Guild Wars 2

I remember SBI 2012 and running with Baha on his last few battles. I remember Jang/WM/Kaineng and running in a ball. Then it was SOR, the reset meetings and the trainings. And Jamezy/Choo with his yelling and thing for Asian girls.

Good times. /salute.

World of Warships. No vertical maps and automatic upgrades.

Hello Chaba,

Apologies, I wasn’t clear when I mentioned metrics. I meant metrics since launch, not only post HOT.

FW

Chaba.5410:

Fannwong.3059:

Hello Jdallen,

But I think Anet will do what they do and look at metrics.

I am guessing that 100% WvWers are a small subset of GW2 players.

The metrics are rigged because guilds cannot play 100% WvW and get their guild halls and hall upgrades. PvP guilds can’t either, by the way.

Hello Jdallen,

Thank you.

But I think Anet will do what they do and look at metrics.

I am guessing that 100% WvWers are a small subset of GW2 players.

Every company will look at how they can increase profits, and they will always appease the majority of players. I think that WvW update/feedback will take quite a bit of time for Anet to respond because our numbers are small compared to the majority they need to handle. I don’t blame Anet, I run a small company and it’s incredibly hard to find a balance between service and resource. They cannot please everyone.

Looking at the scale and detail of the map, crafting it likely took about 1.5-2years. I don’t think Anet will change anything soon.

FW

jdallen.5179:

Roac, Fannwong, very eloquently stated, and sentiments I think Anet would be wise to consider thoughtfully.

Hello Cogbyrn,

I only WvW, so even when my guild does GMs I don’t go because I do not like PVE, I like fighting real people. My fractal is only lvl 1, I tried it for 20min and dropped the raid because I couldn’t take the boredom.

I spend about 80% of my WvW in borderlands vs EBG. I do not fight for karma, gold nor the loot because I have my ascended weapons and armor. I have been kindly supported by my guild [SOX] officers for siege and the like. I work with 5-20 realm mates in WvW usually. I fight to kill enemies, destroy structures, get PPT.

I communicate in TS and private chats with smaller groups like scouts, skirmishers and roamers for knocking off yaks, scouting and tapping keeps across 2 or 3 maps including EBG.

I tried the new maps every day since it came out. I did not buy HoT because I am running a frontline guardian about 99% of the time so DH didn’t interest me.

I was in the new post-HoT WvW for 100% of the time that I was logged on. Tried the paths, etc.

There are many issues at hand with the new borderlands, I will highlight a few that bothered me in T1 (just me, I don’t presume to speak for anybody else in the same tier or other tiers. I recognise that each tier has different population density in WvW and this changes gameplay).

1. Automatic Upgrades – This is a big issue. When I raid either with 5 or 20, I make it a point to break structures when the opportunity arises. As the old upgrades were made by real people, breaking structures makes me feel like I’ve accomplished against the enemy something when I finally take the structure. When I take part or lead defence of our fortified/reinforced keep, it feels good because I’ve helped my realm mates who worked as a team taking hours to upgrade and siege the structure with love and care.

Having automatic upgrades robs the incentive to defend and attack. I felt that by breaking a structure I wasn’t fighting against a human enemy because it was done automatically.

2. WP Changes – WP is a projection of power way beyond the keep, almost 1/3 of the old BL map. This is key in upgrading a keep. Taking a WP deals a serious blow to the enemy and it affects the strategic play in the map. Taking a WP also deals a big blow to enemy morale. Having 3 WPs in a our borderland meant that the borderland was in our control, it’s like having a homeland secured. We even had folks who were dedicated to homeland defence.

When the WP on left and right keep went missing, it changed the map considerably. On a strategic level, it changed the thought process and way that we could defend it. It became very hard for a small population to defend the homeland. Losing east/west keep wasn’t so important because no WP meant that the south was hard to contain anyway. Btw, even in T1, WvW population can drop very dramatically in off peak so much so that home BL can only muster 10+ folks sometimes.

3. Fortified Doors – This discourages 5 man teams to take a fortified structure, with fortified doors the structure did not have a weakness. Reinforced gates in fortified structures gave small groups a fighting chance to break it.

4. Map Size & Complexity – This is very subjective, for me it felt the map was made with numerous alternatives to approach an objective. This would be great if we had a huge population like launch time but with a smaller pop it’s very hard to find fights or drop an ambush.

Overall, I feel that a combination of these factors plus others have made me stop loving and playing WvW.

FW

Cogbyrn.7283:

I actually find the last two comments by Roac and Fannwong very interesting. Thanks for the perspective, you two!

Fannwong, you said you tried hard to make it stick, but it didn’t. What did you try? Did you simply spend time in it? Did you attempt to get to know all of its paths, shortcuts, and characteristics? I’m not like you as a player, so I’m very curious what your mentality is.

My initial reaction is to say “You spent 3 years getting acclimated to the Alpine borderlands, and it has been 2 weeks since HoT released. Is it still a bit too early to tell?”, but there has to be something I’m missing. Also, what could you do to make the new BL your home? Is there anything?

Hello Roac,

I echo the same sentiments, it doesn’t feel like home. I’ve lived and breathed WvW since launch. I was previously RvR on Warhammer in the Darklands and Badlands servers, loved running in Praag, Chaos Wastes, etc. Those were tiny maps compared to the new Borderlands but they felt more liveable.

