Guild Wars 2

For me, pvp was far more enjoyable from late 2012 until June 2015 (when they did that huge update that nerfed warriors and thieves in preparation for HoT’s revenant)

I’m more than happy to go against the mess turret engies and d/d eles were over the crap we have now.

Unranked maps offer a breath of fresh air. I cringe when I get forest and foefire over and over again. Those 2 maps take up 65-70% of my matches.

My favourite meta was before they screwed up the trait system.

The previous trait system seemed well designed and thought of. The new system felt like it was done by a different group of game designers who didn’t understand some of the class mechanics.

The professions that suffered the most from this change were thieves, warriors and engies. However, thieves and engies got a small buff from the expac that made slightly more useful.

When I said OP I meant trytonyeti not Aeryn.

I was more surprised to have the OP link and reference one of my threads considering how much he dislikes me.

I had a very strong hunch that what he revealed was ongoing as early as the first week of the leagues. The patterns were easy to recognize but this post is what confirmed it.

SoloQing is already challenging in itself because you never know the kind of teammates gets thrown in with you. But SoloQing plus going against premades, plus going against premades that apply unfair, manipulative tactics – I don’t even know why I still bother.

Only thing I can say is…mad props to those who made it to diamond without tanking their MMR and by soloQing exclusively.

Even though pip farming using these methods is super sleazy and hard to respect, there is really only one entity to blame.

hotcarl.8621:

Pimsley.3681:

Replacing the old trait system that used points and distributed stats with the communist version we have now destroyed diversity.

Back then you could run unique yet effective builds on ele, engie, ranger…..

I disagree with that statement; prior to HoT, there were a number of effective builds out there for each profession. I think the June 2015 patch that streamlined traits was a good thing, but I think that the elite specs destroyed all the hard work that went into the previous major update.

The June update brought destruction and killed diversity, especially in pvp.

1. They removed stats from trailts and merged it all with amulet

2. Anything that restricts and limits your choices from what they used to be is anti-diversity.

3. June Update Was Murder. The worst update for me. Aside from trait limitation, certain builds and entire professions were messed up completely. One hasnt recovered yet.

Victims of June update:

• Shout warriors – was the nerf to shout necessary? Even if they didn’t nerf it, shout warriors would still be underwhelming in this meta. Nerfing it was overkill

• Warriors in general – the synergy between skills/traits/elites/grandmasters were poorly done

• Elixir Infused Bomb engie – build annihilated

• Engie trait/skill synergy between incendiary powder and nades – divorced/separated

- Engie traits were done as poorly as the warrior. But they made little improvements since June update. The biggest improvement from came from HoT, not June update

• Thieves were a mess. After June update, every class countered them and they had survival issues. Like the engie, they were made a little better by the expac.

• Fresh air ele did not feel nor play like it used to before the June update.

• Poison master ranger was nerfed by half….50%…. It was viable then but not worth running the build anymore. The hard nerf made it ineffective.

• Ranger traps no longer ground targeted. Bark skin no longer grandmaster but effectiveness nerfed. Old bark skin way more potent.

These were the ones on top of my head but there were more.

Only necro and mesmer got healthy buffs from June update. Buff to eles doesn’t count as it was taken away in Sept.

They’re both great.

Tempest = defensive support thru powerful aura and condi cleansing shouts w/ soldier runes. Tempest is up there when it comes to overall defensive support. But this is assuming the ele isn’t selfish by using the cleansing grandmaster instead of auras.

Chorno = offensive support thru alarcity. They can still be amazing especially when the pug team is organized at focusing targets. Plus they have great mobility and are reliable stompers.

Behind the league vendor.

TheOneWhoSighs.7513:

Pimsley.3681:

Blaming others feels good because it gets the burden of responsibility off our shoulders.

Besides, we are perfect little creatures and it’s never our fault. Right?

However if we want to progress in this game (and in life), we need the help and cooperation of others. Often, blaming them is counter-productive. A better alternative is to teach those who are receptive to advice. Doing so will slowly improve the enjoyment everyone gets out of the game.

Your post reminded me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjI0ilcMNTM

Someone else posted that before. It’s fricken hilarious.

That was hilarious. I was a little kid when Street Fighter 2 came out in the arcade and remember seeing people waiting in line to play.

Was sarcastic about being perfect. I blush when I think about the hopeless noob crap I did in the past.

