Queue times for unranked PVP

[Tonks.8052]

Hi all,

I am new to GW2 and PVP in general (aside from Destiny's PVP). I'm wondering if there is something wrong on my end, as even though the estimated wait time is listed under two minutes, I'm waiting upwards of four to five minutes. Is this typical, and if so have the game devs addressed it? It would seem to me this would disincentivize new players and established players alike from wanting to play.  Thank you.

[Gotejjeken.1267]

Depends on time of day and also sPvP seems more active on weekends.  

Some of it might be the matchmaker--if you go over estimated time, just requeue; it's probably superstition, but doing that has not only gotten me faster games but also better matches.  Seems if you leave the matchmaker to go way past its estimated it starts taking 'supplements' and comes up with some rather uniquely frustrating team comps.  

Finally, sPvP isn't really hugely popular in GW2 to begin with as GW2 is kind of casual by nature.  So, a lot of your wait is probably due to that, especially if you are going to compare it to FPS like Destiny.  

My overall suggestion is only Q as ranked and don't worry about your actual ranking.  Get better rewards and the same sweats from ranked also play unranked anyway, so if you are going to face them better at least be in an environment where they have to pretend to try.  

[Paradoxoglanis.1904]

Yes its normal since hardly anyone plays pvp anymore.

[magickthief.6492]

well, at least all of the pve maps are packed to the max with 20 million players. just work on the  story and map completion

[Sahne.6950]

6 hours ago, Tonks.8052 said:

Hi all,

I am new to GW2 and PVP in general (aside from Destiny's PVP). I'm wondering if there is something wrong on my end, as even though the estimated wait time is listed under two minutes, I'm waiting upwards of four to five minutes. Is this typical, and if so have the game devs addressed it? It would seem to me this would disincentivize new players and established players alike from wanting to play.  Thank you.

Be sure you are searching for "all gamemodes". 

In EU, Stronghold is quite active 😄     if you search for Conquest AND Stronghold, you will usually find a game within a few seconds.

[Tonks.8052]

Thanks all. Bit of a bummer that PVP isn't that active, but GW2 is my first MMORPG and I've never done WVW. And I'm sure Destiny's strikes and raids are just the same in name only.

[arazoth.7290]

19 hours ago, Sahne.6950 said:

Be sure you are searching for "all gamemodes". 

In EU, Stronghold is quite active 😄     if you search for Conquest AND Stronghold, you will usually find a game within a few seconds.

❤️STRONGHOLD ❤️

Small reminder, they should make it 10vs10. There is place and lot to do enough

[Remus Darkblight.1673]

On 12/19/2023 at 8:12 AM, Tonks.8052 said:

Thanks all. Bit of a bummer that PVP isn't that active, but GW2 is my first MMORPG and I've never done WVW. And I'm sure Destiny's strikes and raids are just the same in name only.

The more I think about it the more GW2 does feel like 3rd person Destiny. Strikes and Raids are instanced in exactly the same way, so are the open world maps. There is just a greater density of players in the PvE content per map in GW2. There is even the same casual/sweat divide in PvP. The only thing GW2 really has that isn't present in Destiny is WvW.

• Strikes are short, have much simplified mechanics when compared to raids, can be mostly brute forced with a competent enough team.
• Raids are longer, have wipe mechanics, multiple bosses, require communication and a knowledge of said mechanics to succeed, beyond just outputting damage.
• There are very vocal people in PvP regarding balance of certain professions and skills, much the same as Destiny has with certain weapons or subclass mechanics.

Not saying either is a bad game or better than the other, between them D2 and GW2 are my most played games in terms of hours wasted dedicated. I'm also pretty sure the last point above applied to basically any multiplayer game.

[Luthan.5236]

I guess more people play ranked. More/better rewards (pips) but the same mode. Only time I'd play unranked is during mini season when unranked is the only way to get the normal PvP instead of the deathmatch. It is really not that bad to even use the ranked to try out new builds. Unless you care hard about rank it should not be a problem for other player.s (When you rank down if you play worse and they don't see you again unless you get better. And if they rank down as well it is their problem. :D)

[Tonks.8052]

1 hour ago, Remus Darkblight.1673 said:

The more I think about it the more GW2 does feel like 3rd person Destiny. Strikes and Raids are instanced in exactly the same way, so are the open world maps. There is just a greater density of players in the PvE content per map in GW2. There is even the same casual/sweat divide in PvP. The only thing GW2 really has that isn't present in Destiny is WvW.

• Strikes are short, have much simplified mechanics when compared to raids, can be mostly brute forced with a competent enough team.
• Raids are longer, have wipe mechanics, multiple bosses, require communication and a knowledge of said mechanics to succeed, beyond just outputting damage.
• There are very vocal people in PvP regarding balance of certain professions and skills, much the same as Destiny has with certain weapons or subclass mechanics.

Not saying either is a bad game or better than the other, between them D2 and GW2 are my most played games in terms of hours wasted dedicated. I'm also pretty sure the last point above applied to basically any multiplayer game.

I just reached 80 and unlocked my glide ability. The whimsical nature of this game, and the sense of wonder it elicits is incredible. Absolutely stunning! That's coming from a guy who grew up on Pong and Atari 2600 games like Pitfall and Frogger...lol. Those games made you brute force your imagination, whereas the RPG element in GW2 creates a completely different imaginative dynamic. I can't believe how incredible this game is.Lol

[DoomNexus.5324]

On 12/19/2023 at 9:12 AM, Tonks.8052 said:

Thanks all. Bit of a bummer that PVP isn't that active, but GW2 is my first MMORPG and I've never done WVW.

Agreed, it's a bummer. In my opinion GW2 has the best movement and combat system in all MMOs and PvP used to be a lot of fun too. But the devs have abandoned the game mode, their only focus is now on PvE with a very limited capacity for an ongoing WvW change that has been in the works for years and is still not out.

I doubt PvP will ever be of any interest to the devs tho since it doesn't bring a lot of cash. Casual players chilling in the open world just buy way more stuff off the cash shop and that's what they are catering to. Don't get me wrong, I love the open world stuff and basically all pve content apart from the story itself, it's a lot of good content but yea. Don't expect any support/fixed or new content for anything else from the devs.

[Urud.4925]

I also noticed that the waiting time increased in the last 3 months. I'm playing a different profession now, but my rank is more or less the same, and while I usually waited around 2 minutes, now it's usually 5. Not sure why. It might be because of the WV vault (I used to play sPvP for a fast daily, but now I selected only PvE in the WV, cause the PvP daily are riskier). Or because there is more farming to do in the open world, idk. But yes, there were more players before (at least between s2 and g2).

[ToffeeLatte.8243]

Note there's a matchmaking system for unranked that is based on PvP rank (thus ensuring new players aren't thrown into games with people with 400+ sPvP matches). It can take a bit longer as a new player to find a match until you gain some pvp exp.