Guild Wars 2

azuzephyr.7280:

Bunker/spike/pressure are imo the the necessary three, leaves two spots to fill as team pleases. There is great synergy in having guardian/shatter mesmer/thief filling those roles, makes for a very easy play of stripping all boons>setup spike>easy blind + stability finisher, that’s mixed with very high damage and very high escapability. IMO in tpvp necro/engi are both desirable for condition pressure, for teams against a warrior I’d rather take engi [or we’d spend the entire game trying to peel warrior from necro], for teams running double guardian or any boon-heavy setup I’d rather take necro

This might be seen as a ‘golden oldie’ view of tpvp nowadays, but from what I’ve seen, still effective. At one point every single team was guardian/mesmer/thief/ele +1
I do enjoy playing against team who are set on doing things differently, I have seen some very well played condition thieves for example

So you have stated bunker, spike, pressure (in your example damage (both direct and condition) pressure) as roles, and given examples of professions. You also elude to boon control (creation and removal), stomp control (stomp securing vs stomp prevention/res), peeler and lockdown as other, in a sense secondary, roles, again with examples.

For the sake of our community would you mind elaborating on how these professions fill these roles – what utilities/traits/weapons etc. make, for example, a necromancer a good condition pressure class (I certainly understand, at least mostly, what contributes to this, but I want this thread to be a collaborative effort from the community, not simply my own personal opinions and understandings).

I will update my OP as necessary to reflect them. Looking forward to further discussion.

Hey sPvP Community,

I am hoping to spark some conversation about the various roles and aspects of play within a tPvP setting. Ideally this thread can become a hub for newer players to come to and find information about which professions are capable of fulfilling the roles they intend to play, while also containing information beneficial to more experienced players. I have no desire to discuss how OP or UP any given build is, but rather want to discuss each profession’s ability to fill different roles (again, not who is best, but simply who could fill it successfully, and with what traits/weapons/utilities), as well as defining the various roles (I certainly don’t know them all) that come into play throughout a match. I intend to update this post to flesh out the list of roles and professions capable of filling them with a degree of success as I see responses and discussion from you, the community.

- Please note that I understand the same build is capable of fulfilling multiple roles at once, and would love to see discussion on how different builds achieve this, as well as discussion on which roles are central to any team, vs which roles are situational or optional.

Thanks,
Ice

Role Breakdown

TL;DR: What roles are there to consider within tPvP and what professions/builds are capable of filling these roles with some degree of success (not necessarily THE best, but not completely useless).

I think that the stat bonuses for each trait line hints at the intended build type for that line, however there are certainly lines where the effectiveness of such bonuses is arguably low.

E.g. Within the Guardian’s Valor line, there are traits like Retributive Armour and Focused Mind (since rework) that aim to make the most of the Crit Damage received through the trait line, allowing a more defensive build to contribute offensively to their team as well. Traits like Monk’s Focus (same line), also help solidify this through the fact that using Meditations (typically offensive utilities), offer something defensively through healing (which also synergises far better with Toughness than Vitality).

Another example would be the Thief’s Shadow Arts and Acrobatics lines (keeping to what has already been mentioned above). There is no doubt that thieves are intended to be an offensive profession. Within the Shadow Arts line, we see traits that either help the thief withstand damage sustained whilst attacking such as Shadow’s Rejuvenation, Shadow’s Embrace or Leeching Venoms, or further improve their offensive capability through the likes of Hidden Thief, Infusion of Shadow, Patience, and Power Shots. The Acrobatics line is similar, but rather than focusing on stealth, focuses on evades and fighting without stealth.

TL;DR: I believe that the traits could still use a bit of work, but I think that the intention is certainly as you described, and the stat bonuses of each trait line hint as to the trait lines intended use within a build.

Unfortunately I have a feeling that you can’t… Currently the only way I know of to get PvE skins in their PvP form is with the actual skin consumable. As far as I know, The Crossing doesn’t have a skin and must be forged in a similar manner to Legendaries.

I logged in on my phone JUST to comment on this. The fighting was impressive, but THAT SAVAGE LEAP! And shooting that Guard out of the sky was nice too Good work. You inspired me. Now, if only I had a leap on Necro….

