Guild Wars 2

Ever bait a dodge before landing your burst? Cast something from out of range and blink so you can land it? Trick someone into attacking you so they blow their initiative? Lure someone off a point and then juke back to decap?

Guild Wars 2 combat is rich and deep. There’s a range of skill requirement from classes being straight forward and easy to play, to technical and complex. But whatever class you play. Whatever role you’re filling on your team, there are mind games you can play to in order to misdirect or conquer.

What are some of your favorites to pull off?

Mine currently is very simple and works great on bad Thieves. I play Trapper Druid, so I enjoy simply placing all my traps at my feet and pretend that I didn’t see that Thief stacking stealth, and just laugh as he hits all my traps and is down 2 seconds later.

I like when this stuff used to matter. Now it’s just about who can mash more skills in a slightly more effective order.

What’s the point in baiting a dodge when the enemy always has another dodge (or more), blocks, invuln, blind procs, and/or permanent protection to save them? And all of these can be strung together into near perpetuity.

Gw2 combat does indeed have the potential to be deep and rich but HoTs and the trait revamp prior to its release diluted that potential.

Hey everybody let’s have a fun thread!

No! This is the PvP forum, we must only speak of how bad the game is!!!!!

I love jumping to spots where nobody else knows how to get to so I can get away from a bad situation. A few examples are on top of the rocks where chieftain is, on top of the wooden structure between keep and mine, on top of the pillars at henge point, on top of the fires at mid on temple and on top of the little hut next to windmill that can only be reached by leaps. It’s so funny, especially when they are full melee so they can’t reach me at all. A few times I jumped to one of these places just 1 second before going down and had my pet res me while the others are still trying to get to my downed body. Using spots like that for kiting is one thing that helps your survivability hugely, especially if you play without teleports.

I play lame duck guardian, I run in and get hit hard by 4-5 guys in wvw. Then I run away like I’m scared, drop a purging flames behind me and laugh my kitten off while they all drop like flies.

Shaogin.2679:

Hey everybody let’s have a fun thread!

No! This is the PvP forum, we must only speak of how bad the game is!!!!!

I don’t think these types of skilled plays are relevant any longer. It’s an opinion and this is a public forum. Sorry you disagree.

The way I see it being positive only rewards inept devs who have already deluded themselves into thinking everything is ok.

CptCuddles.8912:

Shaogin.2679:

Hey everybody let’s have a fun thread!

No! This is the PvP forum, we must only speak of how bad the game is!!!!!

I don’t think these types of skilled plays are relevant any longer. It’s an opinion and this is a public forum. Sorry you disagree.

The way I see it being positive only rewards inept devs who have already deluded themselves into thinking everything is ok.

Never said you couldn’t speak silly, just commenting on how you were bringing the hate into one of the few threads in the PvP forums that is just meant for fun. I can do that, cause it’s a public forum. But carry on Captain Downer, you make sure those devs feel your rage, I’m sure they care. ;-P

CptCuddles.8912:

Shaogin.2679:

Hey everybody let’s have a fun thread!

No! This is the PvP forum, we must only speak of how bad the game is!!!!!

I don’t think these types of skilled plays are relevant any longer. It’s an opinion and this is a public forum. Sorry you disagree.

The way I see it being positive only rewards inept devs who have already deluded themselves into thinking everything is ok.

Both opinions are valid. Most threads on the forum currently are negative in nature though, either asking for nerfs or expressing concerns/complaints about the state of the game. I don’t think the games is perfect at the moment, but it’s good enough for me to enjoy playing. More importantly, I started this thread because I’m interested in having a discussion about playing the game at a higher level.

As to your initial point, I have to disagree. Sustain as it exists in the game increases the value of (timely) Damage and CC. There is no class currently in the game that can chain it’s skills together in a way that it survives the focus of multiple players. Possibly in some 1v1 matchups, but then it wouldn’t be able to do that in others, or even when being focused by more than 1 player. The player will either die or be forced out of the fight.

The whole point of playing the game with these sorts of tactics is to force the other player into making a mistake, in which case their blocks or evades or whatever lose value.

For example on Druid I can cancel my bristle back f2. The start up animation is fairly obvious and most players will recognize it and use their reflect skill. 4 sec later I can cast it for real and actually land it.

Or on Herald, you can play around your shield block. The block lasts 4 seconds, but you can surprise opponents by exiting early when they may not react fast enough to your burst.

Warrior here. Pretend to jump down from somewhere, turn mid-air and watch your pursuers jumping down… Bonus point when I help them with fear or push back

-enemy visibly stealthing at 2000 range, just change direction for 3s….he has to either admit wasting an opener or greedily use 2-3 extra cooldowns just to reach me in time

-classic jumping or pretending youre backing off the node

-standing on edges or platforms to give meleers a hard time dodging around you

-predicting melee vs ranged paterns, so if i want to melee i first run to make him waste gap closer, then use my own.

-being good with timings, so you land a big long cast right after enemies block ends

-going to church every sunday so you corrupt the right boons

when I’m p/d theif I like to go into stealth first then use shadow reffuge as a decoy for sneak attacks or fleeing outnumbered fights.

I was just finished off an opponent when another warrior enter to fight my mesmer in Capricorn far. I forgot what that point is called, start of red with 2 steps down on the side. I was low on hp so I decide to kite a bit.

Mid-jump a ledge but turn back half way, and that player jump right down just like Elegie’s opponent. When he ran back up I cast sword clone (sword 3) on him and this time actually jump down, he followed me again but then I iSwap myself back up. By the time he ran back up second time I’m healed up and ready fight him properly.

