A Beginner's Cry for Help (but first, a few observations...)

Please be patient and read the whole post before you automatically assume that I am complaining.

I have been playing GW2 for 6 years, and GW1 for years before that. I did stop playing a lot for about 3 years in the middle, but never really went away. I am confident in my abilities with a number of different professions, and I am familiar with a lot of in-game mechanics. All of my experience, however, is with PvE and a tiny bit of sPvP. I played WvW in the beginning, and ran with the zerglings for a while, but never really learned the way of WvW. Then things changed, and I lost interest in anything WvW. Once I came back to the game, and got used to the elite specializations of my beloved characters, I decided I would try WvW again.

After reading a lot (and I do mean a LOT) I decided to enter the borderlands and see what I could do. The map was pretty empty where I materialized, and there was no chat to even give me a hint where the zerg (or monoblob or group or whatever) might be. Add to that, there was one commander tag, and it disappeared within a few moments after I logged in. I wandered around and killed a few vet mobs hoping I'd run across someone, but never did. A few things came across chat like "Need more north" (North what?) or "Need [someone] at [somewhere I haven't seen.]" When I asked in map chat hoping someone would give me directions, I was told what amounted to "If you don't know what you're doing, get out." How the hell am I supposed to learn what I am supposed to be doing if all I hear is "go away?" So I ran around and killed a few more mobs and one Charr with an opposing flag at a border (got a reward for doing it.) A short time later, I got a whisper from a random person that said I really needed to be in Discord so I could hear what was going on. I said thank you and realized with some sadness that a person with hearing loss is out of luck if you want to play WvW. So I killed a few more mobs and then went back to PvE. It wasn't a good experience at all. It doesn't mean I won't go back, though, as it could have been just a bad day.

Here's where the problem is. Things have changed so much since the beginning years of the game that I am completely lost. I have characters, and I know how to play them for PvE, so I am not completely ignorant of the interplay between skills, but I am in need of direction. Without mapchat or at least someone who can relay directions to me, I would be pretty much useless in a zerg. So, with all of that in mind, here are my questions:

1. Is there a list somewhere of current lexicon and abbreviations so that when someone deigns to say something in mapchat I know what they're talking about?
2. I have a speech-to-text program similar to closed captioning, but it's very subpar when it comes to gaming in general. Anyone have any that might help me out? Hearing aids are no longer viable for me.
3. I have read a ton of build guides, and I've experimented with quite a few professions and builds, but is there a good guide that describes basic WvW mechanics, when trebs are good, how to place arrowcarts for the most efficient use of resources, and things of that nature?
4. I can come up with a decent roaming build, but if I can't be in the zerg (for obvious reasons) what's the best way I can help my team without getting in the way?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

I understand your problems, and trust me, it used to be worse... When they made team chat encompass all the maps, you didn't know who was talking from where... At least now we have some tags for that...But yeah, competitive modes, and even some pve ones like raids, tend to rely a lot on voice chat for coordination. It's a sad reality that technology hasn't improved to the point where you can interact better, but it's coming there! Text to speech and voice to text services are improving at a high pace, so it might come a day when you will be able to interact better.I'd have to say that you encountered some poor company there, not everyone's like that, sorry.Now to your questions:

1. It's hard, some things can have more than one meaning. North usually means North Camp (as in the supply camp at the northern part of the borderland maps).The others are usually descriptive, bay is the bay keep at the left of the map, quarry means the camp just north of that, red/green/blue tower means the towers just outside the corresponding color's base spawn.

2. Not really, sorry.

3. Most of that comes from experience, really. I think there's some guides posted by players on some of those things in the WvW and players helping players forums.

4. Bah, you can be in a zerg. Look for a tag, and just follow the commander, what's he going to do? If there's no tags, roam for a bit, capturing camps, monuments and sentries will always improve the ppt. Stopping caravans from getting the resources to keeps also slows down their upgrade, which leaves them easier to capture.

