Guild Wars 2

I’ve sat here trying to think of a way to phrase a response, and every one is a guaranteed infraction and post deletion. So I’ll just say this … I strongly disagree with most of your assessments and obvious self serving proposal. Some of you on SoR may wonder why your server, who arguably has the strongest EST time zone coverage of all NA servers, and has extremely strong NA participation overall, has had no Oceanic additions (in fact you’ve lost some in recent weeks to your own competition), the above attitude could be part of the problem.

My Ele alt is approaching lvl 80 and my plan is run him in WvW using a staff, with a primary focus on ranged AE and single target damage but with a bit more durability and diversity than a full glass cannon staff user.

I was thinking of a build along these lines: (copy and paste into new browser window) http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=VlZ;3R0VV0w4cN-Z0;9;4J9-JJ56-5;345-47u

For gear I was thinking of going P/V/T for armor and staff with Zerker’s accessories. I’m also not certain on the best general utility skills to use with this build, but my thought with the link above was to have a stun breaker, an easy blast finisher and an additional AE/Bleed using the Glyph mostly in Earth.

Is something like this viable and useful in WvW, or am I hurting my potential by spreading trait points out so much with no 30 point traits? Thanks in advance.

EasymodeX.4062:

I dont think its bravado to point out we are ready for tier 1

Didn’t BG get rolled last time they were in T1?

Edit:

Technically, I recall BG made a big splash in their first weekend, talked a ton of kitten, then were pushed down to second place in the first week. In subsequent weeks, BG was crushed.

I guess it depends on your definition of “rolled”, but yeah pretty much. BG did well in week 1, taking 2nd place and 32k out of 1st place. Then got beat pretty bad in weeks 2 and 3. Every server looks different than it did 2 months ago though. It’s hard to know how you stack up until you get there and see for yourself.

Elthuzar.9478:

Liquid.9672:

Because that coverage is necessary to compete in T1, and most are willing to PvDoor while keeping their sights on the big picture. I see some people missing this point in the BG recruitment thread as well. BG isn’t recruiting for T2.

I’m curious, what will happen to Blackgate once you do reach Tier 1? Assuming you beat SoS after a couple of weeks you will have won GW2, will you pack your things and try your hand at the Euro League? or Will you all disperse and start again on a mid-tier server? All hypothetically speaking of course.

No malice intended, I’m honestly curious

And I’m being completely honest when I say this … I haven’t the foggiest idea. But I would be a bit surprised if we beat either SoS or the newly revitalized JQ with our current coverage. I know that may sound crazy to someone on SoR, but T1 is a different animal altogether. Not only will our NA crew be pushed to it’s limits, our off-hour coverage will have a constant battle as well. BG’s only spot where it may have an advantage against SoS and JQ is during EU primetime, which BG may have the strongest WvW playerbase currently. However, I’m excited to see where BG stands against the current T1 servers. It’s been a long time since we’ve been tested there.

The last time we were in T1, we took 2nd place in the first match then got throttled by SBI two matches in a row and passed in rating by SoS. JQ was having some morale problems and were mostly a non-factor during those three matches, other than doing just enough to stay in the #2 spot. However, JQ seems to be surging, judging by their likely victory this week and reclaiming the #1 spot.

We shall see. I know it seems like BG is a behemoth, but only in T2. In T1 we’re the underdog. Either way, we’re not going anywhere. We’ll give each match our best, continue to try to improve our participation and coverage, and continue to have fun, whether it’s T1, T2 or wherever.

covenn.7165:

Smokee.1754:

We head out there to have some fun.

If this was really the case, some of your oceanic guilds would transfer off. For the life of me, I don’t understand how PvDoor can be fun for anyone.

Because that coverage is necessary to compete in T1, and most are willing to PvDoor while keeping their sights on the big picture. I see some people missing this point in the BG recruitment thread as well. BG isn’t recruiting for T2.

Peetee.9406:

I agree with your concepts but to the extent that build is secondary in WvW to situational awareness.

Speaking from a player that plays his elementalist and ranger equally, if you’re traveling in a small group picking off supply camps/dolyaks and you’re using staff (ele) or longbow (rang) you may as well be wearing a sign that says ‘I don’t know how to play my class, free kill here’.

