Guild Wars 2

Also using shift-1/2/3/4 here. It made playing an ele bearable.

Bump for official anet response.

So it’s at 9 pages and the sole official feedback has been a request to keep it civil?

More and more I play, I see that downed state encourages zerg behaviour and discourages skill.

I understand that one of the reasons it is there is to give less experienced players “a second chance”. If players were dead dead, as soon as they were downed, then it would discourage all but the competitive types from WvW.

As it stands now however is that WvW encounters end up being just a numbers game. If you have fewer, but more skilled players, at a certain point the smaller group can’t DPS people down faster than they can be ressed from downed state.

Watch this. Next time they have a one-time event, it’ll be buggy and crappy loots instead id precursors. And they’ll continue to pick bad times.

Testing testing testing.

Lady Serah? If that was you in Bluewater Supply, you already have ppl whinging. Good job!

Happy to see d/d bunker builds aren’t completely nerfed to the ground.

My post looks to have been eaten. Basically I tried rifle warrior for first time, and it makes me sick how powerful it is, given the armour and health warriors have. Rangers and Elementalists should have that single target damage potential, not warrior.

I’m not one to call for nerfs, but elementalists and rangers better be able to equal or outrange warriors and definitely have to out damage them (ranged) as well. Anything else is a complete joke and insult.

For me, a D/D running the 0/10/0/30/30, I’m thinking of a change. I’m thinking of dropping Arcane to 20, and put the spare 10 in earth.

Where would you put them?

Frvwfr.4307:

Telegraph.7509:

Cat Amiss.9463:

It’s probably because of turtling, since AOE damage skills had a cap of 5 but healing aoes didnt have a cap, 10 is still a significant amount in turtling in WvW

Yeah, I think it’s just to provide parity – the AOE damage and ally buffs have the 5-person cap, now healing does also.

Only problem with this logic, is that there are 10x more AoE damage skills than there are AoE heal skills. So having the exact same number of targets, reallly favors the aoe damage. Especially since many races, (ele, ranger, thief, engineer) have more than one AoE damage skill. But healing skills are mostly only 1 per bar.

That’s a good point I hadn’t considered.

Signed. Need to provide partial funding for upgrades.

Similarly I’d love to have a guild siege kitty.

I have an 80 warrior, thief and elementalist. My main is now my ele.

Epic fight at EH CD. That was heaps of fun.

Improve viability of alternative builds by buffing trait lines without nerfing the main effective builds we have today.

Weapon switch.

RTL fix.

That would be the result of their euro influx. I’m sure they’re not enjoying the lack of competition on their side either. It’s partially a problem of their own creation due to overly successful recruitment vs organic growth.

There’s probably an optimum balance of points for a location and the cost of defending it. For instance, is it worth committing “x” players to taking stonemist for two hours, vs using the same force to take and hold a certain number of other assets. I’d be interested to see any theorycrafting or numbercrunching to help decide what makes sense to capture and hold and upgrade based on the return.

In the matchup against Yak’s, ET players were like Bigfoot, at least in my TZ. I never underestimated you guys, just recognised you are hindered by pop issues.

I accidentally alt-f4’d once. I was chatting on TS (my TS key is ALT) and then I hit F4 to switch to Earth attunement. /facepalm

I’ve had so much fun with the three way encounters this week. Best time was probably when we had holed up in RedVale Supply turtling and whittling down the Bay walls. We faced alternating waves of TC and CD. Great fun.

Also one point one how I personally decide where to WvW. It’s nothing to do with targetting one side or another. I look at a map and if say TC owns their border, there’s probably fewer defenders, so I can probably take objectives with fewer allies.

It takes a lot of practice, situational and class awareness to play an ele well. I’m still learning, and there’s a few encounters and classes I still struggle with. Just the other night I had a brief 1v1 against a rifle warrior. Couldn’t seem to make a dent in him, so I disengaged. Likewise I haven’t played a mes high enough to counter all the different illusions and builds. Thieves I probably find easiest, since as soon as I hear (rather) than see them attacking I pop mistform and cleansing aura while they burn their initiative (my 18k HP is enough to survive the opening hit).

I vote no. I was very happy with the idea that I was only worrying about cosmetic looks, not stats.

Another idea I had was that you can’t use the portal unless you’ve died. It’ll slow down the defenders on the map – ie, when they port-rush to defend the north supply camp. Also, to intercept enemies, you actually have to chase them down, not port ahead of them.

I and about 6 others had rams on the doors at Briar the other night. We had two aoe classes with us, the rest were guards, warriors, etc who didn’t seem to have or want to switch to range to take the oil out. One defender made effective use of that oil til his mates arrived. Probably only time I saw it in use.

