Guild Wars 2

First of all, let me say I am extremely impressed with the whole WvW thing. I can’t believe a game finally went to the length for a pvp environment. I’ve always wanted it. I originally started MMOs with UO, and in UO there are no battlegrounds or crap like that, just pvp in my realm of felucca. You come to fel, expect a fight.

ANYWAYS.

This whole WvW thing has given me goosebumps, and at the same time a massive headache.

I have read the sticky on the WvW type thing, and while it is extremely enlightening and gave me a certain perspective on what exactly WvW is, I am pretty confused, and I am hoping some generous soul bored out of their mind will be kind enough to answer my questions.

First off:

Heart of the mist. I get it, a little lobby for pvpers. I understand, we are the kings of any kind of game, we are the true players of the game, so hell yea we deserve our own little area.. what kind of confuses me though is the ramp up thing and gear thing.

Right I realize as a level 32 warrior I can’t expect to do anything against a level 80, so they are nice enough to let me in at level " 80 ". But at what cost? I am not allowed any extra traits, I’m stuck with my crappy leveling build and no armor/runes etc. What the heck?

Now correct me if I am wrong, but a level 80 player with all his appropriate gear would be able to smash my face in right due to the sole fact he has his gear and weapons and I’ve got a greatsword of krate slaying.

So what is my role exactly? Carry supplies? Is that is? Do I really stand a chance in WvW? Should I wait until I’m 80 to actually participate in wvw?

What is my purpose? Just to participate and be the not good enough player and a giant meatshield or what? Is there a way I can carry my awesomeness from heart of the mist to WvW?

I am not new to pvp, nor am I new to MMOs, but I am a complete NOOB when it comes to WvW. So any “quick explanation” would make me extremely happy.

If anyone is kind enough to give me a response without TROLLING I would be so grateful, I am but a humble noob asking YOU veterans.

Anyways, thanks in advance, and uh… glad to be a part of this community of guild wars, maybe one of these days I’ll be teaching the future noob instead of learning. Right? :P

I’m not so much a veteran, but a fellow noob who is finding ways to learn. Let me tell you what I know:

Find a group of people who take WvWvW serious, but not too serious.
Listen to their every word. Do what they tell you. Ask why, but only when it’s appropriate. If they can’t/won’t explain, they aren’t the right people.
Pick small nitches to fill. For example, my uplevel guardian is focused on 2 simple tasks, providing barriers and creating light fields.
Don’t expect to PvP as an upleveled character. You’re right, you’ll get smashed.
Always carry supply.
Learn to use siege equipment. As far as I know, everyone uses siege equipment to the same level of success.

WvW tends to fall into a battle of numbers. Yes, you may lack the individual skills and abilities of a true level 80, but when you have 2 large forces battling out, any extra damage you can provide will prove to be useful.

You can also provide scouting and supply as well, but these won’t net experience.

Siege also does not scale based on level. They all do fixed damage to different targets, so you could be a level 10 upscaled, and still do damage using an arrow cart.

You can still provide much needed support, cast AOE’s and what not, you just have to be more careful than a fully geared player to not get into direct engagements. Focus on support damage at range instead of being at the front of an engagement, you find that you will be able to contribute without being a bother to you allies.

First off, before anything.

@Naisikras: What type of player are you?

Do you play solo / small scale / large scale etc.

What kind of pvp’er are you, what is your preference to pvp etc?

I can’t help you without writing a mile long post without more info.

Don’t let gear fool you. Yes, it is an important part of determining the outcome of a fight but it is not as important as player skill. I see experienced players on their upscaled alts take down legendary weapon wielding 80s every day.

Sansarah.3076:

First off, before anything.

@Naisikras: What type of player are you?

Do you play solo / small scale / large scale etc.

What kind of pvp’er are you, what is your preference to pvp etc?

I can’t help you without writing a mile long post without more info.

Generally speaking I love random 1v1 fight or 1v2 fights and playing a glass cannon type build. However, I also like running with maybe 3-4 other players who know how to play their class, and we have to rely on each other to absolutely dominate the battlefield. I would be willing to play my needed role in order to achieve this goal. ( Sorry to use this reference, but much like WSG in WoW )

If by large scale you mean 20+ then generally no I don’t care for it mainly because it seems to be pretty uncoordinated, and usually you get stuck playing with a lot of goofy players which equals failure. Also to get into a GOOD player group that large, I don’t think I have the time necessary to contribute. Usually because of the wife :p

So, I guess you could say I’m a smarter casual player. ( and I say smarter because a lot of people just make some goofy templates, don’t really research their class, other classes, tactics for pvp etc )

Sorry for the long post.

I would say, have fun with it regardless of level. Do not be afraid to attack an 80, they will probably kill you but, even upscaled players can take down an 80. Lets face it, just because your 80 with gear does not mean your good.

Fighting an uphill battle sub 80 against an 80 will force you to learn little tricks, when to dodge, when to use abilities ect ect. To many sub 80’s are under the belief that they have zero chance, and while odds are certainly not in your favor, it is possible and does happen. Once you hit 30 you should be able to have enough utilities skill to fill your bar, including 1 elite.

I leveled 1 character in WvW alone and never ran away screaming when I came face to face with an 80, in fact I was surprised at my success rate.