Blaming others feels good because it gets the burden of responsibility off our shoulders.

Besides, we are perfect little creatures and it’s never our fault. Right?

However if we want to progress in this game (and in life), we need the help and cooperation of others. Often, blaming them is counter-productive. A better alternative is to teach those who are receptive to advice. Doing so will slowly improve the enjoyment everyone gets out of the game.

Vapour.7348:

“Please uninstall”

hey soloQers, I plagiarized the content below from Interpret Interrupt.3824 who has been pvping for 3+ yrs.

Mesmer pro tip. If you are using mesmer heal skill well, cast it so it benefits your team as well. They get the heal.

Ele pro tip. Just because your health bar is full does not mean that you should ignore water attunement. Use it to heal your teammates. Similarly using magnetic aura to protect your team. Ele is the least selfish class in the game that is often played the most selfishly.

Engi pro tip. Stop using stralth gyro on your capped node. Save it for teammate downs for perfect rezzing. You are decapping yourself.

Rev pro tip. You have the best kill pursuit in the game. Our necro should not be chasing that guy, you should teleport to him.

Warriror pro tip. Sometimes its better to HB on a downed teammate instead of rezzing. It has certainly won me some 2v2s.

Necro pro tip. Save that fear mark for the cheesy rev blocks. Instant ride turner.

Thief pro tip. Time the elite so that the first two strikes hit before the downing. Then it is an instant finisher.

Guard pro tip. Drop longbow 5 when people cluster for downs.

TheSwede.9512:

Ok, so I’m back with a scenario this time:

Imagine a Mirror match where everyone are PuGs of equal skill level in actual fights. Setup is Chrono, Tempest, Rev, Reaper and Scrapper. Map is Forest.

At the start of the match, you notice that the Scrapper is gonna head far and he doesn’t listen to /t. What should you do in this case?

A/ Ignore him, go 3 to mid and hope to hold out long enough for your Home-point capper to reinforce and make it a 4v4?
B/ Send 1 other player with him in a 2-2-1 split, hoping they’ll be able to decap or steal the opponent’s Home Point despite you obviously losing Mid?
C/ Abandon Mid completely and rush people to far?
D/ Sigh, count a lost pip and just fight a losing battle as you normally would cause there’s no saving that?

Unless it’s a high mobility build, going far at the start will always fail.

It’s a risky thing to do in a pug team.

The intent for doing it is not capping but preventing the opponents from scoring. Most people that run far don’t even know why they are going there in the first place. Many many many many many times I’ve seen teammates engage in a far fight after the opponents have capped it.

It gives me the urge to want to yell till their ears bleed.

What do I do when that happens? If no one is getting home, Im usually at home and would rush to mid after capping. Then at mid, I prepare for the outnumbered fight and rez or stomp as quickly as I can. That’s pretty much all I can do.

If far is already capped., it’s a waste of resource to send 2 people there. Because consider mid gone. And after opponents cap mid, guess where they will go next?

TheGrimm.5624:

abc.5790:

hackks.3687:

Teamwork beats solo play every time. Every time.

Winning the fight will always win you the point. Winning the point will not always win you the fight.

Defending a point is not limited to standing on said point

That’s correct. It’s not really defending when the bunk sits at home breathing through his mouth while his teammates are out struggling in an outnumbered battle.

I think this is one of biggest points of contention and a great example. If a point is never threatened, then you just made your team fight handicapped everywhere else. The same tactic does not always work. Be aware, be ready to change up and react if needed. One size does not fit all. Playing as a full 5 man, have fun and pre-set all you want. If you don’t then be as ready to change up as you expect that random person to change up for you.

In either case, if you are courteous to that random then odds are a little better they might be back. Go straight in with preconceptions and attitude and you can expect to get what you give and you just hurt your entire team.

The matches are not one-size-fits-all and that’s why SoloQ is exciting to me. Of course it can also be highly frustrating.

There’s no need to sit and bunk home if the opponents aren’t aggressive enough to contest or cap it. The most exciting matches are the ones with constant momentum.

Mobility is almost mandatory and one of the reasons why Chronobunkers are still amazing despite the precog nerf. There are so many tactics one could do with superior mobility – from quick decaps while opponents are spawning, assaulting gate in forefire to get their bunker off home, etc.

Replacing the old trait system that used points and distributed stats with the communist version we have now destroyed diversity.

