So I’ve played about a dozen WvW matches with my evolving (currently lvl 30) Ranger, and I gotta say… It’s intimidating. No matter what do, I just get pasted after a few seconds of engaging the enemy. Even in big mass fights, enemy AOEs and other effects just wad me up like a paper wad.
I’ve been checking the forums and researching builds, but all I find are designed around a lvl80 toon with specific WvW gear and skills – there’s no discussion I can find about being effective at lower levels. Yeah I know you’re auto-leveled to 80 when you enter the Eternal Battlegrounds but you still have your current low-level gear.
So… Is WvW just something I should avoid until I hit 80 (if that ever happens) or what? because as it stands, the most fun thing I’ve done to date in WvW was sneaking around to capture my Juvenile Wolf… 10 seconds after that I was barraged/rooted/burned/spindled and mutilated by the enemy.
I had a lot of fun jumping into WvWvW with lower level characters. You will definitely not be anywhere near as effective until you get to the 50+ level range, but that does not mean you cannot have a good time.
Anvil Rock | Real Men Wear Pink [RMWP] | Warrior 80, Neco (in progress)
You can have a lot of fun at lower levels in WvW. I play my low level alts in WvW and it is a blast, even though I have no idea how to play those classes yet.
The main thing with WvW isn’t the level but getting use to the maps and tactics. Once you do that then you will realize that level isn’t as important as you think now.
Even at level 80, WvW can be rough untill you get use to it. The main thing is to not be alone. Follow a small group or form one. Join a zerg doing major objectives, defend important supply camps, etc. Read the chat. Eventually you will figure out who to listen to and who to ignore.
If you had asked this question 3 weeks ago, my answer would have been don’t wait.
Now that there are so many level 80s with exotic gear, even a level 60 is going to struggle.
A level 30 will likely only be useful defending keeps, towers, and supply depots.
[RE] Isendale – Tarnished Coast
“Did you see that? Tell me you saw that!”
WvW is only worth it if you’re on 1 of the top servers or a grouping that is somewhat evenly matched. Right now on the matchings 1 server owns 95% of the keeps/towers and we pretty much get spawn camped from the waypoint. Anet needs to rework how matching works and the orb because once the enemy has all 3 orbs it’s pointless. Everyone just seems to jump to the winning server making the situation worse
Adjust your traits and slot skills for more survivability, especially until you get used to how the ebb and flow of WvW works
Find a group of people to run around with. They can be friends, random people you meet, or the big zerg.
Watch how other players respond to getting attacked. Don’t blow your second dodge roll too early — the first one is fine, but save your second one for that “oh crap!” moment
As a ranger, you have excellent range with a Longbow, or good range with a Shortbow. Find one of your structures that’s getting attacked and play some defense. If you AoE everyone, and only do 300 damage total to each person, you still get full XP when they die.
I can’t really speak to your build, as I haven’t played a ranger personally. Don’t worry about the super-tweaked level 80 specialty builds. Just play what you think is fun, but semi-tailored to the WvW playstyle.
WvW is only worth it if you’re on 1 of the top servers or a grouping that is somewhat evenly matched. Right now on the matchings 1 server owns 95% of the keeps/towers and we pretty much get spawn camped from the waypoint. Anet needs to rework how matching works and the orb because once the enemy has all 3 orbs it’s pointless
Quoted for being slightly wrong. You can find competition and fun on any server at any tier.
However if you enjoy to wait for 2 hour queues though you can go to top servers.
To get the most of WvW, join a proper WvW guild with good communication and organization.
Izuvac.5713 “…like imagine 2 taliban server against 1 american…”
To get the most of WvW, join a proper WvW guild with good communication and organization.
I’d considered this, but honestly it’d be unfair to the Guild – I work a lot, and I know that competitive guilds rely on people showing up for long, scheduled sessions. I’m certain;y not a “casual” player, but my availability limits me to mainly solo PvE with occasional forays into other areas that look interesting, like WvW…
Back in my City of Heroes days, we were able to build super group alliances so that there were always a goodly number of friends available to form impromptu pick-up groups, but I’m not seeing (yet) the same kinds of guilds in GW2 yet. Maybe they’re still shaping up?
I’d considered this, but honestly it’d be unfair to the Guild – I work a lot, and I know that competitive guilds rely on people showing up for long, scheduled sessions. I’m certain;y not a “casual” player, but my availability limits me to mainly solo PvE with occasional forays into other areas that look interesting, like WvW…
Not every WvW guild is “that hardcore”. If you’re an EU player you can try ours ;p. PM me and lets talk
Izuvac.5713 “…like imagine 2 taliban server against 1 american…”
to go back on topic, if you are low level, great things to do include repairing gates/walls, and manning things like catapults, arrow carts and trebuchets. you could be a lvl 1 and you’ll do the same effectiveness that a lvl 80 does with those.
