Guild Wars 2

So i’m running along WvW and I see a commander. Surely my first thought would be – ah that guy knows his thing! I better follow him to defend our homeland! We have loads of fun! zerging from fort to fort, camp to camp. Sometimes we all die but that’s probably all part of his master plan! Then I leave wvw for some good PvE fun and I see a commander also in the dungeon I run! I prance in delight as I take a sigh of relief! This guy must be pro, I must be in luck! Then comes the dungeon and I bravely venture in, only to find, this commander is hmm dunno how to finish this part off, lets say, i greatly overestimated him.

So anyways, on a more serious note, the majority of commanders that I see who put their little blue icon up outside in pve worlds are not very good players. This may be a misconception on my part but I naturally believe if someone has a commander symbol and has the confidence to put it up has a certain degree of leadership skills and has played a decent amount of time so his skills as a player should be relatively good. But 90 % of the time this has not been true. In fact, a lot of the time they spend talking about all the high level stuff they do, ‘oh, i’m in fotm lvl 3x ah this so boring la la la~ but then all I see them do is screw stuff up and die a lot of the time. They do a lot of bragging (imagine a scenario where a guy is like pressing many stacks of 100 dollar bills onto your face and yelling LOOK AT IT LOOK AT IT) but as a player, . they’re not very good. I mean it makes me wonder if these guy has been carried by his friends/guild.

I mean I have nothing against this really but sometimes I wish the ability to obtain a commander status was more then just about the amount of gold you got? Then I can really look up to this person and go ah, hes gone through those trials and is a respected and skilled player. Maybe even like a commander level status where he gets a number next to that little blue icon :o and is earned through completing various challenging task. All in all, nowadays I see commanders (and I see them everywhere, afterall 100g isn’t hard to earn) I’m very skeptical about their skill as a player. At most, I see them as just another average player but likes to brag and show off all their goodies and how many infusion slotted ascended rings they have or what xx level they’re up to in fotm even though when I run with them, they don’t contribute as positively to the team as they seem to claim.

Edit: forgot to add, so what do you guys think?

Commander icons mean that person had 100 gold. That is all.

It takes time playing a game with people to learn who is a good leader with good knowledge of the game, and who is a doofus.

No icon, symbol, rating, number, etc will ever replace experience in that regard.

Commander should be purchased with badges of honor, not gold. I would assume that Commander status is bought with gold because it was not intended to be useful only in wvw, but that’s how it turned out. Money can’t buy knowledge. Only experience can.

I would like to be commander one day, and I can afford it now. But I have a prerequisite for buying commander, and that’s to know what I’m doing in wvw first. I haven’t played enough to know decent strategies, so I’m not allowed to buy it yet.

And people really should turn off the icon in dungeons. In map pve, I don’t care.

I have said this before : I am still waiting for the “red tag” commander, purchased with an inane amount of badges of honor. I would follow this guy, no doubt.

But yes, it is currently hard to tell which commander is actually worth the title. We got a couple of “PVE” commanders on our server ( who doesn’t ?!) , and we’ve just learnt to stay clear of him and his strategies. It’s quite funny in WvW team chat when they show up and you got everyone telling the newbies (hate that term but you got to call new people something) to NOT listen/follow them lol

Although to be fair, it’s not entirely the PVE commander’s fault. I mean, it IS ANet who thought it would be a good idea to make the title available only through gold (which isn’t easy to make if you are a dedicated WvWer : aka armor repairs, and when you turn in a profit from caps & DEs you’ll probably spend it on siege equipment…

As I said, by all means let the “blue commander” title be as it is, but please do add a “red commander” or better “warmaster” title for the WvWers earned with badges.

At least this way you can be sure that the guy you are following has killed a kitten load of players and probably been in enough scraps of various kinds to have somewhat of a clue.

Also I’d like to finish by saying that not all blue commanders are bad, in fact quite a few of them got the title through their WvW-orientated guilds, saving money together so that their GM or best suited member/officer can take a more active role in the battle.