I don’t care whether you are a glass cannon or a bunker, those two weapons were designed for large scale support and siege breaking. Playing them in an open world setting (unless your with a zerg) is to intentionally hinder yourself. There is no thief regardless of build that should lose a 2v1 against a staff ele and a longbow ranger. It’s not a matter of thief being overpowered or having a strong build, it’s a matter of the ele and ranger lacking the situational awareness to know they should be using a dagger off hand (ele) and a torch off hand (rang).

If you move the above situation from open world to a tower and put the staff ele and longbow ranger on the wall and put an infinite number of dagger/dagger thieves on the ground, the ranger/ele would win that fight 100% of the time until the thieves eventually got the door down.

So many players fail at weapon choice for their particular situation that builds become moot and pointless. Builds only come into play once you get beyond that initial step.

I understand the point you’re making, but I don’t think it’s fair to completely tie weapon choice to particular WvW situations. For an example, check this guy out …

Dynheart.5402:

Onto the thread argument. Sure, you can make that claim. But on Guru SOS/JQ/SBI has a thread going on 13 pages; 341 posts…this match up? 16 replies.

My point is, thread/page count is a horrible basis on server population. Not to mention most really don’t post any more as they have learned trash talking doesn’t accomplish much.

I was just going to post the same reply. I think it really has more to do with where each server usually hangs out. Again, the T1 thread on the Guru forums is 12 pages while the T2 thread has 16 replies and it was the thread posted for LAST WEEK. T2 doesn’t even have a post for this week’s match on Guru.

One thing I’ve noticed over the past 2 months is SoR players rarely post on the Guru forums, which I think has a lot to do with the T2 match threads getting very little action there.

JaredKincade.9761:

I get it, sure. Words like stomp may have been in poor taste. Maybe Im just sick and tired of the weeks and weeks of constant hate. Its good to see us show it in the score.

Im not speaking for the server as a whole, Im speaking from my personal observations when I refer to taking a break in the back half of the week.

I dont think its bravado to point out we are ready for tier 1, especially after so many week after week posts calling us out as weak, or that if we truly deserved to be there we wouldnt allow SoR to keep it close. Then this week, people start telling us we are winning wrong, not being patient, not knowing how the glicko system works, winning by too much. Pointing out the hypocracy is all Im after.

Sure Ive got server pride, thats the only thing to fight for with the current reward system. If anything the server pride I show does represent the dozens of guilds in blackgate, because we all share it.

I would just stop letting it get to you. It gets to me sometimes too but I bite my tongue and close my browser most of the time.

The fact is, this is competitive PvP, and logic and good sportsmanship doesn’t always prevail. When you win my a little you lack skill and don’t have what it takes. When you win by a lot you’re nothing but a huge mindless zerg and only win because of greater numbers (duh). There’s always a reason that seeks to make your team look better than your opponent. It’s human nature. The ugly side of it.

A few things …

First, happy friggin New Years everyone! As I finger peck this post out through blurry eyes I’m listening to the absolute best drops and breakbeat (I refuse to call it dubstep .. f that … it’s breakbeat from back in my day),

Second … if it’s red it’s dead … enough said.

Third, TC I’m impressed as hell with you guys. Back when I faced your server it was known that once another server got a big lead on you, your players would stop participating. Not anymore. You guys are awesome and should be very proud of TC WvW.

Last, SoR … love you guys. Your forum warriors that always want to take pot shots at BG frustrate me to no end (likely their intention moreso than the content of their posts.) However, to the dedicated SoR guilds that come out hard every night and try to bring pain wherever it can be brought, and focus on this and not some stupid score related “uhuhuhuh you only win cause you pvdoor fools” … a heartfelt thank you.

Signed,

a BG long term resident

salluks.6017:

off topic, do u help ur server atall other than killing people, ur other achievements are really bad compared to ur kills..

You don’t get badges for escorting a Dolyak. =)

In all seriousness though, killing other players is probably what he enjoys. Nothing wrong with that.

DivineBeing.2086:

I think I saw a Blackgate posting against this suggestion? Lol. No offense, your server is awesome (I use to be on it) but your server is probably the direct focus of this suggestion considering your overnight presence out mans your NA presence.

Just clarify, BG’s overnight presence is smaller than their NA presence. However, what matters is who you are competing with, and BG has a really big hole in coverage during the EST primetime zone, which is when SoR has it’s largest numbers. From 6pm EST to around 10pm EST BG is outnumbered by SoR (and now TC as well) and has to focus on one map (sometime two) until BG’s largest NA contingent, West Coast PST players get online.

