Curse

moriz · Jan 06, 2008, 08:25 PM // 20:25

intro

this will be my last AB guide. here, i'll try to pool all my accumulated knowledge and experience and attempt to write the definitive guide to not only how to play AB, but how to win them as well. so here we go.

basics

you join with your team of 4, and with 2 other groups of 4, you fight the opposing side's 3 groups of 4. for every player kill (does not include minions, pets, spirits, npcs), your side gains 3 points. for every shrine held in your possession for 7 seconds, your side gain 1 point. the game essentially operates on 7-second cycles. everything is decided on these cycles.

the winning conditions are a bit strange. unlike popular belief, you do NOT necessarily win if your side reaches 500 points before the other team. rather, the side that has the most points over 500 at the end of a cycle wins. this means, while your side might have 500 and the other side 499, but you hold 2 shrines while they hold 5, your will most likely lose because at the end of the cycle, you will have 502 points and the other side 504 and you lose. the only way you can win in such a situation is if your side scored one more player kill than your opponents before the cycle concludes. this will make it 505 vs 504 at the end of the cycle and you win.

the other winning condition is very straightforward: hold all 7 shrines for 1 minute, and you automatically win. this means your opponents might have 499 points and you have 100, and assuming they do not score any more kills for 1 minute, your side will win with a score of 500 vs 499.

while everyone knows that holding more shrines than your opponents is important, the real take home message is this: score more points than your opponents at the end of each cycle. if you and your allies can accomplish this consistently throughout the match, you will win. this guide will help you do just that.

weapon of choice: the builds

upon further reflection, i found that there are really only two build types in AB: those that score points, and those that prevent the other side from scoring points. for the sake of simplicity, i'll call those that score points the scorers, and those that prevent the defenders. while there are builds that can do both functions, as well as builds of one type that can be used as a build of the other, it is very helpful to categorize all builds as either scorers or defenders.

if you want to win, one of the key skills you'll have to master is differentiating scorers and defenders. before you truly master this ability, you can just look at the professions of your opponents. if you see an assassin, it's most likely to be a scorer. if you see a healing/prot monk, it's a defender. not all builds are so cut and dry however. for example, a cripshot ranger is a defender, but can provide a huge offensive boost as well as kill by just changing the way it plays. so for quick reference, i'll post a list of common builds here. there are exceptions to the rule, but this list should help you:

pure scorers:
assassins, warriors, fire eles, dervishes

scorers with some defender abilities:
burning arrow rangers, shock axe/hammer warriors, AoD shock assassins, air and water eles, minion masters, domination mesmers, blood/degen necros

defenders with some scorer abilities:
cripshot rangers, earth tanks, restoration/channeling rits, illusion mesmers, curse necros

pure defenders:
healing/prot monks, restoration rits, spirit spammers

remember this is just a reference.

tactical response

capping shrines is one thing, but do you really want to just run around in a capping race? i thought not. not only is it boring, but can be quite stupid strategically as well. there will come time when fighting the other teams are not only more fun, but can be very smart strategically.

if you are playing as a scorer, your main strategy is to use your offense to kill your opponents. how you do so depends on the opponents you are facing. GW common sense dictates that you should go after defenders, so their scorers will be left without support. however, make sure you have proper defender support as well, since it's very possible that you wont succeed and end up getting killed instead. your main purpose is to stay alive and kill shit to score points. ALWAYS REMEMBER TO STAY ALIVE AND SCORE POINTS.

if you are playing as a defender, your main purpose is to stay alive and prevent the other side from scoring. how you do it depend on the build you play, and you should know what your purpose is before entering battle.

TO BE CONTINUED BECAUSE I'M BORED HAHA

I pwnd U · Jan 06, 2008, 08:51 PM // 20:51

How to win AB in short:

Capture shrines!

AmIrite?

Pretty nice guide though it doesn't really say how to win but rather how to play. And you forgot to add Smite Monks to the scorers. Those have become fairly popular in AB now.

horseradish · Jan 06, 2008, 09:09 PM // 21:09

Yeah. Monks w/ daggers = wtf?!?!?

You forgot Trap rangers Moriz!

lol, pretty good guide though. gg

MasterSasori · Jan 07, 2008, 12:39 AM // 00:39

I'm not convinced that Dervishes should be on the pure scorer section. There are many types of Dervish builds and further elaboration than just "Dervishes" should be taken account.

You should also consider Magebane Rangers, R/P pets, Me/E Nukers.

Channeling rits definitely belong in the pure scorer section, especially those that use a Ancestral, Daoshen, and Glaize or Kuurong spike.