As for build/traits, I swap my skills and traits out for more of a pvp focus (at least the roman numeral abilities). Remember the best things to stack in WvWvW are speed and survivability. As a ranger you should be constantly sniping with the longbow with that raining arrows ability (slows n damages in a big aoe) for the most range so you can “kitten” on kills from afar without dying. Also, abilities that give aoe buffs like quickness or might is very useful when you’re with a big group of allies.
Just don’t try to solo anyone… When I first WvWvW at lvl 20 somethin I saw an afk thief and i was pounding away for a good 30 seconds and he got down to like 50%. he eventually realized what was happening and healed and popped an elite skill and I melted in seconds.
and sure, WvW is certainly worthwhile at low levels, learning the systems and maps at little to no cost, why not?
I play on my level 18 Mesmer alt, and I actually have more fun with him than on my 80 Ranger. I don’t get thrashed nearly as bad as I thought I would, and am actually somewhat useful. Like some of the other posters mentioned, find a way to be useful, run supplies, man siege, and go with groups – don’t be a hero.
The best part about being low level in WvW is that it only costs a few copper to repair instead of a few silver … so your mistakes aren’t quite as painful in the pocket
@Kazim.2043 It won’t let me quote but anyway how am i wrong I’m currently on crystal desert and we are facing jade/dragon jade owns around 90% of the map for all of the battlegrounds what would you like me to do about this? Like I said it varies between servers
WvW helped me realize what type of role I was comfortable playing in WvW and what potential problems in my build would be, so in that sense it can really give you a good idea and help you work towards a build and playstyle that’s right for you. It would be disappointing to wait until 80 for WvW and then die in the first few minutes because you’ve never tested yourself in the field, granted levels do make a considerable difference in WvW..
I’ve got a Level 50 who has been leveled purely from WvW. The only reason my repair bill is so high is because I deliberately do suicidal actions for the betterment of the team (zerging the ballista to take it down, convincing people to push into the enemy by doing it myself first). I only just started crafting in any real sense yesterday on him. Yes, I rage when a Level 80 thief picks me off in the middle of nowhere and roasts me in 5 seconds, but I spec the perma-swiftness of an engineer and a metric ton of toughness (Level 50 and I have 20 points in the trait line). I’ve been known to get completely away from full mobs that couldn’t immobilize or stun me consistently.
Have friends, be around some kind of group, and never underestimate just how effective siege equipment is.
it’s totally viable. i leveled up my character mostly in WvW, for instance. just try to stack some more toughness and vitality, but in the end, if you get ganked by a blob, it doesn’t matter what traits you have, or your gear.
it’s a great way to level, and it’s the most fun thing to do in the game, IMO. just try not to fight alone, and stick with a group. an individual running around, unless he’s a well spec’d thief or something, literally does nothing for the overall war effort.
edit: i forgot to add: try to have some CC breakers and speed boosts. it will save your life many times.
Baiyun – Necromancer
Member of Talons [BT]
Fort Aspenwood
xp stinks compared to pve and lowbies do crap damage against high levels.
oh please. you get a ton of xp for taking camps and towers, along with defending them. while a “lowbie” probably couldn’t solo a fully geared level 80 who knows what he is doing, they are far from useless in a group.
plus “leveling up” is hardly the point here. wvw is a lot of fun. don’t let your “low level” dissuade you of this.
Baiyun – Necromancer
Member of Talons [BT]
Fort Aspenwood
I’m level 80 and I’m still getting crushed in WvW. Then again, I don’t believe I’m playing optimally or know all of the mechanics and strategies that are effective.
I get the feeling WvW has an acclimation period in which you will find out what roles you’re capable of filling and what kind of actions your should be prioritizing. I suspect that this is way more important than being level 80 with a full set of exotics (although I’m sure that can’t hurt).
If you are being hit for 2500-3500…you’re being hit by someone with better gear, prepare to die. If you’re being hit for 300 or so, game on!
In all seriousness, once I realized my sub-80 toon could make a difference with scouting, watching dolyaks, repairing, running supply, running siege, and participating in teamspeak (in a thoughtful, measured manner, describing numbers, direction of movement, and map locaton but keeping chatter to a minimum) I found myself not only having fun, but also contributing greatly to the effort.
Be prepared to die a lot, and if you do – retreat – don’t make a level 80 try to rez you in an arrow cart hotspot!
I’ve been leveling almost exclusively through WvW. Obviously you will be at a disadvantage for a while, but as you unlock more and more skills and get better at playing the game, you’ll find that skill and coordination is way more important than exotic lvl 80 gear.
I’ve started levelling up a new character almost purely via WvW. Only level 10 now and obviously very ineffective in battle (no traits and you can’t even get a full set of gear at level 10). So I tend to do lots of supply runs and build siege for my team whilst throwing in some damage while defending or attacking. Between these I get enough xp to level at about the same pace as I would doing PvE.