But the new Borderlands won’t stick, I tried hard. But the UX just doesn’t work.

I don’t know how many of the old timers feel that way but I don’t think we are alone in this.

I have taken a hiatus since the launch, and have stopped gaming because there isn’t any other good WvW game out there.

GW2 WvW pre-Hot was the last good one.

FW

Roac.3871:

PvE, size, terrain complexity, events, rewards, have all become a blur. I have spent time in the new borderlands. I’m not educated enough in game design to contribute to the conversation.

I can say this: I don’t want to live there.

My background is similar to Selywn’s, and got me thinking back to DAoC , Chorazin made it worse (though sentimental rose-coloured specs, to be sure). I’m not a PvEer or a WvWer, I’m a roleplayer. I want a land I can belong to and feel engaged with. DAoC provided that. Guilds held keeps for weeks. Our banners flew from the turrets. Captures took planning and organization and time. I knew every inch of the land (including the dangerous parts) and there wasn’t a location I hadn’t died defending.

The Alpine land may have had its issues, but it was home. There were farms and houses and people. I could make my small contributions to defense, scouting, blobbing as needed. Yes, there were some bad neighborhoods (skrit, centaurs, the occasional harpy) but they were relegated to the edges. Our banners flew from the turrets.

The new borderland, while certainly a great place to visit and explore, is not ours. It is a hostile landscape packed to the walls with violent critters, impersonal rambling ruins, and weird stuff.

(Seriously, kill your darlings when it comes to the clever tricks. It would be a great playfield if I were a pinball trying to conquer the Winchester Mystery House.)

Like Heart of Thorns, it is beautiful, mysterious, alien, indifferent, it runs on its own, I am extraneous to it, and at best I am but a transient invader. That is not a homeland I can feel invested in.

Spurnshadow.3678:

Sounds like this will be a waste for WvW. This is way too much micromanagement for a commander. Can we have someone else in the squad micromanage the subsquads so the commander can command? If the answers to these questions are no, then I don’t see a point in using squads for WvW.

I hope they implement assistant squad leaders.

The squad UI was based on an old WvW MMO. Warhammer Online (2008) had an excellent squad UI, assistant squad leaders could be assigned to help arrange members.

FW

Hello,

What Apple said. Points are spot on.

About TS, if you type really fast and crazy you can get people to read but it takes a lot of effort and touch typist speed.

People follow you because of loot. The more loot and fun you give the zerg, the more they will follow. When you have been at it for 14-21 days, it’s likely you’ll form a zerg pretty fast.

However, people don’t want to wipe, one or 2 wipes and your zerg will disappear.

FW

Buy Some Apples.6390:

1) Tag up
2a) Do stuff good
2b) Use TS
3) Spam teamchat to join up on you.
4) Do more good stuff good

It all ready depends on how much you win if you want to create a random zerg.
Even really good commanders can lose their zerg if the enemy zerg is better. Player get bored of wipes and leave.

EremiteAngel.9765:

well i see 90% of the posts here did not answer my questions >.<

I think most of you are concerned about whether it is right or wrong to commander snipe rather than whether it is a good strategy/easy to execute/what are the effects on the enemy zerg

Personally I think it is legit. You cut the head of and the rest die with it.

Hello,

It usually breaks enemy zergs, both in game and in IRL medieval warfare. Kill the King/General and the enemy formation breaks. Some WvW guilds have 3-4 man teams just for this. 2-3 Warrior/Rifle with spotter.

FW

Hello,

I mained a Guardian in 2013 and a Necro in 2014.

It’s probably best to play for 2-3 solid months on your guard min maxing on all the various scenarios in different environments before committing.

Ascended is horribly expensive and it’s a commitment that it’s really hard to undo due to time and gold. Ascended armor will be what you are wearing for most of your time.

I spend most of my time in wvw. And I only have 1 set of full ascended for my guard. And 2 pieces for the Necro.

FW

Blackbeard.4356:

I’m going to build ascended armor on my guardian. And I’m not really sure which stats to build and I don’t really want build anything because it’s not cheap and easy to build ascended gear. I’m mostly doing PvE content so the gear stats need to be pve oriented. I would like to hear opinions from older players and build ascended armor that will last.

Hello Svarty,

I agree. Praag was one of the most beautiful and well designed map with great exit and entrance points. Especially the ambush spots.

FW

Svarty.8019:

I remember the city map in Warhammer. It was great for ambushes and picking off people/getting lost and picked off.

http://warhammer.gamepressure.com/map.asp?ID=105

Hello Goldenwing,

Spoken like a wise woman indeed. /muchrespect

I hope for better days in the future for the community at large.

FW

goldenwing.8473:

And there are also posters on the forum, from all different servers, including “enemy” servers, who can and have posted in mature, sportsmanslike manner.

Those are the conversations worth reading on the forums.. an exchange of ideas, and real discussion.

As I’ve said before, part of what I enjoy about WvW is:

The joy of knowing, win or lose, the WvW community as a whole has the love of this style of play in common. And that without each other, especially “enemies”, we would have no enjoyment at all. It’s the foundation for a common ground of mutual respect.

