Guild Wars 2

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Tron.3471:

Doesn’t spam knockbacks during group events indicating that they are not just mindlessly mashing keys….

What if someone in that group was annoying you so you pop knock backs just to troll them? Not saying I’ve done that, per se, but you know, hypothetically.

I occasionally do that to my engi friend after he flamethrower-KB’s my greatsword target. -_-#

Being that it is considered an mmoRPG…

A skilled Guild Wars 2 player will have a strong character name that is true to the GW2 environment and a backstory that is both unique and creative. The player is able to stay in character even under duress and only chats in /say; plus they only leave character in chat by using parenthesis. e.g. “I am Grogg the Imp Lord! (But going AFK…)”

They don’t need to be powerful, talented at fighting, or knowledgeable in all that is GW2 – unless their backstory says so.

:)

In my opinion, a skilled player is one who can react and adapt well to change. :) It’s one thing to understand fight mechanics and memorize dungeon routes, but it’s far more demonstrative of mastery to me when a player can outmaneuver challenges without a practiced strategy in place.

Puffershark.2489:

In my opinion, a skilled player is one who can react and adapt well to change. It’s one thing to understand fight mechanics and memorize dungeon routes, but it’s far more demonstrative of mastery to me when a player can outmaneuver challenges without a practiced strategy in place.

exactly my point… I wish GW2 dungeons had that kind of game play instead of playing simon

Atlas Tsahalla.2456:

Being that it is considered an mmoRPG…

A skilled Guild Wars 2 player will have a strong character name that is true to the GW2 environment and a backstory that is both unique and creative. The player is able to stay in character even under duress and only chats in /say; plus they only leave character in chat by using parenthesis. e.g. “I am Grogg the Imp Lord! (But going AFK…)”

They don’t need to be powerful, talented at fighting, or knowledgeable in all that is GW2 – unless their backstory says so.

:)

I see what you did there… A role player like me.

Garrisyl.7402:

…..
No, I don’t seriously think that. I was being sarcastic and thought that was pretty clear. But there seems to be a vast number of players who think that the above represents a skilled player.

It was not clear to me as I have run into quite a few players with that exact attitude (and thus I avoid Dungeons). Sorry I ruined your dark humor….

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Tron.3471:

Doesn’t spam knockbacks during group events indicating that they are not just mindlessly mashing keys….

What if someone in that group was annoying you so you pop knock backs just to troll them? Not saying I’ve done that, per se, but you know, hypothetically.

I never wanted a ranger, but when I think about it now… I might make one!

Harny.6012:

I never wanted a ranger, but when I think about it now… I might make one!

There’s a lot of options for you, actually, doesn’t have to be ranger:
Favourite “knockback scenarios”:
Chasing an enemy in wvw, I’m that close then pewpewpew a knockback ranger of my team catapults the enemy out of my reach.
I’m downed, somebody is about to stomp me, boom one of his teammates hammerknockbacks me – 3 seconds longer alive and they didn’t get the stomp bonus.
Somebody in mapchat complains about me not staying on commander, while I have been feared one mile right into the enemy zerg.

It’s simple, not using any kind of knock back skill in a group setting, and that doesn’t just apply to rangers.

A player that is able to look at a new encounter and deduct how to conquer it, alone, or contributing in a group-effort. A player who can make builds, for multiple professions, understanding mostly all professions and their various skills, not necessarily all by heart, but the majority of them. A player who knows how to survive, how to deal damage and how to help allies. A player who understands what the individual skills of his/her setup is doing specifically for him/her.

Those things makes a skilled player, and that goes for any game such as this.

Teamplay! This! : Today all these guys that in solo arena are pretty good players I think. They didn’t give up till the end even we didn’t talk and we won.Fortunately I was recording

Jski.6180:

Timing and split sec reaction much like a fighter game to where it becomes a reflex and not something you think about. That is the major different between the stander mmorpg combat (more clunky and unintuitive) vs what GW2 has (what seems more like a fluid motions.)

I agree for the most part. Some MMOs have combat that is more “intellectual” (more based on making informed decisions over an extended period of time, like a slightly sped-up turn-based game). GW2 is, imo, closer to an FPS than classic MMO combat.

I still wouldn’t say it’s easy if you don’t also know how to manage your abilities, but considering that entire attacks can be evaded with dodge, or negated with aegis, and dodge is on a relatively short cooldown, a lot of it comes down to timing that dodge button. Or just positioning yourself well.

I define skill and expertise a bit differently, too. I would consider an expert of this game to be someone who is skilled in all areas (dodge, positioning, abilities, combos, etc.). While to be skilled, I would say all you need is to be good at the more FPS-like parts of combat. Because really, outside of the more challenging content, being good at twitch combat is largely all you need to get by.

