Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
  • entries
    31
  • comments
    21
  • views
    7856

Practice

Sign in to follow this  
Maia

422 views

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 :)
Sign in to follow this  


0 Comments


Recommended Comments

There are no comments to display.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×