Back then you could run unique yet effective builds on ele, engie, ranger…..

I like warriors.

It has a pretty high leaning cap. Anyone can play it because the mechanics are simple but being a good warrior means effectively landing your skills. That’s what separates the good from the ordinary.

But currently, it’s hard to survive as a warrior due to the insane amount of CC, protection buffs, resistance. The damage is so-so but survival is in poor critical shape.

Thief in a 1-3-1 starting split can work effectively if you’re in an organized team. That arrangement in a solo pug is extremely risky because you must rely on mid not wiping in a 3v4, assuming the enemies went 4 mid.

If the solo q pug team has a bunker, then having a thief who knows what he’s doing can work devastatingly well.

A lot of players are judgmental based solely on the “meta” without fully recognizing the strengths non meta classes can deliver.

meow one twenty.4376:

Pimsley.3681:

I enjoyed reading the wall of text and can relate.

We all know a puppy dies every time a teammate with bad mobility runs far, fails to decap and leave us outnumbered

I’d rather have a veteran warrior than a noob expact elite

Ugh, this is what I tell people when they yell at me for not going far on my Necro.

Yeah, for me I cringe when a teammate volunteers to go far. Most of the time they’ve already made their decision. The 1-3-1 split is very risky to do in a solo pug team

You only go far if you have the mobility to get there before they capture it. It’s not necessarily 3 capping but contesting/preventing them for scoring.

I remember your healing necro.

I enjoyed reading the wall of text and can relate.

We all know a puppy dies every time a teammate with bad mobility runs far, fails to decap and leave us outnumbered

I’d rather have a veteran warrior than a noob expact elite

This condition ricochet power rez your enemies bug has been around…….. for years.

TY @ Trevor, Aeryn, Aphix for reiterating the importance of communication, defense and mobility.

that baby stealing dingo.7216:

Not much seems to get stickied in these forums, but this thread is close to warranting a sticky.

No matter what our other complaints may be in PvP (and I have plenty), good tactics will always help. I’ve already learned a thing or two on this thread.

One thing I will say is you get better results from your teammates with honey than with salt. Add “Please” to your chat messages and don’t bother starting flamewars because the time you spend typing could be spent capping, and you can sometimes win a match that seems hopeless at the time. I’ve noticed that teams that are good at fighting are not necessarily good at map rotation.

Keep an eye on the map every few seconds and grab the empty node if everyone is having a battle royale. Any player no matter how underpowered can do this.

Thank you for your kinds words and yes, charm goes a long way. Sadly, many are lacking in that department, myself included.

Your suggestion will never get implemented, it makes too much sense. The following are other posts people have suggested, some references were made before the league started.

This needs to be prevented in the future. I’ve seen low-mediocre skilled pvpers climb divisions using the method the link’s OP is complaining about:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/pvp/MMR-Weights-and-Pip-loss/

Some kind of MMR reset is a must. A lot of people have voiced that already but will they ever listen:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/pvp/Anet-Please-Do-the-Right-Thing

I don’t even know why we still have this. It creates the wrong impression in the minds of people on how conquest is played. I personally think it is the main culprit on why there are so many bad players in this game:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/pvp/The-ONLY-time-when-personal-score-matter/

It’s like teaching a child differential calculus after exposing him to lead poisoning.

TheOneWhoSighs.7513:

Pimsley.3681:

I personally get discouraged when teammates hp drop to red and then black in a matter of seconds.

So don’t bring ChronoShatter, got it.

i dont care if you bring your condi warrior w/ assassin ammy or power scepter necro with magi ammy as long as you know what you’re doing.

Vapour.7348:

For me, the game lost its greatness on the June 23 update.

It took away from me 6 builds that I have spent lots of time trying to master. It destroyed warrior, thief and engie traits. Engie only slightly recovered from it due to Scrapper elite giving it some sustain.

But it destroyed thieves and warriors traits to where they would need a complete overhaul.

And on top of that, they downgraded and made less useful, the trait system . I prefer putting allotted points in various trait lines. Builds became less unique and diverse when they forced us to choose 3 traitlines instead.

I quit playing for 2 months.

Healing bomb engie with incendiary powder used to get me lots of PMs. I miss that build. Now engie bombs have the most awkward looking animation. Im seriously embarrassed to use it.

nearlight.3064:

Pimsley.3681:

nearlight.3064:

On a related note, howler got intos nighttime animations un-nerfed, so thats a huge fashion buff for me!

