Guild Wars 2

How do you think elite spec fit into the zerg?
Do you think reaper, scrapper and revenant will be part of the meta frontline?
Do you think druid and chronomancer will be part of the meta backline?
Will tempest, dragonhunter, berserker and daredevil see any zerg play?

And do you think these specs will majorly change the zerg mechanics?

Note that since the whole revenant is part of the expansion, I count it as an “elite spec”.

Elite Specs, no. Overarching changes to mechanics, yes. Look at how changes to Stability and Condi effected the way zergs fight in WvW.

Im actually mostly confused by what you wrote here. Usually zerg is a term used to define a mostly pug group of people loosely following someone and pretty much just beating people with numbers.

I dont see how any of the questions you asked really relate to a zerg. Since zerg doesnt care about comp, or meta, or certain classes. It mostly use brute force and numbers to achieve its goals. I dont see anything in any of the new classes that will change the way a zerg runs.

Or maybe people use zerg for different things i guess .

You are overthinking things. You have pugs and you have militia. Militia can form a zerg but are generally more organized because they are on TS with the commander. Pug just do whatever and generally don’t accomplish much outside of karma train.

The OP, I’m sure, is referring to a organized, or semi-organized blob of players. And as I stated in my original post, these fights have changed drastically based on game mechanic changes but not usually because of a change to one particular class.

Wryscher.1432:

Im actually mostly confused by what you wrote here. Usually zerg is a term used to define a mostly pug group of people loosely following someone and pretty much just beating people with numbers.

I dont see how any of the questions you asked really relate to a zerg. Since zerg doesnt care about comp, or meta, or certain classes. It mostly use brute force and numbers to achieve its goals. I dont see anything in any of the new classes that will change the way a zerg runs.

Or maybe people use zerg for different things i guess .

Sorry if my vocabulary is approximate. I am not aware of zerg being restricted to unorganized groups. My question was about any WvW group fights, and as you say, more relevant to the organized groups where team comps are optimized and where there is strong organization.

Ahh! I see. Perhaps it was just me making up definitions in my own mind because im strange!

Or perhaps it is just the classes i played. Usually being at range in larger battles even with the changes in stability not much has changed for me in larger group fights. Perhaps if i had been more of a front liner i would have noticed more changes. But back line is still the same. Trying not to die and Waiting for someone to yell, ’ Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb!!!’

Reapers are not frontline material, they lack blocks, invulns, etc.. to hang with true frontline melees. But they can bomb just as hard as meta wellmancers do if you gear & trait properly. So you’ll see Reapers. But the playstyle won’t be much different, as over 80% of the ZvZ fight will still end up being ranged hazing using a staff, with occasional clash, then separate to ranged hazing again, and occasional clash. Reapers specialize in aoe melee cleave when those clashes occur. They also offer more cc, stab, and have a leap they can get in & out of heat with.

Heralds however, can hang with frontline just fine. Well played druids will be welcomed in ZvZ, they offer good support and heals. Chronos will also do well in ZvZ, their wells are pretty darn amazing. Chrono wells + Necro wells combined offers incredible cc, support, and big bombing hits. Berserker is ridiculous in ZvZ with Gun Flame right now. If it’s not changed by launch, expect to see Berserkers.

Can’t speak for other elite specs however. If the question was whether the gameplay will change with ZvZ, chances are tactical styles won’t change too much. You ranged haze, you push, range haze more, find a weakness and push all the way, until you break your opponents down. But do expect to see more shiny effects from the new class elites, as there are some pretty powerful and beneficial stuff these new elites can offer to WvW ZvZ groups.

GWEN-Meta will change however

Chobits.2430:

You are overthinking things. You have pugs and you have militia. Militia can form a zerg but are generally more organized because they are on TS with the commander. Pug just do whatever and generally don’t accomplish much outside of karma train.

I have yet to see militia in GW2.

Most servers have communal TS so your division here does not necessarily apply. Given a good commander a pug group can and often does do as much as a guild one.