I think they should impliment a “Thumbs Up” rating that you can give people. Once you reach X# of Thumbs Up you are granted either a PvE icon, or a PvP icon. You should only be able to give someone a Thumbs Up if you are grouped, to prevent people from randomly decreasing your Thumbs Up points pool just beacuse they woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

I have yet to run into a “Commander” that was actually leading. I have grouped with a few in dungeons and its the exact same. As Porky said, the Commander icon does not mean anything except that person had 100 gold … and is now likely broke.

You can always pick the leader that you know is good, right click and join squad. Then you won’t see other Commander icons.

Kindread.9481:

I think they should impliment a “Thumbs Up” rating that you can give people. Once you reach X# of Thumbs Up you are granted either a PvE icon, or a PvP icon. You should only be able to give someone a Thumbs Up if you are grouped, to prevent people from randomly decreasing your Thumbs Up points pool just beacuse they woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

I have yet to run into a “Commander” that was actually leading. I have grouped with a few in dungeons and its the exact same. As Porky said, the Commander icon does not mean anything except that person had 100 gold … and is now likely broke.

While in the best of worlds this probably would be the best solution to determine who has the trust of his/her fellow WvWers , this system would leave room for so much griefing/exploits.
You could imagine rival WvWs trying to take down their competition (although infighting is the best way to lose any battle), or people server hopping just to thumbs down a particularly efficient commander, etc…

Good idea, but if let too unregulated it would be a nightmare.

I just think there should be a deciding factor other than “Hey, I got 100g! Ima Commander!” As least a voting system would give some kind of indication that you have had 100-1000 people in the past give you a vote.

As I mentioned in my post, I dont think people outside of the persons group should be able to vote them up or down either. This would stop people from, as you said, “server hopping just to thumbs down” someone.

And you are right, it would have to be regulated somehow.

Kindread.9481:

I think they should impliment a “Thumbs Up” rating that you can give people. Once you reach X# of Thumbs Up you are granted either a PvE icon, or a PvP icon. You should only be able to give someone a Thumbs Up if you are grouped, to prevent people from randomly decreasing your Thumbs Up points pool just beacuse they woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

I have yet to run into a “Commander” that was actually leading. I have grouped with a few in dungeons and its the exact same. As Porky said, the Commander icon does not mean anything except that person had 100 gold … and is now likely broke.

Even though your idea has some merit in it it votes can be greatly exploited for, and against the person trying to be a commander. Status symbols such as commander or having a legendary should never, ever depend on other people to be achieved. Instead, they should be a result of successful effort over time spent. Time spent can be measured easily but success is a very complicated thing that cannot easily be calculated, albeit a possible factor to be considered.

On Anvil rock, not the best WvW server i have observed several hard working commanders who spend a considerable amount of time leading. yes, commander symbols in pve don’t really have much value and players should have the option to switch them off.

But why would you assume that just because someone spent 100g it means that now they’re poor? I’m surprised by the sheer amount of people thinking that 100g is a huge amount of gold to have earned, thus assuming everyone else who has spent it has to be poor? That mentality i don’t get…And i really don’t wanna use the word “envy” again today…

Kindread.9481:

I think they should impliment a “Thumbs Up” rating that you can give people. Once you reach X# of Thumbs Up you are granted either a PvE icon, or a PvP icon. You should only be able to give someone a Thumbs Up if you are grouped, to prevent people from randomly decreasing your Thumbs Up points pool just beacuse they woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

I have yet to run into a “Commander” that was actually leading. I have grouped with a few in dungeons and its the exact same. As Porky said, the Commander icon does not mean anything except that person had 100 gold … and is now likely broke.

The peer-review rating idea is a good one.

The only way to see who is a good commander or not is to run with them a couple times and make a list (as I did, lol). The main reason i chose my guild was because I followed a certain commander around whenever i could, and the rest on the server paled in comparison in several areas:
1) politeness
2) communication (curt but on point). Doesn’t rely solely on voice chat which is great for many of us with kids/etc that cant run voice often
3) awareness of map (always seems to know what’s going on at every node and adapts instruction accordingly)
4) wins! Knows how to avoid ambushes and has basic Sun Tzu type strategic sense
5) isn’t cheap. Will throw down coin for siege, upgrades, food occasionally, golems.. whatever.