Some final words of advice:Don't let people bully out of content. They can tell you you're not right for their party because reasons, and that's how it works. But don't let anyone tell you you shouldn't be playing WvW because of any reason. They don't own the game, as long as you're not being a prick doing duels on a map with a queue, or just afking for the PPT, you're contributing. Sometimes more than those that just follow commanders blindly.

Also, try to find a good guild, those will always be a good way to get into any game mode.

Used to be some player-written guides but they were never stickied on this forum. :(

@ReaverKane.7598 said:I understand your problems, and trust me, it used to be worse... When they made team chat encompass all the maps, you didn't know who was talking from where... At least now we have some tags for that...But yeah, competitive modes, and even some pve ones like raids, tend to rely a lot on voice chat for coordination. It's a sad reality that technology hasn't improved to the point where you can interact better, but it's coming there! Text to speech and voice to text services are improving at a high pace, so it might come a day when you will be able to interact better.I'd have to say that you encountered some poor company there, not everyone's like that, sorry.Now to your questions:

1. It's hard, some things can have more than one meaning. North usually means North Camp (as in the supply camp at the northern part of the borderland maps).The others are usually descriptive, bay is the bay keep at the left of the map, quarry means the camp just north of that, red/green/blue tower means the towers just outside the corresponding color's base spawn.

2. Not really, sorry.

3. Most of that comes from experience, really. I think there's some guides posted by players on some of those things in the WvW and players helping players forums.

4. Bah, you can be in a zerg. Look for a tag, and just follow the commander, what's he going to do? If there's no tags, roam for a bit, capturing camps, monuments and sentries will always improve the ppt. Stopping caravans from getting the resources to keeps also slows down their upgrade, which leaves them easier to capture.

Some final words of advice:Don't let people bully out of content. They can tell you you're not right for their party because reasons, and that's how it works. But don't let anyone tell you you shouldn't be playing WvW because of any reason. They don't own the game, as long as you're not being a prick doing duels on a map with a queue, or just afking for the PPT, you're contributing. Sometimes more than those that just follow commanders blindly.

Also, try to find a good guild, those will always be a good way to get into any game mode.

Thanks for the information. What's PPT?

@"Ashabhi.1365" said:Please be patient and read the whole post before you automatically assume that I am complaining.

I have been playing GW2 for 6 years, and GW1 for years before that. I did stop playing a lot for about 3 years in the middle, but never really went away. I am confident in my abilities with a number of different professions, and I am familiar with a lot of in-game mechanics. All of my experience, however, is with PvE and a tiny bit of sPvP. I played WvW in the beginning, and ran with the zerglings for a while, but never really learned the way of WvW. Then things changed, and I lost interest in anything WvW. Once I came back to the game, and got used to the elite specializations of my beloved characters, I decided I would try WvW again.

After reading a lot (and I do mean a LOT) I decided to enter the borderlands and see what I could do. The map was pretty empty where I materialized, and there was no chat to even give me a hint where the zerg (or monoblob or group or whatever) might be. Add to that, there was one commander tag, and it disappeared within a few moments after I logged in. I wandered around and killed a few vet mobs hoping I'd run across someone, but never did. A few things came across chat like "Need more north" (North what?) or "Need [someone] at [somewhere I haven't seen.]" When I asked in map chat hoping someone would give me directions, I was told what amounted to "If you don't know what you're doing, get out." How the hell am I supposed to learn what I am supposed to be doing if all I hear is "go away?" So I ran around and killed a few more mobs and one Charr with an opposing flag at a border (got a reward for doing it.) A short time later, I got a whisper from a random person that said I really needed to be in Discord so I could hear what was going on. I said thank you and realized with some sadness that a person with hearing loss is out of luck if you want to play WvW. So I killed a few more mobs and then went back to PvE. It wasn't a good experience at all. It doesn't mean I won't go back, though, as it could have been just a bad day.

