The latest State of the Game article is up on the Guild Wars official site. This week they look at the quality of various team builds.
When it comes to Heroes' Ascent many people use the term "gimmick" when defining most team-builds because they compare the builds to GvG. The problem with that comparison, however, is that Heroes' Ascent and Guild Battles have different objectives. The objective in every Guild Battle is to kill the enemy Guild Lord (or give each player on the opposing team 60% Death Penalty). The objectives in Heroes' Ascent, though, change with each map. The criteria for determining whether a build is balanced or "gimmicky" are essentially different for Heroes' Ascent than for Guild Battles. Also, gimmick builds in Heroes' Ascent are often used to farm fame in the first map or two, while balanced builds are used to progress all the way to the Hall of Heroes.
One way to determine if a build is balanced or gimmicky is to examine how well it can adapt tactics to achieve the objectives and challenges on each map. Can the build split well and be mobile enough for the Antechamber's control points? Does it provide options for relic runners when playing in Unholy Temples? Is there enough offensive power to win in Annihilation maps like the Underworld? Questions like these are an effective way to determine the balance of a build.
Legoway
As an example of a balanced Heroes' Ascent build, I present what has been commonly called "Legoway." This build has a single melee character (typically a Warrior), two Defensive Anthem Paragons, a fire Elementalist (usually carrying Savannah Heat), a Shatterstone water Elementalist, a Psychic Distraction Mesmer, and two Monks. Although Legoway might be considered one of many "flavor-of-the-month" builds, it has the necessary tools to adapt to the various maps and their different objectives.
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Read more here.