What I’ve found (from listening to new players in our TS), the following issues discourage new players:

• lack of PVP experience. The transition and experience going from PVE to PVP gameplay is a shock
• lack of pvp-spec — they’ve spent all their time practicing and traiting for pve gameplay, that it doesn’t help them when up against enemy players
• poor computer performance – trying to figure out what’s going on while running at 5 fps and dying is not encouraging them to respawn and get back into the fight
• lack of wvw knowledge about what to do, where to go, how to be useful

What I’ve been suggesting in our guild is the need for a “welcome to wvw” primer. This would include having a dedicated TS channel for new players where we can answer questions away from the main TS channel which is quite overwhelming and not best suited for newbie questions in the heat of the moment.

I’ve also been encouraging some guildies to give SPVP a try and walking them through it. Most have never given it a go, and the Mists provides much more immediate feedback, and opportunity to try out traits, skills and equipment combos than standard WvW.

So what I’d suggest for other guilds trying to get players involved.: make it easy for your new players to participate and ask questions (ie via beginner wvw ts channels), and help them get some experience in the Mists.

There’s plenty of complaints going around about “zergs”. So what could be done to encourage more smaller-scale encounters? For lack of a better description, you might think of it as “SPVP with Keeps”.

I think that certain mechanics of wvw encourage “zergs” to form. Players can rely on sword indicators to find the action rather than needing to look for it. Players can also “link up” by tracking down their commanders. The ease of porting via waypoint also makes it easy for the defenders to move around to any point within a few minutes of travel.

None of this is inherently bad. It makes wvw much more approachable for new players. For those that would like more group vs group play, whilst still in the wvw context, what could work is another type of map with elements of spvp and wvw thrown in. Bigger maps, fewer waypoints, no commander icons or crossed sword indicators. There would still need to be something else to discourage large groups, but I’m not sure what that could be yet.

Anyway, that’s just a brainstorm of mine. What do you think?

Guardian, ele, mesmer and thief. Mass CD, bunker, crowd control and dps.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as easy to do 5man roaming groups as people tend to congregate in certain areas, it’s easy to get to most areas on map by defending teams via portalsand respawns, and crossed swords act as map-wide radar. Maps just feel to crowded or small to fulfill the "roaming" part.

I’m not too sure what could be done to improve it. I often think back to playing daoc in 2001. Roaming worked there because there were long port (to emain) times, dedicated group aoe buff, and limited warnings so you actually had to hunt, not just watch map for crossed swords.

morrolan.9608:

Marktman.5741:

Moa and confusion are 2 counters I believe

immobilize as well.

Shh

Unequal “zergs” are frustrating for opponents. There are ways to counter greater enemy numbers, but that requires you have control of defensible positions and have plenty of siege. Of course, in open field combat you’re gonna get wiped. Since it’s so hard to see numbers in the distance, it’s easy for a “zerg” to seemingly appear out of nowhere and wipe you.

WIZBASKY.6894:

how is she keeping all those boons up on going, I can see them ticking away but then they all get renewed.

How do ele’s do that?

• One trait line, Arcane, increases boon duration
• Also, in the Arcane trait line, is a skill that grants boons based on attunement at time of switching. For example, switch to Fire, get Might
• Arcane also reduces attunement switching cooldown time (starting to get the picture?)
• Also, that build recommends use of runes that increase the duration of certain boons
• Also, you can have sigils that grant boons on weapon (or attunement) swap
• Finally, elementalists can trigger combos which further grant and increase duration of existing boons

Basically, that build will give you boons on attunement switch, faster attunement switch, longer boon duration, and is further enhanced by triggered combos.

The flipside is that the particular build has almost nothing in offensive trait lines. 0 in Fire traitline – which is +Pow, and only 10 in Air +Prec. So what you gain in boons, you lose in power/prec.

In order to keep all that going, there’s a ridiculous amount of keyboard juggling, not to mention situational awareness of when to run, when to switch to a specific attunement, etc. Think of it like trying to keep plates spinning in the air.

There’s a few good counters for D/D elementalists, but I’m not going to say it here.

Drew.1865:

After leveling a gaurdian to 80 I’ve realized Elementalists are under powered and do need a buff and a rework. The class is pretty broken and Anet needs to fix it.

As with all ele threads, we need the following context:

In what scenarios are they underpowered? PVE, SPVP, WVW?

Are you talking about specific weapons? Staff, dagger, scepter, focus?

Are you talking specific traits? Fire, water, air, earth?

Are you talking specific skills?

Otherwise it’s just another useless post we can’t constructively discuss.