Hey guys,

I would like to preface this with the fact that I have been playing predominantly sPvP since release, am rank 37 and have broken top 1000 on leaderboards (968, but still XD).

That out of the way. I want to take the time to really understand the basics of tPvP node control, rotating, co-ordinating spikes etc., and am approaching this as a blank canvas.

Can those of you with experience on these parts of co-ordinated play please share your knowledge and experience to help me better my abilities and contribute more to my team.

Thanks,
Icetrinity

You could also log in when on the leaderboards page. This will show you your ranking at the top, followed by your list of friends from highest ranking to lowest, allowing you to see how you compare.

TheMightyAltroll.3485:

You can also telestomp using Flesh Wurm/Spectral Walk, if you didn’t know.

That’s pretty awesome. I imagine it would work similarly to Thief shadow step stomp, where it is useful only against professions using projectiles to interrupt the stomp, Guardian bubble, and you could (if done right) LOS Ranger daze, but it would have to be set up coming into the battle, I doubt you could manage the Ranger one without preparation. Just leaves Thieves and Eles to chase. Mesmer are easy, you can fake out the stealth by cancelling the stomp mid-way and restart channeling. If they fall for it they will reappear from stealth before you finish stomping, and so long as they are still in range, they are dead.

…. I don’t PvP a lot ….

Icetrinity

Awesome, thanks NeXed! Could you possibly post (or message me) your build in a calculator so I can look at it more thoroughly. It would be greatly appreciated.

SupahSpankeh.8452:

Hi Ice.

I thought that might be the case, too. But in 2) and 3), walking woudl take a good 20 seconds; you’d have to walk around the impassible fence, or around the impassible mountain.

It’s not that.

It’s not a hard and fast rule. In Battle of Khylo a thief can shadow step from the ground to the top of Clock Tower. I don’t know the full detail of the way it works, but I think it is something like if you draw a radius around yourself to the range of the ability, so long as you don’t have to leave that radius to get to where you are going it works.

As a side note: Thieves shadow return (second part of shadow step ability) seems to have an unlimited range, so there could be something buggy with teleport abilities. It’s really hard to say, just sharing my experience and (limited) understanding of how these abilities work.

Assuming the same principal is applied to the wurm as is applied to Thief shadow step abilities, the explanation is simple. When shadow stepping (or wurm porting), the game engine doesn’t teleport you to the target location, but rather attempts to track the run given the maximum allowed distance (range) of the ability, and then instantaneously ‘runs’ to the target location, giving the illusion of an actual teleport.

The reason you can’t teleport to some of the places you have left your wurm is because the distance required to actually run to that location is out of the range of the ability.

There is also issues with teleports and reaching places that involve jumping (e.g. You can’t use shadow steps to easily complete jumping puzzles even though they might technically stay within the ability’s range).

I hope that helps.
Icetrinity

Hi All,

I am currently levelling my Necromancer for participation in Guild dungeon runs and WvW. I had always planned on running a similar build to my sPvP Necro build, which is a power Dagger/Focus Wells build, however I was told recently that power Necros aren’t viable for dungeons and WvW, which is a little disappointing for me, because of how much I enjoy my build in sPvP.

My question to you, the Necro Community, is simple. Is a power Necro viable for dungeons and small-scale (non-zerg) WvW? If yes, could you please provide a build that translates nicely between the two (I dont mind having to make some changes in build when I move between the two, but only changes that don’t involve respeccing every time I go between the two types of gameplay). If no, could you please explain to me why it is not viable.

As stated above, I play a power build in sPvP and am quite comfortable with the play style and feel that I perform well with it. I have also played my Necro enough to not need to be told to just play whatever while I get the hang of it – I have nearly 100 hours play time on my Necro – 3/4 of which are from tournaments.

Thanks in advance.
Icetrinity

hedix.1986:

Hi. I purchased the name change contract from the Gem Store 2 days ago, but then nothing happened. My gem balance dropped meaning that the item had been paid, but I did not receive the contract. When I looked it up online, gw2wiki says the contract should appear in a chosen character’s inbox. I checked all of my characters and gave it some time (24h+), but nothing happened.
This purchase does indeed appear in my Recent purchase section, yet I did not receive anything still.

Would it be possible to get the refund, or preferably, to get the contract delivered?

Cheers.