When you run with a great commander, WvW is sooo much fun. That’s why i went to his guild, since wanted to be around “the best”

As far as I’m concerned, most other commanders do some or all of the following and thus… suck:
1) type in ALL CAPS. we have one on our server. ALL CAPS ALL THE TIME. Sorry dude, you been blocked
2) lead into ambushes. Ask for a scout next time..
3) Dont setup any siege, even on a wall assault. Really, you spent 100g for a comander tag but wont cough up for some flame rams or even a catapult? How long do you expect your followers to dance around the gate?

So I pretty much know the 1-3 commanders i like to follow on my server, by order of preference. If none of them are on, I’ll go do something else xD

I’ve been slowly plodding away at getting Commander for PvE, mostly because I find I would really, really like to form squads when trying to organize things like the Lyssa event in Malchor’s Leap… not that /map doesn’t work, but I’ve found myself breaking guild members out to party with whoever else is on the map, then coordinating via our Vent server… and that just isn’t as efficient when I want to watch 3 areas at once.

Not that everyone flying in commander in PvE is the same, I do wish there wasn’t an achievement for it because it would make those that atain it for a reason stand out more.

And what makes you think that changing the way of getting commander’s book by spending badges makes the commander a good player?

You can farm the Jumping Puzzles in WvW every week. Get your badges. Buy the commander’s book. Yay! Another commander.

The commander’s book is ok as it is now!

Players will be able to differentiate a bad commander from a good one pretty quick, don’t worry!

p.s. As in regards to the other players which are mocking commander icon players, it’s mostly a matter of jealousy. They can’t buy the commander’s book because they cant afford to spend 100 g or they simply don’t have that 100 g.

ShaiHulud.7410:

And what makes you think that changing the way of getting commander’s book by spending badges makes the commander a good player?

You can farm the Jumping Puzzles in WvW every week. Get your badges. Buy the commander’s book. Yay! Another commander.

The commander’s book is ok as it is now!

Players will be able to differentiate a bad commander from a good one pretty quick, don’t worry!

p.s. As in regards to the other players which are mocking commander icon players, it’s mostly a matter of jealousy. They can’t buy the commander’s book because they cant afford to spend 100 g or they simply don’t have that 100 g.

It raises the likelihood that he would be a better commander. Afterall you can become commander without ever setting foot on a WvW map system.

I mean sure, you could end up with “griefer” commanders who just passed hours on end trolling people at the puzzles…but that is the worst case scenario. And what kind of player would do that ?

The current worst case scenario is “I have never set foot in WvW”.

And in regards to you accusing the people raising a valid question of being jealous…are you a PVE commander ? Is that where it is coming from ?

Otherwise, why are you defending a flawed system that essentially means the person leading you into battle has little/no experience whatsoever ?

At least with badges you know the guy has killed players. Sounds like the lesser of two evils. We aren’t voting for politicians here, there will always be room for mistake but to help the odds can’t hurt.

DungeonDaughter.7391:

Commander should be purchased with badges of honor, not gold. I would assume that Commander status is bought with gold because it was not intended to be useful only in wvw, but that’s how it turned out. Money can’t buy knowledge. Only experience can.

I would like to be commander one day, and I can afford it now. But I have a prerequisite for buying commander, and that’s to know what I’m doing in wvw first. I haven’t played enough to know decent strategies, so I’m not allowed to buy it yet.

And people really should turn off the icon in dungeons. In map pve, I don’t care.

People can just do jumping puzzles for the badges and accumulate enough to buy the Commander title, without participating in actual wvw.

Porky.5021:

Commander icons mean that person had 100 gold. That is all.

^this. And considering they spent 100 gold on nothing important, my initial reaction is that they are pretty stupid.

When I see a commander title, I just think of another dumb gold sink that replaced an otherwise interesting opportunity. What if it was based on some WvW ladder ranking (based on things like kills, deaths, points defended, what points were captured) where the top 10 players of each server were commanders (the title rotating after a month, or 4 WvW rotations)? Just kicking around an idea… at least someway to suggest that this person kinda knows what they’re doing.

