Guild Wars 2

Greetings fellow players,

I want to first start off by stating that I am by no means a long time player of the GuildWars franchise and do not at all consider myself an expert or all knowing about this game and while I love it, there are aspects of it that are frustrating to me.

I am not beyond stating that I am also very new to WvW so pardon me if this post is not a valid one and I would love to hear input from anyone on this topic. Perhaps I am completely wrong or am overlooking something obvious and someone can set me straight or offer tips on how to make WvW an enjoyable experience?

As it stands today, I really can’t find enjoyment in it at all, it seems like most of the time there is a lot of chaos, a lot of running around and an awful lot of dying for casters. At times I’ve seen really well organized sieges taking place, but I’ve even then had a tough time finding a group.

I also admit that in general I’ve played a lot of MMO style games as I really enjoy them and 99% of the time I play a caster, so consider that when you read the next paragraph and also for the record I have not created a tank and tried WvW.

I see what in my opinion seems to be some rather big balance issues in WvW. One such example that I can quickly think of is this: It seems to me that being in a group is absolutely essential if you’re a caster, as a tank this does not appear to be the case. I’ve seen a tank spawn in at the same time as I did, and I’ve watched him jump into a group of enemies and just tear through them like they were paper dolls standing in his way. As a necromancer (I’m sure other minion/pet based classes also have this choice) I can sacrifice a minion to equip a signet that allows me to run 25% faster which means I actually move nearly as fast as everyone else around me but given how weak we are without our pets/minions, perhaps this is a hefty and unfair sacrifice? Of course I could equip a horn in my off hand, but the speed boon with that is so short lived with such a long cool down timer it makes virtually useless in WvW to carry that and say an ax or a dagger.

Also staff cast times are ridiculous. By the time I place my ring on the ground and cast the spell the player I’m targeting has long since moved outside of it and is usually beating me over the head with their sword. The only way to be somewhat safe is to be in a decent group and I’m sure this is the intended method of play anyway but it doesn’t address the core issue of slow cast times. Even in a group, I spend a lot of time waiting for spells to cool down and odds are good I’ve likely missed anyway unless I get lucky and happen to manage to cast the spell into a large enough group of people that I actually hit someone. As a Necromancer (can’t speak for other pet classes) my minions die so quickly that they are virtually useless in WvW so it begs the question of is there really any place for pet/minion based class types that use the staff as their primary weapon in WvW? BTW: I also DO have the minion traits to make them tougher, but that doesn’t seem to make them any tougher in WvW to kill.

Thanks for reading my rather long rant and I hope to read lots of feedback from this.

-Mog

I’ve seen a tank spawn in at the same time as I did, and I’ve watched him jump into a group of enemies and just tear through them like they were paper dolls standing in his way.

There are no tanks here.
If you meant a guardian, it’s possibly because he was a lv80 and properly equipped/traited for tanky dps build, and his enemies were upscaled lowbies. While you do get upscaled to lv80 in WvW, you still are weaker than a ‘real lv80’, which is understandable; it’s not about putting you on par, but about letting you experience this part of content early on.
Or he simply jumped into a band of rookies who started running away and dying as soon as they saw him rather than zerging him. Or you saw a guardian jumping at a mesmer and his three illusions, not a group of enemies.

As a necromancer (I’m sure other minion/pet based classes also have this choice) I can sacrifice a minion to equip a signet that allows me to run 25% faster which means I actually move nearly as fast as everyone else around me but given how weak we are without our pets/minions,

Ok, hold on now.
Necro’s pets are very seldom used, almost never i’d say, and certainly not in WvW. Go for staff/scepter+dagger (or dagger+dagger) and wells for mass PvP, or boon-and-condi-mancer for solo roaming. Invest in gear that gives you toughness, some vitality and a lot of condition damage. Do not rely on minions as a necromancer, not in WvW and not in PvE.
But first of all, don’t expect to win many 1v1 fights until you’re lv80 and equipped in properly planned exotics. It’s actually not that much work, much less to hit the max lvl/gear than in most MMOs out there, so don’t fret; also not saying you shouldn’t play WvW before that, just don’t have high hopes, especially for solo play.

Also staff cast times are ridiculous. By the time I place my ring on the ground and cast the spell the player I’m targeting has long since moved outside of it and is usually beating me over the head with their sword.

Marks are about area control. Either try to foresee where your enemy will be in two seconds or put marks at your feet, punishing them for engaging you directly, if you see a melee.

The only way to be somewhat safe is to be in a decent group and I’m sure this is the intended method of play anyway but it doesn’t address the core issue of slow cast times.

