Guild Wars 2

As far as I understand it, hotjoin exists for two primary reasons:

1. As a place for PvP players to jump in, have some casual fun, and leave whenever they need to.
2. As a place for new PvP players to ease themselves into PvP and learn the ropes before joining the more serious Solo and Team tournament PvP.

The first reason is fine, but the second is where things begin to fall apart. Not only is hotjoin the complete opposite of what is actually required to successfully play tPvP (8 players on each team, zerging from point to point, etc), the tutorial doesn’t teach players even the most basic of PvP skills.

In the tutorials present form, it teaches players how to stomp, revive, and stand on a point, and that’s it. There is no explanation of the various player roles, no explanation that a point will not cap faster with multiple people on it, no explanation of decapping, no explanation that reviving a defeated player is much slower than a downed player, no explanation of stomp interrupts or how to counter them, no explanation of how to use the map strategy controls (drawing and pinging), etc, etc, you get the idea.

Finally, why are the default builds given to new PvP players so bad? I honestly think that most people would agree that the default builds are either complete rubbish or barely viable. I understand that the meta shifts every now and then (I think… have we ever had a meta change? It has been so long that I can’t really remember), but how hard would it be for a PvP developer to change the default builds to the most popular meta build every time the meta has a drastic change? Not only would this give players a decent build, but it would help them understand the concepts of build synergy and different roles.

To summarise:

1. Why is hotjoin 8v8 and not 5v5, just like the “real” PvP?
2. Why is the tutorial a short, non-compulsory area that teaches new players practically nothing?
3. Why are the default builds so terrible, and when they’re updated, why are they always just as terrible as the one’s that they replaced?

I really do hope to get a proper discussion going here, so thanks for any replies that aren’t trolling/abusing Anet/complaining about the current state of the game.

Also, wasn’t it suppose to be balanced on rank/skill now?

I jumped in again tonight after a long brake. I don’t have slayer, total 2 torny wins, long long way from even being a merc.
People I vs got avenger+ titles, or a slayer putting bear totems thru my head.

- I think hotjoin should be some sort of un-ranked match where you can still join with your other 4 team mates and test team composition and tactic without gaining or losing rank.
- if you want to play ranked match then go soloQ or TeamQ
-if you’re solo but still don’t want to play rank, you can always queue for hotjoin and be assigned to a 4 men team. You will still learn to play better than in the current hotjoin state.

Bump, I would really like to see a dev response or at least some healthy discussion that helps the devs fix these issues.

I understand why the devs don’t want to change hotjoin too much, since it’s pretty popular for some unknown reason. I would love to see scoring changes that reward good playing (since people seem to be concerned about glory points for some reason).

Real tutorials are also badly needed.

Not sure on 8v8, since it allows new players to feel safe (since they’re not 20% of their team, as in a 5v5). I’d love to see a system to keep teams even numbers as well, but it would be tough.

I’m aware that it’s popular, but its current form directly counters the notion that hotjoin eases new players into PvP and teaches them how to play. It just doesn’t make sense that a game mode designed for newcomers to learn how to play doesn’t actually teach them how to play.

The lack of a real tutorial or starter builds that aren’t rubbish do nothing but exacerbate the problem.

I’ve said what you have said before on this forum Incurafy, but was I met with a lot of resistance. 8v8 hotjoin teaches absolutely nothing to new players: It teaches nothing on why certain builds are better than others; how dodges work effectively; or most importantly, where you need to be as a player. Over time, they might develop some simple combos and personal peeling tactics, but that’s it. That’s all it has to offer. There is no need to understand what another person is doing or how many dodges they have used because you have 3 to 5 other guys backing you up on any given node.

The structure behind hotjoin is just another reason why this game is in such a disarray.

Honestly, it’s so ridiculously obvious that it’s an issue with PvP that I don’t really understand how anyone can ignore it, least of all Anet who are trying to grow the PvP player base as the top end rapidly shrinks in size.

Its a common issue that people who are relatively new to pvp have issues with their understanding positioning and when to and when not engage in fight. Having bigger teamfights obviously makes it really hard for people like the OP who are new to pvp.

Incurafy.6329:

PvP that I don’t really understand

I suggest you either ask for tips how to improve as a player (awareness poisitioning etc) on these forums. Or you can always whisper me in game incurafy if you want some tips from a real pvp veteran (multigame tournament level pvpplayer here)

You seem to have issues with your build aswell which is quite common for new players. If you want i can ask some high rated thief friends of mine to help you out on that one.

Locuz.2651:

Its a common issue that people who are relatively new to pvp have issues with their understanding positioning and when to and when not engage in fight. Having bigger teamfights obviously makes it really hard for people like the OP who are new to pvp.

Incurafy.6329:

PvP that I don’t really understand

I suggest you either ask for tips how to improve as a player (awareness poisitioning etc) on these forums. Or you can always whisper me in game incurafy if you want some tips from a real pvp veteran (multigame tournament level pvpplayer here)

You seem to have issues with your build aswell which is quite common for new players. If you want i can ask some high rated thief friends of mine to help you out on that one.

You’re acting like an 8 year old, well done.

Incurafy.6329:

You’re acting like an 8 year old, well done.

Im taking things out of context like you did in my thread you mean? The offer still stands though. If you need help with your issues in pvp. I wouldnt mind helping you at all.

i join hotjoin for an occasional 8v8 zergfest. it’s really fun.

i remember when i started to pvp in this game…everything was ok BUT kitten SCOREBOARD, i still find it sooooo confusing

Locuz.2651:

Incurafy.6329:

You’re acting like an 8 year old, well done.

Im taking things out of context like you did in my thread you mean? The offer still stands though. If you need help with your issues in pvp. I wouldnt mind helping you at all.

I didn’t take anything in your thread out of context, but let’s leave that argument to your thread instead of attempting to derail mine for no reason.