Curse

spikermade · Feb 21, 2008, 05:59 PM // 17:59

I've been HAing for a while and hav never called, but i'd like to start learning how to call such as picking targets and good ways to do 3-2-1 spike etc.. I think i'm "ok" at it atm, but I was just wondering if any1 could giv me some tips... i've searched around for guides to calling but have yet to find one. if you guys can help ty

JR · Feb 21, 2008, 06:39 PM // 18:39

- Pick targets without any enchants where possible (no little yellow up arrow) unless you have a Shatter/Rend as part of your spike.
- Pick targets that aren't to far, you don't want to make it obvious when you move up to spike.
- Avoid spiking the same target to many times in row unless they have significant DP.
- Don't cycle or make any obvious patterns (i.e. spiking through the Monks one by one).
- Spike as regularly as you can, it's the only way to generate pressure to get kills without a perfect spike.
- Identify issues you are having (i.e. a Mesmer disrupting spikes, or a good infuser) and focus any shutdown you have on them. Failing that make them a priority target.
- Note enchantment animations where you can (i.e. Caster spiking into attunements/aegis is obviously fine, but Prot Spirit is not).

Thats about all I can think of off the top of my head, and is related to spiking in general, not just HA spike.

[This should also be in the HA main section, not builds.]

Flightmare · Jun 01, 2008, 09:49 PM // 21:49

Allso keep in mind theres allways some latency with your voice chat server and with the GW server that might make teammembers hear your calls a little bit later. The best thing is to spike with all players from the same region, as it reduces latency becouse packets have to travel less far.
If you play with people from multiple continents, they others might be like ¼ second later.

RotteN · Jun 01, 2008, 11:44 PM // 23:44

and most of all, count down patiently so people have time to respond/spike.

yelling "spike321!!" in under one second will usually result in utter failure.
On the other hand "spike this target in 3 .... 2 .... 1" is a lot better.
Also don't limit yourself to the standard 3 2 1. If you know it'll take you 6 seconds to reach a target, count down from 6. That way your team will know you're planning on spiking, and will get ready aswell (save skills, move into range).

Horace The Great · Jun 02, 2008, 01:29 PM // 13:29

If you play with one warrior call like: "spiking this target in 3...2...1" don't call to fast. Make sure your timing is right, you can test it in great temple.

If you play with two warrior call like: "spiking this target in 5...4...3...2...1"
This is better I think, because the other warrior has more time to get to your target.

Also make sure your target is not too far away or hiding behind a wall.

If you know the target is protted ask for a removal or spike an other target.

Don't run straight to your target, try to move so someone else first, so the RC thinks you spike an other target.

If 2 people are standing close together, shock 1 guy and spike the other one as distraction. If those 2 people are monks, it works very nice.

Know what spiking skills you have in the build, so you know how many times you can call. Most balanced teams can spike every 6-8 seconds with all midliners. If you cannot be ready so fast then just call spike without using your skills.

miles · Jun 02, 2008, 01:34 PM // 13:34

you scream at everyone in your group to do bigger damage, hit shock on recharge, and say "rock this" 100 times a minuete. ohh and mashing your keyboard is a good assistant in doing bigger damage

DarkNecrid · Jun 02, 2008, 01:38 PM // 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by miles

you scream at everyone in your group to do bigger damage, hit shock on recharge, and say "rock this" 100 times a minuete. ohh and mashing your keyboard is a good assistant in doing bigger damage

qft, but the key here is when you say "rock this" you have to say it more like this:

RAWWWCKKK DISSSSS

this will help lots.

Free Sigils · Jun 02, 2008, 02:22 PM // 14:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkNecrid

qft, but the key here is when you say "rock this" you have to say it more like this:

RAWWWCKKK DISSSSS

this will help lots.

"Peace This Guy Out!" is another good one. Imho.

Lykan · Jun 02, 2008, 02:39 PM // 14:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by miles

you scream at everyone in your group to do bigger damage, hit shock on recharge, and say "rock this" 100 times a minuete. ohh and mashing your keyboard is a good assistant in doing bigger damage

and the louder you shout the more damage you will do

FrAnt1c² · Jun 02, 2008, 02:43 PM // 14:43

Knowlegde about the other builds played ( gvg / HA ) is also important, in this way you know which characters in the opponents team have somewhat key roles. If the enemy team has a tainter, a b-surge, etc... Listen to your teammates, if your monks complain about the opponents mesmer being a pain in the ass, try spiking that target down. Also try to spike at least once every 20-30 seconds, this will put mass pressure on the opponents monks/healers, and make it easier for your own team ( best defense is offence kind of strategy... ).

