Guild Wars 2

After 8 months of PvE, I am now starting to focus on WvW and I want to know what makes a commander good?

I want to become a good commander, but I refuse to display commander status until I’m ready to successfully lead a group.

From the non commanders, what types of commanders do you love and you would follow?

From good commanders, what is your goal when you go to WvW, how do you prioritize objectives, do you focus on unguarded objectives, or do you go after what is most heavily contested? How much do you rely on mumble/ts3 to give orders? Do you have rely a lot on having scouts keep you informed?

From commanders, what is your tactical background, do you study/read up on real life war tactics, have any military background. Is understanding warfare tactics just as important as understanding game mechanics? I have no formal military training, so I feel this is currently my weakness.

Any and all feed back is much appreciated, thank you.

A good commander will keep in mind the morale of his zerg as much as the next strategic step.
A good commander plans many steps ahead and then adjusts on a dime.
A good commander recognizes when what they are doing isn’t working and changes to make sure that things are successful.
A good commander recognizes that at least 40% of the people following their tag are only capable of following their tag and so leads by example.
A good commander can read the ebb and flow of a battle and adjust accordingly.
A good commander has thick skin. (There are always monday morning quarterbacks)
A good commander is decisive and doesn’t get lost in though (zergs are glued together through momentum)
A good commander has a lot of patience. (There will be very poor players following your icon at times. Accept this and save yourself the need for blood pressure meds.)
A good commander is able to take in information from a load of sources (voice com, team chat, whisper) and process it quickly.
A good commander understand that they can’t help everyone screaming in map chat for help and makes strategic decisions (based on morale, viable targets, etc) without apology.
A good commander doesn’t get pulled into drama and tries to maintain good relations with the other commanders on the server, so that they can work together effectively.

Probably others, too.

JaironKalach.4938:

A good commander is able to take in information from a load of sources (voice com, team chat, whisper) and process it quickly.
A good commander understand that they can’t help everyone screaming in map chat for help and makes strategic decisions (based on morale, viable targets, etc) without apology.
Probably others, too.

Thanks Jai. I think these are the ones that I need to work on the most, which can probably only be practiced through actual play time and getting more familiar with maps, opponents and current situation.

You say that… but it’s been my experience running under new and/or bad commanders but they mostly have problems with the first 4. Let me give you some examples of situations with “bad” commanders I’ve run with, hoping that when you get there, you’ll recognize that this is you:

I’ve run under commanders that will decide on a particular objective (“Let’s take west keep!”) that are completely out of the reach of the group they are leading. But, the manual in their head states that this is the next best objective, so they keep ramming their zerg against that wall, and trickling in.

I’ve run under commanders who go to an objective, drop siege and sit there firing the siege that is built and then yell “go get more supply to build other siege.” Or worse, they will engage in PvP, but still yell at people to get get them more supply.

One of my favorites: I’ve run under commanders who have a completely random zerg following them, and then they get to the door and type in “Drop rams” and then stand around and hope someone will have on them the key bit of equipment to make their plan work.

And of course, the absolute death… When the commander also trickles in to a battle, instead of ensuring that the zerg is pushing in together.

To be a good commander, run with some of your worlds good commanders and learn from them for a period of 3 months. Joining a reputable guild also helps with your image when running commander.

To be a good commander—find 5 guys who will follow you (hardest part). Turn on your icon, and attempt it.

Leadership is a skill only learned by attempting. Attempt. Fail. And try again. Never stop trying.

Beorn Saxon.4762:

Is understanding warfare tactics just as important as understanding game mechanics? I have no formal military training, so I feel this is currently my weakness.

Read and re-read ‘Art of War’ by Sun Tzu.
Essential reading if you want to understand military tactics..

A good commander, learns how to use CAPS properly :P

If you head over to www.tcgw2.com and register there, You can get access to the TC WvW forum. All the major commanders are on there all the time, and they’re very friendly and helpful.

Also, You should get yourself into a good WvW guild that already has commanders. Get in mumble with them and let them teach you.

Jairon’s list up there is very good from the “attributes” department, but it doesn’t contain any real “strategy” for the different BL and EB. For that you just need to get in with commanders and talk to them.

I just commanded for the first time yesterday, being actively coached by some long-time WvWers, and we did pretty well. Mostly played defense, which is a good place to start. I can’t stress enough how important being in mumble is with several members of the “squad.” I noticed that it’s very easy to become self conscious about every decision you make. It helps to remember what it’s like to follow a commander. Unless you make outright stupid decisions on a regular basis, you’re probably going to do fine, and people will trust you.

