Guild Wars 2

Just hit 100g on one character without trading between toons, I’ve wanted the pin since I saw it the first time however I’m not sure I want to be left with not much gold on one toon.

is it worth it? or is it just a pain in the kitten?

From what I’ve heard it’s worth it if you’re often coordinating a team in WvW or for guild missions and need to send instructions to more than 4 people at once. Other than that not really.

If you’re wanting it because you think people will be impressed that you have it then definitely not. You’re better off putting the money towards a legendary or other cool skin/s. Or something you actually want for yourself.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/the-commander/first#post1800384

Falunel.7645:

bcd.4352:

The commander tag is intended for a quick map glance of where WvW leaders are. It’s amazing for knowing where you should be, and where to stack.

Please don’t use it like 75% of the commanders, who use it as some sort of badge in PvE to show off that they had 100g. If you’re not in WvW, and even if you are but you’re not leading a group, turn that tag off.

Being a good commander is hard. Know strategy, know your guild, be in voice chat, and kitten kitten up.

This. Believe me when I say you won’t get respect for flaunting a commander icon without the actions or knowledge to back it up. Quite the opposite, really.

To add to that, I have also seen the tag put to good use in PvE by guild leaders who lead organized map completion zergs (i.e. 30+ people, often guild members but open to anyone who feels like joining in). But the basic premise is the same- the commander tag is meant as a leadership tool, not a merit badge.

From what I’ve seen from the GW2 forum community, it’s viewed negatively which seems to mostly spawn from envy.

If you want it, get it. Just know when to have it on and when to not. Examples:

A. If a Commander or two is already leading in the borderlands you just joined.
B. If you’re going to idle next to a waypoint.
C. If you’re just doing solo map completion.

It can be helpful in PVE as well, for being a beacon for people to join in for Grenth temple runs, for example, or other guild events you might come up with. But just know when to use it, and when not to is what it all comes down to, really.

I have commander on my thief.
For wvw you are basically supporting your team by allowing them to see where the action is, or is moving, on the map. All you really need to do is be where the action is, even if not “leading” it’s still very helpful.

If outside of wvw you do pve it’s good to turn it on at meta events. Players cant always see the activity across the entire map, but they can figure it out if a commander tag is there. Of course it’s not good to turn it on and run all over the map randomly heh, otherwise turn it off
Have fun!

edit: oh as for what was mentioned above about multiple commanders, just keep in mind that if you join up with another commander already leading a group, support them, just don’t try to take the field away. We often have two commanders or more working together on our map in the same area, we are 6th in server ranks. After all, if one falls in a bad spot and needs to WP, the other is still there showing the front line location.

I’ve always thought it just looked freakin sweet but I hear a lot of “if you’re not a good commander don’t buy the pin” is there a special place I can go to get good commander skills before I’m a commander I’m not aware of? I am in WvW quite often but I don’t quite get how you become a good leader without leading.

I guess my question is, how do you jump past the “new leader” shenanigans? Obviously current commanders like Mance, Beg or Cuts didn’t buy gw2 and instantly become good commanders. Is being mildly distrusted just territory that comes with being a new commander because a lot of the commanders on JQ are relatively well known on any given time of day.

I don’t know, I just played wvw a lot before I got commander. I’ve had commander for a long time ( since last year), when I got it there were very few and often had no commander at all on wvw maps.

I didn’t consider it much of a learning curve for myself, I’ve played many other group oriented games in my day, leading groups, raid leading, organizing large guilds etc. Even mass amounts of time playing the battlefield series (goal oriented fps games).

When it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter a whole lot on a personal level. Your team just needs a commander tag in the field, one moving with the central action. If you can do that but nothing else, you are still providing a useful benefit to your team.

I’ll put it this way, if you like to zerg, or if you like to do long sieges, commander is good to have. If you like to roam solo a lot, or small group camp fights, it’s probably a waste. I don’t have commander on 100% of the time nor on that character all the time, but I’ll usually log him in if the team really needs a commander when none are around. If there is another commander on the map, it’s very useful to coordinate. If you never type into team chat regarding situations, then it’s probably not a good idea to get commander.