Howler? Wut? Rich PVEr

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Howler in action at night. I tried checking the TP but gosh darn there were only 4-5 legendaries available and no Howler.

Originally it had the night time effects, being that a moon would flow between the wolf head and the fringey things, and the wolf head would howl and move when you used a skill in addition to sending out a wolf head animation. But when they changed the sound effects on it over a year ago after I had first gotten it, they left it so the wolf head would continuously move and howl when you used a skin. People complained and anet removed the night effect and howling animation. Then they finally fixed it back to its original incarnation. And yeah it’s my only legendary, though I’d go for meteo or astralaria or nevermore if I had more time to grind away.

And I’ll show you in game sticker when I get a chance, though due to winter break travels I won’t be on again till like tomorrow.

Seeing how this game promotes vanity, I’d love to see the Howler at night. They got me hooked on skins. I’ll be on tomorrow eve and should be done with most of my holiday shopping. And plus SoloQing on weekends could be very harsh at times

Thank you @ mastergreki & chibbi.

It’s 2 copper to you but priceless to those that want to improve their enjoyment out of pvp!

I loved this game so much more when it allowed us to put points in all 5 trait lines.
If that were still possible, I don’t think we’d be stuck in this bunker meta. I’d only trait for Elemental Shielding on earth, Zephyr’s Boon on Air and Burning Fire.

If OP asked the question 3 years ago, my answer would be Anvil Rock, in NA.

The memories of 10v10 hotjoin Capricorn zerging. Getting on the canon to spread out the zerg and watching them run around aimlessly like ants.

Sirbeaumerdier.3740:

I agree with mostly all but one ting that annoys me a lot because I’m someone like that.

Asking ppl to only play meta build is none of your kitten business. If you hate other players that don’t only play the purest cheese only just don’t soloq yourself and you will have no problem. There is only a problem if you yourself do not assume the inherent risk of soloquing.

I’m allergic to playing what millions are playing… Like I said, I’m like that… I still win more than I loose and do my best to win and cooperate but what I play is only your business if we agree prior to match about what we will do. Otherwise…

I don’t impose people to play the meta builds. In fact the word annoys me because it’s shallow and narrow minded for people to follow it religiously even if it doesn’t apply to them.

What makes me sad is when people bring in garbage builds. The build may be good but their lack of practice still make them garbage and useless. As SoloQuers we should expect everyone including ourselves, to bring in builds we will contribute positively with.

TheSwede.9512:

So, judging from this thread, heading far is very situational? Hmm, makes me think my team needs a re-evaluation.

From personal experience, my team of 3 (Which is the oh-so-cheesy Herald/Chrono/Tempest combo. Bite me, I’ve mained Ele/Engi since a year before HoT.)
So far, our splits have generally consisted of sending Chrono/Herald to mid, while a snatch one of the PuGs and head far, leaving the last to cap home and then reinforce mid.

The reasoning for this split is to Contest Far long enough for us to gain a headstart from capping Home, while Chrono/Herald bunkers mid 2v3 or 2v4 until our homeboy comes in. Depending on enemy reactions, one of the Far team guys run back to Mid to make it a 4v4 there, or 1/2 of their guys return to their Home node to fight us 2v2 or 3v2 (if it’s the latter, we’ve generally counted the game as a win). Once Home and Mid are capped, we retreat and bunker up until the timer goes off.

So far, we’ve won most our games this way (Even against other meta combos), the few times we’ve lost has been because, and believe me I hate to say this, we’ve had a Thief on our team. Or the enemy team was simply better than us, happened too.

Have we just been insanely lucky to get this far? For comparison, our Herald’s in Diamond League, while Chrono/Tempest are Sapphire, sniffing on Ruby. Will we positively crash and burn later on?

Thanks for sharing your team’s strat. I started this guide as a means to help or “remind” SoloQuers basic conquest principles. Communication with 4 random pugs will always be an uphill battle. That’s why everyone should know what we’re really fighting for – ownership of nodes. It’s unreal how many lose track or forget that one simple objective.

An organized 3 man queue has the leverage to carry the rest of the team. You guys have already mapped out a plan which gives you such an enormous advantage over a 5 man pug team. You guys aren’t winning because you’re lucky, you are winning because you are prepared.

