Maia's Memo

Since the WvW rewards update, I've returned to playing WvW a good amount of time per week. It is undeniable that my server Tarnished Coast is struggling right now. The server that I remember from 2 years ago that was full of commanders, guilds, and militia in almost all of the time zones (frequently queueing multiple maps) is gone, and TC is a very different place today. Luckily, I'm also a very different player than I was 2 years ago, and the combination of the two has allowed me to find new ways to enjoy WvW.

In my previous WvW life, I was a zergling. I ran the build that I was told, I fulfilled the role I was assigned, and I stuck to the commander like white on rice. That was fun and it is one way you can play WvW (I still do this for around half of my WvW time). However, this time around, I'm getting a lot of satisfaction out of sentrying, defending, and havocing. 

A perfect example is yesterday afternoon. I zoned into TCBL and a commander and small group (not really Zerg size) was running around capping stuff. I joined them just as they took Hills, and I decided to make it my new home. I told the commander my intention (as a side note a sentry/defender who is in TS with a commander is worth at least 5 who aren't) and he told me "I haven't bothered to siege or defend Hills this afternoon because they keep flipping it." I said to him, "I understand, but that stops now." Over the next 2.5 hours I proceeded to siege the entire Keep, add useful improvement and tactics, and defend from enemy attacks. I'm especially proud of one of my counter attacks that slowed the enemy long enough allow reinforcements, including the commander and our Zerg, to arrive, saving Hills from certain disaster. Turns out one door trebuchet at an outer gate is worth at least 3 arrowcarts, especially when the enemy commander is too stupid to keep his Zerg away from your supply draining putrid cows. (For those who are interested we still own Hills and it's been 17 hours since I was there.) Over the past few weeks, I've noticed that if I make a tower or keep my new "home" help starts to materialize. As Hills started to upgrade, I got visits from roamers who captured the camps that send supplies to Hills, escorted yaks, and helped me refresh the boatload of siege weapons I had build for Hills's defense. 

Yes, when TC was strong I would never have taken on this role, mostly because it was already being done by others. However the new state of affairs has given me incentive to learn how to siege and defend towers and keeps, how to efficiently capture camps by myself or with just a few other people, how to keep myself alive when a thief tries to gank me (when will thieves learn that not all eles are squishy?!?!), and more. I really feel like my personal actions contribute to our score (a keep or even a tower saved from the enemy contributes a significant amount of points to the skirmish score). Yes, my former WvW commanders have contacted me and asked me if I'd like to transfer. Some have even offered to pay my transfer fee. But I'm torn. Server loyalty is a relic now with server linking and the large changes many servers including TC have undergone, and it would be nice to be on a "winning" server for those extra pips. On the other hand, I'm learning a ton and it feels like I'm making an actual impact. It's the classic struggle of intrinsic vs. extrinsic rewards, and I'm not sure whats going to win in the end.

See you in the Mists!

PS I'm going to get together the resources I've been using to learn about WvW life outside of the Zerg. I'll hopefully post them in the next entry.

Hi everyone! Thanks again for your help upgrading the guild hall! We're doing awesome and, because of everyone's generous donations, we are only limited by aetherium.

Guildies have been donating using one of three methods: depositing in the treasury, depositing in the guild bank, and direct mailing me mats/gold. No one has accused me of embezzling yet, but I though I'd clarify how I'm using everything. I like transparency, don't you?

When we finish an upgrade and start working on the next, I post in the MOTD any materials we need that have not been deposited in the treasury or guild bank. I move any materials deposited in the guild bank that are intended for upgrading the hall right away. I then wait until we have enough aetherium for the upgrade. If no one has donated the needed materials into the treasury by that time, I use the gold people have mailed me to buy or make the needed materials. This is common with stuff that doesn't drop (like superior runes of holding) or stuff that only scribes can make (paper mostly). 

I'm not going to name names, but I want the gold donators to know that they shouldn't feel like we will be held up if they don't donate materials too. I like to give other guild members who don't want to donate  gold but have mats they don't mind donating a chance to do so. The gold donations are our "fall back plan." Of course if you want to donate more, I won't stop you

That's pretty much all I have to say. Feel free to leave any questions below. I hope everyone is happy with our progress.

Oh yeah, one more thing! We finally have all of the stat boosting claiming auras unlocked, so feel free to claim stuff in WvW without worrying about other guilds having "better" buffs. The only one we don't have now is magic find which won't make a difference for defense or offense.

See you in the Mists!

Another memorable set of comments from a Reddit thread where people are talking about being able to see Rata Sum from Dragon Stand. (Yes, some people are just noticing that. I assume they are new to the game or have challenged themselves to win the game only playing with their eyes closed.)

Perky_Bellsprout•2h

Don't the asura have any artillery they could've nuked mordy with?

wooperthemad•2h

Most likely, let me go ask.

Krewe Leader Plot says no.

pyrospade•1h

i'm afraid that's not even the largest plot hole in HoT

Dear Prides at Deimos CM:

Because I'm going to take a stab at kiting blacks on Monday, we'll be seeing a lot more of each other. So, I'd like to introduce you to my new pet: Mawdrey III

Did I mention he does a 9 second immobilize? Silly me...