Oh and just to mention, often why I don’t have it on, I’m running thief class for my commander. I do like to siege a lot, but I also like to hunt zergs as a thief and with my D/D + short bow. So I want to be unnoticed, not having various team mates following. When I do find one though, I turn commander on and broadcast it’s location over chat. So, there are just different useful ways to use commander.

Zephyr.1683:

I’ve always thought it just looked freakin sweet but I hear a lot of “if you’re not a good commander don’t buy the pin” is there a special place I can go to get good commander skills before I’m a commander I’m not aware of? I am in WvW quite often but I don’t quite get how you become a good leader without leading.

I guess my question is, how do you jump past the “new leader” shenanigans? Obviously current commanders like Mance, Beg or Cuts didn’t buy gw2 and instantly become good commanders. Is being mildly distrusted just territory that comes with being a new commander because a lot of the commanders on JQ are relatively well known on any given time of day.

I can answer to that.

Commanding is not a benefit. Commanding is a burden! Don’t let anyone fool you! Commanding is all about taking the responsibilities of your teammates and the entire server throughout a goal! Obviously there are always more capable and willing commanders out there specially on SFR, and due to that myself i chose to turn only my commander when strictly needed.

How did i chose to be a commander? I didn’t! People asked me to be due to the way i lead them before! I have been a siege commander in every game i’ve played and people gladly followed me!

The difference between a good commander and a bad commander is not the amount of things you conquer, but the willingness people have to follow you no matter what! If you know how lead, be rational, don’t send people into deathtraps, work with the teammates as well with the pugs, communicate and so forth you will be a good one. After that, just practice and ASK! Asking for aid though more experienced commanders is a good way of letting people know, you are learning, and they will help you. If you by chance when spending 100g on the title become a kitten, then people will starting to be angry towards you and you will face the rage.

PS: Read “Sun Tzu :The Art of War” in your free spare time!

/cheers

Being a commander is just what it sounds like – you’re leading and commanding a group to complete specific goals.

You get to be good at it largely through experience. A good commander is someone who understands how WvW (or whatever other activity you’re doing) works and can direct people to where they need to be and encourage different people to coordinate their efforts to succeed.

A bad commander is generally someone who just wants to be the centre of attention and have everyone follow them and doesn’t care what effect it has on their teams goals.

Or people who just want the tag so they can imagine everyone around them is thinking “Wow, that guy used to have 100 gold! That’s so cool and impressive!”. Speaking for myself it doesn’t annoy me when people do leave their tag on all the time, I tend to assume they’re either using it or have forgotten to turn it off. But especially with so many people being a commander now I doubt anyone is ever really impressed by it so I’d say if that’s your motivation you’d be better off spending the money on rare skins.

Basically you need to think about why you want it. If you often find yourself in WvW (or other situations) giving advice and instructions to other players or spotting areas that need support and opportunities your side could be taking advantage of and being a commander would help you do that more effectively then it’s a good sign you’d be a good commander.

Danikat.8537:

A bad commander is generally someone who just wants to be the centre of attention and have everyone follow them and doesn’t care what effect it has on their teams goals.

hah yeah seems like lots of those now. Like last night I got onto our boarderlands map, wasn’t sure how things were going yet so hooked up with this commander. He was pretty much just running circles nowhere attacking npc guards. I finally broke away from him, leaving him all alone as he spins his wheels. 30 minutes later as we were all sieging back our garrison, he finally joins up with us mid-siege and then starts in on team chat demanding everyone else turn off their commander tags. lol face palm.

I’m able to buy this. I chose not to. I know I don’t want to invest in learning tactics for leading a zerg. Really, I’m helping my server by not getting a commander icon :P now, sometimes it might be helpful. a poor commander is better than no commander. but having no commander in wvw is very unlikely, especially since the game has been out so long.
it was so weird how the commanders were pretty much in charge of where to go next during the karka event. I hadn’t done any reading on what to expect, but good commanders are in the know.