Tron.3471:

Doesn’t spam knockbacks during group events indicating that they are not just mindlessly mashing keys….

lol…..nothing enrages me more.

As the current set of available skills per class is rather short, and mechanics learning curve line is not step, i would say a difference between a skilled player and an average player in GW2 comes to factors like positioning and situational awareness.

Rotations are important, but not decisive.

Skill, in PvE?

• Be able to analyze and adapt to what mobs do
• Have good twitch reflexes
• Have good situational awareness
• Understand the profession being played, including knowing what the skills do and when is the best time to use them
• Have a good memory

Clerigo.9475:

As the current set of available skills per class is rather short, and mechanics learning curve line is not step, i would say a difference between a skilled player and an average player in GW2 comes to factors like positioning and situational awareness.

Rotations are important, but not decisive.

Rotations are what helped me shave my Lupicus solo times down from 9:58 to 4:54, so I’d say they’re kind of relevant.

Hey guys thnx for all the replies. I’ve read all of them and have a better sense of what is valued in this game and how to improve. I’ll continue to read these periodically.

Too bad that skills go to waste for PvE, since 99% of mobs are “Zerker feed” (Dominated by berserker DPS builds so badly, that Support and Control builds are incapable of doing any kind of results and some combat mechanics are not required, like dodging).

Lupicus, on other hand is in the 1% of PvE content where some degree of skill is required.

“What makes a skilled gw2 player?”

legendaries and achievement points.

PookieDaWombat.6209:

Tron.3471:

Doesn’t spam knockbacks during group events indicating that they are not just mindlessly mashing keys….

What if someone in that group was annoying you so you pop knock backs just to troll them? Not saying I’ve done that, per se, but you know, hypothetically.

lol you could do that. But seriously knockbacks have no place in pve open world events. The only time people should ever use knockbacks is in PVP (when trying to save a downed ally) and maybe in dungeons to set up positioning. If you just want to mitigate an attack use blind/aegis/dodge/etc. Knockbacks prevent dps…. but some people don’t get it.

Tron.3471:

But seriously knockbacks have no place in pve open world events.

Just did Thaida and some ranger knockbacked the pirate off the canon = that was smart. So it’s not really never to use it but learn how to use it.
I also had a case where we did the Grenth pre and some gorillas were bashing on a group of people pretty far away from me – I was downed, just rallied and then a ranger knockbacked one of their apes right on top of me – well he saved someone’s life but not mine.

Knockbacks can be useful for stripping defiance stacks so that someone else with a stun/daze can interrupt attacks. There’s no such thing as a useless skill, but there are a lot of players who use skills just because they’re off cooldown.

A badly used skill can be much worse than not using it at all.

There’s other cases like this. Guardians who proc light fields when people are trying to stack might or mesmers who Time Warp too early. Clones/pets who draw aggro from the decapitated wurm so it charges off to Madagascar. Mesmers who use the greatsword autoattack in melee range. Warriors who use WWA when a target isn’t running away/doesn’t have its back against a wall, or who drop banners within the zone elementalist weapons should be placed. Necromancers who use Fear indiscriminately. Rangers who use crippling traps against targets people want to draw in quickly. Thieves who use smoke fields against champions that are nearly never blindable, taking away the ability of other people to stack might/blast heal. Elementalists who disrupt a stack by using Lightning Hammer #5 pointlessly. Engineers who use Big Ol’ Bomb against a target that doesn’t have defiance but doesn’t die in one hit. Thieves who use Pistol Whip against a target with Retaliation. Any player who uses skills against a champion-class target with Fire Aura.

The list is really long.

a skilled player to me, is someone who can play very well as a team. know how to play the profession well.
there is nothing much to learn in this game. :P
first, master your profession,
second, play well as a team.
third good reflex!

To me, player skill is defined by 3 areas:

1. Knowledge of game mechanics.

A rookie player is basically someone who doesn’t know anything apart from “mash 1 and any skills as soon as they become available”.

A veteran player understands their class mechanics (stealth, adrenaline, shatters etc.), and has a build that is designed to operate efficiently using their chosen playstyle.

An expert player understands not only their class mechanics, but also the mechanics of other classes and how to properly synergize their usage of skills with other players for maximum effectiveness. (For example, a rookie or even a veteran player might make the mistake of running out of Shadow Refuge too early, since they don’t know how it works. An expert player would, upon seeing that the party Ele keeps on laying down fire fields before an encounter, uses his own blast finisher skills inside it to help stack Might for coming fights.)

A master player will not only have their own personal build perfected, but they likely also have multiple other weapon or armor sets that they freely swap to for different situations, and are skilled (or at least competent) in running their non-preferred builds.

