Guild Wars 2

This sounds really cool

I’d love an invite as a student, please and thank you…

I’ve played at least 12 games so I guess I can weigh in…

ANET has stated that they many development decisions are dependant across all three game modes (PVE, WvW, PvP). Assuming this is not going to change then I think it’s a safe assumption that ANET will consider input from all people, from all game mode. Good or bad, this population and is the majority and clearly has implications for PvP.

I’m one of the 90% that may not be an expert, but I feel like I can offer a lot of suggestions that might represent the new player trying to get into and learn PVP – and that is an issue that’s been discussed on these forums before. If ANET only listened to expert then what effect does that have on the newbie population? Hard to say, but I’d feel better if there was newbie representation in those suggestions.

And, to reiterate a point above (ArcTheFallen), ANET is the only one that can fix the issues so ANET is ultimately the one to decide if an idea is good or bad – whether this comes from the experts or the rest of the population.

Everyone should have a say.

SeeingBlue.8453:

Hello Brave Sir Robin,

I invite you review our community. Instead of giving some TL:DR article, I have provided some key points below.

I play engi myself and our most active times are 6pm-12am EST although we recruit all time zones.

Our Community

• New – Nearing 3 months old we have room for you to rank up.
• Mature – We screen our applicants. Our ages range from 18 – 60. We are not religious & you may hear some cursing.
• Active – Recruiting all time zones. We have 50+ members
• Website – Our site is hosted by Enjin, paid up for a year.
• Helpful – Useful and easy to navigate information on our site. Enjoy answering questions.
• Voice Comms – We use Mumble & Enjin chat via Overwolf overlay to communicate across multiple games.
• Live Streamers – We support Twitch. Our streamers often do giveaways.
• Newbie Friendly – We are very helpful and welcome new players.
• Stormbluff Isles – We are active on SBI, but allow guesting. Don’t forget you can delete all your chars for a free transfer.

In-Game Activity

• WvW – Actively involved. We often run alone. Recently bought our first commanders tag.
• sPvP – Currently putting together a tPvP team, will soon have a custom arena. Regular Meetings.
• Leveling – We often team up with and help our lower levels.
• Dungeons – Some dungeon running. Activity will increase as we recruit new members and our low levels reach 80.
• Fractals – Same as above. Our most active runners are at level 3-5.
• World Bosses – We often report active bosses and kill most of them on a nightly basis.
• Representing – We do not require 100% representation, but atleast 75+-%.

I believe this covers just about everything. If you have any questions feel free to mail me in-game. You may also submit an application at http://greatarchitect.us

Thank you,
SeeingBlue
-Great Architect Admin

Your guild sound perfect but were hoping to stay in Sactum of Rall for now. I definately bug you if that changes – thanks much for your reply…

FlameKnight.9150:

Hey Brave Sir Robin

If your looking for a SoR PvE guild that runs during US time, then I would recommend [EG] Ethereal Guardians. They’re a PvE guild on SoR who run during the time slot your mentioned.
Their website:
http://etherealguardians.guildportal.com/

If i can find one of their recruitment representatives, i’ll post it up here for you.

Cheers

FlameKnight
- OCX Commander.

Thanks! That would ideal. I’ll see if I can get a hold of them…

My wife and I have been playing since Jan this year – absolutely love the game – but don’t have enough people to play with since our current guild’s attendance is pretty low (and have a hard time gathering for even dungeon run). So basically, we would love to join another guild on SOR!

We’re very regular players that nearly never miss a day online (dailies/living story achievements). Generally play a few hours/weeknights 5-8pm MST (not sure what that is in server time) and pretty flexible on weekends.

I like to split my time mostly PVE, but also really like PVP and bit of WvW. I main a lvl 80 Guard with Engi and Ele seconds.

My wife is almost strictly PVE with a lvl 80 Ranger, and Warrior/Necro seconds.

Happy to rep, contribute gear, help new players and even have a custom arena for the guild to use

Thanks in advance for any offers!