The player base will always be a mixed bag of those with an experienced perspective, those passionately vocal about their loyalties, those that push the limits of extreme competition, and those that get swept up in the game, lose sight of the fact that a fellow player/human being is sitting on the other side of the computer screen.

Happens all to often in real life as well, as history and current news continually proves.

Unpleasant. Cringe-worthy sometimes. Part and parcel of life.

People defending beliefs and values with strong emotions and determination.

It’s a sign they care, no matter how (poorly/vehemently/excitedly/pick an adjective) expressed.

The developers should be aware of this. After all, they care passionately about their game as well, according to their statements.

The community versus developer communication is another topic that’s been addressed on another thread. My response is here:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Our-Community-1/page/2#post3935041

As far as other players and communication. If you have a balanced perception of the game and adhere to the value of respect / sportsmanship for fellow players, then continue to set an example and continue to post that way.

As for me, I will continue to be authentic and post with my server community in my sig, because that is where I play and that helps inform my perspective of the game. It does not totally define my perspective nor does it totally define me. I hope I am mature enough to objectively post with the understanding that all players out here have the love of WvW playstyle in common, and without each other, enemies et al, we would have no game to enjoy.

/salute

Hello Cuddlepie,

Good to see you back in game. Out of curiosity how is WvW Clausewitzian, I am an avid war/history reader but I am not quite sure how it fits in.

FW

Cuddlepie.8109:

GW2 WvW is Clausewitzian.

The mercantile server analogy doesn’t really hold up either. There is no comparative server economic advantage which isn’t a function of player numbers. There’s no controlling the sub-continent, there’s no VOC, there’s no silk road.

The interesting conundrum for ANet is that the 3-sided WvW design was intended to force fair fights, the fact that it’s being used by certain servers to avoid having to fight is strategically brilliant. Paraphrasing Sun Tzu, (yeah I’m being conceptually inconsistent), the epitome of skill is winning without fighting. The servers using an alliance to manipulate Anet’s system for their mutual advantage are showing, yet again, that ANet really doesn’t understand its PvP systems – or player motivations – as well as their player base.

Cloudfly Push Power Pin.

Best non TS commander. Ever. Knows when to hold it and when to fold it.

FW

Hello Seigfried,

Not yet. We are all waiting. Will probably take some time tbh.

FW

Seigfried.5938:

Is there any online build editor available yet? Which has updated builds, etc

Hello Exami,

I run a heavy support guardian. What’s wrong with the patch?

FW

Hello Talyn

Please don’t take this the wrong way. If you are in leadership, it might not be wise to have this type of sentiment published. Casuals and pve folks make up for a huge chunk (as much as 50% – 60%). I’ve witnessed 1st hand wvw emptying out because of these type of sentiments.

FW

Talyn.3295:

Let this thread be a warning to the season two winner. This will be the kinda player you will attract.

Hello Andrew,

I was in Warmachine 2012/2013. Served as a commander before I left.

Jang wanted to bring a T8 server to T1. This was exactly what he said in guild meetings and forum. Many times, before leaving SBI and arriving in Kaineng.

He moved to Kaineng, formed a coalition of NA, OCX and SEA forces to do that. Kaineng went to T2 at its height.

FW

Andrew Clear.1750:

ManaCraft.5630:

Andrew Clear.1750:

SBI used to be top tier. Did people transfer from us to Kaineng because it was a better server? Nope.

Sure it was. Or rather, the prospects of a more vibrant WvW community were better, with many guilds, including large ones like WM, announcing their intent to transfer there. If WvW hadn’t been server based, and you could play on the same maps regardless of which world you were on, many of the transfers that occurred from SBI to other servers – including my own – would simply have been unnecessary.

So, they transfered to the bottom, because the grass was greener? Or they had this thought, that they were so kitten good, they could take a low tier server and take them to t1? Which, is what they really wanted to do. They wanted that challenge, and they failed at it, but they got pretty close.

Hello Jamais vu,

If collision detection was implemented, the next most effective battlefield formation would the line formation (and variations of it) much like ancient warfare/battles.

I remember that in WAR, we could do a 300 style defense. It was possible to hold off 50+ players with 20+ just because the castle outer door was extremely narrow and we could use 3-4 tanks to blockade the front for while range were dps-ing.

@Dank, this tactic is called Testudo formation. It involves stacking but to a limit, there are various counters against it. In GW2, lack of collision detection along with 5man AOE limit makes it unbeatable atm.

@Zortek, thank you, much appreciated. The JQ community has a great number of really fun folks.

FW

Jamais vu.5284:

I actually like your idea of quite literally “holding the line” to be an effective battlefield force very, very much.
With fields like this they could also include more pulsating ones.

Hello

The game engine has no collision detection, that’s why we can all merge into 1 spot. Other rvr games like the 2008 Warhammer online had it.

FW

Sad Swordfish.9743:

But guys, that’s the thing.

Why should players be able to stand 50 people “inside” each other? why cant they disable this for WvW. after all, it forces you to tab target into stead of relying movements and positioning right?

And if people cant run through each other, you cant have 50 people right by the commander. So create force field, in which everyone in the field gets any buff and passive bonus as long as they are in the field.

