I have been playing since BWE 1. I hardly consider myself pro, but I think anyone playing for as long as I have will begin to notice a trend. I have over a few hundred wins across multiple professions in tournaments, and even more so in hot-join so I consider myself at least knowledgeable. This is by no means a post to bash the game, or even a complaint. I am simply posting my observations and I ask you to do the same. Tl;dr version at the bottom.
First, there is absolutely no incentive to pvp at all. Sure all the people who consider themselves to be “pro” are going at it, but with only the grindfest ranking in place, people will feel demoralized once they see the numbers rank 39+. While the blog post will be coming eventually, for now all we have is the hope that some sort of rankings will be implemented in the near future. Where is the competitive spirit?
Second, the point system. On my thief, I can hit someone once and receive the full 15 points, even if they are downed and about to be stomped. On my ele, I can hold off 3 people for a minute on any node we have and end up with 0 points. I know a solution is hard to come by, but currently there is no incentive to play any sort of defensive builds. This is commonly seen in hot-join where 95% play glass cannons.
Third, amount of bugs. I know it’s only been a month after launch, and the pve content is the main priority. But, tournaments are also becoming unplayable. The amount of teams using exploits are becoming ridiculous, especially on Foefire. I lost every match on Foefire the past day, being honorable doesn’t cut it anymore. And before you say “If your team was better, you would have won anyways” it is simply not true. When a team has a node before you even get there, you are at a huge disadvantage when all it takes is 1 guardian to keep everyone alive.
Fourth, skill level. I have played all professions, some more than most. But, the amount of effort some professions take is astounding. I can react 3 seconds slower on a guardian and still perform great. I can instagib someone as a thief pressing 4 buttons. I can kill someone as a mesmer just by summoning illusions and running around like a headless chicken.
Someone can perform almost equally with the press of 4 buttons. Think about it. What can you do better than the person standing beside you with the exact same build? Not enough to make a difference. This is a casual friendly game, with nothing to improve on as an individual. Teamwork is essential, but I would love to see some improvements to the individual skill level.
Don’t get me wrong, Guild Wars 2 is a great game. But university is upon me, and I must do what is necessary. After playing over 350 hours of pvp, I will now focus on school. After all, I can come back 3 months later and look up a build to play just as well as I do now. In Dota, the heroes are easy to play, but hard to master. In Guild Wars 2, there is no need to master anything since everything is handed to you on a silver platter. Except for crystals and slivers.
Oh and I have to say congrats for the sticky on thieves.
tl;dr
1. No incentive to pvp other than the grindfest ranking system.
2. The point system rewards glass cannons more than defensive ones.
3. Too many exploiters nowadays even in tournaments.
4. Skill level for an individual is unnecessary and only teamwork counts.