Here's where the problem is. Things have changed so much since the beginning years of the game that I am completely lost. I have characters, and I know how to play them for PvE, so I am not completely ignorant of the interplay between skills, but I am in need of direction. Without mapchat or at least someone who can relay directions to me, I would be pretty much useless in a zerg. So, with all of that in mind, here are my questions:

1. Is there a list somewhere of current lexicon and abbreviations so that when someone deigns to say something in mapchat I know what they're talking about?
2. I have a speech-to-text program similar to closed captioning, but it's very subpar when it comes to gaming in general. Anyone have any that might help me out? Hearing aids are no longer viable for me.
3. I have read a ton of build guides, and I've experimented with quite a few professions and builds, but is there a good guide that describes basic WvW mechanics, when trebs are good, how to place arrowcarts for the most efficient use of resources, and things of that nature?
4. I can come up with a decent roaming build, but if I can't be in the zerg (for obvious reasons) what's the best way I can help my team without getting in the way?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

Hi,

Which server you at and what timezone?

On that note, you have to let those who play with you know that you can't hear well. And that's fine. So they can adjust. You must let people know so they don't make fun or close stuff for you. You must let them know.

Okay, other than that, choose a toon that you really like and make that toon tanky. Like a tanky guard, warrior, rev, etc. so you stay alive and stay with the tag. Practice playing your toon and make friends. the easiest way to do is to join a wvw guild or talk to the commanders in your timezone.

for basic wvw mechanices, do this ingame. /wiki wvw. and ti'll show you in wiki the basics.

also, i salute you for posting this. i hope your wvw experience will be good. else, if you play at my timezone, 2pm server time to 6pm seek us out at nsp, we'll add you to our roster and you can learn and we can learn from you. :)

cheers.

@Ashabhi.1365 said:

@"ReaverKane.7598" said:I understand your problems, and trust me, it used to be worse... When they made team chat encompass all the maps, you didn't know who was talking from where... At least now we have some tags for that...But yeah, competitive modes, and even some pve ones like raids, tend to rely a lot on voice chat for coordination. It's a sad reality that technology hasn't improved to the point where you can interact better, but it's coming there! Text to speech and voice to text services are improving at a high pace, so it might come a day when you will be able to interact better.I'd have to say that you encountered some poor company there, not everyone's like that, sorry.Now to your questions:

1. It's hard, some things can have more than one meaning. North usually means North Camp (as in the supply camp at the northern part of the borderland maps).The others are usually descriptive, bay is the bay keep at the left of the map, quarry means the camp just north of that, red/green/blue tower means the towers just outside the corresponding color's base spawn.

2. Not really, sorry.

3. Most of that comes from experience, really. I think there's some guides posted by players on some of those things in the WvW and players helping players forums.

4. Bah, you can be in a zerg. Look for a tag, and just follow the commander, what's he going to do? If there's no tags, roam for a bit, capturing camps, monuments and sentries will always improve the ppt. Stopping caravans from getting the resources to keeps also slows down their upgrade, which leaves them easier to capture.

Some final words of advice:Don't let people bully out of content. They can tell you you're not right for their party because reasons, and that's how it works. But don't let anyone tell you you shouldn't be playing WvW because of any reason. They don't own the game, as long as you're not being a prick doing duels on a map with a queue, or just afking for the PPT, you're contributing. Sometimes more than those that just follow commanders blindly.

Also, try to find a good guild, those will always be a good way to get into any game mode.

Points per tick... Basically you get x points when the skirmishes tick, that's the ppt.

Btw, just remembered there's a list of abbreviations in the wiki: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Abbreviations

@"Ashabhi.1365" said:Thanks for the information. What's PPT?

PPT = Points Per Tick. At the top of your UI in WvW there's a timer counting down 5 minute intervals. When the timer hits 0 (the tick) your server earns a certain amount of points (the "+number" to the left of the timer), which change dynamically based on the number and value of objectives, ie camps, towers and keeps, that are owned by your server.