Hello,

I dropped into ET recently, and fought against Kaineng and EBay during OCX and SEA. Was great to see float teams with 20+ running the BLs. Also had really fun roaming/small man action for most part.

ET had troops that were quick to learn, pick up tactical siege placements and class builds. Esp Prometheus who took the time trouble to work hard. I had to leave early but I will remember your tenacity.

/Salute
FW

selan.8354:

quercus.9261:

I hit them with my hammer, they hit me back with their hammer, everyone is a heavy wailing away with a hammer. Every time I die it is six guys with hammers and maybe a meteor shower. It has been weeks since I got hit with a mind wrack or even a backstab. I see a blurred frenzy or hip shot on my log and I get all nostalgic.

I am playing a shout heals hammer warrior because you are either on the hammer train or under it.

yep same in tier 2. war, guard, glass ele meta…. u wont see much blurred frenzy as it only needs 1-2 mes for a zerg if u want veil. mes is not viable otherwise(no stability, no aoe), ranger is not viable, necro is being pushed out of meta too( war condi cleanse, ele condi cleanse, no stability, bad combat mobility), engi wouldnt be that bad, but then again what can an engi do better than a warrior?(nothing), there are thieves and they mainly gank and use blinds and pulls, but thats it.
u see where balance fails if u put 30 war vs 30 mes or 30 war vs 30 rangers, the outcome is pretty clear.
war is incredibly easy to play, all your cc is on low cd’s, cc has no dimishing returns, your victim cant even get up or use a block and then super tankiness combined with healing signet and power is just too much.
u wont see man mesmers unless mes gets some form of non ai aoe…shatters wont even hit a zerg if u arent traited with ip.
wvw used to be much better balanced when wvw and spvp balance was split. at least u saw every class represented.
even necros that have aoe skills are slowly dissappearing and i mean its not fun if u are forced to play a war,guard or ele in order to be viable in your favorite game mode. rangers arent even accepted in a lot of guilds….o.0

This.

In a keep fight, a competent melee driver will take out any range. The combination of stability, hard cc and hardcrits coming purely from warrior/guardian pretty much steam rolls over every class in keep fights. The range class cannot maneuver and pvt range are kitten.

FW

Hello SonofNoob,

Thanks for your point of view, I’ve been looking at it almost 24/7 but haven’t seen any, been pointing to some folks to go TC/BG for T1 SEA times. Could you put the timezone for non-Full status so that the potential transfers may be informed?

FW

SonofNoob.3102:

Fannwong.3059:

Hello Deli,

I hear you. I’ve been looking at lull times and have noticed TC has the most lull times, JQ next and BG doesn’t have any. BG is likely ready for Season 2. T1 will have great fights in Season 2 for sure, regardless of winner.

FW

Deli.1302:

Fannwong.3059:

There are also lull times with low wvw pop sometimes in EU timezone, especially with TC server.

FW

I don’t think a 50+ man float team constitutes as a “lull”

BG does have lull times. Please don’t speak on things you have no idea about.

Hello Deli,

I hear you. I’ve been looking at lull times and have noticed TC has the most lull times, JQ next and BG doesn’t have any. BG is likely ready for Season 2. T1 will have great fights in Season 2 for sure, regardless of winner.

FW

Deli.1302:

Fannwong.3059:

There are also lull times with low wvw pop sometimes in EU timezone, especially with TC server.

FW

I don’t think a 50+ man float team constitutes as a “lull”

There are also lull times with low wvw pop sometimes in EU timezone, especially with TC server.

FW

Hello Hamster,

I wrote this some time ago in warhammer, where we could have warbands of up to 24 so some of the terminology could be different. I have found that T1 servers like JQ and TC have a lot of commanders who have this attitude towards pugs/militia. I assume that BG too has them (eg Cuddlepie). Without militia a server cannot be in T1.

FW

Here are some tips on how to lead a PUG group. Most folks don’t like to do this because it requires a lot of time and effort. Ultimately, this game is about fun and if you don’t find it fun leading PUGs, don’t do it. Also, you will never have 100% of the guys listening to you, so either put the guy on /ignore or leave him to die in WvW alone. Death is the only lesson that dissenters learn from:

0. Start with scouting and 2-3 man havoc groups, learn the map politics, hit camps, kill stragglers, then graduate towards bigger groups as you find success. Scouting and havoc are building blocks of conducting tactical and strategic warfare.

1. Patience.

2. Patience.

3. Patience.

4. Do not use words/phrases that you wouldn’t use on your mother.

5. Preventing a wipe must remain at the top of your priorities. If you know that your warband might get wiped, prepare your troops by giving them a warning. This is extremely crucial for maintaining morale. If warband morale drops, confidence in your leadership will be shaken and the warband will probably disband after 1 or 2 wipes. In short, having a career with more wiping than getting wiped guarantees a higher level of trust in your leadership.

6. Feed your warband with kills and loot. This will boost morale and increase warband cohesion.

8. If people don’t obey your instructions, don’t be afraid to give warnings. Also, be generous and say “thank you” to your people when they have done a good job. The PUG in your group is also a human being sitting in front of a PC, trying to have fun. Encouragement and firm discipline without using harsh words will build trust and loyalty. You will be able to get your warband to make more complex maneuvers as they grow in experience. The Art of War speaks about a benevolent leader caring for his troops. It’s a good lesson not only for WvW but for real life. As in real life and WvW, your people will know whether you have their welfare in mind or not. Love your troops and they will follow you.