I’m a West Coast PST player with a family and kids and often don’t even get on until 9pm PST. A large chunk of SoR has gone to bed by this time during the week. I’ve often seen a large SoR force totally vanish around this time and shift to outmanned, while I still have 3 to 4 hours of playtime in front of me. And I’m a NA player!

Again, I’ll just say this …. setting player ratios will only create queues, particularly for servers facing opponents with weaker coverage in that time slot. Again using the BG/SoR/TC matchup as an example, SoR and TC queues would be massive during the EST primetime period I listed above, and queues are not good.

You gotta save em man. At least until the February WvW update to see what Anet is going to do to improve rewards.

SBI by a mile. They taught me the meaning of getting owned, and I enjoyed every minute of it … LoD hammer trains and all.

Honorable mention goes out to Yak’s Bend when my server (Blackgate) was down in T4 or T5 (I can’t remember) way back when. Those guys were a class act on and off the battlefield.

Since you’re on SoR, how about EST NA primetime, which is one of BG’s biggest coverage holes right now? Using your suggestion, you’d see SoR and TC EST primetime WvW queues skyrocket. Do you really want that? I know TW and a couple other guilds transferred from JQ to SoR because of queues and having a hard time playing together as a guild. What do you think would happen if they were suddenly faced with queues again?

Be careful what you wish for.

Rambodacious.7495:

Hello BG,

This post discusses why you win and what would happen should the devs ever pull their heads out of their kitten Enjoy cold, hard reality:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/pvp/wuvwuv/Why-is-there-no-WvW-compromise-in-place/first#post1096178

I bolded the part of your post that made me LOL! Thanks for that gem of knowledge, and thanks for the cold hard reality check. 4 months in, we had no idea that what ultimately decides the score in WvW is numbers on the field across all time zones. There might be a reason why TA established 24/7 coverage PRE-LAUNCH. There might be a reason why a few on BG have tirelessly recruited guilds to round out coverage over the past many months. There was a time when BG had ZERO non-NA WvW participation. Now it’s stronger than our NA participation vs. our current opponents.

I’m curious though. What would happen? I’m guessing your stance is given equal numbers, SoR eats BG’s lunch? Would it shock you if I said it would be the other way around? Or how about something more reasonable, which is the score would stay very close with very little PPT variance the entire match. Just because the score difference is 20k doesn’t mean that given roughly equal numbers 24/7 SoR would hand BG its hat.

pot.6805:

This is the flaw with the system Anet uses, upward mobility is not there for most tiers.

I think the only issue is that the #1 server in a tier needs to win by too many points to gain rating, and the #3 needs to lose by too many points to lose rating. At certain point, you have to stomp or get stomped to move up or down. This phenomenon has caused TC, for example, who is obviously capable of being competitive in T2, to remain stuck in T3 for 5 weeks. IoJ moved down one and TC moved up one and neither tier had a blow out. So I think there’s some room in the ratings formula that shakes up the server rankings a bit more each week to more easily bring some fresh match ups from time to time.

Jahn.7019:

Tight community, skilled player base, mature atmosphere, friendly and helpful people.

I mean ask yourself this, if SoR had the coverage that BG has, who would be #1? I think the answer is obvious to everyone.

You can build coverage, you can’t build the things listed above.

And what brought you to the conclusion that BG does not have the above things?

Jahn.7019:

BG has the coverage, but that’s all they have over SoR, why would they move there?

Since you were so kind as to state your opinion, care to comment on what SoR has over BG then?

Israel.7056:

What I think big SoR guilds like Pain Train and Tempest Wolves should consider is that all their NA primetime work could be put to much more productive use on a server that has the overnight coverage their current server lacks.

Transfer over and make Blackgate even stronger.

LOL! That will never happen. TW and Choo have no respect for and violently dislikes BG. According to the outspoken members that post on this forum anyways. To them, BG is just a big unskilled zerg that has to resort to cheating to win, and guilds that transfer to BG are just jumping on the zergwagon. Also, if BG ever sees T1 again, it will be because a T1 server flopped, not because BG was good enough to get there. Lots of hate over there in certain parts of SoRland.

You get points for those “claim for your world” spots guarded by an NPC. You alsohget points for killing Dolyaks. The closer to their final destination the more points you get for killing it. Otherwise yeah, holding 300ish ppt is enough for that kind of point gain in 4 hours.

Israel.7056:

If Anet implements some kind of system where the winning server gets actually gets some serious material rewards then I think that would change the way people play this game entirely.