PPT is also used as a more general - and in some cases, derogatary - term for gameplay that focuses on earning points by the capture and/or defence of objectives as opposed to fighting enemy players. For example, a group that's focusing on capturing enemy objectives can be said to be "PPTing".

To answer some of your other questions:

1. That was partly answered above, and really it depends on the server and the abbreviations they've become accustomed to. Some will use abbreviations of the name, such as "lake" for Red/Greenlake (depending on the borderland) whereas others will use directions, NW tower and such. You'll pick it up eventually.
2. I'm afraid not, sorry.
3. There's a lot of ins and outs when it comes to siege placement, which again just take time to pick up, but some basics include:
   • Almost always use superior (purple) siege as opposed to normal (blue) siege. The normal stuff costs less supply and is cheaper, but the superior siege blueprints are still very easy to obtain, and the benefits far outweigh any savings on cost or supply from using normal siege.
   • Arrow carts are usually only useful for defending structures. Most structures have particular spots where arrow carts are less likely to get hit by enemy aoe skills, but a general rule of thumb is to always place the blueprint as far onto the inside edge of the wall as possible, to minimise how much aoe can hit it (there'll always be some skills that can hit, but the fewer that can, the longer the arrow cart - and you - survive). Arrow carts are sometimes built in open-field fights with enemy zergs, but its considered bad practice, and in a lot of cases a friendly zerg will move away to allow the enemies to destroy the arrow carts.
   • Trebuchets are good for destroying walls from far away. It's very time consuming so its generally only done when the trebuchet can be built inside a structure you own in order to hit a neighboring enemy structure. Commanders will occasionally build trebs open field, but that's usually to put them out of range of defensive siege, and/or to lure the enemy group out of the tower for a fight. Trebs can also be placed inside structures facing gates, as the basic treb shot will damage flame rams on the other side of the gate, though you need to have an idea of the minimum range of the treb before doing this.
   • Flame rams destroy gates, and are unable to damage walls. Catapults destroy walls, and can damage gates but only by a small amount.
   • Each siege weapon has an associated WvW mastery (bottom tab of the WvW panel to see the masteries). Nearly all veteran players have all the masteries maxed out by now, so its best to leave using siege - particularly offensive siege - to someone else if possible.
   • On the topic of masteries, have a read through them all to see which ones you'd like to go for first, but the best ones to start with for personal use are Provisions Master (for autoloot) and War Gliding.
   • Try to always carry supplies on you. You can get them from a supply camp, tower or keep. However, don't take supplies from a tower or keep which is low on them, as they may be needed urgently in the event of an attack. On a related note, don't use supplies in an objective to repair a wall or gate until the threat has been dealt with. If you're dumping supplies into a wall when there's catapults still hitting it, it wastes the supply.
   • Scouting when an objective is attacked is always helpful. Try to include an approximation of the enemy's number (5-10, 30+, holykittenthere'smillionsofthem), whether they're damaging a wall or gate, and be clear on the location. You can Ctrl+click on the objective's icon on the map to ping it into chat if you're not sure what to call it. The numbers are important because it allows allies to decide what response is needed. For example, if there's 3 dudes with a catapult somewhere, you only need a couple of roamers, but if its 40 guys at a keep, you need help from a zerg (assuming there is one).
   • You can use mapchat, /m, to address people in your map only. Teamchat, /t, broadcasts to all 3 borderlands plus Eternal Battlegrounds. Try to restrict calls and scout reports to mapchat unless you need help from other maps.
   • If you're not sure when to use tactivator tactics, particularly Emergency Waypoint and Invulnerable Fortifications, ask in chat. If you do need to use an Emergency Waypoint, give as much warning as possible in chat first, to allow people to exit combat and get ready to waypoint. If an EWP is used when an enemy group is in the lord's room of a keep, they'll run straight for it and bomb the bejesus out of it to kill anyone porting in, to the point where people will spawn and instadie.
   • However, if you take an EWP and spawn dead, you can take the waypoint again and you'll be invulnerable for a few seconds to give you time to move out of the damage. Because you're already on top of the waypoint, there's no loading screen. I put that in bold because a lot of veteran players seem unaware of the fact.
4. Not every zerg will require voice comms. Most public commanders will ask that people join comms as it makes their job easier, but it isn't a requirement. As the above poster said, they can't physically stop you from following, and you can still be helpful in a zerg without comms, depending on your class. Keep in mind though, not every commander tag is an open group. WvW guilds often run closed raids a few times a week with a pre-determined group composition, usually with the goal of fighting similarly-minded enemy guilds. Again, they can't physically stop you from following, but its considered good practice to let them do their thing and not to add into their fights. These raids are nearly always in prime-time, so the evening of whatever timezone you're playing in. If you hop onto a map at 7pm and see 3-4 commander tags, thats why.