9. If you joined a warband and you have suggestions, /w the warband leader. Do not give suggestions that look like orders, people in the warband might get confused.

Hello Goldenwing,

Great to see that BG is out there this week kicking butt. At the moment BG is leading in the scores along with a rather balanced matchup. Much respect to the troops. /Salute.

FW

goldenwing.8473:

PS: Had to update the sig with that one.

Hello Zepher,

TC and any NA T2 server would totally benefit from your transfer. Your contribution would be 100% welcome for Season 2 and beyond.

FW

Zepher.7803:

We have 10 solid people that are wondering if there is a need for a guild that enjoys the defensive side of things.

is there a need anywhere in the top tiers?

we can literally sit in towers/keeps all day and keep 2,3,4 places well sieged and nearby camps flowing.

and make kitten sure a zerg doesn’t need to come in and wipe 20 people plinking a gate or wall. (near or far)

Hello Jaxs,

I am pretty worried about ESO tbh.

I had a chat with some folks about the weekend beta and they mentioned the word ‘polish’ and proceeded to describe about the extreme lag in AvA (server backend likely), etc.

I was in the last Warhammer beta weekend with max lvl20s and the RvR was superb in Tier2. It was only on release that we hit the city siege that folks realized the game wasn’t complete. People left in spades, and the city instance wasn’t fixed till months after the game was released.

Drawing from the experience, I am doubtful about ESO’s longevity because code cannot be rushed. If it’s not polished at this stage, it won’t be polished on release. It will be done months later.

That said, most folks will try out ESO just because WvW has become stale as you said.

FW

Jaxs.5830:

Cactus.2710:

iggybl.5034:

Massive blob capping empty towers then switching to different borderland; it doesn’t matter which side is doing it, it is fun for no one. It doesn’t matter if ESO will be any good or not; it is at least somewhat different.

Any game (such as ESO) where the devs are at least TRYING to craft a viable open world PvP mode is more deserving of our attention than GW2 has been. ANet isn’t even pretending anymore …

TESO AvA might end up as bad, it might fail horribly.

GW2 WvW system is bad and has failed.

I would rather gamble on ‘might’ than ‘is’.

GW2 is a solid game. The combat is good, the classes are great and lots of other good things I like about the game. I am just tired of playing in a marginalized game mode.

Hello,

Yeah, that’s been happening quite a bit. Most of the regular WvWers are just putting tonnes of stunbreakers/condicleanse in their utility belt as a result. No choice.

FW

Xillllix.3485:

Is Anet ever going to cap immobilization stacks to something like 5 seconds?

Being unable to move for 15 sec when your fighting 1 vs 3 is far from pleasant.
Am I wrong to think that when a player cannot move for over 15 seconds in a video game something could be wrong with the gameplay?

Fannwong.3059:

Hi!

There are quite a few great staff builds in the elementalist section. I’ve seen them, really good. Key for staff ele in the current meta is water support. Another key thing about your build is focusing on fighting in enclosed spaces, this means the right combo of armor, health and food. Enclosed spaces are the hardest for range, if you can survive that you can do openfield.

You’ll spend weeks tinkering with what works best for you so don’t get your ascended until you are 100% sure.

Have fun
FW

Hello, Engis are one of the most underrated class for wvw. Waterfields and natural chokepoints and area denial makes it a great class to play in siege defense and openfield fights.

Fw

Hello Zenith

Can I assume that your guild is really interested in improving?

Perhaps you can ask one of the hardcore guilds in your server to give some form of training or share some ideas.

Alternatively, you might want to enquire about asking or hiring drivers who specialize in gvg (15 and 20) mans or openfield skirmish (15-25man). It can go up to 1000-1500g (excluding transfer cost) for 1-2 weeks of training including build setups etc. Works out at ~4.76g per person per day for 14 days in a 15man group.

You might also get the trainer to log on to an account with a guard or warrior on your server if he/she doesn’t want to move over.

FW

Zenith.6403:

I’ve been on a couple of guilds now that have this thing called “guild raid” on WvW borderlands.

“Everyone get on TS”, “Which TS?”, “Our own TS.”
“Everyone needs to have microphone to join and xxKIdxxx stop playing music on backround please.”

Then about 7 people show up on borderlands and start afk’ing at spawn for good part of hour waiting for their buddies to show up. Once the number is about 15 it’s time to get inventory of professions and what equipment everyone is wearing. There’s debates about builds and what order every skill is used. The guild may have commander in it, but he doesn’t turn the tag on because some smelly PUGs might join the guild raid and that would diminish the glory.

“Alright, looks like we’re set.”
The 15-man guild group ventures out and meets enemy 25-35 man PUG group with commander leading it. The wipe is real.

“OMG you guys suck! Didn’t I just tell you what field you need to put down! Why don’t you stick up with me?”
2 players kicked from guild.
Raid over.

Hello

Unfortunately, you are mistaken. I am not sure where you got your data from, could you kindly state your source?

