Guild Wars 2

So obviously in pvp the most effective way of teamfighting is for your team to focus on one enemy and target him specifically.

Some procedures are simple like If an enemy is low on hp, he should be focused.
However what isn’t so clear is when the entire enemy team has full hp, which profession is ideal to hunt and target?

Is it the guard thats offering stability, regen, and boons to the team?-When targeting they will generally use their shelter, blinds, and elite for invulnerability wasting time you could have spent focusing someone else
Is it the Zerker that has immense burst- however when targeting they will generally go invis and waste precious time that you could have killed someone else (ie Mesmer and Thief)
Is it the celestial crowd controller that is difficult to take down but is stunning your team? (Engi)
The warrior thats almost impossible to take down but is passively healing your team (Shoutbow)

I imagined that this issue would have been answered as I learned every profession for pvp however it simply got more confusing and complex as I learned more of the classes.

I am looking to get into pvp atm to hit that rank 80, and am wondering which is the best target to focus as I play a thief because when rotating, targeting and bursting is key. (Especially on that kitten of a map courtyard :P)

Any feedback is appreciated and I am just looking for the skilled pvp’rs reasonings behind who to target as winning a teamfight will generally win you the game.

While pugging, I would personally focus on these easy targets if within reach.

1. Ranger
2. Mesmer
3. Thief

You’re right in that the last two will stealth when in trouble. However, as a mesmer I have phantasms that can track through stealth so it’s not really a problem. The damage will be enough either to kill them or drive them away.

And I don’t press “Ctrl+T” to focus a target. I solo all the time and I find teammates rarely follow the targeting icon. So I just do it quietly by myself.

either the most dangerous person, or somone who takes a lot of damage and will die fast. reason being, that unless there is a player (like a power ranger) who just needs to die, you want to make it 5v4 as fast as possible.

bhagwad.4281:

While pugging, I would personally focus on these easy targets if within reach.

1. Ranger
2. Mesmer
3. Thief

You’re right in that the last two will stealth when in trouble. However, as a mesmer I have phantasms that can track through stealth so it’s not really a problem. The damage will be enough either to kill them or drive them away.

And I don’t press “Ctrl+T” to focus a target. I solo all the time and I find teammates rarely follow the targeting icon. So I just do it quietly by myself.

“Power” Necro is usually the easiest target to get focused down in almost any situation.
I always target power necro first if I’m able.
For Thief, you have to deal with teleport, stunbreak, invisible, for mesmer, you have to deal with invisible, invulnerable and teleport, for ranger, you have to deal with stealth, CC, prevent direct damage (and there’s a chance you’ll face those dodge spamming condition ranger who’s really hard to kill). That’s why always target power necro first because they have none of the above option but their HP bar.

If you’re burst: focus enemy dps
If you’re Cele/Cleric/Soldiers: focus contesting the point one man at a time while pressuring the enemy shoutbow/guardian to take out enemy banner and the massive heal/condi clease in a big radius. This will also eliminate their point-contester which might result in the point being yours if played well

In order:
1.Necro- always target the necro first. They have no access to any forms of invulnerability or vigor, so you can just blast them down.
2.Power ranger- that 2 skill damage is insane
3. zerker ele, thief, or mesmer- worst case scenario is they go invis and run away, but they can’t handle pressure at all

I usually focus the enemy that shouts that he will destroy us in map chat. Break his moral, and he’ll probably be just a vocal towards his teamates.

Knowing who to target is actually more complicated than just targeting certain builds/classes first. If you want to play at the highest level you can, you should watch for cds and pay attention to both you and the opposite team’s positioning. Squishy targets are obvious priorities, but if they are not putting out much pressure and are focusing mainly on avoiding you, it can be a good idea to switch to a tankier target that is out of position and low on cds. For instance, you start by targeting a mesmer but your team fails to burst them properly and they stealth/reposition, but you just noticed an engi in the middle of mid point who popped his heal and gear shield/elixir S. You should probably switch targets to the engi and quickly burst him down before his cds are back up and/or he repositions. This is more important for team play, where you can communicate these things and your team will switch targets with you, but it is good to do in soloq with competent people as well.