Zephyra.4709

PUGMANDER/TYPEMANDER:COMMUNIATION IS KEY... Have a SQUAD MESSAGE ready when players join your squad. I rarely EVER see anyone utilise this feature and it makes for some great basic tips for newcomers (e.g; stay on tag, bring supply, support each other). Have a short ANNOUNCEMENT to put in team chat now & then that you are actively tagged up. Go out of your way to be kind, understanding + reasonable and get used to using squad/say/map chats frequently. I say this because your squad will have all kinds of players - some tunnel vision. This is where Say chat comes into play since it literally pops up in front of them. Other players won't have team or map chat on, so use your Squad chat at all times. Acknowledge all SCOUT CALLS as they are vital to knowing enemy location, numbers, activities. Repeat your commands frequently; again, some pugs need you to hold their hand every step of the way and this builds trust, makes you and your pugs attentive and better players together. Communication is the bread and butter of forging a bond between each other and building respect and a willingness to learn.SQUAD MARKERS... Like squad messages, SQUAD MARKERS are tools you will need to use for a multitude of reasons; from stacking (arrow), to signalling your pugs where to move, on top of siege that needs to be built, specific markers related to portals (circle), AoE up ramps/on walls (heart) or the big daddy of them all - marking enemy drivers (x), and singling out specific enemy players/enemy siege (x). Before engaging an enemy zerg you should: explain to your pugs you will MARK the enemy driver or specific player, tell your pugs to FOCUS that target or to stay clear of that end of the hammertrain. Doing so gives you a better chance at producing downs since everyone will be trying to focus on a specific player/spot due to the obvious marker(s).SQUAD/TEAM COMPOSITION/PARTIES... Each PARTY should have at least ONE Firebrand, Spellbreaker, Scourge, Herald or whatever you find WORKS TO BENEFIT YOUR SQUAD composition against the enemy. Kindly explain to pugs if you are having a hard time to switch to zerg builds or swap classes to something more suitable, however, never solely dismiss certain classes' ability to contribute to a zerg. A common trend is rangers but with the right attitude, constant communication and team work I have noticed many to be switched on and ready to pounce on single marked targets, DPS'ing hard to reach siege and overall showing a willingness to work with the squad. ALWAYS appoint a Lieutenant - this role is important for keeping your squad CLEAN so choose a player who is willing to keep track of the parties.MAP AWARENESS/KNOW YOUR LIMITS... As a pugmander, the WORST thing you can do is to be unwittingly feeding your squad to the enemy. This is why it's important to establish what kind of enemy is on the map (enemy guilds, blobs, havoc groups, double team etc) and decide whether or not your squad can handle being in a situation that could put them at risk (chokes, on lords, behind walls, lower terrain, attacking certain tier objectives, engaging both enemy teams etc). SITUATIONAL/MAP AWARENESS is taxing to keep track of since you're already juggling numerous tasks so it's common for allies to get upset if you end up getting rekt. This is where you should acknowledge what went wrong, how your squad could have avoided the issue and get ready to move on or switch maps.FIND A BALANCE... All kinds of players are in WvW for different reasons. Acknowledge that not everyone is going to get what they want; some prefer to K-TRAIN, others enjoy FIGHTS, some honestly DON'T CARE. As a pugmander, you are trying to build up a sizeable force and to do this you should incorporate a fair share of CAPPING/DEFENDING OBJECTIVES and FIGHTS. Fights are just as important as assaulting objectives - it is challenging, helps your pugs better themselves against the enemy and keeps them on their toes. If you k-train too much - players tend to be off in fairyland which could get your squad rekt if an enemy group shows up.ENGAGING THE ENEMY... Before approaching any enemy it is vital to have a PLAN and possibly a SAFE SPOT to fall back to (squad markers). Communicate with your squad the basics; NEVER run ahead of the tag, NEVER run directly into the enemy's bomb, you should be rotating AROUND the enemy bomb OR DODGE THROUGH IT if it's in a choke/tight space. You will want to practice FAKE PUSHING an enemy by explaining to your squad "FAKE PUSH to arrow and immediately FALL BACK to square". You do this to bait the enemy bomb so you may have an easier time to REAL PUSH them after. Constantly remind your pugs about these strategies - it will better them as individuals and hopefully train them to not be rally bots. Never ever let your enemy have the upper hand or an easy time - try to engage them by surprise. This includes; tight stacking outside of gate portal and pushing in after the enemy enters via wall, tight stacking around corner and wait for the enemy driver to pass then cut off their backline/midline, hiding behind certain terrain/objectives or utilising another path to get to their zerg without being noticed (e.g; catas up Wildcreek. Instead of risking being seen, head through dredge and smash them from behind while they are focused on their catas).PREPARE THE DEFENSE... After destroying an enemy zerg inside/outside your objective you should replace any siege and repair the walls/gate. You know they will be back therefore you never make it easy for the enemy. Try to place siege as far back as you can on the walls in light of heavy enemy AoEs. Communicate with your scouts to kindly REFRESH SIEGE. This is often called 'ticking' e.g; "If you're scouting Bay, can you please tick all sieges thank you". Most siege if not all, has a 1 hour decay timer. Keep track of enemy tactivators (watchtower, EWP, invulnerable walls/gates being the big offenders) as this can make or break your attempt at a Tier 3 objective. You should also keep track of your own tactivators and be ready to take EWP if someone calls it.SQUAD SUPPLY... The peanut butter of the squad UI. Always keep track of this and try not to waste supply on outer, save more rams/catas/shield gens for inner as this is where the enemy is going to make things difficult for you and that third shield gen on outer... could have been put to better use on inner!That's probably the basic bulk of pugmanding you should be ready to fulfil. I hope this helps you in your conquest against the enemy. Enjoy pugmanding!

