Guild Wars 2

WHY DO YOU PVP?

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I was going to write a novela, but I decided that it’s actually not worth it, I’ll put it plainly instead, though it will still be TL;DR worthy.

After the thousands and thousands and thousands of hours I’ve put into PvP, I now have regulated myself to play no more than 1 hour 3 nights a week, at most. Those 3 hours are spent in hotjoin and unranked (mainly because there is no reason to ever actually play ranked matches in this game and there is only 1 “supported” mode). What I do during those 3 hours, is search for new, average, and good players, kill them, and then farm them as they leave their spawn. The great players will slip passed me or force me to retreat, the amazing players (or AI) will kill me (if they can, “Stealth is a fun mechanic in this game – some guy 2014”).

Some players will whisper me nonsense that I don’t care about, like how it hurts the community, that I’m X Y and Z (and going to hell), etc. Some players will just leave. But tonight 1 player asked me a question. He asked me WHY I was doing it. At first I thought to myself, “Because I have nothing left to do in this game! I refuse to play the grindfest of brain-liquifying-ly easy PvE content! WvW is actually cancer in it’s realest form! And the current state of PvP has left me completely disenfranchised, disenchanted, and exceedingly skeptical of the capabilities of the people running ‘The Show!’”

What I found after writing it out, was that I just genuinely wanted to show some of what the game is capable of, eg; instant death via Shatter Mesmer. I want new players to understand that this is more than doing dailies. I want the average players to see that with effort comes reward. I want the good players to realize that they are capable of carrying entire teams through refinement and knowledge. I want the great players to challenge me and know that they too are strong players. And I want the amazing players to show me that I still have room for refinement and can improve. Unfortunately that just isn’t possible in this incarnation of PvP, there are TRULY CANCEROUS bugs, builds, and balance changes that range from; being here since early BETA (HELLO teleport bugs), to the refreshingly vile insurgence of meta builds that placate lesser skilled players through over-tuned numbers while in the hands of great or amazing players actually push entire professions out of viability.

What bothered me the most was not that they are there, it is that nothing was done about any of it in a manner that makes me believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the people making the changes are capable of bringing the latent potential underneath the grime and sludge into the light. Nothing but superficial band-aid repairs; or worse, completely game revolutionizing feature packs / “Balance Updates” that hurt the player the base (This would be the new trait and skill system that actually doesn’t provide a sense of “progression” like it was “intended” to, and is more accurately described as a “Gold Sink” or quick Gem sales, since you can in fact just purchase everything with your credit card) (and sigil/rune rework).

The base of the concepts behind the game regarding builds truly is groundbreaking stuff and the potential IS there; what I see now I don’t even have words for. Entire teams filled to the brim with Celestial Amulets and 25 stacks of might, specced completely into defense, and oozing with passive, overly spammable, non dynamic or avoidable (when applied by a player with understanding of the game), completely predictable and disgusting Area of Effect abilities; the majority of which apply conditions, and/or CC. And even WORSE, I see months, and months, and months, AND MONTHS, of this same cesspool churning people in and then OUT, with only the HOPE (Because were kept uninformed and ignorant) that it MIGHT change for the better.

Now I have to give credit where it’s due, the team who initiated and completed the design of GW2 PvP were GODSENDS, they created a virtual playground with so many possibilities it is staggering. This combat system IS the best on the market, what it has been over-laid with is the bottom of the barrel and neglect; and it is a very real and very serious problem. This can been seen through the lack of PvP community this game has, where there aren’t even enough people in a queue to evenly distribute.

I will continue to play, albeit VERY sparingly, with 100% dedication to a “Sink or Swim” mentality. I will do my VERY best to make people question leaving their spawn or even better, question staying in the server, in the hope (there’s that word again) that change will take place, in a time frame that I may still have the dexterity to operate a keyboard/mouse.