As a final tip, ask if your server has a WvW community guild. Not all do but if it does it's a great place to get advice about WvW and get to know people.

Sorry for the monster wall of text. Procrastination FTW. I hope some of it is helpful though.

My advice to you is simple just keep showing up fuck anyone who doesn't like it.

@"Ashabhi.1365" said:Please be patient and read the whole post before you automatically assume that I am complaining.

I have been playing GW2 for 6 years, and GW1 for years before that. I did stop playing a lot for about 3 years in the middle, but never really went away. I am confident in my abilities with a number of different professions, and I am familiar with a lot of in-game mechanics. All of my experience, however, is with PvE and a tiny bit of sPvP. I played WvW in the beginning, and ran with the zerglings for a while, but never really learned the way of WvW. Then things changed, and I lost interest in anything WvW. Once I came back to the game, and got used to the elite specializations of my beloved characters, I decided I would try WvW again.

After reading a lot (and I do mean a LOT) I decided to enter the borderlands and see what I could do. The map was pretty empty where I materialized, and there was no chat to even give me a hint where the zerg (or monoblob or group or whatever) might be. Add to that, there was one commander tag, and it disappeared within a few moments after I logged in. I wandered around and killed a few vet mobs hoping I'd run across someone, but never did. A few things came across chat like "Need more north" (North what?) or "Need [someone] at [somewhere I haven't seen.]" When I asked in map chat hoping someone would give me directions, I was told what amounted to "If you don't know what you're doing, get out." How the hell am I supposed to learn what I am supposed to be doing if all I hear is "go away?" So I ran around and killed a few more mobs and one Charr with an opposing flag at a border (got a reward for doing it.) A short time later, I got a whisper from a random person that said I really needed to be in Discord so I could hear what was going on. I said thank you and realized with some sadness that a person with hearing loss is out of luck if you want to play WvW. So I killed a few more mobs and then went back to PvE. It wasn't a good experience at all. It doesn't mean I won't go back, though, as it could have been just a bad day.

Here's where the problem is. Things have changed so much since the beginning years of the game that I am completely lost. I have characters, and I know how to play them for PvE, so I am not completely ignorant of the interplay between skills, but I am in need of direction. Without mapchat or at least someone who can relay directions to me, I would be pretty much useless in a zerg. So, with all of that in mind, here are my questions:

1. Is there a list somewhere of current lexicon and abbreviations so that when someone deigns to say something in mapchat I know what they're talking about?
2. I have a speech-to-text program similar to closed captioning, but it's very subpar when it comes to gaming in general. Anyone have any that might help me out? Hearing aids are no longer viable for me.
3. I have read a ton of build guides, and I've experimented with quite a few professions and builds, but is there a good guide that describes basic WvW mechanics, when trebs are good, how to place arrowcarts for the most efficient use of resources, and things of that nature?
4. I can come up with a decent roaming build, but if I can't be in the zerg (for obvious reasons) what's the best way I can help my team without getting in the way?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

