Guild Wars 2

The short question: Will partying increase loot drops?

The Long Question:

I’ve been a solo player as long as I’ve ever played MMOs. I heard about the loot system here being that you’d get full credit for the kill if you do a considerable amount of damage to an enemy. When my guild members log off, I tend to go out and just do whatever I want. But my build is very defensive, and focused on healing. Even though not in a party, sometimes I’ll just help people and support. I heard that when you’re in a party, if any of your party members pass this damage threshold, as mentioned above, you’ll still gain credit of the kill as well.

My question is, is that legit? Can I still use my pure defensive/healing build in a group and still get credit for kills which will increase loot? Am I at a loot disadvantage if I don’t party?

Basically, the wiki says you need to do 5-10% of the damage to an enemy to gain credit for the kill, at least on normal mobs. And what I heard, is that any damage your party does collectively counts towards this damage threshold. So if each of your 5 party members does 5% of an enemy’s HP, it’ll be a collective 25%, and full credit will be rewarded for the kill.

From my experiences, there might be truth to this, because in events like Claw of Jormag, where people farm the adds, I can’t ever seem to get anything to drop from them. My options would be to A ) Do a much more offensive build to do more damage, or if this is correct, I could B ) actually just join a group, stay support, and get credit from the kills.

TL;DR: Going more offensive when I’m alone should technically help with my low drop rates, but if I join a party and use my defensive build, will I get credit for kills my teammates make while being buffed, healed, and supported by me?

I’m not 100% certain, but I believe your theory is correct. During the Lost Shores finale, it was next to impossible for me to get credit for kills due to the sheer number of players involved and massive lag. However, once I joined a party, I was getting much more XP, as it seems that either your party’s total cumulative damage is taken into account, or as long as one person surpasses the 5% damage marker, all party members are granted XP and a chance for loot.