My original guild spent 2-3 weeks saving up 100 gold for my commander tome that I won in a vote. Not a dollar of real money was spent on the donations into the guild bank for the commander tome.

While many bought their icon with money from their pockets, I can proudly say I earned my commander status through the eyes of the people deeming me worthy. Does it make me any better? Technically no, but the people chose me for my ability to lead, not for my ability to spend money. Some people that spent money for their icons are also good leaders too, but personally, I don’t judge commanders until I see them in action.

Let your actions speak for your capabilities. That’s what I stand by, and it’s what all commanders should stand by. Obviously many people are let down by a lot of commanders from what I read on forums, but if they let you down, just don’t follow them. Simple as that. Believe me, in the end commanding is not something glorious, it’s actually pretty damn draining on us commanders when we do our job with little recognition.

^^ As Patton would say (or at least George C. Scott’s rendition of the man), “I don’t need them to love me, I need them to fight for me”

Commander should be an accolade acquired through pvp/wvw personal achievements. It should represent a person who has spent their time in battle and fought vigorously against the opposition and has the battle tested prowess to lead in such battles.

I haven’t done enough wvw (first time today) nor any pvp at all so I do not know what all that would entail, but a commander should be just that, someone who commands the battle.

While PvE commanders can sometimes be useless, there’s some awesome PvE commanders out there that don’t WvW, so I can definitely see the need to have a method to gain both a PvE and WvW title—perhaps separately?

As an example, on Northern Shiverpeaks there’s a PvE commander named Anths. I’ve never seen him in WvW, but he leads a zerg every night on schedule that rolls through and clears the Arah entrance, along with every single temple in Orr (yes, this includes Balthazar—if you need obsidian shards, chances are Balthazar will be unlocked once every 24 hours). He’s polite, fun, and leads well. Every night between 25 and 75 people show up for his temple zergs. However, I’ve never seen him set foot in WvW. This would be my main objection to commander becoming a title only acquired through badges of honor.

Kharel Arhew.1437:

While PvE commanders can sometimes be useless, there’s some awesome PvE commanders out there that don’t WvW, so I can definitely see the need to have a method to gain both a PvE and WvW title—perhaps separately?

As an example, on Northern Shiverpeaks there’s a PvE commander named Anths. I’ve never seen him in WvW, but he leads a zerg every night on schedule that rolls through and clears the Arah entrance, along with every single temple in Orr (yes, this includes Balthazar—if you need obsidian shards, chances are Balthazar will be unlocked once every 24 hours). He’s polite, fun, and leads well. Every night between 25 and 75 people show up for his temple zergs. However, I’ve never seen him set foot in WvW. This would be my main objection to commander becoming a title only acquired through badges of honor.

So maybe Commander for PvE indicated by a blue icon and Marshall for WvW indicated by a red icon (or simply the icon doesn’t show unless you’re doing the respective PvE/WvW content)? How you get them is different, but should still demonstrate something a little more than coin.

I’ll chime in that while some PvE commander braggarts are annoying, Commander is REALLY useful in PvE on low-pop servers when doing map events(especially Temples).

Best solution, imo, would be the ability for the individual person to ignore commander icons of other people. On a selective scale even, if possible.

Eh it’s not that big a deal,i’ve played enough now on my server to know which blue tags to follow and which ones i should do the opposite of what they say

Two commanders, one for PVE and one for WvW seems like the most sensible option.

This way PVE can have its commander earned through PVE means (although gold does not mean experience, maybe skilled at farming lol ? although it does depend the content you are farming so it’s not meant to be derogatory) and WvW can have its own commander who’s got a certain level of experience being on the field.

Perfect balance.

And to maybe to make it fair for those who purchased the PVE commander title just to be able to lead in WvW, offer them a one-off opportunity to transform their PVE title into the WvW title ? Actually scratch that, that’d mean you could still end with WvW commanders would , without sounding horrible, don’t have a clue.

Gold rollback ? 100 golems….sweeeeeeeeeet xD