I followed my commander Jang/WM to KN in December 2012 before it went up the ranks. Then I left for SOR in Feb. If you had checked MOS, Sor was never no1 at that time, in fact SOR SEA was the weakest of the 3 servers. SOR has more losses then wins in the entire career of the server.

A large portion of KN soon followed WM to BG in March 2013, not SOR. WvW guild went to TC, then JQ. PH guild came much later in the later part of the year to SOR.

FW

ykyk.2740:

Fannwong.3059:

Hello,

I have to agree with Letoll on this.

BG leadership direction was clearly headed that way since league. Winning at all costs. I hope the true warrior leaders in BG can change things for the better. Gw2 is not war, gw2 is a game.

FW

LetoII.3782:

There being noone to fight is the logical conclusion of stacking.
But fights aren’t important are they? Winning is

IIRC you were KN (when they were wagoned) into SoR and now into JQ to stack their strongest timeslot, so don’t embarrass yourself lol

Hello,

I have to agree with Letoll on this.

BG leadership direction was clearly headed that way since league. Winning at all costs. I hope the true warrior leaders in BG can change things for the better. Gw2 is not war, gw2 is a game.

FW

LetoII.3782:

There being noone to fight is the logical conclusion of stacking.
But fights aren’t important are they? Winning is

Hello,

I do not represent the community. I only give information that was given me. I do not troll the forums, I only troll my guild mates.

I have had a few BG folks PM me this morning (It’s Saturday morning for reset in Asia) and I would like to share my thoughts about the state of T1.

The PPT game mechanics that Anet has implemented will create monster servers. To ensure wins, leadership will recruit as much as possible to cover the 24/7 cycle and hit the transition time zones where it’s a dead time with little defenders.

HOD did this, SOS did this. JQ did this to counter SOS back in early 2012 and BG did this in league and after league. I’ll be honest, if I was in the same position with money to spend I would do the same. It’s the only logical end to the PPT meta to ensure a win.

However, in the long term the losing team will leave. This is not because they are weak, this is because WvW is a game. WvW is not war. People want to have fun in games, they want to have wins once in a while so they can fun. People need hope to win once in a while and if they don’t have hope then there is no point to the game because it’s not fun anymore. If they don’t have fun they will leave GW2 to find fun in other games.

What will be WvW be like in the end? I am not sure, primarily because of EOTM. This map will draw quite a bit of the the nonPPT folks (not excluding PPT ones) and will affect all servers. Wait 2-3 weeks if you want to shift your guilds, things will stabilize about then.

I know one thing for sure, there are folks getting bored because there is no enemy to fight in WvW. A lot of these fighters will leave GW2 if there are other RvR/WvW games coming out. If not they will leave for other servers to find more balanced fights.

The cycle will continue because the game mechanic is PPT, there will be other servers stacking to ensure wins.

Human beings do not learn from mistakes, we learn from what it takes to win the official meta.

FW

Hello Smokee,

I’ve been PMed that you are an honorable man and that you seek to do the right thing for the Blackgate community and the state of T1. I salute you. However I also have information that says BG is doing otherwise. On retrospect, I think these 2 facts are not impossible to coexist. I sincerely wish you the best and I will leave the thread. My sincere apologies to the OP, I did not mean to derail the thread, this will be my last post.

FW

PS: At no point did the original post state that you were ‘pvd’, T3 keeps were not mentioned also. I’ll be honest, I find it odd that the post was inferred as such.

Smokee.1754:

Fannwong.3059:

Hello Smokee,

Thank you for sharing your point of view. I stand on the information given to me.

Do check my post history. I never troll on the forums. Ever. The ex-IRON folks in your guild can attest to that.

FW

Smokee.1754

Please name your source or I call BS like with the rest of your post. Im not sure if you are trying very badly to troll, or you are just another brainwashed SoR player.

Please answer my questions.

Q1) When if ever did BG reset a T3 keep in EU prime during the last 4 weeks. According to you we do nothing but pvd T3 keeps during this timezone, so it should be easy for you to answer.

Q2) Who are the EU guilds transfering to BG? Name them, name your source or withdraw your BS.

Hello Smokee,

Thank you for sharing your point of view. I stand on the information given to me.

Do check my post history. I never troll on the forums. Ever. The ex-IRON folks in your guild can attest to that.

FW

Smokee.1754

Please name your source or I call BS like with the rest of your post. Im not sure if you are trying very badly to troll, or you are just another brainwashed SoR player.

Hello DivineBeing,

Unfortunately that is not true, BG was actively recruiting pvx guilds after Season 1.

FW

DivineBeing.2086:

ykyk.2740:

Personally I think T2 as it is now is reasonably balanced, but T1 is starting to look more and more out of whack and we all know this means another shift in the rankings is in the making.

SoR looks to be struggling in T1 coverage-wise. If history is anything to go by, momentum is a real thing in the power balance. SoS will likely continue to pick up players whether they like it or not. This could be a good thing if SoS ends up being the server to replace SoR in T1. With some luck, SoR can be competitive in T2 and the top 3 NA tiers might look reasonably balanced (there’ll still be favorites, especially in T2 and 3, but it’s probably better than what we have now).

T1 is even more of a worse spot now that JQ accept guild transfers. They could have gone the BG route and turned away the transfer requests to servers that need them. I cannot tell you how many guilds we have had to turn away since leagues ended.

