Dragon Bash is in full swing in Guild Wars 2, and ArenaNet has even more to show us later this week. But I want to take a step back from all the smashing and bashing, and talk about some slashing and casting! A few weeks ago Devon Carter talked about how WvW will be undergoing some changes. Lately the maps have been flooded with players fighting with all their might to bring home the win for their server. WvW is definitely fun and addicting, but it’s nice to hear that some changes and additions are on their way.
I’ve played my fair share of WvW, so I know how some of the strategies are planned and executed. Some members of my guild however don’t see the strategic moves that players and commanders make. One of my guildies asked, and I quote, “So you just move along with a herd running past enemies hoping you hit someone?” All they could see was the large masses of players running from tower to tower. WvW veterans know these groups as zergs.
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The worst way to find out about zergs is by running into them when you’re all alone.
Zergs play a pretty big part in who is going to win. If your group of players is much larger than your opponents, you’re going to trample right over them! Some commanders want all their players to follow the zerg in order to crush anything they can run into. Now might makes right isn’t a bad strategy in WvW, but smaller player groups can ninja around the map taking smaller outposts and supply camps while the zergs duke it out. ArenaNet is going to make these ninja squads even more important, but how?
Changes to the scoring system have been mentioned, as well as new siege weapons. Now siege weapons already help even the odds for smaller groups already, but can they make something that helps ninja groups break through gates faster? If so, wouldn’t that just make zergs even deadlier? I have no suggestions at this point, but I do think giving bonus points to small teams that take over towers and supply depots give commanders enough incentive to order multiple attack groups rather than just one big massive zerg.
Let’s go back to changes in siege weaponry. It was mentioned that arrow carts are used pretty frequently. I myself see them nearly everywhere, and for good reason. They bring the pain! To me it seems the real issue is that there should be more variety. Now I’ve seen my server, as well as others, counter against a line of arrow carts with long range assaults from trebuchets. The only thing that hurts worse than an arrow is a large boulder falling from the sky! But trebuchets cost a lot of supplies. Should there be a cheaper alternative? Could a new type of siege weapon help bring more balance? I’m interested to see what ArenaNet throws into the mix.
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Maybe we will finally get to see some Charr battle tanks in action!
Don’t you hate it when those siege weapons are used to bring down the walls of your fort? What’s worse is when a large group of enemies swarm into that breach and you have to fight them back. Once that’s done you have to go and rebuild your wall. Do you get a thank you? What about a nice job? Rewards can definitely use some improvements. In PvE a player is rewarded for doing nearly anything and everything. WvW should be the same. If you help destroy enemy siege weapons, or repair walls and gates, you should get a nice pat on the back.
Another nice bit of info is that the rules in WvW could change. Right now the rules are pretty basic. Control key locations to get points, and win. But imagine if there was just a slight change to the rules. For example, what if the only location to give points was the main castle. Now you’re controlling other points just to try and drain your enemies supply. Better yet, what if the leading team couldn’t use siege weapons? Man that would be a huge bummer. There are a lot of ways ArenaNet can play around with this idea.
WvW is actually pretty solid in my opinion. It offers a PvP experience, yet has those familiar pieces of PvE sprinkled in to invite new players. Now I’m not saying it’s perfect, and some new additions would really help spice things up. It also wouldn’t hurt if the scoring system was fine-tuned, and smaller attack groups played a bigger and more rewarding part in strategies. I can’t wait to see how WvW grows and evolves. Until those changes come, get out there and fight in the name of your guild and your server!
David North / David North is a freelance writer for MMORPG.com. David loves to play and makes games, but now he writes about them! If you want to creep on him and make fun of his ability to draw, follow him over on twitter @David_the_North.