You should see some ele autoattacks from something else than a dagger. Man, THAT’S slow. Marks aren’t that terrible.

As a Necromancer (can’t speak for other pet classes)

Necro is not a pet class. Don’t get your customs from other games cloud your vision while you’re here. Necro is an attrition-based conditionmancer. Pets are just a fun option for fooling around atm, sometimes used in very specific sPvP builds.

drkn.3429:

I’ve seen a tank spawn in at the same time as I did, and I’ve watched him jump into a group of enemies and just tear through them like they were paper dolls standing in his way.

There are no tanks here.
If you meant a guardian, it’s possibly because he was a lv80 and properly equipped/traited for tanky dps build, and his enemies were upscaled lowbies. While you do get upscaled to lv80 in WvW, you still are weaker than a ‘real lv80’, which is understandable; it’s not about putting you on par, but about letting you experience this part of content early on.
Or he simply jumped into a band of rookies who started running away and dying as soon as they saw him rather than zerging him. Or you saw a guardian jumping at a mesmer and his three illusions, not a group of enemies.

As a necromancer (I’m sure other minion/pet based classes also have this choice) I can sacrifice a minion to equip a signet that allows me to run 25% faster which means I actually move nearly as fast as everyone else around me but given how weak we are without our pets/minions,

Ok, hold on now.
Necro’s pets are very seldom used, almost never i’d say, and certainly not in WvW. Go for staff/scepter+dagger (or dagger+dagger) and wells for mass PvP, or boon-and-condi-mancer for solo roaming. Invest in gear that gives you toughness, some vitality and a lot of condition damage. Do not rely on minions as a necromancer, not in WvW and not in PvE.
But first of all, don’t expect to win many 1v1 fights until you’re lv80 and equipped in properly planned exotics. It’s actually not that much work, much less to hit the max lvl/gear than in most MMOs out there, so don’t fret; also not saying you shouldn’t play WvW before that, just don’t have high hopes, especially for solo play.

Also staff cast times are ridiculous. By the time I place my ring on the ground and cast the spell the player I’m targeting has long since moved outside of it and is usually beating me over the head with their sword.

Marks are about area control. Either try to foresee where your enemy will be in two seconds or put marks at your feet, punishing them for engaging you directly, if you see a melee.

The only way to be somewhat safe is to be in a decent group and I’m sure this is the intended method of play anyway but it doesn’t address the core issue of slow cast times.

You should see some ele autoattacks from something else than a dagger. Man, THAT’S slow. Marks aren’t that terrible.

As a Necromancer (can’t speak for other pet classes)

Necro is not a pet class. Don’t get your customs from other games cloud your vision while you’re here. Necro is an attrition-based conditionmancer. Pets are just a fun option for fooling around atm, sometimes used in very specific sPvP builds.

Thanks for your reply! I actually am level 80 and do have fairly decent gear. It’s not amazing stuff, but it’s also not low level garbage. In fact I’ve done almost exactly what you’ve suggested… I focused HEAVILY on condition damage, not so much in the vitality department (another issue perhaps?) Perhaps you figured out another part of my issue? I’ve been playing my necro in WvW with minions vs a non-minion based build. I will try to change it up and see if that makes a difference. Thanks a bunch for your input!

-Mog

Minion masters in general… suck. Not just in WvW.

Explore other builds until ANet gets the necro’s kitten together.

kerona.3465:

Minion masters in general… suck. Not just in WvW.

Explore other builds until ANet gets the necro’s kitten together.

Yes, I feel the necro’s need some TLC. Though I do wonder, do other casters spend a lot of time dying in WvW if they are not able to find a group?

-Mog

Actually Nerco can be pretty Houdini, just master when to dodge, we have horrid endurance regen so use wisely. I’m still mess’n with various builds, and think I always will. Necro is hella fun & troll to play, I’ve always liked to play the ugly duckling class’s in MMO’s, that way I get good at them while they are a lil gimped, this will make you monster when they get adjusted in your favor. lil vid of me mess around with some different builds & skill sets… btw LOVE thos lyssa/heavy boon builds ppl have!!! Insert “Corrupt Boon” +"Epidemic" = LOTS of badges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1HbaX1UTyo

You should use fast cast ground targeting for your staff which you can toggle in the options menu. ‘Corrupt Boon’ owns. It removes stability so you can follow up right away with ‘Spectral Grasp’ or the blowout skill from your flesh golem if you’re using one. ‘Blood is Power’ gives you many stacks of might to up your marks damage. You can get rid of the self inflicted conditions with dagger #4. Dagger #5 inflicts long aoe weakness which makes 50% of non-crit attacks glancing blows. I don’t think there is a five person limit on ‘Spectral Wall’ so you can throw that down for your zerg to run through upon entering a throne room. Protection stacks in duration so hypothetically many walls could be thrown down for long duration protction on an entre zerg. If you’re running a close range build you can throw down a flesh worm behind you and if things get dicy you can use its active ability to teleport away and get out of combat life regen.