Almost forgot to add why I wish I PvP’d; I wish it was because it was fun, because it was rewarding, because it fulfilled my competitive nature. I wish I PvP’d because the guild I came to GW2 with still played and played to win. And in closing, I wish I PvP’d because I wanted to be the best.

Now here’s the question I was asked, and will in turn ask others:
Why do you pvp?

I pvp for my dailies, as I’m a PvE player myself.
I also pvp when my guildies are, with ts etc. Just fun doing this stuff together

I believe you are exaggerating to an insanely ridiculous degree, but I also believe you make a strong point. Top level pvp is quite ridiculous at the moment. But honestly we are step away from that being fixed. The only thing that’s needs to go or be reworked is might stacks. No more power+condi damage on an already tanky spec, and most of our problems are solved. AI builds are a bit ridiculous as well, but not too crazy. The only one that’s really been proven to be a nuisance is turret engi, and that spec isn’t even too effective.

Anyways, to answer your question I haven’t done much pvp lately. It’s just not fun like it used to be because I keep getting screwed over by fighting groups on TS and such. But the reason I’ve pvped before is because this game is leaps and bounds ahead of every other mmo out there when it comes to combat and movement fluidity. And because it’s largely balanced. I know, I know. It’s a crime to say Gw2 is balanced. But if you look at other mmo’s and compare their balance, Gw2 is actually very well for itself. Especially for an mmo that broke away from the holy trinity. And we have certainly come a long way since launch.

Go ahead. Call me a fanboy, call me a noob, call me inexperienced, I really don’t care. All I know is I’m not going anywhere. I trust this game will continue to evolve in the right direction, and it’s still heck of a lot of fun and my favorite mmo on the market.

Vicariuz.1605:

Now I have to give credit where it’s due, the team who initiated and completed the design of GW2 PvP were GODSENDS, they created a virtual playground with so many possibilities it is staggering. This combat system IS the best on the market, what it has been over-laid with is the bottom of the barrel and neglect; and it is a very real and very serious problem. This can been seen through the lack of PvP community this game has, where there aren’t even enough people in a queue to evenly distribute.

I will continue to play, albeit VERY sparingly, with 100% dedication to a “Sink or Swim” mentality. I will do my VERY best to make people question leaving their spawn or even better, question staying in the server, in the hope (there’s that word again) that change will take place, in a time frame that I may still have the dexterity to operate a keyboard/mouse.

Almost forgot to add why I wish I PvP’d; I wish it was because it was fun, because it was rewarding, because it fulfilled my competitive nature. I wish I PvP’d because the guild I came to GW2 with still played and played to win. And in closing, I wish I PvP’d because I wanted to be the best.

Now here’s the question I was asked, and will in turn ask others:
Why do you pvp?

I am curious – what is your characters name?

Why I pvp? Simple answer, I like to compete. Ranked is where the best competition is generally.

You, beating up on noobs in hotjoin is not competition. Most people are down in hotjoin because they are either brand new, or they are trying out new classes/specs. Either way, they do not have the twitch memory to fight a high level player and win. So you are in essence, the school yard bully…nothing more. You are not teaching anyone anything down in hotjoin except to hate things as much as you do.

When I do go down to hotjoin and am practicing a new class/spec…I too chase the best player in the match… but mine is to figure out the sequences and build my twitch. then I’m back out and into Ranked – the difference in competition is very noticeable.

It kind of sucks for you that you have fallen so low. I hope you can pull yourself out of it. I hope you competitive drive and will to win kicks back in and pulls you out of your stupor. You have fallen to the dark side of this game – I hope someone…even Ben Kenobi can save you!

If you want a new experience, try going back to Ranked where you have to be great, which it seems you are, and you have to be a leader which helps communicate with teammates to help them win.

All the Best,

Cindy Lou Who, the Bestest Who in all of Whoville

Wintersnight.3061:

I am curious – what is your characters name?

Why I pvp? Simple answer, I like to compete. Ranked is where the best competition is generally.

