My limited experience with WvW

[Tyro.8237]

Having gone through several things to do over the past months, and with the current WvW restructuring happening, i decided to try it a bit. I tried years ago but very shortly. 

 

Firstly, lost. Secondly, I'm so slow. Flashback to pre-POF GW2 where you need swiftness to get around. Ok ,grwat, i found a veteran guard. Let's beat him up. Cool i did something and got rewards. On we go. Some people keep shouting some abbreviations in chat. No idea but i see a commander tag up. Let me try to get there. I get ganked about 3 times before i manage to get there.

 

I found a big blop of my people and they all have wolves or something and are fast. Somehow with them I'm also faster. We go. Somewhere. Beat up a champ. We leave and go somewhere else. Beat up another. Where are the other players? And i can't see anything with the blop of people around me.

 

After about 2 hours of trying this. I log out. I think, unless there's something else to this, i prefer PVE or PVP which is smaller scale and i know the objectives. 

 

[Dawdler.8521]

Keyword being limited. Try for another 100 hours and come back with your experience, if its still the same or any different.

[Zyreva.1078]

One big difference between WvW and other game modes is, that the "content" isn't spoon-fed to you. You often have to go out and look for the type of action you desire, or have to try and create it yourself. Which does require not only proactivity but also knowledge and experience. But once you figure stuff out, WvW can offer some great adventures and a lot of fun for a multitude of different playstyles. If you don't enjoy zerging and PvDoor - that's fine, me neither. There is also a lot of stuff to do solo or with a small grp, but you'll have to learn how to handle fights on your own.

WvW can be very overwhelming, confusing and frustrating for new players for sure, but with some tenacity, eagerness to learn, an open mind and a lot of time you might discover something that offers unequaled opportunities.

[Infinity.2876]

Shall I explain? I'll try, but mind you I've only played Wvw for 8 hrs total so I'm probably as bad as you.

 

The wolves you were talking about are warclaws the only mount useable in Wvw they make you a LOT faster than other players who don't have them, which makes staying in a group near impossible unless the leader doesn't have a warclaw. (Very unlikely) 

 

To get a warclaw you can refer to this Guide which will tell you lots about Wvw in general.

 

Guards are the easiest thing to complete as they are npcs you kill and then you stand in the circle they drop

 

Second hardest is pack dolyacks are fairly easy to kill and rarely guarded by enemies players

 

third hardest is a camp which is like a guard except there are more npcs, friendly players and enemy players. The camp has an attendant guy who has an effect on him called righteous indigestion(or something of the sort) he is invulnerable and does a LOT of damage. He gains this after a team takes the camp. Wait until the buff runs out to take the camp

 

Towers are like mini keeps

 

Keeps are giant castles that you attack. They are heavily defended and require Siege engines to knock down the gate you will have to find a commander tag for this ( refer to Minecraft where you have to go into the nether(a place of fire and lava) to get a fire resist potion)

There are also elemental areas which are like camp except easier

Edited August 18, 2022 by Infinity.2876

[Gibson.4036]

1 hour ago, Tyro.8237 said:

 

 

I found a big blop of my people and they all have wolves or something and are fast. Somehow with them I'm also faster.

 

Players can level up their Warclaws so that it grants a speed boost to nearby allies so they can run as fast.

This means, if you can find a group before you've got your warclaw, you can keep up. In my experience before I got mine, though, it can be difficult to get to the group in the first place. Once you do find a group to run with, you have to be diligent the entire time to watch for when they are going to move again. If you get behind, you don't have the speed to catch up, and you're out of luck until you can catch a still group again.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Gibson.4036

[Tyro.8237]

Thank you for the insight. I will then rather focus on the smaller groups instead of these huge groups that does not seem for me. I don't mind the one on one fights as i enjoy it in pvp. I noticed, however, that unlike pvp you don't have standard Equipment, so proper gear seems important.

 

I will give it another try. Any suggestions to find people for smaller groups?

 

[Canidae Canis.2861]

14 minutes ago, Tyro.8237 said:

I noticed, however, that unlike pvp you don't have standard Equipment, so proper gear seems important.

Yeah, you'll have access to all the gear from PvE, so choosing a proper build/equipment setup is key. Mobility and stealth are King in WvW. Using trailblazer/celestial gear when you're starting out can help you survive long enough to get a feel for the game mode (even if access to those stats make some people very angry).

 

For small group content, best advice is to stay away from the tags. Aim for objectives on the opposite side of the map as the commanders since they will draw the enemy in large numbers. You can also survey team/map chat and ask if any "Havoc" groups need help - that's the term for small groups sneaking around to take large objectives.

 

Good luck out there!

[TheGrimm.5624]

2 hours ago, Tyro.8237 said:

Thank you for the insight. I will then rather focus on the smaller groups instead of these huge groups that does not seem for me. I don't mind the one on one fights as i enjoy it in pvp. I noticed, however, that unlike pvp you don't have standard Equipment, so proper gear seems important.

