Guild Wars 2

Today I started playing pvp for the first time, I can’t believe how hard it is, playing against some people. I’ve been told its all your build or really important, but shouldn’t I still be able to be competitive without having to choose a specific set way to play… as long as I have everything on.

Yes I get some kills but its only when teammates are helping. I feel overwhelmed playing with a mace and shield, everyone is casing a thousand illusions, hammer stunning, or being followed by mini’s. Just really tough to kill 1v1. Im a human guardian I run some different builds today but wow nothing was an eye opener like this….

Is there a site or anything someone could recommend or am I just sucking that bad and need teamwork plus other stuff?

Leave a comment. Please no angry troll posts. thank you

If you’re playing a horrible build, then you’re not competitive. You don’t need to play a certain way but you should be playing to strengths and weaknesses. There are very much ROLES in PvP to fill.

You’re probably losing because you’re looking too much at ‘killing people’ and not enough at winning the match. Your kills =/= your performance. Your personal score =/= being a good team player. How you cap, defend, and occupy your enemies is more important.

I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but you’re probably just bad right now. That’s alright. You started off and maybe you don’t have PvP experience in similar games. Just means you will need to practice. A huge part of winning against other players is learning your class and learning their class too.

You should get to where you can see a certain class with a certain weapon set or passive set skills and be able to make some predictions about their playstyle, role, etc… Really good players keep track of enemy cast times, cool downs, etc… and are able to force people to play into their advantage.

If it’s overwhelming, just play some matches and get to learn what you’re doing. Do some solo-que or hot joins. A lot of really bad, uncoordinated players on there will get your familiar with how some classes play without much risk of getting smashed.

I am sure some very good players are on these forums to advise better than I can. Good luck.

The thing that really boggles my mind is when I get beat up by like a mesmer, thief, asura, smaller character than myself or lighter armor…even someone wearing a lighter armor skin, bugs me. I like the knight build mace and shield. It would be cool if size and armor counted for more in pvp, like heavy verse light head on they would lose, quickly… I don’t know if its because I don’t have a team or coms.. but I find it unbalanced, most of the time I swing at air because so much evading, I want to just stand there and trade… everyone’s a rabbit or an illusion.

Well it does matter; the base armor on a light class (Ele, Necro, Mesmer) is 1804 while the base armor on a heavy class (Warrior, Guardian) is 2083. It’s not a HUGE difference but it is noticeable. The light classes usually can’t just stand there and trade hits which is why they are much more mobile than a giant tin can (I mean a guardian).
The combat is much more dynamic in spvp than just standing there and hoping to outlast the guy in front of you. If that is how you are trying to go about this that may be the problem as you are not utilizing your blocks/dodges/boons.

Edit:
As far as Mesmers go, once you get some experience with fighting them, usually it will be fairly obvious to which ones are the real ones and which ones are the illusions/clones.

When I pvp’d in other games I would always have great gear(the best I could get for my level). I will be playing GW2 soon and will apply this same concept. If your gear is great and your still dieing then you know it’s your skill. I heard Guardians are best pvp with “retaliation”.

SJStriker.4976:

When I pvp’d in other games I would always have great gear(the best I could get for my level). I will be playing GW2 soon and will apply this same concept. If your gear is great and your still dieing then you know it’s your skill. I heard Guardians are best pvp with “retaliation”.

This doesnt apply to GW2 as in sPVP everyone’s gear is the same (max stats) and everyone is the max level. (hence why its called Structured PVP)

Cash.2385:

The thing that really boggles my mind is when I get beat up by like a mesmer, thief, asura, smaller character than myself or lighter armor…even someone wearing a lighter armor skin, bugs me. I like the knight build mace and shield. It would be cool if size and armor counted for more in pvp, like heavy verse light head on they would lose, quickly… I don’t know if its because I don’t have a team or coms.. but I find it unbalanced, most of the time I swing at air because so much evading, I want to just stand there and trade… everyone’s a rabbit or an illusion.

