Zephyra.4709

Been seeing less of them ever since they introduced tiered up towers + sentries actually applying reveal if you camp stealth for too long. Also the nerfs to DE rifle dodge stealth? Not sure what it's called. Then there's the steal range on DD reduced to 600.... yikes. And lastly, warkitty mount so even more HP to go through. As much as I dislike fighting thieves in WvW I think they've got hit pretty hard with all these changes, indirect or not. I haven't even logged onto my condi DD evade spam build in a while. It probably still works but why bother when you can delete people with brain dead pew pew SBeast or facetank with Sbreaker/holo, let alone AoE plenty 'fire & forget' skills... it's kinda fallen out of favor dagger getting up close and personal with your enemy on such a squishy class unless you're also running acro line.

It has been a while, sadly. Pretty content with the millionth additional hair color option... about time there be some cool new faces + hairstyles yeah?

It's just a week... not like it's gonna be back anytime soon.

Cluster of Baneberry can be used in WvW and you can slowly kill yourself or transfer the admittedly short (and probably useless) condition to a foe. Similar scenario if you're in pve running full trait master corruption necro and come across another necro with plague signet on... you can slowly kill them. Cruel yet amusing death.

They did well on the animations, especially stowing the weapon. Looks too similar to BL wep skins (dominator/immortal) mesmer vibe is strong but I'll wait to see it in game. I utterly despise the color scheme; it'd be sick if we could dye weapon skins... that'll never happen.

Power creep wars 2

If you want to zerg, you're better off using a class that is better suited to zerging (party wide boon support, buffs, AoE pressure, boon strips just to name a few). I recommend you check out websites like metabattle and vabbi builds for in depth reasoning + options. Ranger is best suited to small scale, 1v1 due to it being mostly singe-target. Hope that helps.

Pretty sure they talked about rent-able mounts. No word whether or not it's got the green light. Decided to use laurel farm acc (after hype died down) 0 wvw rank fresh off the boat.... aside from reward track timegate + skirmish claim tickets got it done across the span of 2 days (few hours for the non-timegated stuff). If it helps anyone - core guard cleric/shaman stat cheap exotics for zerging. swapped to zerk ranger solo'd a tower in quiet hours let the pet tank mobs. go to eotm (place is dead) break inner + outer red keep and just kite lord out of fire rings on either ranger, guard, warr. Anything that has passive heals + aoe. Most of the time if you say in chat where you are at least 1 guy shows up... miraculously. Sorry if this sounds cruel but... just play the game. It's not like every new player has the same mentality and crumbles like a snowflake if they don't get their shiny within the hour.

Top 5 no particular order: Class balance pigeon holed into picking 3-4 main zerg classes every meta, powercreep, lazy skill design shifting away from active blast finishers to fire & forget skillsPopulation/timezone imbalances, bandwagon mentalityZero incentive to win, zero server pride, zero GvG support, very little features exist to recruit new blood other than spamming map chatServer lagNever revitalising old core skill functionality e.g; warrior "Fear Me!" - many are outdated + never used in WvW either roaming nor zerging gg rip

... + yellow warning text for when night starts/ends like in verdant brink! ... + the 3 confirmation windows when changing builds. Change build - yes? Are you sure - yes? Last warning are you absolutely sure - yes? B)

inb4 this happens... Community: WE WAN BULD TEMPLETZ SO WE CAN CHENGE FAST WHEN EVA WE WAN!!Anet: gives out build templatesCommunity: NO THIS 2 OP NED NERF MUST TEK 30 SEC TO CHENGE BULD + ONLY TRAITS + SKILS + ONLY AT NIGHT TIME GET RID O BULD TEMPLETZ!!!Anet: surprised pikachu face

How do you even get close on staff ele though? Aren't those stationary avoidable fields? Also you had 3 people, i'm talking solo. Probably signet of fire with fire trait and a rune that extends burning duration. 3 stacks of burn and then staff fire 3 for over 6-7s and that is just one player. If they were 3, they can get 12 stacks. Just my guess though. Yeah, I was full dire balth runes traited for burn duration etc. It's just a shame we were so small this reset, maybe a group of 7 or so would've made for some crazy burst burn combos from stealth with our scrapper. Oh well maybe next time. B)

How do you even get close on staff ele though? Aren't those stationary avoidable fields? Also you had 3 people, i'm talking solo. Oh you meant solo, my bad. You do and you don't. It's similar to playing ranger in that you kite a lot and utilise movement abilities from fire staff #4 + firey GS elite. Staff #3 is 1,200 range, including SoF. You then have Feel The Burn at 600, Conjure GS #2 is also 600. The only close proximity ones are Cleansing Fire and I think some other skill. First time playing the build so idk what I was doing half the time but I managed to get people off mounts who were out of position, including those not on mounts solo. I think a lot of it comes down to playing a deceiving build - those peeps probably thought we were basic squishy power staff ele's. Jokes on them.

I wouldn't say useful 100% of the time but we ran 2-3 dire staff tempest meme builds (burning) yesterday which dismounted many players + downed plenty who, surprisingly, didn't bring a single condi cleanse or very little. Staff #3, Feel the Burn, SoF, Cleansing Fire to name a few bursts.

I find it amusing that you get the same reward for flipping a paper keep in a few mins compared to T3 keep which probably take forever yet 'scaling' exists regarding killing players who've been alive for longer including event completion (bronze/silv/gold).

I wouldn't be surprised...

If it's red it's dead. Play the game to have fun. It may be upsetting to those getting ganked but it's a legit role by cutting off reinforcements and taking camps/distracting the enemy etc.

Chorazin.4107 Makes a fair point. Especially true if you're running gimmick/non-meta builds (because heaven forbid we make our own builds for fun/creativity, niche roles). Let's not let the 'lures' slide either, that 1v1 is short lived... more often than not his 2 other guildies magically appear at his aid so yeah, not worth going for that target again if you already know what bs they're gonna pull 10 seconds later.

Complaining about a skill with long cast time, obvious animation, no stealth, can be reflected/blocked... were you afk? Core rifle war is a gimmick one trick pony build, get hit once and never again.. dodge just after the war kneels.

If Blish could live as a golem then surely Taimi or any Asura could invent the same tech for her. On board with others - probably use Scruffy.

I beat him on my build I use for WvW; condi evade spam thief. I have no idea how the mechanics work. I avoided him with dodge/evade spam until the green CC bar was up. CC'd him with distracting dagger + bas venom combo dumped condis and waited for his second round of CC bar; he went down quick thereafter. Definitely made sure to Steal those annoying might stack boons. Took me over 4 tries to get it. Hope that helps.

lol just imagine the never ending fights in places like Bay because enemies would be back in the lords room no time thanks to raptor speed & leaps... I think gliding brought the 'pace' of WvW up a decent notch... let's not put it on obnoxious steroids with mounts.

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).