Now if your looking to level, zerg surfing is the way to go. Keep/Tower/Camp takes all provide XP and Karma so take advantage even if its not your play style. As far as the Mists, thats a completely different beast in itself, I’m sure some people here can help you with it a bit but you would be better off asking about the Mists in the SPvP forum.

Naisikras.6573:

Generally speaking I love random 1v1 fight or 1v2 fights and playing a glass cannon type build. However, I also like running with maybe 3-4 other players who know how to play their class, and we have to rely on each other to absolutely dominate the battlefield. I would be willing to play my needed role in order to achieve this goal. ( Sorry to use this reference, but much like WSG in WoW )

If by large scale you mean 20+ then generally no I don’t care for it mainly because it seems to be pretty uncoordinated, and usually you get stuck playing with a lot of goofy players which equals failure. Also to get into a GOOD player group that large, I don’t think I have the time necessary to contribute. Usually because of the wife :p

So, I guess you could say I’m a smarter casual player. ( and I say smarter because a lot of people just make some goofy templates, don’t really research their class, other classes, tactics for pvp etc )

Sorry for the long post.

Okey, then first off, let me give you a warning. This game isn’t ideal for solo/small scale type of players, it is much more large scale / zerg oriented, less about skills, more about numbers. I know, as I am a small scale player myself. I’m also a former UO player coming to this game expecting miracles. Yet I am quite disappointed to say the least.

If you still want to continue with the game regardless of this warning, I’ll write up a proper post for you.

I agree that it can be frustrating to be a squishy player in WvW, but there are ways to make a difference even so.

-1. Don’t be afraid to die, although the repair costs can become an issue. There are lots of situations where you can make a solo contribution simply by being willing to die. If you are annoying enough you can often draw several enemy away from your server mates long enough to give them enough time to kill their foes or capture a camp just before the timer resets. You can singlehandedly contest a keep to disable the enemy’s waypoint. You can kill yaks to prevent enemy tower/keeps from being upgraded. You can scout and provide valuable information to commanders. All of that will likely get you killed, but so what … it’s a useful death.

-2. You can plant defensive siege in clever places near camps that make them difficult for small enemy groups to capture (nothing will stop the zerg). There is one camp in particular where I’ve held off as many as eight attackers solo long enough for help to arrive. I drop a ballista in a difficult to reach spot that can still hit the camp, and I place an arrow cart next to the ballista to defend myself (I hop back and forth between the two). There is another camp where you can hide a ballista in a bush that often doesn’t get discovered by a small enemy attack group until it is too late as long as you have at least one teammate to keep the enemy engaged at the camp.

-3. Your mere presence can be a deterrent. Two enemy might decide to attack one of your camps if there are only two defenders, but having three might give them pause … especially if the class you play is able to provide buffs or lay down fields.

-4. If you are ranged you can hang at the back of a group and help kill enemy. Trust me … everyone at the front will gladly take whatever help you can provide.

Lots of players think that face-to-face combat is the only valid PvP mode, but that simply is not true in WvW.

Sansarah.3076:

Okey, then first off, let me give you a warning. This game isn’t ideal for solo/small scale type of players, it is much more large scale / zerg oriented, less about skills, more about numbers. I know, as I am a small scale player myself. I’m also a former UO player coming to this game expecting miracles. Yet I am quite disappointed to say the least.

If you still want to continue with the game regardless of this warning, I’ll write up a proper post for you.

Unfortunately, as you know Sansarah, UO’s pvp is still unmatched. But my hunger for pvp has never faded! I have been searching and searching for skill based pvp games and I strongly feel GW2 provides this content.

Just the fact that WvW has such an immense map, gives you the chance for small scale pvp, even 1v1. ( this is my opinion though, I don’t know for a fact ) Even though the ultimate objective relies on large scale assaults, I understand this and I think I am going to stick this one out.

Naisikras.6573:

Sansarah.3076:

Okey, then first off, let me give you a warning. This game isn’t ideal for solo/small scale type of players, it is much more large scale / zerg oriented, less about skills, more about numbers. I know, as I am a small scale player myself. I’m also a former UO player coming to this game expecting miracles. Yet I am quite disappointed to say the least.

If you still want to continue with the game regardless of this warning, I’ll write up a proper post for you.

Unfortunately, as you know Sansarah, UO’s pvp is still unmatched. But my hunger for pvp has never faded! I have been searching and searching for skill based pvp games and I strongly feel GW2 provides this content.

Just the fact that WvW has such an immense map, gives you the chance for small scale pvp, even 1v1. ( this is my opinion though, I don’t know for a fact ) Even though the ultimate objective relies on large scale assaults, I understand this and I think I am going to stick this one out.

There is plenty of 1v1 action in the lower tier servers and a strong presence of many a excellent 5-10 man teams running on those servers. Granted every server will have the zerg and the zerg will prevail in those matchups. You just tend to be able to move more freely in a less populated server. WvW was designed for the casual in mind so remember numbers will always win out over skill

Naisikras.6573:

Unfortunately, as you know Sansarah, UO’s pvp is still unmatched. But my hunger for pvp has never faded! I have been searching and searching for skill based pvp games and I strongly feel GW2 provides this content.

Just the fact that WvW has such an immense map, gives you the chance for small scale pvp, even 1v1. ( this is my opinion though, I don’t know for a fact ) Even though the ultimate objective relies on large scale assaults, I understand this and I think I am going to stick this one out.

Okey then, regardless of what people have written above, I’ll give you my two cents.

Sending you a pm.