2. Game Experience.

A rookie player is just starting out and is likely not to understand visual cues. “I wonder what that Ettin is doing with that big glowy aura around him. … Oh.”

A veteran player is familiar with the skills and tactics used by mobs in the open world. They are capable of soloing Veterans and possibly even Elites. Veteran players usually pick up some dungeon/Fractal and/or PvP/WvW experience by this point.

An expert player can usually solo most Champions in the open world, and are likely to have completed most dungeons and Fractals by this point. They have likely also tackled the game’s most difficult content such as Tequatl/Triple Wurm and the Aetherpath. If they do PvP/WvW, they should also be capable of winning duels with equally skilled players and understand strategies for victory in their respective game mode.

A master player is capable of doing high-level Fractals or soloing/duoing dungeons. If they do PvP/WvW, they are usually professional league players or respected Commanders.

3. Twitch skills.

This one is a lot more simple than the previous two. It represents basic hand-eye coordination and reaction times. Younger players, or those with a lot of gaming experience, tend to have the advantage here, but even older gamers can have tricks up their sleeves.

The ability to dodge at regular intervals and memorize when and how those intervals repeat with each enemy unit.

And that’s pretty much it. At least so far as PvE goes.

I don’t know about skilled, but I have an accurate system for finding useful enough players to get a job done. In reference to pug dungeons, if they aren’t playing ranger I’m satisfied with their skill level.

I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with the class, it’s just been my experience after some thousands of hours that you can predict a player’s usefulness with about 85% accuracy depending on if they are a ranger or other. That 15% margin of passable players who play ranger is just too small to consider, and the equally small percentage of non ranger players who are completely useless is too small to consider as well.

I barely know anything about ranger, but when I see them join my group I roll my eyes in annoyance. I don’t think I’m some super player, but I’ve done every scale of fractal, every explorable, killed Clockheart a dozen times or so. I’ve been through the wringer with every class setup I can think of. I make mistakes, but I make at least a minimum effort to be a team player on my worst days. The absolute undeniable majority of rangers don’t. It’s so bad you have no choice but to assume they will be so bad that instead of just being down a man, they’ll do so much to try to and slow the run down it will be like being down 3 people. I think there’s a secret ISIS cell that is dedicated to playing ranger with the goal of destroying the confidence of the modern gamer.

as in all MMORPGs: At least half a brain and the willingness to use it.

jweez.7214:

This is a broad question i am aware but I think it would be interesting. So in a general pve sense what separates a skilled player from an unskilled one? Let’s assume they are specced appropriately. Im really looking forward to seeing your responses.

Not hitting LB #4 as ranger all the time is a clear sign of a superior ranger. If he then swaps to a meele weapon if the enemies are in melee range and not using bears 24/7, then it clearly must be a godlike player.

FrostSpectre.4198:

Too bad that skills go to waste for PvE, since 99% of mobs are “Zerker feed” (Dominated by berserker DPS builds so badly, that Support and Control builds are incapable of doing any kind of results and some combat mechanics are not required, like dodging).

Lupicus, on other hand is in the 1% of PvE content where some degree of skill is required.

Weird, because the berserker dps builds you talk about ARE control and support builds. And funny you mention Lupicus which is a fight that requires no control or support.

What makes a skilled gw2 player?

only fight when outnumber the enemy………

also this →

Talindra.4958:

a skilled player to me, is someone who can play very well as a team. know how to play the profession well.
there is nothing much to learn in this game. :P
first, master your profession,
second, play well as a team.
third good reflex!

hybrid.5027:

FrostSpectre.4198:

Too bad that skills go to waste for PvE, since 99% of mobs are “Zerker feed” (Dominated by berserker DPS builds so badly, that Support and Control builds are incapable of doing any kind of results and some combat mechanics are not required, like dodging).

Lupicus, on other hand is in the 1% of PvE content where some degree of skill is required.

Weird, because the berserker dps builds you talk about ARE control and support builds. And funny you mention Lupicus which is a fight that requires no control or support.

you my friend know very little of what build means in MMOs as a general… GW2 doesn’t have builds for roles. They have zerk build with different set ups. You are NOT a support role because you have 2 cleanse or a stability skill and you are not a control build because you equip a knockdown. That’s not how it works. Show me your control works better than mine, applying CCs here and there and that you can keep up said role during an entire fight… kicking the first boss in COF1 against the wall its NOT a control role.

Mesket.5728:

hybrid.5027:

FrostSpectre.4198:

Too bad that skills go to waste for PvE, since 99% of mobs are “Zerker feed” (Dominated by berserker DPS builds so badly, that Support and Control builds are incapable of doing any kind of results and some combat mechanics are not required, like dodging).