My favorite point that Jairon made was that you should always plan several steps ahead, and always be ready to trash the plans to run somewhere you didn’t know you’d have to. That’s an area I plan on working on a lot, and I think that’s what separates the good commanders from the bad. If you always know what your next step is, those following you will gain trust.

“Plans are of little importance, but planning is essential.” – Winston Churchill

Beorn Saxon.4762:

I want to become a good commander, but I refuse to display commander status until I’m ready to successfully lead a group.

Very wise, there are commanders and leaders in WvW who have been in WvW everyday since release. Watch them, learn from them. But always remember you do not need a commander tag to lead. I have been a commander since the first month of the game, but I was a leader before that.

From good commanders, what is your goal when you go to WvW, how do you prioritize objectives, do you focus on unguarded objectives, or do you go after what is most heavily contested?

It is entirely situtional based on the number of forces on the map and rhythm of the battle. Be flexible, and understand that the battlefield is a fluid environment. Be adaptable.

How much do you rely on mumble/ts3 to give orders?

Voice communications are faster and more flexible. Use them whenever possible. You have a server wide mumble on Tarnished Coast, get in there and listen to your commanders and leaders for awhile.

Do you have rely a lot on having scouts keep you informed?

Always.

From commanders, what is your tactical background, do you study/read up on real life war tactics, have any military background. Is understanding warfare tactics just as important as understanding game mechanics? I have no formal military training, so I feel this is currently my weakness.

I’m ex-Army, Iraq combat veteran. I’ve read everything from Sun Tzu, to Clausewitz, to Mahan, to Rommel, to Tacitus, and so many others. And all that knowledge and experience is worth almost nothing compared to a solid understanding of GW2 game mechanics and understanding human nature.

@ Jai’s second post

So planning ahead for success and keeping the zerg in a concentrated and focused formation is extremely important and a more common downfall of new/bad commanders.

Basically, learning how to properly utilize and lead a zerg is what I’m hearing you say.

Within that mindset, what is the proper way to take a keep or defend a keep with a zerg?

My initial assumptions: Taking a keep 1) get zerg to ball up on commander 2) Take a supply camp and fill up on supply 3) get to keep 4) take out oil/canons/aoe the walls. 5) if safe, drop rams > hammer in > cap.

Defending a keep 1) set up siege inside to defend against attackers (AC, ballistas, cata for gate if needed) 2) Have some folks run supply to keep repairs up if able 3) Portal bomb your zerg behind enemy lines to take them out. (I have to admit I’m really more clueless about successfully defending a keep against a large group of invaders.)

KrazyFlyinChicken.5936:

To be a good commander—find 5 guys who will follow you (hardest part). Turn on your icon, and attempt it.

Leadership is a skill only learned by attempting. Attempt. Fail. And try again. Never stop trying.

This is a good point as well. Don’t get discouraged if you wipe your group occasionally. Just learn from it. Every group wipes from time to time. Even the BEST commanders end up with wiped groups every once in a while.

I wiped my group yesterday once because I tried to take a fully upgraded tower (full of supply) with five regular catapults. We dropped it about 30% after hammering for three minutes, then KN entered it and started repairing the wall. It was stupid. I’ll never do something like that again. facepalm

Wow! All of this feedback is great. Thank you. I will definitely check out the TC forums and get on our server mumble. I recently joined a large WvW guild and will start learning from them as much as possible. I’ll also check out that book.

Most importantly, thank you for sharing your experiences as commanders and players, good and bad. These examples and openness are great insights as to what to look for, to do, and not to do.

In my opinion the best commanders are made based on the people they keep closest to them. You need a group of people, likely a guild, who are capable of getting you reliable information when it’s needed and are capable of actually doing things on their own.

Beorn Saxon.4762:

Wow! All of this feedback is great. Thank you. I will definitely check out the TC forums and get on our server mumble. I recently joined a large WvW guild and will start learning from them as much as possible. I’ll also check out that book.

Most importantly, thank you for sharing your experiences as commanders and players, good and bad. These examples and openness are great insights as to what to look for, to do, and not to do.

Which guild? /me is curious.