Tera GX.8149:

Roberlord.8423:

So much for a fair fight. Fort Aspenwood was using a hack elementalist. 6 of us were hitting her and she wasn’t going down. In addition, she had pretty much every buff in the game (regen was stacked 10 times) when no one else was near enough to buff her.

I think FA should be disqualified this round for cheating.

Did you get any clues about identity? Was there a clan tag? The weapon of choice even helps for keeping an eye out.

We all take hacking seriously. We on Fort Aspenwood would quickly decry and report any hacker on our server. The fun lies in opposition, hacking destroys the experience for everyone involved.

6v1 and being unable to kill a player however is not in itself evidence of hacking. There are some very strong routes to survival. I don’t know the elementalist’s options however. I’ve won 4v1 myself, though I’m not enthusiastic taking on such numbers (mind I’ve lost 4v1 too, of course).

There are some rune sets that also have influence that is harder to track. For example, Rune of Lyssa tier 6 effect is “lose all conditions and gain all boons when you use an Elite skill”.

Someone repost daphoenix’s video and link to bunker d/d thread. Otherwise you’ll be facing complainers all week.

The fights this evening have been ridiculous. I’ve been on the CD borderland and there’s been so much back and forth around the Bay it’s been amazing. Hat tip to CD. Certainly feels the battle will be won on strategic use of supply rather than mindless zerging.

Are there any good posts on optimising GW2 for streaming our recording? I just began trying it fraps in PVE and it’s struggling. I have a high spec machine and Nvidia GTX 680 so it feels like I should be able to optimise it more.

Yep, the current post-oceanic crowd on FA feels similar to what we faced against CD. We dont have numbers post midnight AEST.

Hi there. I’m wondering what the easiest way to setup some sort of guild practice spvp event would be. Could you simply form two groups and join an empty server?

I know tournaments is an option, but this is more about practice for newer players so they can try things outside of the rush of WvW. Since it’s not competitive, there’s less incentive to pay for tickets.

Another idea might be if we could setup these types of matches for practice, but with no rewards so they cant be farmed. Maybe even a different type of tournament that be unlocked via guild influence.

Ele’s bunker because our burst is pretty limited. I’d expect a buff in return for any nerf.

I’m not even sure what you would nerf? Bunkers just outlast people and don’t have huge dmg output in return. Healing power, cooldowns, combos, etc? The difference vetween us and thieves is its not just one thing that is markedly OP. It’s only the skillful combination of a variety of skills in specific situations that makes it seem OP.

Ultriss.9325:

I would just like to congratulate FA for being the biggest bunch of hackers I’ve ever met. I especially like the invisible warriors and invincible ele’s. If anything particularly a couple peoples from “GODS” and “ULTD” really make you look bad. Oh well. no skill tactics for no skill players. Just try to not lose too bad, kk cheaters?

I haven’t seen any hackers from FA or anyone this week. I know FA has and is leading the charge with awesome bunker d/d ele builds that might appear cheating to someone who doesn’t know the class or counters. You should also be aware of the culling and stealth issues with thieves that exacerbates encounters. I’ll keep saying it. Learn the classes before you whinge. Playing SPVP is a great way to practice.

Learn the classes, learn the counters, and stop complaining about legitimate gameplay unless you have proof.

I love my norn female (shortest height). No I don’t use the elites in PVP, but I have awesome tats and abs.

I love the idea. It would enable smaller groups to slow down large groups flooding through a gate or wall once it falls. There would definitely need to be some fine tuning around cost, health and mechanics however.

I think it’s a valid mechanic/tactic but culling issues makes it overpowered. In terms of counters, knockdowns, fears, etc seem to do the trick. It will be interesting to see whether it retains its value once culling issues are improved.

Inuko.1452:

@Severim

To give an honest account as to why we are looking to move I’d need more time however it boils simply down to being a server stuck in limbo. We are good enough during prime time (if a little dis-organised with a general disquiet among the ranks throughout the server due to inter-guild politics being played poorly) but lack off-peak coverage. As such we find ourselves jumping between tiers where we can’t compete with the greater coverage of the tier above and wipe the floor with the tier below. Subsequently we are looking for a fair fight – somewhere that presents challenges whilst not being a lost cause. We picked Fort Aspenwood for that exact reason.

Throughout my time looking at the US servers I have been massively impressed at the professionalism of the guilds, and most of all the “Esprit de corps” between rivals – genuinely reveling in and respecting your opponents strengths. Until now YB has been excellently represented by it’s members in this thread and others – you sadly have just put a stain on that record and shamed your comrades.

Good move…

Oh well. I guess there was a knee-jerk reaction on my part. If you’re moving with good intentions, so be it. We’ve just seen that many server hopping guilds of late that I’d kinda hoped it’d slowed down.