Fenrir.5493:

This is good, really good, communication with the devs is a very good thing to the community, this will make people stop guessing things that they dont known, this will make us know what are the devs thinking of the game or the things that are happening, another good thing is that now we know that they are reading suggestions or the things that we post in the forums, i really hope this dont end and all of a sudden the forums go dead with no devs posting anything.

Also is good that they participate in things like the SOTG show, but i think the forum communication is more global, so not only a few players are listened and make changes based only on a few players.

And for the community, i hope you remain respectfull in the conversation with the devs, im not a fanboy and im pretty sure they can make mistakes, and they did, but if we want this communication to continue then we need to behave, seriously i have seen some teasing post to the devs when they are talking to them that i can see why they are not always posting in the forums.

+1 Agreed.

I also think its important to tell devs what does work and what you like. Not just a feel good tactic (of course that can’t hurt), but a way for them to validate certain design decisions. I don’t believe that no news is good news – good feedback is good news.

This is awesome! Thanks nakoda…

As a new player right now my interest extents as far as learning to play and having some success. I don’t know who Team Paradigm is (or Jumper) – just want to try and enjoy pvp. The easier it is for me to get into the game, the more likely I will continue playing and encourage others to play.

Chances are if I get hooked, I’ll end up following the external community for more depth and/or player and team info anyways so I don’t think my using a popular build is a threat to them. Anet could even credit where they sourced the build for those who are interested.

Even though this is a PVP related question, I’m posting here because it’s directed GW2’s biggest population base (hence this forum) and their interest (or not) in PVP (not including WvW). Currently the PVP population seem pretty small and alot of people in that community are wondering how to get more people in and interesting. Wondering how many of you:

1. Have tried PVP? If not, why?
2. Tried it and liked it or not?
3. Are active PVP players?
4. Done both WvW and PVP: which do you prefer and why?

Simon Sickboy.6250:

Those that are interested in creating their own builds will always do so, and those that copy and paste will always do so. At least if the most popular builds where readily available it would give people a better chance at succeeding with a copy and paste build because they will fit the current meta.
When i first started PvP I copied and pasted a build because I knew nothing, like most fresh PvPers. Within a few games, when i had got used to PvP mechanics and the way the build played, I changed it up to suit my play style. Now that I’m more confident in the PvP environment I’m always changing things and testing new ideas.

I think people just need a nudge in the right direction.

I don’t really like the idea of a list of popular builds, that way we will just see everyone running around exactly the same, but I am for the idea of giving different options. For example each new played has the option of an offensive, a defensive and a middle of the road option.

+1 Exactly my scenario about a month ago when I started. Played for a day or two with default build and had a had a hard time then decicded “hey, what am I doing? I’ve got a great PVE build, I’ll use that…” – even worse! Really rough go the first week (and ready to give up) – then a guild member sent out a reddit link that had a bunch of meta build and immediately got some success. Only after playing with a successful build did I start to make it my own with a few chances here and there – which also led to experimenting and discovery. Imho builds are critical for new players.

And to reiterate points above – some sort of interactive tutorial that explains build/maps/secondary mechanics would be huge. Really like the idea of an npc map where players can actually play full games without constantly getting wiped. And even better if you can customize the npc map. The npcs in the mists don’t do much for this kind of learning…

How about a training mode/arena (custom arenas?) with semi programmable class bots. Pick one or more classes with something resembling current meta and able setup the bot with a few basic sequences (burst/bunker/skill level) or full auto to train against. Could be used for new players and more experienced ones to figure out tough situations. Something a few steps up from the NPC’s in the mists.

Too crazy?

Tyler.3451:

1. Gear normalization. I don’t want to have to grind gear to be on a level playing field.

2. Build diversity. I know that sounds dumb to top level players, but I like making random builds and trying them out. They aren’t always extremely viable, but I like the ability to completely change what I bring to a fight. The current fresh air burst else build is the first fotm build I have used.