 

I will give it another try. Any suggestions to find people for smaller groups?

 

 

Welcome to the Mist War! What it sounds like is you might have more interested in a Havoc style gameplay. Havocs range from 2-12 or so players. Their role is to hit targets of opportunity and to try and harass and distract a larger enemy force and and give your side more options on countering their Warbands and Zergs. Havoc groups also compliment your own side's Warbands and Zergs by off-havocing where your group will hit a different objective while your side hits another to try and draw an opposing side from the real focus of the fight. An example of this in EBG might be to hit the enemy Garrison keep or one of the enemy spawn towers while your side is really going after Stonemist. You might get run over more for efforts but when you are able to pull their Zerg while they lose Stonemist, its worth it. 

They do need to further front load getting the mount in WvW, till you have one would recommend running with a larger group to get the objectives done you need to unlock it, or depending on how many toons you have bring ones that have more swiftness available. As other stated above the players that have fully unlocked mounts will be able to provide mount speed to you while near. You can also do a map shoutout to see if you can group with people while you work on a mount, expect some peanut gallery comments but generally there will be people looking to help. Same with finding a group, map is one of you better options to see if any groups are roaming and are ok with a newer player. You will also find some roamers that will help out if you let them know what you are working on. 

Aside from the mount link above you might find some of the terms you saw in map chat here: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/World_versus_World . Check the common terms section for more details on some of the abbreviations you might have seen. Good hunting!

 

[Tyro.8237]

Thank you for all this info.  Reading through all that but I'm not clear yet on the purpose/objective of the different maps. There is the eternal battlegrounds, 3x color coded borderlands. And then edge of the mists. Do i need to complete a map or achieve something before going to the next? Or i just randomly choose. Can one see from the opening screen where the most action is happening at the moment ? 

[Sahne.6950]

1 hour ago, Tyro.8237 said:

Thank you for all this info.  Reading through all that but I'm not clear yet on the purpose/objective of the different maps. There is the eternal battlegrounds, 3x color coded borderlands. And then edge of the mists. Do i need to complete a map or achieve something before going to the next? Or i just randomly choose. Can one see from the opening screen where the most action is happening at the moment ? 

All maps are the same. For example, a Tower on eternalbattlgrounds, will give as many points as a tower on a borderland.

The colored maps are the "homemaps" of the corresponding server.

my tip if you want to find action:

if you search for Zergcontent. type in /team chat.  Where enmi? Ape need tag! together apes strong!

If you want to find smaller fights, i advise you go to the Alpine borders and just do cycles, capturing the camps. You will normally find some roamers there.

If you are looking for 1v1´s: There is a sentry in the middle of the 3 Southern camps on alpine borderlands. South of this sentry is a big open field with 2 pillars. People meet there to duell.

Generally speaking you will find the most players in EBG. (eternal battlegrounds)

Edited August 19, 2022 by Sahne.6950

[Mabi black.1824]

17 hours ago, Tyro.8237 said:

I will give it another try. Any suggestions to find people for smaller groups?

hello and welcome,

if you like to compare yourself with other real players, you must absolutely insist, with a little patience you will learn all the mechanics and have fun in many different ways , I give you my word. my advice is to ask in the ciat of the map always, for everything you need or everything you do not know, be quiet and do not be shy, someone will always give you help.🧐

[TheGrimm.5624]

8 hours ago, Tyro.8237 said:

Thank you for all this info.  Reading through all that but I'm not clear yet on the purpose/objective of the different maps. There is the eternal battlegrounds, 3x color coded borderlands. And then edge of the mists. Do i need to complete a map or achieve something before going to the next? Or i just randomly choose. Can one see from the opening screen where the most action is happening at the moment ? 

 

As Sahne.6950 said controlling the objective provides points for your side and that will determine where your server places for the 2 hour skirmish period which adds to the weekly score. Currently winning the week means nothing outside of people's own perspective of that value to have 'won'. What it does mean is the top server is moving up a tier and the one on the bottom is moving down until a server is either first seed of all tiers or last of all tiers. They indicated they are looking into more reasons to win but that's after Alliances. So when deciding what map to go to, its up to what you are looking to do. Defend, attack, just fight. EBG will be the most populated for most servers since it holds the most value in potential score and the fights are closer to even but will have more zergs but you will also find havocs and roamers on map to. The borderlands will have more attacking going if its not your home map, and you might find more defending roles on your home map. As far as Edge Of The Mists, its separate and does not add to the weekly score as it was originally designed as an overflow map for all servers when queues were more of a thing. In the EoTM you could gain WxP from fighting and capturing but its pretty empty after they nerfed other aspects of it and have left it untouched, but that's for a different thread as people had differing experiences with it and will ideas on how to use in the future.

