Feeling agency as support

Before I begin, here are some caveats:

1. I don't normally PVP (just crested 100 total games over 6 years)
2. I'm in low Gold 3
3. I play support because most people don't; I'm always open to modifying my playstyle.

So, I'm trying to get into PVP as a Firebrand, and defaulting to my usual support role/mindset. However, I haven't really felt like I've made a lick of difference even after counter-cleansing Scourge bombs, pumping Boons, healing, etc. Despite shadowing people or groups, it just feels like I don't make much difference at all; my allies are either smurfing and able to kill the enemies anyway, or they are doormats no matter what I do.

Am I missing something? Should I try a different build or profession to feel more agency? Or is this all GW2 PVP has to offer?

feeling agency? what the hell does that mean?anyway each teams needs change depending on what youre up against.

I’m guesing he meant feeling useless

Depends if you play Solo, if so then support might actually be the worst role to pick.So, either find yourself a Duo-mate or play different Role for Solo-que.

just as @Alatar.7364 says, you'll need to find yourself a duo partner if you want to play support.. Scourge works best as a companion for Firebrand.

If you're adamant about playing Firebrand support in solo queue, you'll need a build such as Sage so you can support AND do damage.(I only say sage because that's what my solo queue FB runs, I can give build and video if you like)

Get a pocket scourge

Alright, guess it's back to the drawing board for me. Thanks for the feedback.

@"Stand The Wall.6987" said:feeling agency? what the hell does that mean?"Agency" is the ability for the player to affect their world - that the world is noticeably different because of what the player did (or didn't do). In the context of PvP, "agency" means that the player's actions have a discernable effect on the outcome of the game.

@Ojimaru.8970 said:So, I'm trying to get into PVP as a Firebrand, and defaulting to my usual support role/mindset. However, I haven't really felt like I've made a lick of difference even after counter-cleansing Scourge bombs, pumping Boons, healing, etc. Despite shadowing people or groups, it just feels like I don't make much difference at all; my allies are either smurfing and able to kill the enemies anyway, or they are doormats no matter what I do.

Am I missing something? Should I try a different build or profession to feel more agency? Or is this all GW2 PVP has to offer?

It's probably a combination of:

• Lack of understanding of the role or playstyle and how best to utilize it.
• Support's impact being less obvious.

As support, you have to do more than heal/cleanse and spam boons. In the current environment, CC and anti-CC are very important. CC lets your teammates get kills and also prevents them from taking damage. Anti-CC does the same: an enemy stun on your DPS in order to escape gets stopped by stability; your teammate can kite because they don't get stunned. Peeling for your teammate is crucial. If your DPS teammate is being focused, they can't return much damage - you're only prolonging the inevitable if you just keep healing them. Putting pressure through damage also helps, as it forces the enemy DPS to play it safe.

Your positioning is crucial as a support. You typically want to be the one holding the node, but you also need to avoid the heavy AoE spam. If the node is neutral and not close to being capped, there's no reason to be on it. Stay close to your DPS who are under pressure to peel for them and be ready to cleanse or res them quickly if they go down. Try and save stability for stomps. Also, don't be afraid to run from a lost fight (typically being outnumbered with enemies who aren't low on health or haven't blow a lot of cooldowns).

You can't judge your success purely winning or losing a fight. Not all won fights are good; not all lost fights are bad. If you're zerging, you may be winning fights you're in, but you're losing nodes behind you. Even though you're best in a group as a support, you need to know when to stay and hold a node in a 1v1 instead of staying with the group. Also, be able to identify when a fight is won and move to the next; watch the map and learn to identify the area which needs your help most - and which you can reach in time. Losing a fight is okay if can hold a node for longer than the respawn and run-back time to the next battle, or if you're holding an outnumbered fight (your allies should win the others).