Curse

getalifebud · Dec 27, 2006, 05:05 PM // 17:05

I have found that when you are picking up gifts on the river, if you click on it to collect, then as you stop to pick it up move using the keyboard, so act as if you want to walk forward, or spin the camera and hold down W, then icy ground wont affect you.

Ken Dei · Dec 27, 2006, 05:16 PM // 17:16

Great guide. The intelligence of players improved for a while but it's fallen back down again, plus there's a balth. leecher for almost every new team...18wins from Skillz title and I can't win because I'm usually groups with two no-nothings and a leecher.

Starting to hoping for a new skill soon.

Dreaming of a Red Christmas: Kill off your idiotic team mates, all your snowballs do +100 dmg, you move twice as fast, and you can't suffer from conditions or be interrupted, for the remainer of the match.

Tranquilis · Dec 27, 2006, 10:41 PM // 22:41

Why on earth would anyone leech Balthazar faction in the snowball arena..? It's self-defeating, almost all the time - what, with being "a man down," there'll be few kills, and no faction for the loss.

dr love · Dec 28, 2006, 04:35 AM // 04:35

after playing a few more games - like 300 or so

i have a few comments.
firstly, i love this guide and it turned me from an OK player into a wicked player.

1. mesmers are an amazing class, but you got to be very good.

2. warriors should use "get em" out the door at beginning for speed boost and a prepped big snowball

3. it's always good to rape the other team with snow down their shirts and snowballs. originally i felt it was wise to just use well placed rocky snowballs and forget about the other stuff. but now i see its about stuffing the other team with snowballs and sending em back to spawn. even if you have the present, rape the other team as much you can! 1v1 its good to beat the other guy so he doesnt pester you the whole way.

4. random snowballing is good when no presents are up, to gain adrenaline for the big snowball and to lower the opponents health.

go get em!

EDIT: lol i forgot the number one rule to victory! leave bad teams early and stick with good ones as long as you can. P, D and A classes are often a sign, as well if the player is not lvl 20 it's likely they are just there to check it out. and if someone is leeching or not connected, drop the game if they don't make it by the time the first present pops. there's no use duking it out 3 vs. 4 or worse - though one time we did win 3 vs 4, tho we had dwayna and were a point up by the time the 4th on the other team joined... that was pretty nuts.

-snow pimp

Akane · Jan 05, 2007, 03:24 AM // 03:24

The guide helps, but there’s nothing like battle experience to get a feel for the flow.

Name: Snow Pimp II (my son, Snow Pimp, made the last posting)
Skillz Rank: Numchuck (about 1000 points per day and a rather pissed-off wife!)
Best Run: 72 (then 2 left mid-game to get hats!

)
Fave Class: Mesmer (interrupts ftw)

The game appears simple enough. To win, you want to slow down any presents going to the opponents’ avatar, and if possible, allow free and easy runs to yours. Use a variety of strategies to improve your chances. A key part of winning is counteracting predictable behavior with unpredictable behavior. After a while, you know how opponents will typically behave and utilize tactics to take advantage of that.

Weapon and armor buffs: Use all you can. Most have no clue on this one.

Start properly: Always pre-load Hidden-Rock (never Yellow Snow) and make sure your team does too. And as my son said, if you have a warrior, get the early jump by having them shout “Let’s get em!” as the door opens. Everyone should be right at the door. Spread out properly to grab that first present.

Swarming: Swarm the opponents near the first present and begin inflicting damage. Try to eliminate an opponent to gain a number advantage in the area. The battle for the first present may be a 4x4, but as more presents appear, variations of 2x2 and 1x1 become more the norm.

If your team was swarmed, your players are the ones being killed off, and you're gradually losing ground on that first present, then slow them down while looking to make fast runs for the second and third presents. Some players/teams are terrific on that first present, but not really aware of the clock and subsequent opportunities.

With Avalanche, look for those juicy opportunities to neutralize multiple opponents. Conversely, try not to bunch up if your opponent has it. Look for tactical opportunities to use Avalanche for traffic control. You can easily eliminate 1 or more foes from running towards a newly-spawned present - thereby giving your teammate an open run.

Anticipate convergence points, and don't waste a moment's time escorting a teammate when there is no threat. Teams typically lose because of poor positioning. Overprotect one point and you may lose two.

The Dwayna side has such a distinct advantage with Avalanche, you think they would win every time. Fortunately, positioning and teamwork are far more important factors.

Play it differently if you have Grenth. You cannot restrict opponent movement nearly as much. For example, if you draw Grenth and the first present pops on an outside corner, your teammate will get hit with Avalanche and most likely lose the opening footrace. Anticipate this and "head them off" by cutting across the opponents side rather than your own to snare the present before it can make much progress. Expect a big scrum and try to win a man-power advantage.

Note: Never use Yellow Snow if you have Hidden Rock loaded. You’ll lose the Rock and it's more valuable.

The Combo: Hidden Rock and Snow Down the Shirt will pretty much neutralize any player. Since they can now be beat upon indiscriminately and have every counter-blow interrupted, their only viable option would to run back out of range. Inexperienced opponents will panic cast Snow Fort or other spells - quickly rendering themselves empty of available skills.

Carrying the present: Most just stumble forward like Frankenstein when they have a present. Since when does carrying a present mean you can’t fight? Try to keep a rock loaded. If someone gets close (and they will because they want your present), put Snow Down the Shirt and interrupt the crap out of them. Most never expect this behavior from the carrier.

Also, use Snow Fort effectively to hold the present longer and allow your Wingman to beat on them as they waste shots on you.

