Guild Wars 2

I’m a newbie and have had a hard time getting started. I show up and ask. People scream “NEED MOAR HELP IN SE.” I go there and get killed by the mob outside without getting a chance to help. As far as I can tell, there is no WP inside (or maybe I have never activated it, or does WvWvW even work that way?).

I’m willing to make supply runs and build siege. (Sometimes it lets me build siege and sometimes it doesn’t, and I don’t see why.) I’m not sure how I’m supposed to get past the huge mobs when I die in 2-5 seconds from the horde. That doesn’t seem like helping to me.

Note that I still don’t even have my first rank up.

What server are you on?
Might be someone who can specifically help you one on one or get you into a group if they know where to look.

What level is your character?
Not a “80 only!!!” type of guy but… there’s a definite disadvantage to playing wvw on an uplevel. Despite what they say about scaling. I’ve been doing wvw since the game came out and being on an uplevel even with all that experience is miserable.

What is your build?
Plug it in here, click “get quick link” and paste it.

Are you on voice comms?
In the beginning finding a pin (commander tag) on the map, hopping into the right voice comm channel and simply following the zerg is probably the best thing for you to do. You’ll pick up a lot just listening, and watching what everyone does.

What profession do you mostly play? Do you have access to stability, leaps, stealth, blocks, etc. that will let you get through the door?

What kind of gear are you wearing? You might not want to be full zerk until you are better at positioning and fighting other players.

I agree with Kanebrake that you should post your build, it would make helping you a lot easier.

Check out these links

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Guide:WvW_Guide_For_a_Novice

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Guide:WvW_Zerg_Fights

Also check out WvW builds for your class on the same website

(In map or team chat)
Ask your server if they have community voice comms (Teamspeak, Ventrillo, Mumble, Raidcall, etc..)
Ask your server what the big WvW guilds are and who the main map pin commanders are and try to run with them

Most are what you will learn about WvW will be with experience and in the game itself.

Build advice is on a different thread — I was not expecting this to turn into a build topic. My build changes constantly, so it’s not relevant. I’m still learning and experimenting. I also mainly pay attention to advice that gives a reason, rather than telling me to use a particular weapon or skill.

The voice comms advice is useful — I haven’t used any of those services before.

Voice comms are pretty essential in a lot of situations, ask in /t (team chat channel in WvW) for your server’s public voice comm info.

Joining a guild which has active WvW players for members is probably the best way to learn. It doesn’t need to be a specifically WvW focused guild, just having a few experienced players to party with who can explain things as you are doing them works wonders.

Specific advice isn’t really possible in this situation. Why couldn’t you get into a structure with enemies outside? I don’t know, too many variables. Some combination of better situational awareness, better build or better knowledge of terrain may be required. Why can’t you build siege sometimes? It’s already fully built, or you don’t have it targeted and proximity puts you closer to another object, or you don’t have supplies….

Don’t feel bad though, I’ve played WvW since beta and I still die to enemy groups. Really, the best advice I can give any new WvW players is:

Your character WILL die. A LOT. Especially at first. In PvE this is not the normal experience, dying means you are doing something wrong in PvE. In WvW it is expected to die. Your pixels aren’t you. The run back won’t wear out your legs or shoes. Repairs are free now (we used to have to pay for every death in silver, back in my day, get off my lawn kid…. um, woops….). Every death is a lesson and every lesson makes it less likely for you to die next time. When you die, think about why it happened, how it could be avoided through use of positioning/terrain and available class skills.

WvW is a whole game mode, it takes a while to learn the maps and intricacies. Be patient, get a good mentor/guild and have fun out there!

If there are WvW guilds on your server, check them out. It’s always easier to get help from people in your guild. They will want to help you.

Your first step is to join a reputable guild. Following which , you will be provided with all the information you need.

Also, welcome to GW2 WvWvW.

Ok well after having a quick look through your build thread, these things I would recommend.

1, You are not quite level 80, once level 80 in full knights exotics you will be able to take alot more damage, so make level 80 a priority.
2, Make sure at least 1 of your utilities is Stability. (Balanced Stance, Dolyak Signet) Learn when best effective to use these.
3, Only use longbow on a condi warrior. Even then they are definitely one of the most disliked classes in WvW along with our old friend the Ranger.
4, Make sure you have dogged march traited, whilst running decent condition removal food and Dwayna Runes then most immobilizes will just not work on you.
5, Run full tank until you get the hang of WvW, even then a warrior is best built as mostly tank and spanking butts at the front of the zerg.

But most important of all, find a nice group/guild and have fun.

Dying is all part and parcel of WvW so getting used to it is no bad thing =)

Since the mobs are killing you that easily it made me wonder, are you playing on Edge of the Mist or in the actual WvWvW maps? I don’t think the mobs in regular maps can kill you as easily as in EotM. There’s quite a difference in both modes as in EotM you are there mainly to cap things and level your low level toon (Think most of the people there are avoiding fights as much as they can) while in regular maps you are there to fight and defend so people prefer if you have a maxed out toon.