Inuko.1452:

Hi.

We’re an EU guild who are considering a move to Fort Aspenwood (the US server) to provide a tactical presence in their WvW during non-NA prime time.

In short, we’re 150 strong – whilst that can make a difference we are looking for other EU/Oceanic guilds that are considering a similar move OR members to join us in this quest.

[snip]

Remember a coward dies a thousand death whilst a warrior dies just one!

Inuko

I hereby welcome with open arms any and all competition, no matter what server, no matter what timezone. I will not visit forums again before my morning coffee.

Because elementalists are difficult to master, it’s hard for people to understand how powerful they are. When played well, a d/d ele will demolish you and your mates. I know there’s at least one really good d/d ele on Ft Aspen that has put a few vids out. Again, think for a second whether you’re outclassed or outplayed rather than immediately crying foul.

I have been playing a fair amount these past few weeks, and I’m surprised by the number of hacking claims around. I haven’t seen anything that I thought was hacking. Before you cry havoc and release the complaints, I would say:

• “Never ascribe to hacking that which is adequately explained by skill”
• “Any sufficiently advanced player is indistinguishable from a cheater”

I have a fairly hefty machine and graphics card, and I wonder how many ‘glitchy’ experiences people are reporting because their machines can’t keep up in the heat of battle. Player culling, portal bombs, extended stealth, etc can be explained by a mixture of anet coding and machine performance.

Regarding bandwagoners onto Yak’s to explain our rise through the ranks – I certainly haven’t observed that. What I have observed is a healthy /team chat that is encouraging and supportive, rather than filled with complainers and elitists. Guilds work together for the realm, not in competition with each other – I can’t remember seeing any internal competition within Yak’s ranks, at least on public chat.

Last week’s matchup against CD and DH was fantastic. I think all of us recognised that we were competitive and that our weakness was our asia/euro coverage. No hard feelings were felt, we just acknowledged where we needed to bolster our strength.

Comms and tactics across Yak’s continues to improve. Players are starting to recognise the value of supply chain in WvW – Supply -> Yaks -> Towers/Forts/Keeps. More players are carrying supply. More are carrying siege.

I’m proud of the direction Yak’s is going, and I really don’t want anyone to tarnish our success through claims of hacking or bandwagoners. Likewise within Yak’s we should hold our tongues till the end of next week. If we do move up to Tier 3, we are going to face tough opponents with even better coverage than we have.

My advice, start with Knight’s exotic and go from there. You can choose whether to buff vit/cond/etc via trinkets and weapons.

muhconstitution.4052:

I don’t really get how this is happening, unless we’ve had an influx of Oceanic/Asia/EU players in the past day or two. Every morning last week the entire map was owned by CD and we had to spend basically all US prime time regaining it.

What happened is we (Yak’s) have plenty of oceanic, but not asian/eu players – which is what CD had. So while you were sleeping last week, Yak’s was able to hold till the oceanic guys had to log, and CD’s asia/eu crew took over the map. So this week it’s more a lack of asia/eu crew on opposing sides than any new influx.

As a member of the guild Atreyu is referring to, it is an endless source of frustration knowing on one hand that you have 1500+ guild members spread out across 4 guilds, yet still struggle to find people for certain events/dungeons/etc due to communication issues.

It’s not necessarily that we need bigger guilds (I agree that forcing 500+ guild members to share the same guild chat would be a nightmare), but in scenarios where you do have multiple guilds like we have – there needs to be better ways to communicate and collaborate across them. This could be via additional cross-guild chat options, such as customisable alliance chat channels for pve/wvw/etc, officer only, and so on.

So it’s not necessarily guild size, but enhancing cross-guild communication options to make it easier for us to collaborate.

Edit: One thing those reading this thread might not understand – this guild is global, so we have players from North America, Europe, Oceania (Australia/etc) and Asia. So it’s not a question of everyone on at US peak hour – but rather spread out across timezones.

I’ve tried twice now and both groups I was in have given up out of frustration and major repair costs. The furthest we got was where Zoija was hacking the golem terminals. I’ve looked for any guides/etc that recommend how to approach it and couldn’t find any.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for how to approach the nightmare that is CoE storymode?

I actually like Noble because it’s one of the few that show the weapons my thief is carrying while sheathed. The coat models and the exotic generally clip or hide them.

My main is a female human thief. My biggest issue is that the weapons (daggers) clip through the exotic leather skin. You’d hope that for all that effort to craft an exotic armour piece, they’d get weapons to handle it well.

I really freaking hope the same problem doesn’t exist with dungeon/karma armour. Imagine spending all that time to get it, and the weapons clip through as well… (anyone know if that’s the case?)