[Ronin.4501]

On 8/18/2022 at 12:53 PM, Tyro.8237 said:

Thank you for the insight. I will then rather focus on the smaller groups instead of these huge groups that does not seem for me. I don't mind the one on one fights as i enjoy it in pvp. I noticed, however, that unlike pvp you don't have standard Equipment, so proper gear seems important.

 

I will give it another try. Any suggestions to find people for smaller groups?

 

Probably the single biggest thing that will improve your WvW experience is joining a guild. Try posting the server you're on and what times you're most likely to play and there's a good chance you'll be able to find a guild that likes to run a small group comp (aka havoc); they'll also be able to help you out with builds for the class(es) you prefer to play and can explain a lot of the subtleties that go on in WvW.

[TheGrimm.5624]

13 hours ago, Ronin.4501 said:

Probably the single biggest thing that will improve your WvW experience is joining a guild. Try posting the server you're on and what times you're most likely to play and there's a good chance you'll be able to find a guild that likes to run a small group comp (aka havoc); they'll also be able to help you out with builds for the class(es) you prefer to play and can explain a lot of the subtleties that go on in WvW.

 

True this, find others that match your playstyle for your primetime.

[Karagee.6830]

Some pointers.

Get a class with high mobility that offers some flexibility. Guardian might be the single best option as all specs and core are great for one thing or another and willbender with speed runes is very mobile, thief, mesmer and ranger also have high mobility builds. Keep in mind the mount requires a hefty amount of mastery points, which means a hefty amount of wvw ranks, so getting it immediately when you're startin may be a waste of time and should be done only if you plan to run in PPT blobs (because the other masteries are comparatively more important if you roam).

Get the gobbler off the gemstore when the halloween festival is on this will greatly speed up both your wxp and reward track progress.

Try to play when your server does have people around (which seems fine in your case). Being 1st or 3rd in the scoring does make a big difference in pips earned for people with low rank. Plainly, you need to play less time to get the same rewards from your participation. I hope this gets addressed somehow by the devs relatively soon, because I can see this being a big problem for new players, in particular compared to how pvp works.

Ideally, even if you prefer roaming, you may want to do it with at least 1-2 more people. You can solo towers by yourself etc, but realistically that's not really worth it. Running with 1 extra person is already a great improvement to quality of life since you can put up 1 (guild) siege without having to run for supplies or 2 siege running once.  Max level supply mastery which lets you carry +5 is one of, if not the best mastery you can get in wvw for roaming, because together with +5 from claiming you can carry 20 supplies (25 from a keep), and guild siege is equivalent to superior siege but costs 40 supplies. Also in 2 or more you're less likely to get killed by others roaming alone or in small parties.

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by Karagee.6830

[Xenesis.6389]

7 hours ago, Karagee.6830 said:

Keep in mind the mount requires a hefty amount of mastery points, which means a hefty amount of wvw ranks, so getting it immediately when you're startin may be a waste of time and should be done only if you plan to run in PPT blobs (because the other masteries are comparatively more important if you roam).

The mount only cost 1 point to unlock, it absolutely should be the first thing they go after, it requires 6-8 hours to finish the reward track for it anyways so you might as well be working on the other parts to unlock it during that time. The only other required unlock for it is the double dash at 35 points, everything else is optional including the lance. 

[TheGrimm.5624]

10 hours ago, Karagee.6830 said:

Max level supply mastery which lets you carry +5 is one of, if not the best mastery you can get in wvw for roaming, because together with +5 from claiming you can carry 20 supplies (25 from a keep), and guild siege is equivalent to superior siege but costs 40 supplies. Also in 2 or more you're less likely to get killed by others roaming alone or in small parties.

 

 

Its funny back in the day when first starting I advised this to new people that wanted to roam and it was outrageous to forum goers. Still stand by it. The more supply your group can carry the better your group can havoc since they don't need as long to setup either an attack, ambush or a hasty defense when siege mattered more for defenders. 

[Lysico.4906]

Takes only a few hours to get the warclaw

[Karagee.6830]

3 hours ago, Lysico.4906 said:

Takes only a few hours to get the warclaw

My point was about the masteries, but it seems another guy already said  you need 35 ranks for double dash

Edited August 22, 2022 by Karagee.6830

[Adey.1275]

Just my two cents here. Take your time and learn the game mode. It can be confusing at times but once it clicks you'll be racing around solo or with a group to fight, capture objectives, make call outs to your team with the appropriate information, etc. 

The first thing in the wvw mastery track I would pick would be Warclaw. Just unlock the first point and start your progress to get one. It only takes a little while and makes a huge difference. 

Oh and what others have said. Join a guild that plays this game mode. It makes a world of difference. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Adey.1275

[Tyro.8237]

Thank you for all the insights and tips. I managed to get the warclaw by now and also invested some points into gliding. I stick to the roaming people, looking to get the mercs or attacking some camps. I also saw that the population was quite different after last week's beta and there were actually huge pvp battles going on.