I am experiencing a similar issue in that I bought gems to get the keys for Black Lion chests. Had the cost of gems charged to my card, received the gems, purchased 2 packs of 5 keys (spent 900 gems), and for more than 24 hours, have not received anything in game.

I do not know where else to post this, so any help would be great. Do I just wait for the keys? Will they eventually show up in the mail? Is there any other steps I can take?

Thanks,
Icetrinity.

EDIT: This issue was resolved by deleting some mail from my inbox.

I really encourage anyone on Sea of Sorrows server to get in touch with any of the above mentioned players and experience the difference of being in a Guild that really does care about each individual member, and aims to establish long-lasting friendships with all of them.

IceTrinity.

That is great to hear Kusheekins. We have some great people in our guild that I’m sure will help you out wherever possible. As a Guild we run dungeons on Tuesdays and level together Fridays, and we enjoy doing different events together. I hope the time difference doesn’t affect your ability to participate in such events with us, and I look forward to seeing you in game.

I encourage anyone else looking to join our Guild to get in touch with any of the people mentioned above, we really are a great bunch of people to play with.

IceTrinity.

Glory In Ashes [GIA] is Game Informer Australia’s official Guild. We are and Oceanic guild, located on Sea of Sorrows server. We have our own website (http://www.glory-in-ashes.com), as well as Vent and Mumble servers.

We are currently only a small Guild, covering all aspects of GW2, and are looking to expand our player-base. In particular, we are looking to form a solid group of players interested in Structured PvP, but players inclined toward any part of GW2 are welcome.

Our focus as a Guild is to enjoy all that GW2 has to offer within a friendly, relaxed environment. We strive to uphold a standard of respect toward each other, which forms the foundation of the fun and casual atmosphere our Guild members thrive in.

If you are interested in playing within a Guild of down-to-earth, level-headed people with a focus on the person behind the screen, contact any of the following people in game:

Ascha.7054 (Guild Leader)
Tamarrion.3170 (Second in Charge)
DrFutzLoop.5316 (Third in Charge)
Icetrinity.3804 (PvP Coordinator)

I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield,

Icetrinity.

Gungnir Grimm.7123:

Icetrinity.3804:

@Gungnir

I play a roamer in tourneys (with guild). I don’t really enjoy the D/D burst play style, so run a S/D duelist type build (linked below). Hoping to get tips on improving build as well as general tips for thief roamer/duelist playstyle. Hopefully this helps to build conversation that provides something of what the OP was looking for as well.

Thanks in advance,

Ice.

Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAsYVlcmaPHdy5E95Ey2jKUn4JuHOlR1UaFoJA;TsAg0CooQygkAJLSOkkItwYgxECA

honestly, sword/dagger is my area of least expertise, but the build looks fairly solid. I am curious as to how well SoM works in tPvP from your experience, as I have always preferred hide in shadows for small scale fights myself. have you tried taking 10 out of power and putting it into trickery though? the fury/swiftness from thrill of the crime would help proc quickness earlier for initial burst and help to keep you mobile. and it affects allies too. though I am admittedly very attached to that trait.

SoM has done well enough for me. Admittedly I only run free tourneys, so I’m not ‘pro’. I find it really shines versus professions with minions (does really well against Mesmers for example, with sword auto by healing off every clone hit as well as being able to down clones quickly – usually only 2 or so hits), and in fights 3v3 or bigger by switching to shortbow and proccing heaps of heals with auto, 2 and 4 abilities (the pulsing poison field heals every pulse for however many enemies are in it).

I love the idea of picking up Thrill of the Crime, and will try it out. I had grabbed Mug for the steal on boss in Niflhel, but I can find ways of stealing without it I’m sure.

Would love more input (from anyone), always have room to grow.

Ice.

@Gungnir

I play a roamer in tourneys (with guild). I don’t really enjoy the D/D burst play style, so run a S/D duelist type build (linked below). Hoping to get tips on improving build as well as general tips for thief roamer/duelist playstyle. Hopefully this helps to build conversation that provides something of what the OP was looking for as well.

Thanks in advance,

Ice.

Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fYAQNAsYVlcmaPHdy5E95Ey2jKUn4JuHOlR1UaFoJA;TsAg0CooQygkAJLSOkkItwYgxECA