Lupicus, on other hand is in the 1% of PvE content where some degree of skill is required.

Weird, because the berserker dps builds you talk about ARE control and support builds. And funny you mention Lupicus which is a fight that requires no control or support.

you my friend know very little of what build means in MMOs as a general… GW2 doesn’t have builds for roles. They have zerk build with different set ups. You are NOT a support role because you have 2 cleanse or a stability skill and you are not a control build because you equip a knockdown. That’s not how it works. Show me your control works better than mine, applying CCs here and there and that you can keep up said role during an entire fight… kicking the first boss in COF1 against the wall its NOT a control role.

What Statset is it that you use to so dramatically increase the potency of your CC?

My control works better than yours because I use them at the right moment. And the uptime is higher than yours, because mobs are dead faster, thus they spent more time cc’d than yours. But this may change when I finish crafting my power/prec/ stun duration set…

Tman.6349:

Mesket.5728:

hybrid.5027:

FrostSpectre.4198:

Too bad that skills go to waste for PvE, since 99% of mobs are “Zerker feed” (Dominated by berserker DPS builds so badly, that Support and Control builds are incapable of doing any kind of results and some combat mechanics are not required, like dodging).

Lupicus, on other hand is in the 1% of PvE content where some degree of skill is required.

Weird, because the berserker dps builds you talk about ARE control and support builds. And funny you mention Lupicus which is a fight that requires no control or support.

you my friend know very little of what build means in MMOs as a general… GW2 doesn’t have builds for roles. They have zerk build with different set ups. You are NOT a support role because you have 2 cleanse or a stability skill and you are not a control build because you equip a knockdown. That’s not how it works. Show me your control works better than mine, applying CCs here and there and that you can keep up said role during an entire fight… kicking the first boss in COF1 against the wall its NOT a control role.

What Statset is it that you use to so dramatically increase the potency of your CC?

Bolded the important part… this is GW2. There are no roles, thus, there no stats for roles.

Maybe in LS3 or 4 they decide roles are important in role playing games and re-design this game to include roles (disclaimer for forum newbies: I’m not talking about the holy trinity, there are plenty of games to play those roles).

PS. there are no stats for support either, no stat increase the potency of your boons to play support… just the duration of your own boons which is kinda of selfish and anti-support.

oxtred.7658:

My control works better than yours because I use them at the right moment. And the uptime is higher than yours, because mobs are dead faster, thus they spent more time cc’d than yours. But this may change when I finish crafting my power/prec/ stun duration set…

I think you should play more games instead of defending this one as the everlasting truth. It is not that well designed you know? It has flaws like this one you mention,… there is no stats for the roles proposed but there are stats for tanks and healers? how does that sound to you? does healing fit a place for a stat? really? do you heal much? do you see others healing much? or tanking?

oooh yes, its all for pvp… i love this reply, it shows deep knowledge on game design and rpg mechanics.

Mesket.5728:

oxtred.7658:

My control works better than yours because I use them at the right moment. And the uptime is higher than yours, because mobs are dead faster, thus they spent more time cc’d than yours. But this may change when I finish crafting my power/prec/ stun duration set…

I think you should play more games instead of defending this one as the everlasting truth. It is not that well designed you know? It has flaws like this one you mention,… there is no stats for the roles proposed but there are stats for tanks and healers? how does that sound to you? does healing fit a place for a stat? really? do you heal much? do you see others healing much? or tanking?

oooh yes, its all for pvp… i love this reply, it shows deep knowledge on game design and rpg mechanics.

I’m totally aware of the game flaws, and any mod would tell you I’m also vocal about it. But people saying control and cc isn’t useful in pve are inexperienced, and reminding them how wrong they are doesn’t hurt. Healing, toughness and vitality has the same role in pvp and pve: making your character resistant to incoming damage. In conquest pvp, it helps as you can’t avoid all the damage, and having a selfish build isn’t a problem ( there’s no real support classes in pvp, it’s always self-working specs, the teamwork is more abour helping on focus and such, simply put). In www, toughness and vitality serves the same purpose, taking incoming damage for longer time, allowing your teammates/ yourself to be alive longer, and thus getting more hits done ( = more dps) on your foes. In pve, since damage is avoidable and fights are shorters/ you control the damage input ( you won’t get backstabbed by a random thief in ac, you know what will happen and you expect the amount of damage you’ll be taking), toughness and vitality aren’t needed for surviving, so you up the team dps by going berserker.

tl;dr: toughness and vitality are selfish stats in each game mode, but they are mandatory in pvp related content.

How did a discussion about skill tangent into discussion about stats? Stats are passive. Discussion of stats is —→

Because since skill is also about game mechanic, explaining those helps having more skill?