I feel where your coming from , I just do what I think needs to be done at the time ,caps some camps hit sentries some defeinding of structures ,follow tag if I think I can help my main toons are minstrel guard and mainly support ,haven't a clue about the mechanics just point and click and hope I do it right , but oh well seems to work for me ,generally do not join squads because I feel taking someones place that can hear but always inform comm if I get invite most dont seem to care as long as I am healling and helping, but watching chat a lot of times makes me glad I cant hear if it is toxic there I can begin to imagine in comms lol , anyway play the game and do what you think is required ,give it your best shot after all it is only a game.

Most of the issues you're having will be fixed with time and experience playing. Be patient and learn the game mode and your role in it.

To address the hearing loss though, no, you're not out of luck. I have partial hearing loss and have never once joined voice coms. I am welcomed with open arms into any group that tags up, whether it's a fight guild, or an open zerg. Play a proper build, and learn to play it effectively, which again, will take time, and they'll be happy to have you join.

Few key points to help

• keep your head on a swivel so you don't get run over from behind
• don't squirrel and chase runners. stick to the tag
• don't push past the tag. Be mindful of fake pushes, smart commanders will fake push to bait out the enemy cooldowns, especially winds.
• learn how the different tags lead. All commanders are different in how they move and how they attack/defend.
• if you are support, know when to pop stability/heals/condi removal, if you are damage, know when and where to drop your aoe's. I'd recommend staying away from support chrono and spellbreaker, as those classes rely heavily on coordinating through voice coms.
• if you are being bugged constantly to join discord, kindly explain that you can't hear. If they kick you from the squad, feel free to follow them anyway as long as they have a tag up. Nobody can stop you from doing that.
• remember you are playing a GROUP game mode. If you plan on following a GROUP, bring a build that helps the GROUP. Your GROUP will have more success and everyone will have more fun.
• have thick skin. Don't take it personal if someone is talking crap or being salty. If it is advice, take it no matter how harsh it sounds.
• LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES AND HAVE FUN

But I repeat, BE PATIENT and learn the game mode and your role in it.

dumbers with a Catcher-22 logic is quite common on WvW but just ignore them.

the WvW version of "They only employ people with experience, but how will people experience, if only they employ experienced people?" and later in the press the employers' crying about not getting skilled labor is: "We just want WVW veterans and we hate noobs" and months later crying on foruns that the population is becoming lower and lower.

@Joshhh.2076 said:

@Ashabhi.1365 said:Thanks for the information. What's PPT?

Thank you so much for all the information. I did read the wiki, and I did get a bit of information from it, but all the technical aspects in the world don't really help with the wheres and whys that people do things a certain way. I hope that someone else reading the forums are getting as much good information as I am.

@"cbocbo.1509" said:(more great information)

Thank you. I do have thick skin, and I am just as likely to tell someone where to put it as endure stupid attacks on me personally. :D Having said that, I know when someone is giving me good info and not just being a kitten, even if their words and tactics are less than perfect.

Again, thanks for everyone's help. I do plan to get better at it, and I have no qualms about dying miserably until I get it right.

EDIT: I thought of another question... When you speak in mapchat can enemies hear it or only "your server?"

@"Ashabhi.1365" said:.

EDIT: I thought of another question... When you speak in mapchat can enemies hear it or only "your server?"

No. Only friendlies

Team chat is across all of the WvW maps, map chat justbtye one you are on.

@"Ashabhi.1365" said:Please be patient and read the whole post before you automatically assume that I am complaining.