Also, don’t be afraid to pop that tag if there are no other commanders on the map. If nothing else it will bring cohesion to whatever you’re doing, and give you a group of people large enough to actually get something done if you need to. The only way to learn is gonna be experience. Like I said earlier, I led for the first time yesterday, and I already feel a lot more confident about my next attempt.

A commander that knows that after 8 months of PvE that he doesn’t know enough about WvW to even consider the idea of being a commander.

Beorn Saxon.4762:

@ Jai’s second post

So planning ahead for success and keeping the zerg in a concentrated and focused formation is extremely important and a more common downfall of new/bad commanders.

Not necessarily formation as much as attitude. People may disagree with me, and they are likely to be more experienced/better in WvWvW than I am, so you will listen to them. But, the truth is that WvWvW is almost entirely a population game right now. As one commander proved for Mags last night, you can take a keep (granted it was paper) with 0 siege, if you have enough motivated focused people. So your best strategy is to run in such a way that you can bring as many people into WvWvW as possible and keep them there until you can hand them off to the next commander. You, sir, as a commander are about to enter into the entertainment business.

Basically, learning how to properly utilize and lead a zerg is what I’m hearing you say.

Yep.

Within that mindset, what is the proper way to take a keep or defend a keep with a zerg?

My initial assumptions: Taking a keep 1) get zerg to ball up on commander 2) Take a supply camp and fill up on supply 3) get to keep 4) take out oil/canons/aoe the walls. 5) if safe, drop rams > hammer in > cap.

Defending a keep 1) set up siege inside to defend against attackers (AC, ballistas, cata for gate if needed) 2) Have some folks run supply to keep repairs up if able 3) Portal bomb your zerg behind enemy lines to take them out. (I have to admit I’m really more clueless about successfully defending a keep against a large group of invaders.)

Step -1) get a sense what you have following you.
Step 0) select a target that what you have following you is able to take. If the BL you’re in doesn’t have anything left for your current zerg to do successfully…. Take your zerg elsewhere. The only time a loss is valuable is if you are able to farm badges while you’re doing it.

As far as tactics, their are far more experienced folks to make those suggestions than I can, but here’s what I know from observing successful commanders: always have supply on hand. If your team is empty, leave and go fill up. Clear all reachable enemy siege first. Drop your siege once this is done, and protect it until it’s done it’s job. Any one of these steps can fail. If you’re beaten before you can start abort. If it’s just a matter of resources, run a hit and run game.

In any event, the tactical stuff you just have to play to get. If you want to work on your leadership skills (not strategic skills, but convincing other human beings to willingly follow you and do what you ask) you can start a bit earlier with “karma train” supply camp and paper tower runs. As long as you’re willing to take your tag off when someone more experienced comes online, there is no shame in only taking objectives that you know how to take.

JaironKalach.4938:

You, sir, as a commander are about to enter into the entertainment business.

Best. Quote. Ever. (and quite true…)

This is why Cmdr Jadon and Odinzu gain such a dedicated following. They do things with flair, a good attitude, and a ceaseless stream of experience and karma.

Seige placement can make or break a commander.

Learn from your past seige laying mistakes and adjust accordingly or you’re repeatedly setting yourself up for failure.

keyoftwilight.2369:

A good commander, learns how to use CAPS properly :P

i sense someone who has run with Glikin before….XD

I suggest Sun Tzu.

Eurantien.4632:

I suggest Sun Tzu.

You are the third person to recommended this. I just downloaded the audio book.

http://suntzusaid.com/

I just started reading this… It was a bit creepy to hear some of my own observations on WvWvW echoed in here…

Swear a lot. Use all caps. Never take the blame. Waste siege. Always lead groups into situations they can’t win, like SM.

That’s what most commanders do!

No, but seriously. Follow a good commander around and learn their tricks. How do you know they’re good? They win most encounters, and have respect for other players on their team while doing it.

Hickeroar.9734:

JaironKalach.4938:

You, sir, as a commander are about to enter into the entertainment business.

Best. Quote. Ever. (and quite true…)

This is why Cmdr Jadon and Odinzu gain such a dedicated following. They do things with flair, a good attitude, and a ceaseless stream of experience and karma.