I’m not sure but I think he meant lots of people.. a.k.a.: the mob.

OP:

armour to the teeth mate! Forget about everything else. Toughness, Vitality… everything else is secondary now….

Always get a ranged weapon with you so you can do a bit of farm. The attacking column of a hammertrain is not for an absolute beginner. Always use consumables for survivability.

Max out the Toughness and the Vitality trait lines, try to get every defensive trait.

You have to learn and while you can learn from your death you learn more from staying alive.

After you are comfortable with staying alive you can build differently.

I am an extremely defense-minded warrior (and probably should have picked guardian). I am level 80 now (and have a huge gripe about how things should be accessible before then, so it is a sore point). Level 75 to 80 doesn’t take very long at all, even if you’re not trying. I want to contribute and help out, even if I’m not as effective 1-1 as someone fully maxed out. That shouldn’t be strictly necessary.

Ultimately, I wasn’t asking about levelling, build, or gear. If my allies are saying they need more help defending a tower, what can anyone do about it? Nobody’s actually answered that very basic question. Presumably someone can do something, or they wouldn’t ask.

From my point of view, I can’t get inside to help with defenses. I don’t see any waypoints on the map. The enemy clusters (since the term “mobs” is confusing, but I mean player mobs when I say that) around the entrance, so there’s not way in. I feel like I’m missing something very, very basic.

These are more for roaming but may help you

http://youtu.be/HN5KF3QiFco

ekarat.1085:

I am an extremely defense-minded warrior (and probably should have picked guardian). I am level 80 now (and have a huge gripe about how things should be accessible before then, so it is a sore point). Level 75 to 80 doesn’t take very long at all, even if you’re not trying. I want to contribute and help out, even if I’m not as effective 1-1 as someone fully maxed out. That shouldn’t be strictly necessary.

Ultimately, I wasn’t asking about levelling, build, or gear. If my allies are saying they need more help defending a tower, what can anyone do about it? Nobody’s actually answered that very basic question. Presumably someone can do something, or they wouldn’t ask.

From my point of view, I can’t get inside to help with defenses. I don’t see any waypoints on the map. The enemy clusters (since the term “mobs” is confusing, but I mean player mobs when I say that) around the entrance, so there’s not way in. I feel like I’m missing something very, very basic.

People asked about your build because we are confused as to why you can’t get in. On countless occasions I have run through zergs of 40+ people to get into a tower that needs defending. I can do this because I bring the right build.

Once inside there is plenty you can do such as build and man siege, throw siege disablers (which you should stock up on), stack in the lords room to fight if they break in, drain supply if the tower/keep is going to be lost, etc.

But step 1 is getting you in the tower, that is why we are focusing on why you can’t do this.

As mentioned the first thing is to keep you alive and get in the tower…. Hence the build and skill talk.
Once in the tower if you are alone without pre-built siege and there really is a horde (40+ players) outside, then your options are limited anyway. Siege disablers will slow them down if you have supplies. If the tower/keep has a treb facing the direction of the horde that’s normally option 1.

But to get used to WvW you want to find a map with a blue commander tag, get on the server teamspeak and start learning. WvW ranks will soon start flowing in.

Remember you can swap weapons around whenever you’re not in combat. Most builds for warrior recommend hammer, especially for the big fights, but if you see an enemy crowding around a tower, and you need to get inside, you can always quickly swap to sword+shield to let you get inside. Greatsword is another good option, with the evade on skill #3. You can also swap out your utilities. You might want to use healing shouts in the big fights, but just to dive into a tower you can swap to endure pain + berserker stance + balanced stance, which will make you pretty much invincible for the few seconds you need to jump inside.
Quick note which alot of beginners struggle with: turn auto-targeting off. If you have auto-targeting on, when you use your sword leap or greatsword rush, you’ll likely go completely the opposite direction that you want to go. There’s no need for a warrior to have auto-target on, it’s only really any use for mesmers.

If you really can’t get inside a tower to help with the siege inside, then your other option is to group up with other players asap to drive the attackers off. As you say, it’s no use running in and dying alone; go to a commander if there is one, or see if someone is trying to muster a group, or even organize it yourself.

If neither of these things can be done, you just have to accept that you can’t help that tower. Look around the map and see if there’s anything else useful you can do. Maybe go to the next tower you expect to be hit and start preparing seige there, or go take a camp that’s supplying an enemy keep.

I don’t even know where the entrance is. Presumably to one side of the front gate? At the very least, it’s going to take more than a few seconds to approach.

Anyway, I get killed in 2-5 seconds at range — well before I can see the front gate, let alone run through the others. There were snipers deliberately trying to prevent others from approaching. It was impressive.

The way in is the glowing door on the side of the gate.
On my ranger I pop stability, use longbow stealth, great sword leap, great sword block.
Engi I stealth, rocket boot.
Ele mist form.
Mesmer stealth, blink.
Thief stealth, shadowstep.
Necro fear, spectral walk, plague form.
Guardian stability, blocks, blinds.
Warrior I pop immunities and laugh at them as I stroll through the door.