Our main competitor accepting more guild transfers is a definite way to start an arms race instead of balancing populations.

Hello Juno,

I do agree that the guard stacks are OP.

But they made WXP incredibly easy to get tbh.

Getting 115 takes about a few days. Also, WXP can be bought by laurels too.

FW

juno.1840:

Guard stacks provide an advantage in combat, and that advantage is obtained purely by time investment. This is a different fundamental mechanic over the siege attributes as you’re not engaging in 30 on 30 siege battles (nor 5v5, nor 1v1).

Hello Reverence,

I am trying to be civil in the discussion even though I disagree with your point of view.

As stated, the data that I referenced wasn’t about this week nor last week. BG leaders have said that PVXers are doing the event the turnout is very low in wvw. I will repeat again, data showing OCX and EU dominance prior 2-3 weeks are there in MOS NA.

Unfortunately even though you used a formal ‘sir’, it is clear that you have turned this discussion ad hominem. This behavior is deplorable and contemptuous, I will disengage and refrain from showing more facts.

FW

Reverence.6915:

Fannwong, you sir, are the biggest troll here. I think you may be mistaking JQ for BG right now.

JQ always has been the “King of SEA”. They now have the biggest Oceanic coverage as well with basically all of SoR’s OCE moving to JQ. JQ’s EU is a little weaker than BG’s, but it’s hardly this so-called “PVDoor”. I logged in during EU/early NA today and saw SF and SG and had a few skirmishes with them. Was pretty fun actually, even though we only had like 30 people for all 4 maps at one point (not counting people not on TS, but even including them doesn’t bump the number up by that much).

Of course, you’re from SoR, the server that likes to whine the most about the winning servers.

Le Rooster.8715:

Seigfried.5938:

You guys can enjoy your balanced matchups PPT wise, while we enjoy our unbalanced matchups with great and frequent fights.

Chris, you have always complained about tier 1 stacking at the cost of other servers, but isn’t SoS doing that right now at the cost of tier 4?

You do realize that most of us didn’t know that the guilds were coming over, they just came over and we welcomed them.

Why do you think everyone whines about BG’s so-called “buying guilds” thing? You’re not allowed to have guilds come over to your server anymore you know that? :P. But in all seriousness, get to recruiting some more SEA and EU

Hello Jojojoon,

I have to be fair. ZDs wanted SOR but were turned away because IRON wanted fights. But when season started Wrex was in hospital and IRON was effectively crippled for the season.

However at that time BG leadership also took in many small/medium pvx guilds despite knowing that with these guilds BG was guaranteed a confirmed win due to overwhelming coverage.

FW

jojojoon.8607:

You guys have to understand that understating numbers and tanking intentionally to manipulate the scores are forms of propaganda that will help with recruitment. How do think BG was able to recruit ZDs for season 1 when BG has by far the strongest EU on NA servers.

Season 2 is approaching and BG has already recruited a few new EU guilds to replace ZD.

Hello DivineBeing,

I do not doubt your honesty but unfortunately your data is in error.

This and last week are anomalies as your leaders have said they’re focused on pve content in the gw2wvw.net matchup thread.

MoS data 3 weeks and back refutes your statements. Bg has won by >20-30% against JQ and SoR, indicating a coverage issue, mainly in EU and OCX.

Do check my history in gw2wvw.net and guru. I never troll and I never lie. My data is correct within a 5-9% variance.

FW

DivineBeing.2086:

Fannwong.3059:

Hello Reverence,

I respectfully disagree with you on some key points.

The EU force that BG has runs unopposed in EU time reducing t3 structures to paper. That is a domino effect on NA time much like the leagues.

In BG times their big hits in EU on JQ and SoR wp objectives at 1am-2am onwards. Please note that I’m not complaining, only stating BG tactics (commendable) in hitting servers at the transition zones.

I have on T2 for a stint recently and I can confirm the assessment that BG still has a very strong OCX and EU of T1 and T2.

Currently BG is in the process of enhancing the EU forces for more coverage in season 2 to ensure a 80-90% chance of victory.

There’s very little chance of having a balanced T1 and T2 for the foreseeable future.

Wow. That was the most inaccurate post I have ever read about BG honestly.

Who is your “source” btw? Because if you check MOS for this entire week and prior weeks, Oceanic is by far our weakest time zone. Our 3x 15-20 man oceanic guilds are PvX guilds that don’t get on WvW all that often, leading most of the time a pug commander for 3x BLs. So yea, our Oceanic force is obviously super strong ticking at 150 ppt, feel that power /rollseyes

EU time zone being all pvdoor? Our only 2x EU guilds are HB (you seriously think they play the ppt game?) And RK (which do not form up every night). Both guilds are 20 man guilds too. HB plays primarily in NA time zone btw.

Our only strong time zone is SEA which is matched by JQ, except our SEA tend to stay up until 2AM their time, which goes into early EU time zone.

And to further disprove your points, get on around 1 to 4 PM server time and watch SoRs 60 man map zerg float between all the BLs papering keeps/towers before BGs NA crew even get home from work. You’ll notice BG ticking around 150-225 ppt during that time.

Hello Reverence,

I respectfully disagree with you on some key points.