This, this a thousand times this. Morale is everything for every tier except perhaps tier 1. If you don’t have a queue to get into a BG assume you have a morale problem! Folks are playing this game for fun, if you make it fun, even if you are losing you will eventually get enough folks to win. In general be optimistic but assume everything will be 5 times harder than you think. Don’t be afraid to break off an assault if it looks like things aren’t going your way and attack somewhere else. Don’t get defeatist or criticize people beyond good natured ribbing. Make fun of the folks not on voice comms (but only do that on voice comms) it makes the folks who bothered to get on voice comms feel special and needed. Most people are terrible, you are probably terrible as well but in general you will do better being terrible and well organized than being the best twitch player ever running around by himself.

A good commanders also make food and feed his/her army :P

sazaw.1347:

A good commanders also make food and feed his/her army :P

You seem to think you jest, but I’ve been seeing this lately and I think it’s a boost. The more general principle applies also to having your own siege available. Yes, it’s ridiculously expensive at times. However, if you’re serious about winning, making sure that everyone in your zerg has a food buff up is an extra advantage.

JaironKalach.4938:

sazaw.1347:

A good commanders also make food and feed his/her army :P

You seem to think you jest, but I’ve been seeing this lately and I think it’s a boost. The more general principle applies also to having your own siege available. Yes, it’s ridiculously expensive at times. However, if you’re serious about winning, making sure that everyone in your zerg has a food buff up is an extra advantage.

Yes, this seemed like a good idea and easy to implement. I’m definitely planning on always doing this from now on.

A common mistake I see (not speaking from a commander perspective here or anything) is timidity.

I think we’ve all seen zergs waffling on whether or not to push because the commander is being timid. You’ll see them standing on walls or outside of a wall breach and this often results in that zerg getting wiped when the enemy groups up and pushes out.

Our CMD said something like ‘It becomes a question of if you push in and possibly die, but possibly win big time, or wait until the front line is killed by seige/push and try to run away and get picked off one by one as you flee. Either way you’ll probably die, but pushing could result in a win."

JaironKalach.4938:

sazaw.1347:

A good commanders also make food and feed his/her army :P

You seem to think you jest, but I’ve been seeing this lately and I think it’s a boost. The more general principle applies also to having your own siege available. Yes, it’s ridiculously expensive at times. However, if you’re serious about winning, making sure that everyone in your zerg has a food buff up is an extra advantage.

Care to recommend a good food to plop down?

Hickeroar.9734:

Thought there was one that worked like compote, but it’s not obviously apparent. Here’s the list of options, I think:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Tray

I’m partial to life-steal on crit myself, and there are a few options there. If you’re just trying to keep people encouraged, you can go with one of the gold/magic-find options…

Edited to add:

kerona.3465:

A common mistake I see (not speaking from a commander perspective here or anything) is timidity.

Yes… Divided attention also causes this problem. I’ve seen commanders struggle to make the decision to give up the keep that they are coming to late, in order to save the keep that they can make it to in time. I’m sure partially that’s due to not having enough experience to time things, or know what can/can’t be saved.

Which brings up another point. You need to to know the path from anywhere to anywhere, and be able to estimate how long it will take you to get there.

A good commander never plays PvE. You dont fill the first requirement

Only a good WvW commander… knows that all npcs drop badges!

good commander

1. has siege supply and money
2. leads by example

Here is something I ran across that is a direct interpritation of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Though it is directly applied to the principles of MMO gaming. I have only read through a few sections of it thus far, but I find that the author really gleaned the essence of each principle fully. I hope this helps you lots!

http://www.artofmmowar.com/

1. Have own team to count on . at least 7-8 players who play support and CC.
2. Use tanky build
3. Announce your presence on map , and your objectives, but do not try to force ppls to follow you.
4. Run – at supply camps after every attack /defence , where ppls that followed you used supply.
5. Don’t run without sieges , and don’t be cheap at siege /food buffs. IF you announce trial of food at spawn , you will group fast ppls at you:)

Beorn Saxon.4762:

Any and all feed back is much appreciated, thank you.

A lot of the above advice is good, but the one thing that helps bring all the concepts together will be commander ride-a-longs.

Get on comms with other guilds then just soak up communication style and tactics. You may even want to consider ride-a-longs on other servers if you have a good repoire with strong guilds elsewhere.

hex.3218:

Swear a lot. Use all caps. Never take the blame. Waste siege. Always lead groups into situations they can’t win, like SM.

That’s what most commanders do!

No, but seriously. Follow a good commander around and learn their tricks. How do you know they’re good? They win most encounters, and have respect for other players on their team while doing it.

The part about good commanders winning most is bs.