Mogturmen.2638:

kerona.3465:

Minion masters in general… suck. Not just in WvW.

Explore other builds until ANet gets the necro’s kitten together.

Yes, I feel the necro’s need some TLC. Though I do wonder, do other casters spend a lot of time dying in WvW if they are not able to find a group?

-Mog

Necros are the tankiest of casters and can be made to be extremely difficult to kill. If you’re having problems running back on a necro, you’d have probably more trouble on other casters.

That said, as a caster, I rarely ever have trouble running back to a group.

kerona.3465:

Mogturmen.2638:

kerona.3465:

Minion masters in general… suck. Not just in WvW.

Explore other builds until ANet gets the necro’s kitten together.

Yes, I feel the necro’s need some TLC. Though I do wonder, do other casters spend a lot of time dying in WvW if they are not able to find a group?

-Mog

Necros are the tankiest of casters and can be made to be extremely difficult to kill. If you’re having problems running back on a necro, you’d have probably more trouble on other casters.

That said, as a caster, I rarely ever have trouble running back to a group.

I may be wrong here as you may and most likely are a better necro than I am currently; but having played a Ele as well, they are orders of magnitude better at escaping a zerg than necros from my experience.

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

kerona.3465:

Mogturmen.2638:

kerona.3465:

Minion masters in general… suck. Not just in WvW.

Explore other builds until ANet gets the necro’s kitten together.

Yes, I feel the necro’s need some TLC. Though I do wonder, do other casters spend a lot of time dying in WvW if they are not able to find a group?

-Mog

Necros are the tankiest of casters and can be made to be extremely difficult to kill. If you’re having problems running back on a necro, you’d have probably more trouble on other casters.

That said, as a caster, I rarely ever have trouble running back to a group.

I may be wrong here as you may and most likely are a better necro than I am currently; but having played a Ele as well, they are orders of magnitude better at escaping a zerg than necros from my experience.

D/D eles are the creme of the crop of all classes in movement speed and escaping, but if you snipe one with their buffs not up (non combat mode) or an immobilize, they will drop fairly quickly.

Necros are more of an outlasting situation imo. When I say tankiest, I mean sheer HP and (generally) toughness. Necros can have up to 30k+ HP depending on build/gear with an optional life bar (death shroud), and an HP increasing stability mode ‘escape’ button (Plague). As for other utilities, Spectral Walk (lots of haste) and Spectral Armor (prot) are great for running around to catch up with people.

This is a fun build for troll CC fear & chill mixed with good survivability
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/necromancer/?5|6.1g.h8|8.0.h1.d.0.h1h|1c.71j.1c.71j.1c.71j.1c.71j.1c.71j.1c.71j|411.d1g.211.d1e.311.d1e.1j.67.1n.64.2w.d1e|0.k67.k25.a3.k29|30.2|e

drkn.3429:

There are no tanks here.
If you meant a guardian, it’s possibly because he was a lv80 and properly equipped/traited for tanky dps build, and his enemies were upscaled lowbies. While you do get upscaled to lv80 in WvW, you still are weaker than a ‘real lv80’, which is understandable; it’s not about putting you on par, but about letting you experience this part of content early on.

Hence the creation of Ebay’s patented Streaking-Zerg-Division. The SZD is dedicated to quality camp and tower capping, as well as providing a newbie friendly environment, and doing so completely in the buff! Why, the whole reason for the organizations existence is that if you’re low level anyway, and your armor therefore has very little benefit, why wear it at all?! For our friends and allies, great fun with a great community of like-minded zerg-frothing nudists! For our enemies, what could possibly be squishier and more entertaining?! The SZD: Bringing on high quality and fun-filled squishiness since its creation in January of 2013!

Disclaimer: This organization, and its associated affiliates, are not in any way responsible for any burns, lacerations, piercings/stabbings, blunt trauma, heat or cold exposure, falls, skeletal reconstuction by means of being punched by a siege golem, offensive verbal one-liners upon your person, or otherwise general maiming, emotional distress, or untimely demise.

kerona.3465:

Mogturmen.2638:

kerona.3465:

Minion masters in general… suck. Not just in WvW.

Explore other builds until ANet gets the necro’s kitten together.

Yes, I feel the necro’s need some TLC. Though I do wonder, do other casters spend a lot of time dying in WvW if they are not able to find a group?

