I know this is long and maybe nobody is even interested, but if you are I suggest you read through this before going much further. It'll give you a basic idea of what to expect and the goals you're trying to accomplish before you click the button of no return!!
It was not written by me (duh, I'm clueless). It was written there by "Chaplan of Club G" and if you want to pick his brain he left his e-mail addy for you.
chaplaninja@hotmail.com
A few things before I start:
1) When given a chance to advance or to hold back, most teams will be better served favoring the latter. The main reason for such thinking is the death penalty. It’s better to stay back as a group and slowly work opponents down, rather than take a chance of getting split up and losing a player or two. While you can revive anyone who dies, the death penalty will always favor the cautious. Over time, the morale/death penalty becomes a resource, and whichever team has a better aggregate morale adjustment will come out ahead in a battle of attrition.
Once your team becomes better at team tactics, you'll obviously get a better feel for the game itself, as well as which opportunities to seize for "killer blows". Until that time, it's best you opt for a "basic" attrition game rather than an aggressive, overpowering one.
"Basic" simply means playing a smart, safe and effective game, rather than going for high-risk or flashy strategies. To win by “basic” means to win by playing smarter and more efficiently than your opponent. It may take a little longer, but if done right, it should win the majority of the time. Many RTS players I know play a very "basic" game in most matches they play, and while they may occasionally lose to a "cute" strategy, they often boast a 70-95% win percentage in any RTS they play. The same strategy of those RTS games can be applied in Guild Wars, to win through highly effective, yet basic, strategies. Execution is paramount.
2) A secondary ranged weapon, if you can find one, is essential. The two main benefits would be …
A. When fighting your opponent’s archers, you can focus fire them with your ranged weapons and take them down, which will keep any of your melee fighters from having to rush in and engage the archers and opening themselves up to attacks from others. Granted, if you're taking down archers, the chances are pretty good that the opponents are either running from you or waiting to respawn, but every chance you get to damage your enemies without taking any yourselves is a prime example of “basic” gameplay.
B. During those moments when both sides are standing off, and "measuring" one another, you can score plenty of free hits with ranged weapons. So while their big-bad tank stands there, brandishing his axe and shield, you can focus-fire with 8 ranged weapons. While those weapons may only do 5-10 damage each (for characters that haven't put points into the weapon's required attribute), when you multiply that by 8, it becomes a substantial amount. And with Frenzy, a Warrior doing 5 per hit is doing more damage than the Warrior who just stands there with his sword and shield. Even if they heal that damage, they still have to expend energy on those spells, giving you an energy advantage.
Now, these, as it seems to me, are the 5 major steps that take place during any 8:8 GvG battle:
I. Initial Flag Skirmish
II. Holding Flag while waiting on morale boosts
III. Assaulting Gate
IV. Taking Courtyard/Spawn Point
V. Taking Down Guild Lord
Of course things don't always play out this nicely, one stage following directly on the heels of the other, but it should give you a general idea of a battle's "flow". When things go crazy (and they will), two factors come into play: which team can recover and re-form their "party" quicker (melee to the front with casters and ranged at the back), and which team can survive with the least amount of losses during the "skirmish" phases.
The term “skirmish” will be used thusly: anything that happens when either side is trying to secure a tactical advantage that will allow them to initiate one of the 5 main phases.
Skirmishing skill will become a large factor in deciding GvG battles where the teams are evenly matched. Whichever team can operate more effectively while things are chaotic will secure small advantages (for example, a lost PC (player character, or character played by a human) here, or a saved NPC (non-player character, or characters played by the computer) there) over time, which will help them win the larger battle. The Gladiator Arena and the Tomb of Primeval Kings are both great places for your squad to work on skirmishing abilities.
I. Initial Flag Skirmish
Here you're trying to do two things:
1. Plant your flag at the watchtower.
2. Prevent your opponent from doing the same.
You'll want to keep good buffs on your flag runner while creating "cover" for him or her. In this case, cover means engaging a target to keep them off of your flag runner. Obviously, hamstrings, pin-downs and ice-based attacks will be crucial at this point in the game, as you want to stop their flag runner at all costs. Debuffs and slows are also huge, as you try to strip any enchantments the other team has conferred upon its flag bearer. The team that plays this most efficiently will win the first flag plant.
II. Holding Flag while waiting on morale boosts
Once you have your flag up, you're watching for the enemy's flag runner to come out of their gate. Watch for Rangers and Warriors to act as runners, as sprints, evasion and Endure/Defy Pain come into play. I've also seen some good Monk runners. They key is to keep them off the flag until they take a few losses, and you are at a full +10% morale boost. You can hit earlier, but it's best to secure a strong tactical advantage before attacking, which in this situation means making sure that every man on your team is at +10% before you assault their gate with a full attack.
III. Assaulting Gate
Here you want to take down the two Archers on the front gate before going in to their base. It may sound simple, but a good team will sit on their gate and AOE (Area of Effect) you to death while healing their NPC Archers. Make sure to AOE around the Archers to keep the walls clear, and focus fire one Archer at a time. Keep an eye out for casters and healers on the wall, and hit them with as much damage as you can to keep them from supporting their Archers. Once the first archer is dead, move to the next.
The reason you take down these Archers now, and then later in the courtyard is this: they have a predisposition (or so it would seem) of attacking the lowest armor characters first, namely Monks and other casters. They can cause some havoc if they're not taken care of, and a "basic" game should entail taking them out first before you move on to the next battle phase.
IV. Taking Courtyard/Spawn Point
Once you move into the courtyard, your first goal is to kill all the Archers around you. However, in order to do this, you will have to beat the other team back and up their stairs. Once you have a hold on the courtyard, take down the remaining Archers, and then proceed to the enemy's spawn point.
Watch the clock so that you know when your enemy will respawn (every even minute mark). Have someone call it out, so that your team groups up to take out the fresh spawns (any opposing players dead at the even minute mark will respawn, providing they don’t already have a 60% death penalty). Even a team that's been beaten back into their Guild Hall can still do a lot of damage to an unorganized attacking force, especially if they have Archers that haven't been taken care of. Again, the Archers will rock your Monks if you aren't watching, so you have to take them down before going up to the Guild Lord.
V. Taking Down Guild Lord
If you have the time, you want to take down the Archers protecting the Guild Lord while you are around the enemy's spawn. This allows you to engage and nullify them without bringing the Arcanists (they were Clerics at first, and as of last beta weekend, they were changed to offensive casters) into the battle. The Arcanists can do a lot of damage quickly, and coupled with the Archers, can really work your Monks. Try to take down the Archers first, from below, and then move on to taking down the two Arcanists. Once they're down, the Guild Lord is open for a kill.
If you need to rush, you can get away with rushing right at the Guild Lord, but it's risky. If a good team sees you rushing the GL, they can drop a lot of AOE on you, and this, combined with the Arcanists and Archers, is a lot of damage. You can rush the GL if you have a large PC advantage, but be ready to deal with the NPC's once you're in close with the GL.
So that, in general, is the flow of a basic game. There are tons of smaller things going on throughout the battle, but these are the 5 major steps to watch for. Having a plan for each stage of the game, as well as tactics for the skirmishes that will inevitably occur is the only way you can beat an organized team. And if both teams are well prepared, the winner will be the team that makes fewer mistakes, sustains fewer losses and exhibits higher levels of organization and efficiency. Thus, whichever plays the most effective "basic" game.
- Chaplan of Club G
with a 3rd the next time we do this. Sorry you won't make this one Jaxx, but it won't be the last time I'm sure.
, it was still fun to get together with some fellow Scouts and at least give it a go. I still had fun ;D and I am up for something similar any time.