Eh, this post really makes me thing you have no understanding of the basics of the game yet. Let alone just PvP. The game as a whole. I would suggest spending some time familiarizing yourself with it. Now, Asura characters are fun because they are smaller and harder to see their tells, but there isn’t (and shouldn’t) be a marked difference between Race performance.

Guardian is an amazing class for holding points and defending. You have a lot at your disposal to fight on point. Thieves do not. They don’t do well being pressured to stand in one spot and “trade” attacks with you. That’s bad gameplay and that’s why you’re getting smashed. You’re not really understanding the concept of armor types. Heavy means you have more base toughness but don’t expect to stand toe to toe with the DPS that some classes are bringing if you roll as a bunker. Your job isn’t even to kill them. It’s to keep them off point and not capping.

If you have 2-3 people on you and they cannot kill you, you’re doing your job. If you have 1 or 2 people on you and they cannot kill you, you’re doing your job. This means that their team has that many less people to cap and hold. The take away is that standing and fighting just to fight is a surefire way to lose against a coordinated team.

How are you finding it unfair? You’re expecting to be have more DPS absorption (which you do) AND more damage than a squishier player? AND you expect them to just stand there and eat your hits? This really is a learn to play issue here. Again, standing still like that is a horrible, horrible way to play. If thieves are giving you trouble, pay attention to your condis. I bet you anything that they are dropping BP on you and you are not bothering to move outside of it. That’s why you cannot even hit them. Easy prey. I don’t know how you’re fighting Mesmers but I’ve seen many Guards playing the way you describe in random matches.

Cash.2385:

The thing that really boggles my mind is when I get beat up by like a mesmer, thief, asura, smaller character than myself or lighter armor…even someone wearing a lighter armor skin, bugs me. I like the knight build mace and shield. It would be cool if size and armor counted for more in pvp, like heavy verse light head on they would lose, quickly… I don’t know if its because I don’t have a team or coms.. but I find it unbalanced, most of the time I swing at air because so much evading, I want to just stand there and trade… everyone’s a rabbit or an illusion.

How would it be ‘cool’ if a specific race or specific armor-class would gain a huge advantage over the other? You’d see no Asura warriors because a Norn could beat them by sneezing. You’d see only Charr Engineers because the Iron Legion just provided them with the latest gadgets etc. It’d simply mean everyone would roll a class with the best race that in order to stay competitive.

Evade is an important aspect of the game and so is mobility in and outside of combat, try to get used at using it and at predicting when someone can still dodge and when they’ve ran out of endurance so you can land big hits. Immobilize will also prevent someone from dodging. If you can’t stand evading, Guild Wars 2 will not be an enjoyable game.

Also learn to how certain classes work and what their role is in order to be able to compete with them, a helpful link for that: popupar tPvP-builds by Dante like this you can atleast research what people throw at you.

Lastly try to figure out key mechanics from a class. GW2 classes are quite distinctive, each carries an unique mechanic even when they’re filling the same role (e.g. roamer, bunker etc.) for example:
Mesmers are quite easily found between their clones, the clones do nothing but auto-attack and stand still, where-as it’s very likely the player will be moving. If the character disappears and a clone jumps at you it means the mesmer just used Decoy meaning it will re-appear soon after or has ran way. When all Illusions/Phantasms run towards you it means they just used their class-mechanic of shattering for various effects, I’d highly recommend you dodge.
Thieves are squishy but can be difficult to pin down due to blinds and stealth, how-ever a thief in stealth can still take damage. Meaning you can use auto-attacks or area’s of effect in the location you assume they’ll be (most likely trying to stab/hit you in the back) especially when they put up Shadow Refuge you know where they’ll most likely be for a few seconds.

Like this every class has things that are just the way the class works, big part of the fun is learning to deal with them and become a better player. If you just enjoy mashing things without ever losing it sounds PvE is more your thing. Most importantly, never give up!