-Mog

Necros are the tankiest of casters and can be made to be extremely difficult to kill. If you’re having problems running back on a necro, you’d have probably more trouble on other casters.

That said, as a caster, I rarely ever have trouble running back to a group.

It’s not really problems running back as much as I just tend to have issues finding a group at all. I also will need to adjust my build as it’s very PvE centric right now. I can see making some changes, moving away from the minions will free the build up to be a lot more effective in WvW. Thank you to you and everyone else who has provided input/feed back on this topic, it’s been of a great help! The only other thing I’d like to see is a WvW “Profile” that gets selected and changes my PvE centric build to a more WvW friendly build without having to re-configure constantly.

We shall see.

Thanks again everyone, the feed back has been invaluable!

-Mog

KStudios.2850:

drkn.3429:

There are no tanks here.
If you meant a guardian, it’s possibly because he was a lv80 and properly equipped/traited for tanky dps build, and his enemies were upscaled lowbies. While you do get upscaled to lv80 in WvW, you still are weaker than a ‘real lv80’, which is understandable; it’s not about putting you on par, but about letting you experience this part of content early on.

Hence the creation of Ebay’s patented Streaking-Zerg-Division. The SZD is dedicated to quality camp and tower capping, as well as providing a newbie friendly environment, and doing so completely in the buff! Why, the whole reason for the organizations existence is that if you’re low level anyway, and your armor therefore has very little benefit, why wear it at all?! For our friends and allies, great fun with a great community of like-minded zerg-frothing nudists! For our enemies, what could possibly be squishier and more entertaining?! The SZD: Bringing on high quality and fun-filled squishiness since its creation in January of 2013!

Disclaimer: This organization, and its associated affiliates, are not in any way responsible for any burns, lacerations, piercings/stabbings, blunt trauma, heat or cold exposure, falls, skeletal reconstuction by means of being punched by a siege golem, offensive verbal one-liners upon your person, or otherwise general maiming, emotional distress, or untimely demise.

No offense, but this reply really does nothing to help, thanks for having fun at my expense though, I’m glad I was able to provide entertainment to you. :P squish

-Mog

Mogturmen.2638:

No offense, but this reply really does nothing to help, thanks for having fun at my expense though, I’m glad I was able to provide entertainment to you. :P squish

-Mog

None taken, intended, nor was it meant to be at your direct expense. Humor is at times all one can offer, as a means of helping one cope with a given situation or circumstance. You’ve taken steps to communicate and research your dilemma, and
in time it may yet through such efforts be resolved. Until then, I humbly offer a chuckle to ease your way.

Secondly, I never said it doesn’t exist. =D

KStudios.2850:

Mogturmen.2638:

No offense, but this reply really does nothing to help, thanks for having fun at my expense though, I’m glad I was able to provide entertainment to you. :P squish

-Mog

None taken, intended, nor was it meant to be at your direct expense. Humor is at times all one can offer, as a means of helping one cope with a given situation or circumstance. You’ve taken steps to communicate and research your dilemma, and
in time it may yet through such efforts be resolved. Until then, I humbly offer a chuckle to ease your way.

Secondly, I never said it doesn’t exist. =D

LOL, a very prudent response, thank you. I have come to the conclusion that a class with pets and minions should use the slots for something a bit different in WvW, I tired this and without working too hard I noticed a bit of a difference. Though I have noticed I’ll see say one enemy then poof an entire huge hoard of them are barreling down on me – I guess it’s a known issue, but I swear I need to get a change of shorts often.

-Mog

You don’t really need a group for WvW, persay, though it is helpful. As long as you follow the commander who is in charge and read his instructions, you shouldn’t be alone too much.

necro = mesmer’s best friend….

After good guardians a well played necro may be the hardest class to fight 1v1 and can also be very good in large groups with heavy condition damage…definitely have one of the best survivability of any class imo

Not everything is in the profession build, when playing WvW. With time you’ll learn to feel the various situations and how to react accordingly.

Keep an eye on the map to know where your commanders are, and always double check what server owns what tower or keep in your vicinity, so that you know where to run to, if you need help or a safe place. Learn how to hide (that’s obviously easier to do without them minions). You must also figure out what is your safe zone in different kinds of battles, depending on your available utilities and their cool down.

Key-bindings and camera settings can have a huge impact on your playing style and “survivability”. I use my thumb for moving – that gives me four fingers (on the left hand) for weapon skills and the rest. I use the “free camera” setting – not only can I look behind me when I run, but I can also position my AoE’s, staff #3 (chill) and staff #5 (fear) are great for building distance.

There is a thousand little things to learn, that makes it fun to play WvW.