They’ll never do that. Better rewards for participation and time yes. Better rewards for a server winning no. Not in WvW anyways where too much is outside of the individual player’s control. Winning in the highest tier possible should be a matter of pride and rewarded with satisfaction … nothing more.

Raijinn.9065:

Guessing you mean the invigorating speed which is vigor (100%endurance regeneration). Combined with adrenal you will have 150% endurance regen. You can also add sigil of superior energy that gives half of your endurance back when you switch weapons.

The guy that recently posted the SD burst video said he tested it and said Vigor and Adrenal Implant do not stack.

They already did communicate …

Engineer

The Engineer is a highly versatile class. While it doesn’t have the long range capabilities of the Ranger, or the melee capabilities of the Warrior or Guardian, they are comfortable at medium ranges in most fights. They have a lot of control, and use their boons to keep themselves (and allies) alive in a fight. They can use different kits based on the situation, but this extreme versatility comes at a cost in damage on their main hand weapons.

Ele

We see the elementalist as the king of versatility. The skill ceiling for the Ele is exceptional, as the ability to leverage all four attunements at the right time is crucial for understanding the elemetnalist. The Ele boasts some of the best team support and control abilities in the game, as well as some great area of effect damage.

This told me everything I needed to know about their views on the Engineer.

Cool build. I’ll probably give it a try when I need a change of pace from the Elementalist I’m leveling. But I keep thinking that if all I’m bringing to the table is single target burst, why not roll a Thief?

Omelet.6902:

Score update please? Can’t log in at the moment.

8:05pm PST (GMT -8):

BG 168,915 +220
SoR 152,429 +270
TC 136,992 +200

bhagwad.4281:

But WvW is just a time sink with nothing to show for effort put in there. What possible reason could a rational person have to enter WvW? Once I get my badges via jumping puzzles I won’t be going there anymore.

Till then, I’ll be taking up a spot in the Q ignoring requests to come help out somewhere or the other. I’d love to actually help, but can’t see any benefit whatsoever to myself. I think Anet needs to fix this and actually give people proper incentives for WvW participation.

Just because someone does something in the game that does not provide a tangible meaningful reward, it does not make that person irrational.

It sounds to me like you mainly find fun in the game by obtaining new items that make your character more powerful. If whatever you’re doing is not moving you towards that reward, then it is NOT fun and a waste of your personal time. Hey, that’s fine … nothing wrong with that. The ole carrot on a stick. Many past and present MMO’s did very well capitalizing on this base human trait.

However, many people find mass PvP to be fun, not because it provides any tangible reward, but because they love competition and engaging other players in combat. They also like to improve their PvP skills by getting out and doing it over and over again, thus improving their personal player skill rather than their character’s power or looks via items. This is fine too.

I do agree with you that the rewards for spending time in WvW need to be improved. Not necessarily because PvP in and of itself needs rewards, but because it’s become clear that WvW needs more incentives to participate in order to keep players getting involved. WvW participation has been on a steady decline with no signs of slowing down. A few carrots would help stop that and maybe even turn the trend line moving higher again.

I’m leveling an Elementalist as well. It plays a lot like an Engineer in the sense the Kits = Attunements and I’m really enjoying it. I’m playing Staff, S/D and D/D while leveling up to get a feel for all of the skills and how I ultimately decide to build for WvW which is really all I do these days.

I’m a bit sad, as my heart remains with the Engineer, but the failed implementation of the class and lack of fixes and understanding by Anet put him on the shelf.

It’s Friday. It’s also Christmas week. Don’t read into it too much.

What is with some of you guys on SoR that post here? You make your server look bad.

Waking.6052:

Seems to me that BG is protecting their health and sanity and realizes this is just a game.

You don’t play your best players right before the playoffs if you’re already in. You give them a break.

At least this guy gets it. No point in burning yourself out, during the holidays no less, when the match is already decided.

Destroyer.1306:

People seem to be stuck on that. Nevermind that it kills three times faster than Kill Shot. I guess people want to see one giant number as opposed to 7 medium sized ones that hit at the same time.

Yeah semantics in my book. I played a pay-to-win MMO for about a year called Runes of Magic, where at a certain gear level I could one-shot normal even level mobs with one skill press and the same with certain glass cannon classes in PvP (well what the game called PvP anyways). That’s certainly the true definition of a one-shot.

However, in GW2, I consider any series of skills that kills another player in under 3 seconds the equivalent of a one-shot.