Wingman: Don’t just tag along a teammate waiting for the present to drop. While the opponent(s) are focused on taking down your man, lace into one of them with a barrage. Choose the one further from the carrier, and again, start with Snow Down the Shirt to interrupt all their attacks.

If they’re smart, they’ll run ahead to get out of range to recover and reload Hidden Rock. Most just foolishly stand there and get beaten to a pulp.

If there are 2 or more opponents, save your Mega for the moment the present swings back against your team so you can quickly grab it back.

If, while carrying, you have an idiot teammate tagging along side like a puppy-dog as you’re taking a beating, drop the present for them, and switch to being the Wingman. You’ll do far more good than they currently are. Also use this tactic if you’re close to dying. Opponents are often caught off guard by the sudden drop as most will only try to pick up after casting their own Rock or Mega.

Stealing the present: Most just blindly carry the present and make no attempt to counter your moves. My favorite trick was to run a little ahead, hit them with Snow Down the Shirt as soon as they got close, then hit them with a rock and steal the present. If they try to take the present back immediately, and most do, you’ll rip them apart with interrupts - including their attempt at a Mega or Rock. You can try casting Snow Down the Shirt after you take the present but by the time you get your first snowball off, they may already have retaken the present with a Mega or Rock.

If my health was low and Snow Down the Shirt was re-charging, I would hit them with a rock, grab the present and immediately cast Snow Fort. Delaying their progress can be very effective, especially if you’re outnumbered. Try to load Hidden Rock while you’re waiting, and if you get the chance to use Snow Down the Shirt again, begin a barrage. It’s especially gratifying to grab one right off their altar while your teammates are racking up free points.

Free-Runner: Grabbing easy points is essential to winning. Often teams get caught in a big scrum over one present while other presents have popped up on the screen. Always be ready to run off towards the next available present.

Teams sometimes get carried away in the battle to win that first present and neglect the next ones that pop up. They're all worth one point. Delaying the other team from scoring can be just as valuable as scoring itself.

Dying can offer an ideal chance to reposition for the next available present. It puts you out of sight of the opponents’ field of view. Resist diving back in the scrum to seek “revenge” when there’s a free present for the taking.

Diversion: If you can tie up a few opponents in useless battles you leave your teammates free to gather points. My son showed me that running over to the opponents’ side at the start would often sucker them in to attacking. What the opponents saw as an easy kill would often mean your better positioned teammates captured a free point.

Saying noobish stuff just before the battle began could also lead to sloppy tactics by the opponents. Things like, “What’s the rock for?” would make opponents think you were completely clueless and an easy target.

If you took down an opponent, you may find yourself the target of revenge. Congratulations, you’ve just goaded an opponent into playing an ineffective strategy. Dying has minimal drawback in this, so never take it personally.

Recognize talent: Try to neutralize the best opposing players before they do it to you. How players position and react to the first present will indicate their skill level. Also, recognize any weaker players and exploit that.

Timing: Knowing that the presents will drop every time the clock reaches :15 or :45 means your team should always be positioning itself to grab the next one. It’s a feeding frenzy. If you’re a little lucky, you can even nab a present as soon as it pops and sneak one back before the other team knows what happened. The presents seem to switch from one side to the other, so as a free-runner, I would try to predict the next location and run across the ice just as it is about to appear. Grabbing it before the first ping almost guarantees a free point.

Ice Tactics: Always try to slow down opponents and avoid slowdowns yourself. Rock, Mega and Avalanche can be used to trap an opponent on the ice.

To grab presents, I found I could frequently pick one up off the ice without slowing down if I ran off at a 45 degree angle just after grabbing it. You kind of slide on the ice rather than stop. This trick is much easier to do when running back from the opponents’ side towards your own.

If an opponent was close by, I would always let them pick it up the ice-bound present first. I would run to their side of the map and position myself just off the ice. That way I could use a rock on them (before or after they picked it up). If no one else was around, I would even let them pick it up a few times so I could hit them with another rock.

If they were smart, they would use Snow Fort, then pick it up, and take a moment to re-load their rock, but most are not that clever. Like gold-fever, they just can’t resist grabbing that present at their feet and starting their zombie march to home base.

Tunnel Vision: Don't get mesmerized by the presents. Noobs start off thinking it's a killing game, then progress to being over-focused on the presents and the carrier. If a teammate is already on the carrier, attacking/neutralizing the non-carrier often offers the best opportunity to turn the tide.

I’ve walked right by opponents while carrying a present because they could only see the previous present contested in a balanced scrum. Keep your eye on the Meta-Game. Continually reposition to exploit opportunities. Pay attention to the clock, the radar, the presents, the score, your opponents’ position, and that of your teammates.

To kill, or not to kill: Decide if it would be better to leave a weakened opponent where he is, or to eliminate them and have him respawn at full health back at their base. Some always kill, some leave them dangling a while.

If you’re the target/victim, you can also decide to stand still so as to invite your death-respawn, or run away to reload and recover. I’ve circled back on opponents, having almost no health, and managed to wreak havoc simply because the opponents assumed I gave up and immediately lost track of me. I’ve also abandoned tense scrums only to run for a free present or neutralize an opposing free-runner.

The fake: My son showed me this move, and I laughed when I managed to pull it off against him in one of the 2 times we fought against each other. Mesmers will always look to interrupt a key spell like Hidden Rock with their elite spell. You can fake a Hidden Rock by moving before the spell finishes, so an opposing mesmer wastes their interrupt. Then cast the real one and steal the present. I faked then took the present from my son right off his altar - then turned and killed him with a Down the Shirt and barrage. Family fun in GW.

May you have many victories!