The main problem with playing a low level is you lack traits and skills for breaking out of cc, so it’s hard to stay alive once you get focused by the enemy.
Wombling Wombat
FA – Protectorate of Aspenwood [PRO]
If you’re getting one-shotted and killed by AoE, you need to watch for the targeting circles on the ground, run with a group, and dodge a LOT. Learn to take targets of opportunity and then withdraw. You can’t just jump into the middle of things and expect to survive.
Sub 80 WvW really needs to be fixed. They royally screwed low level players with the implemention of boosting…that doesn’t really do much. You can still die in 1-2 seconds against a single level 80 player. You will get a lot of glossing about how it’s not that bad, the problem is: yeah, it’s horrible. Arenanet sold WvW under the premise of not screwing low level players, as seen in other MMO’s, and then turned around and did the same thing.
My engineer alt starting WvW around level 12. The rewards on him have been FAR FAR FAR greater than anything I ever got on my level 80 guardian (support-traited). Mostly because in a large fight, my engi ends up with maybe 10-12 loot bags. My guardian is lucky to get one. In half the time on my engi I have made more than half the number of badges.
So ya I would say it is definitely worth it in my experiencing, though I think my experience is a better example of how support gets screwed.
I am also low level (29) and what I do is avoid the AoE’s during sieges. On the battlefield I try to move with a group of other players and not face enemies 1vs1. Of course that happens often and mykitten is getting hit hard from 80lvl chars. When I find that is the case I try to move away from it’s range or lead it to my group so others could help.
Defending a structure with siege weapons (like carts) is also fun.
Maybe, if you are interested in that, you could gather some materials, fight some monsters for a change.
I was waiting to hop in to wvw until a little later, but recently realized that running in a well coordinated group (which I have the ability to do almost constantly) gives much better xp / time then solo pve so Im planning on gravitating towards leveling only in wvw and because its a lot more fun for me personally.
My only concern is gear, through solo leveling my mmo instincts kick in and im able to pretty much gear up as I lvl with the goal of hitting max lvl with a decent set of gear without spending anything to get it. In WvW is this still viable? it seems like it would
be harder to keep up on my gear if I am lvling constantly within wvw.
Yes, it’s loads of fun and you make cash and level at the same time, just stick with the zerg, don’t wander off on your own or with 2-3 people. One night I gained 1.5 level and hit 1 gold just from getting kills (be sure to click the loot bags).
having a lvl 80 thief I decided to make a Guardian and went straight to wvw after the tutorial, as we were playing HoD last week and it was thursday i got an instant que
It was a ton of fun and though it was mostly zerg vs zerg at one of the bridges I had a ton of fun and got my guardian to lvl 8 in about two and half hours. Probably could have leveled faster in pve doing hearts and events but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. Like Tekno said in the above post dont go anywhere solo it will hurt
Sup, I’m sure you have already come to a conclusion to your question by now. But a good idea is to set a catapult up in a nice prime location, usually overlooking a door way or popular choke point near the front lines and sit in wait. odds are it wont be long until you get a chance to let some boulders fly. after a wile youll have a nice loot pile at your feet, don’t worry about that shady guy on your team eyeballing your catapult. get off it and grab your loot. if he tries to ninja it you can kick him off and take it back! (assuming you payed the 10silver to buy it in the first place)
So the take away here is that low levels are leaching xp and a slot better used by higher leveled toons. Tell it like it is you nancys. And yes I ran my first toon to 80 in WvW from level 15 on. At least bring your own dang arrow cart!
If u are on the winning side…yes (atleast for a limited time till u find almost 0 opposition to fight with)…for the loosing side? No…not only because u feel bad about loosing but u also lose a lot of money for nothing. (sieges/upgrades – optional/repairs….lots and lots of repairs)
So if u are on the loosing side…u are not only demoralized but u will also be broke
I don’t get it…People say to run the supply lines and hit the small supply areas and such as a low level. The game has been out 1 month and there are already top tier toons just farming those areas themselves because it is easy pickins for them along with just a small group farming the puzzle places for honor badges and keep others form getting them.
I can’t imagine what the game will be like in 2 more months with more lv 80’s with top tier gear. New players will find that if your not lv 80, you can’t even run supply lines…I mean there will come a breaking point and it is already fast approaching, just by looking at how things are progressing:
Hacks, exploits, constant server xfers, End levels and gear progression.
I mean if the game can’t maintain a steady source of its players it becomes boring even for the few that do stay, and with new players not being able to do WvW type of action unless they are 80 in the future then what point is there?
This is all my opinion and none of this might happen, but if it does then it will be a game for a select few and nothing for new players.
What do other people think? Any tips for the tactically-challenged?