If you are outnumberd you cant win, and a good commander will stay and untill ship has sunk and not just leave a fully upgraded keep to its doom so noone sees them loose. I havent seen 1 commander do this however, most commanders are cowards unfortunally.

A good commander dont spam the chat 1000 times repeating things over and over filling chat so noone elsees messages are possibe to read, as if they are the only ones who has any valuable input and everyone else is braindead.

A good commander does not take all the credit for winning battles.

A good commander is determined and most of the time makes good choices.

A good commander does not buy a commander tag without spending a lot of hours weeks in WvW learning the game to an expert lvl.

People follow crappy commanders most of the time because they are shouting the most and a lot of people mistake that for being a Xpert commander, why else would he scream.

Also people confuse a victory with a good commander, if you are leading a huge zerg you have to be a terrible commander not to get victories.

Thats why most commanders chicken off if pressure is to high, afraid so show thier true color.

So I guess the last remark on a good commander has to be,,

A selfish and scared commander knows when to hide from battles. But a really good commander is prepared to take on hard odds.

Krakah.3582:

Beorn Saxon.4762:

Any and all feed back is much appreciated, thank you.

A lot of the above advice is good, but the one thing that helps bring all the concepts together will be commander ride-a-longs.

Get on comms with other guilds then just soak up communication style and tactics. You may even want to consider ride-a-longs on other servers if you have a good repoire with strong guilds elsewhere.

Yeah. Get in one of pink’s WvW channels (the big TC mumble server) and run along with their zerg. They’ll appreciate the help, and you’ll learn a LOT. That is probably true for a lot of commanders and guilds though. I know I came away from a ride-along with pink with a lot of new ideas.

^ if your new to WvW Commanding follow along with one of the regular WvW commanders that has respect to learn what to do, be on w/e voice chat you use with them. I also find don’t be afraid to have the veteran non commanders on map (presuming you might recognize some) for help / have to spam x commanders you say in /s around you / convey orders from voice chat to those not in it for you so you can lead without one more worry.

Encore.7053:

The part about good commanders winning most is bs.

If you are outnumberd you cant win, and a good commander will stay and untill ship has sunk and not just leave a fully upgraded keep to its doom so noone sees them loose. I havent seen 1 commander do this however, most commanders are cowards unfortunally.

A good commander dont spam the chat 1000 times repeating things over and over filling chat so noone elsees messages are possibe to read, as if they are the only ones who has any valuable input and everyone else is braindead.

A good commander does not take all the credit for winning battles.

A good commander are determined and most of the time makes good choices.

A good commander does not buy a commander tag without spending a lot of hours weeks in WvW learning the game to an expert lvl.

People follow crappy commanders most of the time because they are shouting the most and a lot of people mistake that for being a Xpert commander, why else would he scream.

Also people confuse a victory with a good commander, if you are leading a huge zerg you have to be a terrible commander not to get victories.

Thats why most commanders chicken off if pressure is to high, afraid so show thier true color.

So I guess the last remark on a good commander has to be,,

A selfish and scared commander knows when to hide from battles.

Your server sounds terrible…

forgot to add, when following a commander that is training you keep your tag on so people learn who are.

I, like a few others here on this post, hope that all commanders in each server stop by to take a look at this post. There are some VERY good suggestions here. Especially those comments of JaironKalach.

I would add that all commanders should be especially mindful of their conduct on open, public voice channels. If you constantly berate players in small guilds or in no guild at all, then all your doing is discouraging people from playing. This will reduce overall numbers and end up hurting your server.

It most situations a calm, patient voice can bind a group together, allowing them to learn and succeed. If you practice good manners, you may turn a casual player into a rock solid WvW player, thereby helping your server. If you find yourself loosing control, turn off your microphone and step away from the game until you can conduct yourself like an adult and not a three year old having a tantrum.

Do not refer to unguilded players as nubs, pubbies, or ‘mentally handicapped.’ (I couldn’t use the word that I wanted, but I think you get what I’m saying.) Believe it or not, this does not engender mutual respect nor does it promote the server in a positive way. It also has the side effect of making you look like an egotistical elitist, not worth listening to and certainly not worth following.

Does anyone else agree with me?

I’m gonna try to give a grunt’s perspective of what makes a good commander.

Not everyone is meant to be a commander. You gotta know your place and how you best fit into the team. I am not a commander, I’m a grunt. A soldier. I need a commander to follow. I’m one of those players who will log on to WvW and look for a commander tag and try to get into their Zerg. Usually I’ll go for commanders I know and trust, like the ones from my guild. I’ll join the group and fight my heart out for the commander. I love WvW, I obey orders, and will do any manner of boring supply run junk if I believe in the commander.

