So as I was playing spvp today I found myself thinking “sure wish this was a lot more fun than it actually is.” Which led to another question: why is spvp lacking in the fun department.
Incoming wall of, hopefully interesting, text:
Now I was a hardcore pvper back in GW1. I just couldn’t get enough of it. In particular I played random arena. The reason, at least for me, why random arena was so much fun, and had endless replayability, was because every match was like a puzzle.
It all started before even joining the queue with build creation. I’d start with an oddball class combo, then pick out an underutilized elite. Then I’d maximize the synergy around that elite to create something interesting and effective. Right off the bat GW2 does not have this. The class system is rigid. Customization is mostly illusory. Every weapon should be useable by EACH class. There should be a common pool of attack skills, as well as class specific skills. That the left 5 attack skills not being customizable just seems lazy to me.
Then the actual match begins. In GW1 this was first a survey of your team. The first stage of the puzzle is how can my build synergize with the players on my team. For example, if I’m in a damage role and see I have a domination Mesmer on my team, different strategies open up. Next a survey of the other team: what classes do I see, what weapon are they holding. Experience rewarded the veteran player for accurate predictions. Again GW2 is lacking here.
Finally combat begins. So in GW1 this meant using my skills at the proper time to gain an advantage. There were 2 broad categories of how to kill the other team in general: burst or pressure. If I’m in a burst setup, I had to burst at the proper time, interrupt key skills, avoid counter play from opposing interrupts, etc. If I’m in a pressure setup, I’ve got to, obviously, maintain pressure, while again interrupting key skills, and avoiding counter play. Resource management dictated the pace of combat. GW2’s lack of dedicated healing builds cripples itself before pvp can even began. The hotjoin Call-of-Duty-ram-yourself-at-the-other-team-kill-respawn style is not conducive to synergistic teamplay, which is where I would argue the real pvper finds enjoyment. When you can never be out of the match, there is no impetus for caution.
Going further into the mechanics of GW2 pvp I find some glaringly awful choices. Certain mechanics are just not fun to play against. In fact they are worse than not fun, they are incredibly annoying and frustrating. I’m speaking to thieves and mesmers here mostly. Spammable stealth and illusions. While they do make the classes more dynamic, fun to play, and rewarding—the lack of counter play to these mechanics makes me want to pull my hair out.
And then there is the heaping pile that is downed state. The whole system just jumbles together to make down state combat a bunch of garbage. Certain classes get skills that seem only designed to frustrate: the fear, the knockbacks, the interrupts; just plain frustrating. When someone starts a finisher they should be immune to any control effects from the person on the ground. I think that change would go a long way to making down state palatable.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