I have been playing GW2 for 6 years, and GW1 for years before that. I did stop playing a lot for about 3 years in the middle, but never really went away. I am confident in my abilities with a number of different professions, and I am familiar with a lot of in-game mechanics. All of my experience, however, is with PvE and a tiny bit of sPvP. I played WvW in the beginning, and ran with the zerglings for a while, but never really learned the way of WvW. Then things changed, and I lost interest in anything WvW. Once I came back to the game, and got used to the elite specializations of my beloved characters, I decided I would try WvW again.

After reading a lot (and I do mean a LOT) I decided to enter the borderlands and see what I could do. The map was pretty empty where I materialized, and there was no chat to even give me a hint where the zerg (or monoblob or group or whatever) might be. Add to that, there was one commander tag, and it disappeared within a few moments after I logged in. I wandered around and killed a few vet mobs hoping I'd run across someone, but never did. A few things came across chat like "Need more north" (North what?) or "Need [someone] at [somewhere I haven't seen.]" When I asked in map chat hoping someone would give me directions, I was told what amounted to "If you don't know what you're doing, get out." How the hell am I supposed to learn what I am supposed to be doing if all I hear is "go away?" So I ran around and killed a few more mobs and one Charr with an opposing flag at a border (got a reward for doing it.) A short time later, I got a whisper from a random person that said I really needed to be in Discord so I could hear what was going on. I said thank you and realized with some sadness that a person with hearing loss is out of luck if you want to play WvW. So I killed a few more mobs and then went back to PvE. It wasn't a good experience at all. It doesn't mean I won't go back, though, as it could have been just a bad day.

Here's where the problem is. Things have changed so much since the beginning years of the game that I am completely lost. I have characters, and I know how to play them for PvE, so I am not completely ignorant of the interplay between skills, but I am in need of direction. Without mapchat or at least someone who can relay directions to me, I would be pretty much useless in a zerg. So, with all of that in mind, here are my questions:

1. Is there a list somewhere of current lexicon and abbreviations so that when someone deigns to say something in mapchat I know what they're talking about?
2. I have a speech-to-text program similar to closed captioning, but it's very subpar when it comes to gaming in general. Anyone have any that might help me out? Hearing aids are no longer viable for me.
3. I have read a ton of build guides, and I've experimented with quite a few professions and builds, but is there a good guide that describes basic WvW mechanics, when trebs are good, how to place arrowcarts for the most efficient use of resources, and things of that nature?
4. I can come up with a decent roaming build, but if I can't be in the zerg (for obvious reasons) what's the best way I can help my team without getting in the way?

Thank you in advance for your advice.

Here are some abbreviations you might see:

*bl - borderlandnc - north campnet - northeast towernec - northeast campset - southeast towersec - southeast campNWT - northwest towernwc - northwest camphc - home camp (closest camp to borderland spawn)ht - home tower (closest tower to borderland spawn)AK - air keep (desert borderland)FK - fire keep (desert borderland)eb or ebg - Eternal Battlegroundsap or anz - Anzalias Pass tower on ebgwc - Wildcreek tower on ebgql - Quentin Lake tower on ebgdan or dane - Danelon Passage camp on ebginc - incoming enemy Zerg (hopefully used in /say chat and not /team)OJs - orange swords/huge battle (devolved from "orange Juice"........I know....)ewp - emergency waypoint: useable for a brief time to allow porting into an objective that has its normal waypoint contested

So a scout typing something like "inc red Zerg 20+ n fk cata on plat wall 20 ewp in 5" would translate to "incoming red Zerg, over 20 enemies at the north side of the fire keep. They set up catapults on the plateau and the wall they are hitting is at 20% and dropping. I'm pulling the emergency waypoint in 5 seconds."

You get used to the shorthand after awhile, especially if you are being the scout trying to make the call out.

Ha my "F K"got changed to "kitten". People aren't cussing when they use F K for fire keep...

Best thing to do in General if you are not zerging is scouting. Taking camps and respond to need help @.....location calls. Also if you keep showing up for help people will notice.

Thanks again for all your help. Now all I have to do is put in the time and effort.Cheers!