Shaogin.2679:

Mine currently is very simple and works great on bad Thieves. I play Trapper Druid, so I enjoy simply placing all my traps at my feet and pretend that I didn’t see that Thief stacking stealth, and just laugh as he hits all my traps and is down 2 seconds later.

I like do this with my DH, or after the middle won, place them all on the way to.middle, and just watch them run into them not expecting they would be there.

In wvw I use the kitten tonic on my DH with all 5 traps stacked nearby.

Before long some grunge thief low enough to attack a kitten will come along and find himself getting spiked by a kitten.

See a guardian on point, let him place his traps, make 3 clones, continuumsplit and run into the traps

When i see no chance to win a point that i lure players to follow me on my ele. Since i play non meta i can actually turn around and beat someone like a thief when i am at 50% life. But i also enjoy if two or three follow me and i keep them busy for a minute even if i die :-).

I may not have the most experience to share as far as the thread title is concern but the amount and numerical capabilities? i’d say Trapper Thief says it all.

Wolfric.9380:

When i see no chance to win a point that i lure players to follow me on my ele. Since i play non meta i can actually turn around and beat someone like a thief when i am at 50% life. But i also enjoy if two or three follow me and i keep them busy for a minute even if i die :-).

Similarly, on mesmer: Drop a portal on or near a point you don’t think you can hold, keep fighting long enough to keep their attention on the point so that they hopefully don’t spot the portal and when you gun it, they think you’re doing it because you’re afraid of getting killed. When you’ve lead them far enough away that they can’t get back in time to stop you, activate the portal and steal the point.

Pulled that off a few times. A lot of people get tunnel-vision if they think they’ve got you and they don’t notice the portal as they’re chasing you down. In soloqueue it’s actually possibly more effective than the more traditional tactic of using a portal to get back to defend a point quickly: people arriving at an uncontested point to decap generally notice the portal and prepare a welcome for a single mesmer popping through.

Speaking of Messer portals, occasionally I find a Mesmer portal off point and drop all my traps on top of it. Then I go on point and help my team focus the Mesmer, then laugh as he ports away into all my traps and dies.

It’s not really a mind game but I find it really fun those days : you go for the decap of the far node using shadow step, then you decap looking at the enemy coming back and shadowstep back just next to him and go mid. After doing that 2-3 times, the guy sometimes stay far for the rest of the game ^^

I also like to decap a point that has a portal, forcing the mesmer to teleport back then temporize for the portal to disappear. And going back mid leaving the mesmer behind.

Edit: I forgot the most important of all ! Watching an Engi trying to flee in Elixir form ( that tiny little punk ) stay next to him and wait for the moment he pops out to kill him ^^ It’s all about the mind duel to anticipate his dodge out of the elixir and bursting at the right timing.

Looks like Anet is still the king of mind games. Season 5 only a week away?!?!?!?

Awesome! Only one week to get good!

Anyone else stealth up and then run back through the player chasing you to throw them off the scent?

How do you guys play around your instant casts? Weapon Swaps, Weapon Stows, Steal, Death/Reaper Shrowd, Celestial Avatar, Legend Swap, etc….

CptCuddles.8912:

I like when this stuff used to matter. Now it’s just about who can mash more skills in a slightly more effective order.

What’s the point in baiting a dodge when the enemy always has another dodge (or more), blocks, invuln, blind procs, and/or permanent protection to save them? And all of these can be strung together into near perpetuity.

Gw2 combat does indeed have the potential to be deep and rich but HoTs and the trait revamp prior to its release diluted that potential.

Logged in to +1 this.

Cheers, but out-plays rarely matter these days tbh.

Intentionally missing a path of scars when fighting a thief or mesmer and using serpent strike to move back into position so it hits them on the way back to me.

Shaogin.2679:

Hey everybody let’s have a fun thread!

No! This is the PvP forum, we must only speak of how bad the game is!!!!!

I laughed, thanks for this!

eliroth.3869:

Shaogin.2679:

Hey everybody let’s have a fun thread!

No! This is the PvP forum, we must only speak of how bad the game is!!!!!

I laughed, thanks for this!

No problem. ^.^

With time I found it’s actually more effective to play a trapper DH with full traps utilities and elite and play around the “mini jumping puzzles” instead of camping on point. Instead of bursting all your traps, just lay down testament of faith then go off into safety up into a rock or cover around a wall. While your enemy is hopelessly wasting the evades and blocks to avoid testament of faith (even reasonably good players expect you to have teleport and will burst precession of blades early and will pre emptively go in with blocks up), you just chill there throwing arrows. Then right before the point is uncapped you just walk in/drag them with F1/jump in with F2 and run precession of blades.

The idea is that they might actually recover from that if they didn’t despair heal by now, but you still have Dragon’s Maw, heal, your own blocks and an extra trap (Fragments is good but I’ve been using the other one for reveal stealth lately), so they’re mostly done for (especially if they were a necro waiting to boon corrupt you since they either didn’t block any arrows or had to waste CPC). Instead of bow you can also experiment with scepter torch traited for Zealot’s Flame. This is obviously a very vulnerable setup and playstyle, but it’s certainly funnier than sitting on point pressing 7 8 9 0.vaporwave !

Holding a point as engineer against ~2 Players, trying to kite off all the damage, health is low, starting to run away, they follow me… just to do a 180° turnaround, getting back on the point, healing up and holding it for another 1-2 min. I dont know what they are thinking, but I would be really annoyed.

Why do so many players follow others just because they are outnumbered? I was playing ele (rather bad) and we were losing a match. At the end of the match, I kited 3 people around the whole forest map, because they almost had me downed. Not to mention, we won this.