So I have been playing Dota 2 the last week or so and I have to say that this style of play, especially with a 5v5 format, has me thinking a lot about how to build more effectively for GW2, even though it’s a different game with totally different objectives.
Let me explain.
First you have the concepts of Carry and Support.
This is really interesting because it applies to Guild Wars 2 as well. Carry in DOTA is similar to a glass cannon w/ low survival in GW2 – they will destroy you or even a couple of you if left unchecked, but if you go out of your way to take them down first, their influence is not as strong.
Support are a combination of usually two things – control and ally bonuses. They are unselfish, protect their Carry(s), and do their best to position themselves and their teammates for kills. In Guild Wars 2 we have examples like Guardian, Ranger, and previously Elementalist support.
In Dota if you have a team of mostly Carry or all Carry you have little chance of success, because they can get in your face and outlast whatever damage they have early on. In Guild Wars 2, if you have an all offensive team you are either going to blow them out or lose badly, because you don’t have enough control over downed state.
Usually team compositions have 1 or 2 Carry, 2 support, and heroes that gank, where they pick off prime targets and destroy their cash flow by using the map to sneak up on them.
In Guild Wars 2, we saw SYNC bring 3 support and 2 damage roles and dominate the NA tournament. Twerp, Davinci, and Scar were support, with Caed and Zombify as damage. Team Paradigm / Curse has always been 3 support until this meta, with Symbolic, Phantaram, and Azshene as support with Teldo and Xeph as damage.
While some people think that anyone from EU is going to win in a tournament, I don’t think the composition Car Crash has or their playstyle is going to be good enough to win against 3 support, 2 damage. SYNC proved that you can outnumber them in teamfights, but when they push all three points they are very difficult to beat.
When it comes down to it, you are better off having fewer damage than support in Guild Wars 2. Two Rangers and a Guardian make a great foundation for a team, although I would rather run Guardian, Ranger, and Elementalist so they all bring something different.
The damage roles are flexible – as long as they can kill quickly and preferably have both range and melee strength they will do the job.
The point is that damage roles are better if they are protected – two damage guys that stay on their feet are going to do a lot more damage than 3 damage guys that have to respawn every now and then, or too often.
The third support can also be a bit more aggressive, like using a Rabid Amulet instead of a Shaman’s, or Valkyrie’s Amulet instead of a Cleric’s. This way they have an offensive presence without sacrificing too much of their support ability.
To be honest I’d rather play Dota 2 than GW2 with the way the game is at the moment, but I still want to play Guild Wars 2 every now and then. While everyone has to pull their weight in Guild Wars 2, there isn’t very much of a learning curve.
In Dota, if you are a noob you are going to be godawful in every possible way at all stages of the game. Their community realizes this and have built templates, guides, and resources to teach their game to people. It is challenging, but at the same time welcoming to people that they know are going to be terrible at the game early on.
I like that about it – you aren’t going to come in, summon spirits, spam your weapon skills, dodge every now and then, heal when you’re low, and be able to play at the same efficiency as someone on a competitive tournament team.
If you’re going to be good at Dota, you have to earn it.
I really hope Arenanet considers that approach to this game.