3. tPvP. This should bring some ridicule, but I like hopping in a random premade with ts or just joining solo q. Even if I run up against a much higher tier premade, I enjoy trying to at least make the fights competive and fun. The only thing I don’t like is the elitist attitudes I run into sometimes. Like a r10-20 smurf character raging about how bad his team sucks losing to a premade on ts, which is honestly kinda humorous.

4. Class imbalance/changing. I’m really not trolling here. As much as people hate it, I have to admit I like how the balance of power shifts and keeps me learning how to play against each class.

2 – love this and do it all the time (mostly for fun). In PVE, anytime I wanted to change things up, it required a grind for mats/gold and had to be really sure about my changes or I’d have wasted a bunch of time. Risk free in pvp and sometimes you find things the fit your playstyle better…

Also forgot to mention the maps secondary mechanics (Sky Hammer, Treb, etc). Not a new concept, but there are some good ones in gw2 that can really help turn the tide of a match – or just fun cause a bit of havoc.

I think if anet’s default build (the one get on first entry to the mists) was closer to current meta, say mid dps/defensive roamer, it would go along way. Anet can probably update these with their biweekly/monthly patches. But not sure if will encourage or discourage meta.

Another thing: has anyone ever started a sort of basic chart of class skills and counters to those skills? Nothing super detailed, just enough for new players to have a resource if they feel they can’t deal with a common problem from X class. I personally would love to see a chart with suggestions on how to deal with stealth or grenade spams, etc.

Motoko.2875:

Brave Sir Robin.3410:

Thanks to all who replied and thanks lettucemode for keeping this on topic. Have to agree with most of these (likes), esp combat system – to me it has a more action/reaction feel to it.

Something I’m having a hard time understanding is all the GW1 vs GW2 comments (not specific to this thread). We’re in a GW2 forum and GW1 pvp is still active (unless I’m missing something?), so I assume there’s a good reason for the GW1 fans to comment here. Maybe to expand on this thread a bit: is there anything from GW2 pvp that you wish you could bring into GW1?

For the record, I know nothing about GW1 pvp – just curious…

The background to all of the GW1 vs GW2 comments stems from GW1 being the foundation upon what GW2 was supposed to be built on. The foundation that we were told would exist in GW2. The manifesto of “everything you love about GW1 is in GW2”.

GW1 PvP was successful and was one of the first esports of the mmorpg rts type, if not the first. The reason it fell out of popularity came down to balance issues and adding too many skills to the game. GW1 PvP was wildly popular and addictive. (it still is to a lot of people) But the game is old now.

GW1 PvP expected GW2 PvP to take everything good and amazing from GW1 PvP and improve upon it. (Why fix what isn’t broken?) But instead, GW2 is nothing like GW1 with merely names and the story being the only similarities. GW2 behaves more like a FPS than the game GW1 is.

ANet could have built upon and added to the massive fanbase that already existed. Sponsored teams lined up ready to be the best because they saw the history of success of GW1 PvP. Where are those teams now?

Anything that we could take from GW2 PvP and add it to GW1 PvP?
Graphics. Interactive environments.

The thing you have to realize is, GW2 PvP sort of did come from GW1. The sPvP is a mix between costume brawls and alliance battles. Yet, the combat style in GW2 screws with it and neither game type has the ability to be a sustainable PvP for competitiveness and rewards like GvG was.

Hope that helps.

Helps a ton – wasn’t aware of Anet’s original manifesto. Thanks for the back history…

Thanks to all who replied and thanks lettucemode for keeping this on topic. Have to agree with most of these (likes), esp combat system – to me it has a more action/reaction feel to it.

Something I’m having a hard time understanding is all the GW1 vs GW2 comments (not specific to this thread). We’re in a GW2 forum and GW1 pvp is still active (unless I’m missing something?), so I assume there’s a good reason for the GW1 fans to comment here (Motoko can weigh in?). Maybe to expand on this thread a bit: is there anything from GW2 pvp that you wish you could bring into GW1?

For the record, I know nothing about GW1 pvp – just curious…

Motoko.2875:

Aether McLoud.1975:

pic

Something I hope you and any GW2 PvP fan boy might have accepted by now is that it is the majority opinion in regards to the PvP.