This, as a grunt, is key. I need a commander I BELIEVE in. One who inspires victory, who makes carefully considered decisions and knows the mechanics of the game BETTER than I do. A truly exemplary commander will gently teach as she/he leads. A good commander is a good teacher. My favorite commander is Moontrance from my guild TFG on NSP. He will gently instruct his army about tricks, tips, and strategy as we play. He keeps us informed about what we are doing and WHY we are doing it. He never keeps us in the dark or mocks us grunts for not knowing all the ins and outs. I’ve been playing for a few years now and there are still aspects of WvW I’m ignorant about. I’m a grunt. You need something built, I’ll build it. You want something dead? I’ll kill it. I support my group, I’ll buff my group, I’ll rez my group, I’ll do anything you ask, but don’t expect me to know more than I do. Remember, I’m a jar-head grunt. You’re the commander. You command, I follow.

A good commander will also call out destinations in both Team chat AND map, not just voice chat. Grunts like me aren’t in mumble or voice chat. I only rely on /team and /map and /guild to know where to go and what to do. And when I first started to play, I pulled a noob card and only had /map on my channel. This is true of many new players. Continuing to type the next target is really helpful to get grunts to join your Zerg.

Continued——>

Another great thing about Moon is he never takes us on fool’s errands. He sets us on tasks he knows we are capable of accomplishing. I was in EB on off hours and a new, inexperienced commander turned on his tag. He led us grunts on a series of absurd missions we were clearly outmanned for that resulted in us wiping several times and losing a few golems. The worst moment occurred when he deserted us in a crisis. He led us into a quagmire where we were being attacked from both sides. Our Zerg had a few downed players and was desperately trying to defend our position. Our commander typed “follow me” and ran off with the few players that could get away. The rest (majority of the zerg) couldn’t get away or didn’t see the chat message and were left commander-less to die alone in confusion and frustration. Then the commander flamed everyone for not following him. A good commander should know when their Zerg is caught in a mess and can’t follow and in that case stay and go down with the ship. I don’t mind wiping if my commander is willing to die by my side and joke about it with us after.

A good commander will understand that defense is the best offense. I respect a commander who keeps the targets we acquire. Nothing demoralizes a group of grunts faster than being led on a fruitless raid against SM and then losing our towers and supply camps because our attention was directed elsewhere or no fortifications were made on recently flipped targets.

Lastly, any commander worth their salt will give us grunts something to do, even if we’re losing or have the “outmanned” buff. There is always something to do. If we can’t take towers, tell us to grab supply camps. Heck I’ll even go after Dolyaks if a commander wants me to. What I hate as a grunt is logging on and saying “Hey! Where do I go? Where do you need back up? What’s the plan?” and I’m met with radio silence or other grunts just running to where swords are crossed. If you’re the commander, you’re a director. A CEO. Give us grunts a plan, a goal, a script. We need missions and objectives no matter how small. Lastly any tag is better than no tag. Please turn on your tag if no commander is running. I was in BL last night and there was zero commanders around cuz of saint patrick’s day and it was utter chaos. All us grunts were trying to police ourselves, turning on each-other, wandering around aimlessly looking for leadership.

We soldiers need our commanders. But we WILL start to rebel or go solo if we are being led by a commander that doesn’t know what they’re doing or abuses us vocally. A good commander should also be respectful in general. It’s rare, but if a commander gets too insane on chat or starts using racist / sexist / homophobic / transphobic / anti-Semitic / offensive language, I’ll stop following them altogether. I want to feel like my commander is a good person. Someone I can look up to and respect. Like superman. Us grunts may be crude and weird, but as a commander you need to be held to a higher standard of conduct.

One final thing (sorry this is so long). Cosmetics. This may sound superficial, but you should look good as a commander. Sport your legendaries, get your best armor out, look amazing. Not only do legendaries help a zerg follow your footsteps, but it impresses us grunts and inspires us to fight for you. Obviously this is NOT necessary to be a good commander, but it helps inspire the troops. Alexander the Great wasn’t just a brilliant strategist. He was also very handsome and charismatic. Achillies had his famous suit of armor. King Arthur had his sword Excalibur. Props are important.