Destroyer.1306:

Heh. Since the most recent patch, I’ve one-shot two people in WvW. But please, everyone continue whining. I wouldn’t hate getting a buff.

Have you changed your build at all since the patch? Also, what sigil for the rifle did you pick?

I believe it’s just a guild from IoJ doing it. I’m not sure why you’re lumping in T1, or really any tier actually. It’s one guild from one server as far as I know.

Score update (1:23pm PST [GMT -8]):

BG 151,960 +490
SoR 116,622 +180
IoJ 70,077 +20

Finally, a break to the stalemate in the top tiers. Just seeing a new server name above the players I’m trying to kill will be a welcome change.

Habib Loew.6239:

The behavior is correct in that your character was killed while in combat but the team talked it over and we’re not happy with the golem going away as a result. We’ll get a change into an upcoming build so that if you’re in a golem when you DC the golem itself won’t be destroyed but will instead be left behind as though you had exited it.

Good change and it makes sense. Thanks.

[HIRE] transferring to another server probably played a part as well. They ran with some really big numbers the past couple of weeks during my prime playtime (late night PST). I think they went to Ehmry Bay. Not sure if [ND] Never Die followed as well. Either way, IoJ lost a chunk of Oceanic/SEA players which was primarily keeping them competitive in T2.

If I played on IoJ, I’d be relieved honestly. They’ve been in T2 for what, almost 3 months, with one week in T1? It’ll probably be a breath of fresh air for them after spinning their wheels for so long.

Wow lots of mad in this thread. While I understand the disappointment, the fact is, none of us have the right to judge what a guild does, or the decisions they make in hopes of improving the experience of its players. If I raged over every guild that left Blackgate in the past my head would have already exploded. Wish them well if you care to comment, and hope you get to kill them on the battlefield.

Raenir.9147:

It shows a 5% increase in critical rate chance oh my hero page [H] when i am equipping my weapon, but that disappears when i equip my kit (decreases by 5%)

I can confirm this. I search around a bit and found this old developer post regarding this particular sigil.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/bugs/Superior-Sigil-of-Accuracy-gives-5-Critical-Chance/first

It may just be a UI display issue.

Tekyn.5376:

Is there a confirmed source from the developers that we’re getting weapon stats in the future?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Generell-questions-about-kits-sigils/first#post928692

Straight from the top brass.

Anet Dev 1: “Hey did you hear Warriors are critting for 30k with Kill Shot?”

Anet Dev 2: “Sorry what was that? I didn’t hear you as I was busy nerfing Grenades because Engineers are OP”.

o_0

I rolled an Elementalist this weekend, to get ready for the February WvW update. This way I have both hybrid/high skill cap professions leveled and geared. I love my Engineer but it’s clear to me now that Anet just doesn’t know what to do with the profession.

Hi guys. Another retired Engineer here. I rolled an Elem this weekend to get him ready for the WvW update in February. From an Engineer’s perspective, I fully understand how you guys feel regarding bugs, but I just wanted to make sure you knew it could be worse.

Tekyn.5376:

Mif.3471:

I’m so sick of people claiming that Flash Grenades and Poison Grenades doing damage somehow balanced the nerf out.

We lost 35% damage on a skill we use once per second, and gained damage (which is only 1/3 and 2/3 the damage of a skill 1 attack) on skills we use once every 10 and 25 seconds.

It doesn’t even come close to compensating.

Agreed.

Completely agreed. It’s not even close to offsetting the nerf, nor was adding weapon sigils. I hate to see how much more they nerf grenades when they bad weapon stats to Grenades. Actually I won’t. I’ll be playing their true hybrid class that they don’t neuter in the damage department.

Yeah my beloved Engineer is officially shelved. I’m gonna get an Ele leveled up for the February WvW update. Sad day for me.

Sorry for the negative replies last night. I was drinking and angry about the grenades nerf. Not a good combo and not a good time to be on the forums.

They don’t hate Engineers. They’re just clueless. I’m not sure what’s worse.

timidobserver.7925:

Liquid.9672:

Who gives a F. Engi is the kitten Profession of GW2. Just reroll.

Yes, this is very helpful of you to post.

Your welcome. Maybe I’ll save you some time and heartache.

I may just roll Elem, finish my Thief of quit the game altogether. Thanks Anet. You seriously don’t have a clue.

Just don’t bother. Play another profession. You’ll be happier.