Guild Wars 2

I want to hear some opinions. I’m not the best player out there, but it seems that a lot of the good teams I see never engage in 1v1s or 2v2s, they try to create situations where they can 2v1/3v2 people down fast.

I’m not complaining about anything, I just want to know if people think it’s worthwhile to have a build that excels in a 1v1 or 2v2, or is it better to go full glass so you can 2v1 someone down faster?

The current meta encourages “team-work” and if your opponents come for your point while your team is wasting time on something useless then you will get 2v1’d die and lose your point.

Current meta encourages high damage roamers. 1 for pressure with conditions or cc and the other with burst. Pressure builds tend to be slightly tankier and usually engage first then the burst will come in moments later and wtfpwn you. What you really need is a solid team if you’re concerned about these things, and build a team composition that supports each other and is balanced for your individual objectives as well as team objectives.

If you’re solo joining then just play what you like and hope for the best.

Current meta with no teamwork is just dps as much as possible. Thats what 8v8 is.

In 8v8 you can take a dps and a support and often wreck the 5 to 6 man zerg. 8v8 meta… isnt’ really a meta.

tPvP tends to revolve around uneven fights yes, so they can crack the Bunkers quick enough before reinforcements arrive. Or your bunker is strong enough to survive the 2v1 so they can be reinforced. That basically feels like tPvP in a nutshell. There are some builds out there as of late that can rip up bunker builds 1v1 though, which is changing some things.

Yes, it’s one of the reasons it’s so boring.

SteepledHat.1345:

Yes, it’s one of the reasons it’s so boring.

Well, the way roamers work, ye meta is about uneven fights.

Is there anything in the history of anything that encourages even play? Sports basketball exploit uneven matchups
Shooters video games- attack as a group
etc etc.
Who would ever pass up the opportunity to have an advantage

Its the part of any strategy, if you can have an advantage why wouldnt you take it. There are plenty of good reasons to 1v1 or 2v2 or even 1v2. But again only when its to your advantage.

Thanks for the responses all. I didn’t mean to say I’m a total noob—I’m rank 30—I just haven’t done much in the way of paids and I wanted to hear some opinions from people who have.

Again, I’m not complaining about anything. I tried to think of a different way to phrase the thread title but couldn’t really word it differently; I know it sounds like it’s going to be a qq thread.

I agree that a lot of games and sports are built around forcing uneven fights. For example, in hockey, penalties result in a “power play” where it’s 4v5 for a brief period of time. Basically, for GW2, I’m trying to find out if it’s better to put five people “on the ice” who have everything they need to beat the other five—or is it better to try to draw a penalty and take advantage of your 5v4. It’s looking like both are viable strategies, but forcing uneven fights (via portals, high-mobility burst, and guardians) is the more common tactic.

Most of the reason I asked was I noticed a lot of roamers from good teams didn’t do very well in 1v1s or 2v2s when they were cornered into them. My guess is that it’s because they’re built to take advantage of quick 2v1s, and it looks like that’s correct based on everyone’s responses. I’m looking forward to team deathmatches—it sounds like a lot of things we “know” about viable comps and builds will change in structured 2v2 or 3v3 fights.

Interpret Interrupt.3824:

Is there anything in the history of anything that encourages even play? Sports basketball exploit uneven matchups
Shooters video games- attack as a group
etc etc.
Who would ever pass up the opportunity to have an advantage

basketball is still 5v5 with the exception of fast breaks. Hockey has uneven match-ups but only as a penalty for bad play.

Comparing to sports is more about personnel match-ups like in basketball do you run a big/defensive 5? a small quick shooting 5? balanced 1/2/2? Regardless of how you build your team it’s still always 5v5 with set half court offenses. in GW2 almost every fight eventually ends unbalanced.

~Sprawl, #1 Athlete in GW2, EU/NA/CH

It’s because of the long respawns IMO. Before they changed it to 15 seconds the game felt a lot more small scale. Now if someone is out of position they get gang kitten then their team gets pushed on another point before they can respawn, usually losing the point in the process.

It’s a snowball effect. If I decide to roam over to henge from mine and get ganked by an ele and a thief, my team is down a player for almost 30 seconds because of the time spent respawning and running back. If I get bled out you can make that almost a minute. In the time it takes for me to get back to a fight at henge my team has been getting kitten on one man down and are usually almost dead before I even get there.

Khylo feels like the only opportunity to get any small scale fights. Foefire is a kitten show because graveyard is too kittening big and graveyard is crucial to that map.

Edit: I might also add that this is why things like eles are so popular. Not only is it near impossible to lose 1v1 but they’re also one of the fastest roamers in the entire game and are absurdly strong sustained damage in team fights (which seem to be forced more and more in the current meta).

Ostricheggs.3742:

It’s because of the long respawns IMO. Before they changed it to 15 seconds the game felt a lot more small scale. Now if someone is out of position they get gang kitten then their team gets pushed on another point before they can respawn, usually losing the point in the process.

It’s a snowball effect. If I decide to roam over to henge from mine and get ganked by an ele and a thief, my team is down a player for almost 30 seconds because of the time spent respawning and running back. If I get bled out you can make that almost a minute. In the time it takes for me to get back to a fight at henge my team has been getting kitten on one man down and are usually almost dead before I even get there.

Khylo feels like the only opportunity to get any small scale fights. Foefire is a kitten show because graveyard is too kittening big and graveyard is crucial to that map.

Edit: I might also add that this is why things like eles are so popular. Not only is it near impossible to lose 1v1 but they’re also one of the fastest roamers in the entire game and are absurdly strong sustained damage in team fights (which seem to be forced more and more in the current meta).

Thank you so much, that perfectly answered the question that was bugging me. Something felt a bit off with the way I was playing, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Something also does feel off about the lack of meaningful small-scale fights.

I’m curious about your thoughts on khylo. Why does it encourage small-scale encounters? I always feel the other way around—since the team that controls mid can see the entire map, don’t 2v2s become 4v2s even faster?

The burst roamer specs that thiefs employ is not particularlly useful in 1on1. So, they are best joining existing fights. Or 2vs1. they can kill you quick, but wont likely win a 1on1.

Sprawl.3891:

Interpret Interrupt.3824:

Is there anything in the history of anything that encourages even play? Sports basketball exploit uneven matchups
Shooters video games- attack as a group
etc etc.
Who would ever pass up the opportunity to have an advantage

basketball is still 5v5 with the exception of fast breaks. Hockey has uneven match-ups but only as a penalty for bad play.

Comparing to sports is more about personnel match-ups like in basketball do you run a big/defensive 5? a small quick shooting 5? balanced 1/2/2? Regardless of how you build your team it’s still always 5v5 with set half court offenses. in GW2 almost every fight eventually ends unbalanced.

~Sprawl, #1 Athlete in GW2, EU/NA/CH

Clearly pick and roll, switching man vs zone, or double teaming have nothing to do with advantage. Ill just _/ and wait