Hi Cash Good on you for trying PvP. As a person who did only PvE for a long time and also jumped into PvP a little, I can understand how frustrating it can be. When you’re out in the world, fighting NPCs, after a while, you learn their “tells” and it really becomes a steamroll no matter what class you play. The NPCs will just stand there while you hit them with everything you have. Not going to happen in PvP.

I understand your frustration about dying a lot. But it is purely a learn to play issue. Not one single person should be just standing there waiting for you to kill them. As others have said, this is a place where you must know exactly how to build your own class to its fullest advantage, while at the same time learning what the other classes can do against you, and what they can do to evade what you’re throwing at them.

There’s no two ways about it. You ARE bad right now. That’s ok. It’s normal. It doesn’t mean you’re bad at everything in the game. You just need more practice. I guarantee that with time, patience, a willingness to learn (and die A LOT), a lot of reading on builds (check our your class meta, as well as the meta for other classes here in the forums), some experimentation… you will improve.

Good luck and have fun with it.

Honestly, I tried guardian PvP after playing a lot of it on my necro and I was absolutely awful at guardian. I don’t know if perhaps it just takes a lot of work, or just easier for some people to pick up than others.

If you’ve researched builds and everything on forums and you’re sure you’re using the correct one, it’s just going to take some practice.

BTW, a class having less armor than you do doesn’t mean they should automatically lose to you. This IS balanced in it’s own way. The trade off to being “glassy” is more damage. The trade off for more survivability is that you can’t do as much damage. It’s the way the game works.

As far as mesmers go, there are a couple things you can look for that will make them easier to identify for you.
- Mesmer illusions will always face you, so if you spot one that isn’t facing you for whatever reason, it’s the actual player.
- If you see one of them strafe, run, or dodge roll instead of standing still and auto attacking, it’s the actual player.

You will get better the more you play it, but might I suggest a few tips for you as a newish player to PVP

Stick to hotjoin: This way you have a better chance of learning your class without the problems arena has. 5v5 hotjoin is more than good enough to learn your class. Also you have training bots in the Mists up at the back of the map. Give them a whirl.

Guardian is the best in the game at holding the point, other stuff not so great. Not bad, but not very good either. I would suggest something with a ranged option. Warrior is a good choice as its simple enough and has some good ranged options whilst being great in close range as well.

You will be beaten, you just have to accept it. Its not even a bad thing, if you can hold a point for a while whilst your team caps other points, you may die but you also kept the enemy from capping you point for a while.

About your build, well yes it does matter what build you pick. Some professions work better in different roles. Guardians as I said are beasts at taking damage and staying alive. The polar opposite would be a burst thief, all damage and no armor/health to speak off. Trying to play a tank thief doesnt work, necros are not the best roaming classes, but some of their specs happen to be good at it.

Go to the forum of your class and have a gander at what people are saying, they also often post builds you can try out. Also, dont be afraid to tinker with your builds, your playstyle will alter your choices a little over time.

PVP in MMO’s are a joke. You can’t do any damage to the enemies, you use all your skills and their health bar doesn’t move. Same way in every MMO. People who say they love PVP are just like the people offline who say they love sports – they all hate it but say they love it to impress each other.

Redxon.6832:

PVP in MMO’s are a joke. You can’t do any damage to the enemies, you use all your skills and their health bar doesn’t move. Same way in every MMO. People who say they love PVP are just like the people offline who say they love sports – they all hate it but say they love it to impress each other.

- Trust me if i hit you your healthbar will move….quite fast aswell.
- I dont need to impress other ppl. I play what i enjoy playing and thats PvP in this game.
- I actually do like sports. Played basketball for 10+ years and still enjoy watching it a lot. Not sure why anyone would tell someone that they like something while they dont. Maybe if youre young and insecure. But grown men or women dont need to act like that.