There is a reason GW2 is non-existent as an e-sport and there is a reason that the PvP player base suffered a relatively huge decline after release.

So Motoko, not that GW1 vs. GW2 PVP isn’t worth discussion, but back on topic: anything you like in GW2?

Lots of great thoughts and on what you don’t like and how to fix it, but I’m curious (and ANET should be too): What do you like about gw2 PVP?

Please try and keep to likes – already lots of other threads on the bads…

Still pretty new to PVP (run mostly PVE) but have read a lot in these forums about the state of PVP: small community, balance, meta, and lack of love from ANET. Not sure if this has been discussed before (apologies if so), but seems to me that one of the issues is that PVP is not very profitable for ANET (you can buy you’re buying a custom arena or finishers, anything else?). I’m guessing there might be more dedicated resources coming from ANET if there was a greater stream of profit from the PVP community.

Speaking from the PVE side of things, I gladly spend a regular amount of gems due to the constant content updates and rewards. My experience so far in PVP is mixed (played to rank 12), but I’m sure that’s mostly from hotjoin issues and I’m going to try more tPVP. But have to say, given the learning curve and how few matches are actually fun (only like being zerged to death so many times).

Personally, if I knew that a lot of the suggested changes were coming – and implemented on a biweekly/monthly rotation like in PVE – then I’d be happy to stick around and throw real money into PVP. So my questions:
1. Do you think this true – would more profit coming from PVP help build the community and help to implement the community’s feedback faster?
2. What, if anything, would you be willing to spend money on that might keep your interest?

Also wondering:
1. How many people here split their time between PVE/PVP and what’s the ratio?
2. Are you losing steam with gw2 PVP – planning to say or leave?

I’m pretty new to pvp – only played PVE in GW2 for the past 6 months – and gotta say that pvp is crazy fun for me.

Playing against real players is a completely different experience. Probably the #1 reason I tried PVP was that after a few months in PVE, I found I was doing the same thing over and over with the occasional content updates (Living Story). I was ready to try something new and pvp was there. I think this applies to a lot of people out there and they just need too to give it a chance. Oddly enough, another small part of what got me interested were some of the mini games (Dragon Ball, Keg Brawl).

What I love:
1. No grind and everybody has access to the same stats/equipment. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t play if I had to grind to get top tier pvp stuff – there’s always someone else out there who has more time/money to spend and would feel I was at too much of a disadvantage.
2. Every match is different (though I’m not sure that will be true in a year from now?). PVE tends be pretty formulaic with a lower skill ceiling. So far I’ve had so many variations in matches – even though it’s one game mode and 6 small maps.
3. Playing with builds/classes (and this add to the variety). Unless you’re willing to do some heavy grinding, you probably won’t get a chance to level up all 8 classes to 80 in PVE and constantly tweak traits/stats/runes/sigils.
4. Big boost to my skills. First few times in PVP made me realize how much I had to improve (yes, I was pseudo key spammer in PVE), but I can tell how better I’m getting when I go back to PVE.

Some stuff I had to get over (and still do):
1. Rewards are lacking a skins take forever to get. For me personally, this is less of an issue because I never really intended to farm achievements or grind for legendaries in PVE. Just like playing the game.
2. Intimidation and culture of PVP. There’s a lot of smoke out there about PVP in general (esp stuff like COD) and I’ve talked a few people that say this is why they’re hesitant to try PVP. I gotta say though, I’ve had pretty much no problem – gw2 has a pretty good community. And kudos to guys like Wooden Potatoes/Matt Visual for starting getting people started in PVP (YouTube series PVP for Dummies). Even I’m noticing that gw2 PVP needs more people for balance.
3. I die a lot. This was tough at first, but I’m starting get the hang of the some of the meta builds and focus on trying to understand why I just died in 2 seconds instead of just getting frustrated. Good way to wash that pride out of my armor.

My 2 cents and some perspective from a PVE’r…