I thought there were PvP arenas? that you could enter at any time at no cost. I mean, they aren’t always private, but still….

Can’t be that bad as there are always those Daily PvP places…or so I’ve heard.

Tharos.5712:

@Khisanth: Apart from the fact that we never intended to fully upgrade the Guild Arena… are you telling me that the time of a custom arena only gets used up while someone is playing in it? Meaning, if nobody ever used it, the arena would last forever?

I’m asking, because me and the guild play only once a week, so if the custom arena time gets used up whether or not people are playing in it, a 200g custom arena would last us 4 evenings. Obviously not a very attractive option.

I would have to double check with my friend. She mentioned that a while ago.

Edit: Unfortunately it turns out that is not the case.
The time ticks constantly.

Khisanth.2948:

I would have to double check with my friend. She mentioned that a while ago.

Edit: Unfortunately it turns out that is not the case.
The time ticks constantly.

Thanks for checking, though!

Tharos.5712:

I just don’t see the point of creating Guild Arenas in their current form. There’s a reason for the strict separation of PvE and PvP. The idea that people wanted PvP in PvE gear is genuinely new to me.

My guild doesn’t sPvP, but does WvW. The guild arena is a great addition as it allows us to fight each other in the same gear/stats/skills as we would out in the Borderlands (with ranger’s pet HP being the main exception). It’s pretty cool, and it’s something we didn’t have before, as in WvW we’re on the same team, and both hotjoin servers and custom arenas are locked to PvP gear/stats/skills.

cafard.8953:

My guild doesn’t sPvP, but does WvW. The guild arena is a great addition as it allows us to fight each other in the same gear/stats/skills as we would out in the Borderlands (with ranger’s pet HP being the main exception). It’s pretty cool, and it’s something we didn’t have before, as in WvW we’re on the same team, and both hotjoin servers and custom arenas are locked to PvP gear/stats/skills.

But if both the war room and the arena are for WvW enthusiasts, what’s a guild hall got in store for PvP oriented players?

cafard.8953:

Tharos.5712:

I just don’t see the point of creating Guild Arenas in their current form. There’s a reason for the strict separation of PvE and PvP. The idea that people wanted PvP in PvE gear is genuinely new to me.

My guild doesn’t sPvP, but does WvW. The guild arena is a great addition as it allows us to fight each other in the same gear/stats/skills as we would out in the Borderlands (with ranger’s pet HP being the main exception). It’s pretty cool, and it’s something we didn’t have before, as in WvW we’re on the same team, and both hotjoin servers and custom arenas are locked to PvP gear/stats/skills.

I am in the same boat as you. Being able to practice in wvw gear is far more important to me than spvp, which has other options.