If you learn the commander trade well you will attract loyal grunts like me who will flock to your banner and fight to the death for you. Also, plug future WvW nights in game. Saying: “Hey all, big WvW push tonight. Make sure you log on. I’ll be on later” is really helpful. Good luck out there! Godspeed!

Something that’s not getting much attention here, but is extremely important:

Be decisive.

You will make bad decisions. You will make mistakes. You will go after one objective when you should have pursued another. You will attack when you should have defended. You will defend when you should have attacked. These things will happen. The important thing is that you make the decision to do one thing or another, and you make that decision (relatively) quickly.

A group working together, and reacting quickly, but doing the wrong things will still be more successful, and more enjoyable than a group making better decisions, but not reacting to things and constantly jumping back and forth between strategies. You need to adjust when conditions dictate adjustment, but at the same time you need to follow through on what you’re doing. When you start jumping back and forth or loitering around, you lose people. Outside of maybe T1, the one thing you can’t afford is to let people lose interest.

Syeria.4812:

Something that’s not getting much attention here, but is extremely important:

Be decisive.

You will make bad decisions. You will make mistakes. You will go after one objective when you should have pursued another. You will attack when you should have defended. You will defend when you should have attacked. These things will happen. The important thing is that you make the decision to do one thing or another, and you make that decision (relatively) quickly.

A group working together, and reacting quickly, but doing the wrong things will still be more successful, and more enjoyable than a group making better decisions, but not reacting to things and constantly jumping back and forth between strategies. You need to adjust when conditions dictate adjustment, but at the same time you need to follow through on what you’re doing. When you start jumping back and forth or loitering around, you lose people. Outside of maybe T1, the one thing you can’t afford is to let people lose interest.

This is a very good point. I second this. Keep things moving. Keep the momentum even if things go south.

IMO the most important thing is a deep and thorough knowledge and experience of siege placement, the capabilities of siege, and what siege the current flow of supply will allow either yourself or the enemy. You can learn Sun Tzu off by heart, you can get a degree in group psychology, but still the difference between success and failure can be a treb placed a few feet out of position or an incorrect assessment of how much seige/supply will be needed to handle a situation. Best commander can with a single glance tell what seige will / won’t work on an enemy keep, and knows all the best spots to counter enemy trebs etc. Bad commanders build trebs too far away to hit a tower, try to build rams under enemy superior AC, and send golems at enemy cannons.
Battle tactics, war strategy, and charismatic leadership are completely useless if you don’t have a complete mastery of game mechanics.

Ragnar.4257:

IMO the most important thing is a deep and thorough knowledge and experience of siege placement, the capabilities of siege, and what siege the current flow of supply will allow either yourself or the enemy. You can learn Sun Tzu off by heart, you can get a degree in group psychology, but still the difference between success and failure can be a treb placed a few feet out of position or an incorrect assessment of how much seige/supply will be needed to handle a situation. Best commander can with a single glance tell what seige will / won’t work on an enemy keep, and knows all the best spots to counter enemy trebs etc. Bad commanders build trebs too far away to hit a tower, try to build rams under enemy superior AC, and send golems at enemy cannons.
Battle tactics, war strategy, and charismatic leadership are completely useless if you don’t have a complete mastery of game mechanics.

Good points.

Ragnar.4257:

IMO the most important thing is a deep and thorough knowledge and experience of siege placement, the capabilities of siege, and what siege the current flow of supply will allow either yourself or the enemy. You can learn Sun Tzu off by heart, you can get a degree in group psychology, but still the difference between success and failure can be a treb placed a few feet out of position or an incorrect assessment of how much seige/supply will be needed to handle a situation. Best commander can with a single glance tell what seige will / won’t work on an enemy keep, and knows all the best spots to counter enemy trebs etc. Bad commanders build trebs too far away to hit a tower, try to build rams under enemy superior AC, and send golems at enemy cannons.
Battle tactics, war strategy, and charismatic leadership are completely useless if you don’t have a complete mastery of game mechanics.

I agree with this as well. Things like mortar ranges/locations save so much trouble. I’ve seen lots of experienced players command into situations that automatically fail because they weren’t experienced with that sort of thing.

Honestly, you should just do WvW for a while. You have to be able to think ahead and that includes recognizing situations and having a good idea of how they’re going to evolve. Nothin I do in dungeons/fractals relates at all to WvW.

All you need to be a good commander is 100 gold seems to be the prevalent theory on my server.