Pugs generally have their own builds, often self made but may be guild or located from a site. They may not have a lot of experience fighting with each other and will not have builds that support each other. These form the basis of most zergs. Often they will spread out into a skirmishing formation rather than be a tight ball. It is common for pugs to be guild members who are playing solo at that time.

Guild groups may be as large as full zergs but generally have spent more time together and have builds which integrate better. Because of this they tend to group closer to each other, stacking to improve buffs and healing.

Both pugs and guild groups can co-operate to make a strong combined force and some servers take full advantage of this.

I could easily see Revenant become meta, as long as they’re running Glint.

Druids and well-played Chronomancers are going to be huge, and I think Beserkers will find a place in there as well.

Reapers in guild groups will be amazing, but I think in a more disorganized situation they are going to struggle in the frontline.

Scrappers are really fun, and can do well, but will not be meta.

Tempests and Dragonhunters I am not sure about. I spent little time with either of them.

Did not play Daredevil, but fought a few. The good ones will be monsters, but there are several bad ones out there too.

Yes, it will change. Thank goodness the old is stale and boring.

First off, Reapers are awesome on frontline, you don’t need the block or the invulns when you run them properly and tanky. We have excellent stability now and can fear at will groups of five while chilling. We are not easy to focus fire. I ran frontline with my reaper in the last BWE and was the last one standing in outnumbered fights.

Secondly, Engineer Hammer, Scrappers! They have excellent access to smoke fields and control it was so much fun running with my engineer friends.

Druids were great for heal, Revenants put out amazing buffs of might and speed ect, and the Engi was dropping lightning fields for speed buffs. It was great.

I think mesmer wells will be critical as well!

I look forward to starting fresh and new with classes doing things they didnt do before. The people who seize the changes and embrace it will be far ahead of those that cling stubbornly to the old.

Nightshade.2570:

First off, Reapers are awesome on frontline, you don’t need the block or the invulns when you run them properly and tanky. We have excellent stability now and can fear at will groups of five while chilling. We are not easy to focus fire. I ran frontline with my reaper in the last BWE and was the last one standing in outnumbered fights.

We’re talking ZvZ, not small groups roaming. Yes Reapers do fine roaming in small groups. But in ZvZ, you can’t take the heat that other frontline melee classes can. Stab won’t save you from getting melted by cc & well bombs.

Might change some classes, but it seems to be a homogenization of specs than really adding anything different. Not going to change the play very much imo.

Mostly no, and here is why:
Dragonhunter longbow is not frontline support material, and their new virtues do not provide better support than the current ones.
Berzerker takes up the slot of Discipline or Defense which are very important for sustain and damage. The new burst skills arent very applicable in ZvZ fights.
Revenant I’m not sure about.
Daredevil may take the traitline but not the weapon.
Scrapper will not .Their natural position is backline, because that is where most of their damage and support capabilities are based. Nothing the new weapon does performs better than any of the current professions.
Druid I’m not sure about.
Chronomancer probably will not take the shield because the torch stealth is pretty much always a better option when dealing with huge groups of enemies. Might take traitline.
Tempest huge no. Staff eles rely on attunement swapping for maximum boon uptime and use of skills. Nothing in the new traitline looks applicable to ZvZ fights.
Reaper huge no. They are the backbone of ranged and aoe burst damage. They cant do both melee and ranged at the same time, nor should they even try because they will be facerolled in the train, even if they build tanky. This is because they have no invulns/blocks/leaps.

The final numbers and tweaks to the elite specs are still in flux, so this may change, but after experimenting with the various specs in GvG and open field I know what my guild will likely be using.

All necros will probably be reapers.
All engis will be scrappers(we expect nerfs on that spec though), very OP right now.
Will likely have 1-2 druids for focused frontline healing and support.
No daredevils.
No berzerkers.
No Dragonhunters(although if their numbers keep getting tweaked up, might see them used in a limited gimmicky fashion in gvg).
Revenant possibly replacing a few of my guardians in a support frontline build.
Tempest will not be used most likely.
All our mesmers will likely go chronomancer.