Sending one far is a risky proposition for SoloQers. It fails most of the time. But in the case of an organized team, if you arrive there before they cap, then the strategy may work. Giving the home capper and far runner mobility is critical at the start.

Ross Biddle.2367:

I’m playing warrior while in ranked Sapphire and I clearly alter the course of a match

Pls nerf warrior, warrior too op.

@Vapour how the hell did you out-rotate and out-score your opponents being one man down?

It just makes more sense if they were the ones that out-scored you and your team out-rotating them. I think you’re the devil. Can you AFK when my team goes against yours?

Velimere.7685:

Pyriall.1683:

Everyone acts like they’re legendary league level players. Is the match making any good? No, but everyone needs to stop acting like they’re good enough to play against the top tier players. If you are, then put a full 5 man together and go out there and grab the status you crave.

As an fyi, I’ll buy double the gems to cover for the OP not purchasing any.

I need to buy gems anyway coz my characters lost 10lbs and would need to update their wardrobe. Gotta show off their new Slim-Fast/JennyCraig/WeightWatchers body.
I don’t mind spoiling my characters because they’ve been good sports and unlike OP, personal score is meaningless to them.

nearlight.3064:

On a related note, howler got intos nighttime animations un-nerfed, so thats a huge fashion buff for me!

Howler? Wut? Rich PVEr

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Howler in action at night. I tried checking the TP but gosh darn there were only 4-5 legendaries available and no Howler.

SpeedStarr and Vapour 10/10 in the charm department

TY

My family dines at our favorite Chinese restaurant on Christmas. The holidays puts everyone in a joyful spirit.

PvP experience is inversely proportional to the importance of personal score.

XGhoul.7426:

The fact that the OP managed to reel in 40+ responses in an obvious troll thread, hats off to him, 10/10.

It takes one to know one. Teeheehee

I don’t mind having a good thief in the team, especially in Khylo where they shine the brightest.

Nah, OP cant be serious. This is a troll thread.

The secret to celestial amulet is equipping it to a build that can stack might fast and frequently.

The real challenge now is getting the people of hotm to visit the forum and read content like this.

No Walking.6349:

Score DOES matter.

Since when?

If MMR was reset, tanking it wouldn’t even be an option. Everyone will start with a clean slate. While our MMR builds up, other metrics could be used to sort out matchmaking.

Despite the obvious flaws of this pvp platform, it’s really not that bad. It’s also not that great but at least it’s functional. I just hope that they are collecting data and plan on refining this product.

Takanashi.6548:

Pimsley.3681:

hi

Just like your teammate said, you’re lucky they where scrubs…

They were chasing me instead of capping almost the entire match because I was a necro

Anyhow, scrubs or not – it’s not fair for the rest of the team if one person afks. If you queue for ranked matches, you have to accept that not everyone is willing to swap even if it’s stupid not to. You still have to make the most out of the match instead of quitting so early. That’s a pretty unhealthy attitude. So when a teammate swaps, thank them

hi

The noob account isn’t new nor was it free. I paid a good $10 for it!!! Thought it was a bargain because I get 5 character slots for the price of 1. However, I forgot to factor in the inconvenience of being in a separate account.

Couple of guys in-game suggest that I tank the MMR of this account because it’s the best option. Im sure they had good intent and Im not going to judge them for going that route. I’m just too lazy to attempt it and would rather queue with my alt to play for real. Both accounts I queue ranked solo.

It’s crazy though, how my ruby account has gotten 3 pips from 2 matches while main has gotten 3 pips in 4 matches yet still in lowbie division. The system doesn’t think Im good enough to leave Emerald. Guess it’s time I try to git gud.

Please reset everyone’s MMR next season. My participation is unlikely but for the sake of the entire pvp community – new and veteran, solo and team, resetting MMR is the least you could do if you continue allowing premades feed off pugs.

Your experiment of not resetting MMR and relying on 4 weeks of inactivity failed.

PvPers expressed concern about your poor decision. And it looks like they were right all along. This community is not as stupid as you may think.

Tempests are in a good spot and consider them one of the least “gimmicky” builds. They are reliable and I swap to play one if there’s none on the team.

Remember staff-less tempests suffer from poor mobility, low hp pool, low-ish damage output.

If you play carrion Reaper then yes, the ds tempest and certain daredevil builds will counter you. A power necro can handle daredevils well. As for the tempest, you will need to rework your traits, swap amulets and maybe start playing one to better understand their mechanics.