I am not a naturally talented gamer. I am not able to pick up a new class and immediately achieve decent dps. (Actually, I suspect this isn't a thing for anyone. Even the gamers who do the crazy benchmarks probably practice more than we think.) I have practiced on the golem on every class you have ever seen me play in a raid (yes, even  healing druid). I played violin from 4th grade until college, so practice is not a new thing for me. However, I realize not everyone had the benefit of parent-mandated musical competence, so I thought I'd write a post about how picking up a new class usually goes for me. If nothing else, hopefully it's good for a laugh.

Step 1. Set up

Typically, the first thing I do is go to https://snowcrows.com and make sure my gear, traits, food and utilities are exactly the same as what they have (except the infusions. You can subtract 2-3% from their numbers to account for those). Yes, you can practice the rotation with suboptimal stuff, but it's difficult to tell how close you are to your goal. It's fine to start, but eventually you've got to go all the way. I'd only recommend it if the build uses a very expensive food you don't want to use tons of or it's a gear issue that you're working on but aren't quite there yet.

Step 2. Golem time

Before I start banging on the golem, I look at both the written and video golem rotation. If I need to, I'll have the written rotation sitting next to me. Another thing to do is to make sure you've got the golem and yourself set up right. Make sure you have the right buffs  on yourself and debuffs on the golem. Snowcrows outlines that in detail here: https://snowcrows.com/benchmarks/ (scroll allll the way to the bottom.)

The first tries are invariably a shit show. Sometimes I forget the 5th skill and have to start over, I accidentally cancel skills, things feel off, the timings are weird.

It's not unusual for my starting dps to be 60-70% of benchmark. The nicest thing we can say about that is it's trash tier. The important thing is not to give up. This is part of the process. I keep at it. I memorize the skill order by writing it down throughout the day. (Yes, some of the paper in the recycle pile on my desk at work has the million step Dom chrono rotation on it.)  I watch the golem rotation videos at reduced play speed. I record myself and analyze it as if it was someone else. I kill a few golems doing the rotation at slow speed and then try to speed up. I've never asked someone else to watch me and give me tips because I'm a little shy, but that's an option too. DO NOT underestimate the power of perfecting the opening burst. 

I practice regularly for 15-30 minutes at a time until I reach my goal: 90% of benchmark. I keep a written record of my dps at each practice session, which allows me to see if I'm making progress. It also gives me a place to write things like "realized I was doing the rotation wrong. It's 3 then 4, not 4 than 3!" The amount of time it takes to reach my goal dps varies. I got to 90% on holosmith in a few days of 15-30 minutes a day. I've been working on Weaver since it was introduced, and I am still trash.

Step 3: Golem success, now get out there and raid!

After I hit my 90% goal, I take the show on the road. I recommend watching a "pro" do the boss on your class before and after you try it. I typically start with something easy like Wing 1. I'm pretty much always back to "shit show" the first few pulls. There are so many more things to think about in a raid compared to in the golem room. I have to figure out what to do when I have to deal with mechanics and my rotation gets messed up. However, with the solid foundation of knowing my rotation pretty well, I typically see improvement every pull. It starts to feel good. 

Step 4: Polishing raid performance

This is the step where I record myself and watch myself play. Usually by this point I've watched other people play the class on a particular boss. Between that and rotation practice, I can typically figure out what I can do to improve. I also look at GW2 Raidar and see how I compare to other players, what mechanics I'm failing, etc. Here's a quick story about the type of thing I'm looking for. Yesterday I pugged Deimos on my holo (I've only played Holo for 1 month, so I'm still polishing). There was another Holo in the group and during the first 90% of the fight I was kicking his ass dps-wise. However when I looked at the last 10% he was kicking my ass! WTF?!? Further investigation revealed that in the final phase I'm so timid about the blacks, I'm not close enough to hit the boss with many of my high powered skills (or maybe it's a hold over from playing too much Druid?). At this point, my plan is to try to find a video of a "pro" holo doing the fight and see if I can pick up any tips, and secondly, try to pay more attention to positioning. 

Step 5: Maintenance 

To keep up your proficiency you must keep playing the class. If you can't raid with it, go back to the golem. (I'd suggest hitting the golem once in a while even if you do raid with it. I find that I sometimes develop bad habits that need to be fixed.) Get it geared for fractals. At last resort, play it in open world content.

The end

That is pretty much all I can think of on this topic. (At this point, most of you are probably like "Yes, plz staph!") If I can do it, you can too. The only other thing I would say is, overall, it's worth it. Yes, practice is time consuming. However, that time is "earned back" as the game becomes more enjoyable to play on your new class. Also, the better you are, the more efficiently you can accomplish in game goals, meaning you can get more out of your precious gaming time.

TL;DR

1. Get proper gear, food, traits, utilities from Snowcrows website. Read written rotation and watch video.
2. Set up golem with proper conditions and yourself with proper buffs.
3. Practice until you reach goal dps. I suggest 85-90% of benchmark. Don't give up.
4. Raid with new character. Evaluate your performance and figure out where you can improve.
5. Enjoy your new class

Hi all,

I know this is a little late, but if you haven't seen it yet Derior has a guide up for the Twilight Oasis Fractal. (Thanks to Pyro and his friends I will now always think of it as toilet oasis. Now you will too.) This one is still at the pug killer stage as far as I'm concerned. even though I've done it several times, I still learned a lot from the video. I promise to use my smoke scale much more liberally in the future  Enjoy!