Queensland here with ping ranging from 248-280ish in WvW if it's busy. I'm not with NBN since it hasn't been rolled out in my area. I mostly solo roam, small scale and zerg if there's a tag out there and I tend to do just fine! I definitely recommend it, but make sure you pick NA servers. My EU account has 400+ ping and it is literally unplayable. EDIT: The "laggiest" places if you're wondering are generally massive fights in SMC on any given day, reset day is also painful with ping spikes of 600+. Hope that helps.

I don't think being able to dye backpacks is possible... it's 2018 and I really feel like the game should be able to by now. Anyway, as an alternative option they could always release different colors of the same skin regarding the cape bits (red, green, blue, yellow etc).

I support this request, been wanting additional guild slots for years. I'd pay $$$ for extra slots. :)

Is that a short joke?

Would love the option to have different skins for pets, if that's what OP intended. Example: you like the mechanics (F2 in particular) of the Wolf pet (applies Fear) but you prefer the aesthetics of the Alpine Wolf. Having a system in place similar to how mounts function where you can pick what skin you want to use would open up wider customization and let's face it, who doesn't want a scary Nightmare Hound skin for their Fernhound? Those mobs are cool! I wouldn't mind having unique skins for pets, but I'd prefer it if they were in-game rewards locked behind a quest content rather than shoving it into the gem store.

I'm inclined to believe it was removed due to shoulder clipping when the stretch was performed. I remember having a human female warrior at one point and it was, while I personally couldn't care less, odd seeing the shoulders clip through practically everything on the way there and back. I'd vouch to bring back that animation nevertheless - even better if they'd make new ones or a system akin to ESO's 'personality' packs.

Just saw someone run past with the new Grenth outfit and noticed the hood + eye glow is dyeable which gets me thinking... Would it be possible to update the current Grenth Hood skin to include the same dye channel akin to the Grenth outfit - being able to dye the eye glow and mask would be insanely fun. Cheers in advance.

Can't remember the last time I made a post in one of these threads but I wouldn't mind seeing more optional colors to choose from regarding Glint's Gaze Mask. Since the technology exists to dye particle effects like glows I wonder if devs could attempt to update the current masks to be dye-able?

Been watching this thread for the past couple days, kudos to OP for starting one of these again.

My first ever gaming mouse was a Razer Deathadder and it served me well, very comfortable to use. I decided to upgrade to a Razer Naga due to extra usefulness of the side buttons but I often found myself accidentally pressing the wrong ones (huge l2p issue whoops) and since then I'm now using a Razer Naga Hex V2 (it has this nice space in the middle where you can rest your thumb without accidentally pressing buttons) yet my only problem with it has been that it occasionally 'freezes' and I have zero idea what causes it... I'm likely to switch back to the 12 button Naga. Hope that helps give you an idea.