You, beating up on noobs in hotjoin is not competition. Most people are down in hotjoin because they are either brand new, or they are trying out new classes/specs. Either way, they do not have the twitch memory to fight a high level player and win. So you are in essence, the school yard bully…nothing more. You are not teaching anyone anything down in hotjoin except to hate things as much as you do.

When I do go down to hotjoin and am practicing a new class/spec…I too chase the best player in the match… but mine is to figure out the sequences and build my twitch. then I’m back out and into Ranked – the difference in competition is very noticeable.

It kind of sucks for you that you have fallen so low. I hope you can pull yourself out of it. I hope you competitive drive and will to win kicks back in and pulls you out of your stupor. You have fallen to the dark side of this game – I hope someone…even Ben Kenobi can save you!

If you want a new experience, try going back to Ranked where you have to be great, which it seems you are, and you have to be a leader which helps communicate with teammates to help them win.

All the Best,

Cindy Lou Who, the Bestest Who in all of Whoville

I like you Cindy. I like the way you think critically.

Usually I play on either my Mesmer Ky or Thief Mon, as I have given up on my warrior (I have played far too many hambow, ss/lb settler shoutheal, and meta celestial) but I have 2 accounts full of characters that I switch to from time to time, usually for trolling purposes or quick build swaps.

I understand your statement of ranked is where the competition lies, but the real competition is in the tournaments, of which I cannot take part in due to out of game circumstances in conjunction with my current disapproval of the situation. Hotjoin may not be competition in the same form as say ranked or tournament, but there are several servers that provide very VERY high levels of it (matches closer than any of the thousands of ranked matches I’ve played). Some of the best players I’ve seen, sans current top teams, play exclusively hotjoin or close to it. Some I’ve yet to be able to put in downstate even after years of playing with them.

I’m ok with being the bully, I’m sure most people learn better through experience than theory, I’m ok with dropping a new player in 1 shatter because I am there to do just that. It’s not personal, it’s not business, I don’t enjoy it, but I enjoy the other options even less. I too hope for the salvation that you describe, I welcome Mr. Kenobi with open arms should he pay a visit, but until I see empirical evidence that things are indeed in an upswing I will not allow the illusion of spoken or written PR management to sway me. Currently I merely need to be ADEQUATE in PvP, and to do so, all I need do is equip certain builds and let them primarily play themselves.

I can respect the need for builds other than zerker, because zerker only PvP (while significantly less dull than, as LoL key’d it, “Tanky DPS”) wouldn’t be good for the game at all. But there has to be division, there has to be pros and cons to builds, comps, professions. I have some what of an issue with the way that new players are being shoehorned into builds that allow for extreme forgiveness, and similarly (and justifiably) the same for advanced players. You cannot learn by keeping the training wheels on, especially when said wheels come with an iron lung, NARCON pens, the cure for aids, plus 2 portable and easily accessible cannons for good measure.

I too want to compete, but I don’t want to do so with handicaps on both sides.

Hm. I think you exaggerated a little. I play PvP because I like the challenge of trying to find builds to break the meta, whatever it might be. As the meta shifts, I try to shift to counter it. It’s not always easy, and I am not sure how well I do at it. But that’s what I do. I recommend trying the same.

The current meta is very hard to break because boom removal is so limited (especially on ranger class). Still, I think there are ways to thwart it, and am waiting, and hoping they will restore balance by giving more/better boon removal sigils, runes, and skills. Boons have always been “protected” for some reason. I don’t know why they removed the ability to target allies directly with skills and replaced it with the ability to passively buff allies with largely unremovable buffs. I still think it is a work in progress, and is getting better. It is still fun for me so that is why I PvP.

I dislike sore winners and sore losers along with everyone that trashes people for no reason. The modern fool thinks freedom of speech to say anything is good without realizing the dire consequences of inappropriate speech. The tongue carries death. Poorly spoken words have been responsible for so much pain and death throughout history. So be nicer folks!