The EU force that BG has runs unopposed in EU time reducing t3 structures to paper. That is a domino effect on NA time much like the leagues.

In BG times their big hits in EU on JQ and SoR wp objectives at 1am-2am (gmt+8) onwards. Please note that I’m not complaining, only stating BG tactics (commendable) in hitting servers at the transition zones.

I have on T2 for a stint recently and I can confirm the assessment that BG still has a very strong OCX and EU of T1 and T2.

Currently BG is in the process of enhancing the EU forces for more coverage in season 2 to ensure a 80-90% chance of victory.

There’s very little chance of having a balanced T1 and T2 for the foreseeable future.

FW

Reverence.6915:

Chris.3290:

I have no idea how SoR compares to T2 (how is their non-NA prime?) but they can probably still beat TC and SoS; even if it would probably be close.

BG’s EU would completely demolish any T2 (ticking over +500 at times) and both JQ and BG outnumber any T2 NA. Add in a crushing advantage in SEA….nah, it would be a bad joke.

There’s no population advantage during NA between T1 and T2 right now. Was a bit different back in leagues, but it is really really different now. Especially with a focus on smaller groups from both JQ and BG so instead of seeing 70-80 man blobs, you’d see 2-3x 20-30 man groups on different parts of the map, most of whom are looking for fights. Also, we can’t queue all 4 maps during NA prime anymore, so there’s that… we usually just have 20-30 people on each map now with a 30~ish group floating. At least BG does.

SoR could beat T2 servers, but it would be pretty close I think. They no longer have any EU and their Oceanic is pretty small now since most of them moved to JQ.

BG’s EU is 50 people max on TS. I’m not quite sure how that will “demolish” any T2 server. Sure, if we face 2 T2 servers, we’ll probably tick 400~, but it certainly won’t be “demolishment”. Same with JQ. During Oceanic, T2 servers would outnumber BG’s Oceanic believe it or not, but that’s only in a 3-5 hour period. Throw another T1 server into the mix and BG would be ticking what we normally tick during Oceanic these days – 150~200.

You would be correct in that any T1 SEA population would destroy T2 servers at the moment though. Outside of T1, perhaps only Darkhaven could put up some fight. Maybe. From my experience, on a good day, we can queue 3 maps and have a 20-30 man team on the 4th map (usually EBG cause kitten EBG) during early SEA, and have an 80 man float team during late SEA and into early EU. The only server that can compare with that is JQ.

BG and JQ during early SEA is like South Koreans vs Taiwanese/Chinese haha

Anyway, tl;dr, several time zones between T1 and T2 would be fairly even with a slight advantage to T1. Only during SEA would see T1 come out on a huge lead. If T2/3 servers can get some decent SEA coverage, we could have 6~8 servers that are fairly balanced. GET RECRUITING!

I am so sorry to hear this.

Rest in peace Starscream.

FW

Hello Saturn,

Thanks for your help! I understand now.

FW

Hello Royale

In another wvw game, only 4 persons from guilds with a high rank could do server wide broadcasts over pve and rvr areas. It worked extremely well for rvr field coordination through 3 maps. It also serve to alert people in PvE that a fortress was under attack.

FW

Royale.5863:

Pretty basic, allow Commanders to send out server wide messages to rally troops. This could make a huge difference to servers that are struggling to hold keeps.

Obviously put a limit on the amount of messages sent per hour perhaps, or some other limitation to prevent spamming.

Hello SkylightMoon,

I have workshopped with guilds in SOR (NYS 2013 Feb batch) and SBI (TE) in engaging large enemy forces. It’s possible to destroy or at least strip them 30-40man melee balls down.

You will need:

1. Really excellent range with great SA to keep them pressured with stripping stability, chills, slows, and utility to slow them down.

2. A solid driver on your side to watch their buffs, surge timing and positioning. Your driver needs to keep his cool and patience because you slice the melee ball like slicing roast beef, theres no way to take a ball down in one go.

Its possible to train pugs to do this. We have pushed off 50man ZD (heavy melee Russians) and ND (Koreans) with pugs in voice comms.

FW

SkylightMoon.1980:

I run a 15-20 man skill group with about 9-13 heavies depending on the group size with the rest ranged. We usually dont have much trouble wiping groups that are 30-40 man sized grouped, especially pugs. The only thing we have had trouble with lately is countering 30-40 man groups that run 20-30 melee. Specific guilds actually that just run enormous melee together. It seems impossible to counter as by the 3rd or 4th push we’ve only wiped out 10 people in their zerg while their entire melee train is still alive. Theres no way in hell we can push into the melee train with our melee, as we all get melted instantly. Slowing down the melee train with cripple and chill does work for a bit and gives us time to do other things but its still not enough. 20-30 melee, especially guardians, have an enormous amount of healing and dps, and health.

Hello guys,

I got a strange issue, was wondering if this is a known bug.

I have a major energy of sigil in the focus. It does not trigger if there’s another weapon like the mace/scepter equipped. It will only trigger when there’s no other weapon.

Has anybody else experienced this too?

Thanks!
FW

I had the black screen issue and tried everything.

Changing config. Software reinstall. Etc.

Then on a hunch I removed the ram and put an eraser to the metallic/gold connection.

It worked. No more crashes.

YMMV
FW