Edwards · Jun 02, 2008, 11:05 PM // 23:05

20-30 seconds? Try 5-10, depending on your build.

FrAnt1c² · Jun 04, 2008, 06:54 AM // 06:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwards

20-30 seconds? Try 5-10, depending on your build.

At least once every 20-30 seconds, but as you say, the more the better, yes.

Edwards · Jun 04, 2008, 06:56 AM // 06:56

Unless you have significant pressure, 20-30 seconds isn't going to cut it. Not at the level where a person is asking for calling advice, anyways.

supa tim · Jun 04, 2008, 03:37 PM // 15:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrAnt1c²

At least once every 20-30 seconds, but as you say, the more the better, yes.

The way you put it, it could even be: "Once every 100 seconds"
No, Once every 15 seconds at least.

mide · Jun 04, 2008, 07:50 PM // 19:50

ok here is what i think a good caller should know (not written in any specific order)

listen to your team
if your monks are complaining because the mesmer of the other team is giving them a hard time, try to spike the mesmer or tell your own mesmer that he has to take care of the other one a bit (interrupting diversion and stuff).

work with your team
if there's a bsurge in the other team, tell your mesmer to shut it down or tell your monks to use draw conditions whenever you call a spike.
if you want to spike a target that is very important, but you know it got protspells on it, tell your midline to use rend enchantment.

don't make obvious spiking behaviours
if you are melee, don't try to spike a target that's standing on the opposite corner of the map or run straight to a target that is not near to others. if you run in the direction of a big group, the other team's spirit bonder will have a hard time trying to protect the right target. also, if you run in zigzag-lines or first behave like you run straight to one opponent but CHANGE your running direction in the last second, opposing prot-monks will fail to save the right teammember.

pick the right target
by just charging your adrenaline on different targets you build up a bit of pressure. you are not the only one who does pressure. your whole midline does so by using aoe skills, throwing spears, spreading splinter weapon or using shatter enchantment on important skills like attunements or channeling. this means that there is almost always one target which is not at 100% life but at 80-90% or even less, if pressure gets bigger. try to focus on those ones and think of additional criteria when finding a spike-target. those criteria could be: does the target have a weaponspell? if yes, think of what it could be. if you tab through your opponents and only 1 monk has a weapon, it's very likely that this is a weapon of warding so you should calculate that you and any other paragons in your team won't do full damage. this spike can still kill the target if the amount of casters in your team is high or if the target is already very low (beneath 30% life). on the other hand, if you see a dervish with a weapon spell, it's most likely a splinter weapon, so be aware that you get hit by it if you come near him but it has no effects on the defense of your target.
you should also be aware of other things, for example if your spiketarget was just ressed with a deathpact-signet, so a kill would actually result in a double kill.
also, some targets are more valuable than others in certain situations. a good mesmer can usually give your monks a hard time, but on capture points, where 24 people people +3 ghostlies try to ball up in the middle to capture the main shrine, fire or earth eles, dervishes with scythes or ritualists with ashes like glaive or kuurong can hit a big part of your team with one skill, thus resulting in your team getting wiped. in this case, those targets are more "valuable" than mesmer, who can't really be everywhere at the same time.

learn skill animations
you should know the most common skill animations, especially prot skills. some are easier to be reckognized than others, for example aegis are blue bubbles surrounding you. protective spirit also has one very significant animation. but prot skills are not the only things you should care about. paragon hardres makes the paragon hover in the air with his arms spread for FIVE whole seconds while a white circle appears above him. while hardres should be an issue of your midline in most cases, you should also try to interrupt it if you're near and your shock or disrupting chop is charged.

don't give up if the first spikes didn't kill anything
it is very likely that you don't kill someone every time you spike. don't give up, you still created pressure and if your mesmer strips the opposing monk's channeling well they will eventually run out of mana and won't be able to catch all spikes.

do not always charge your adrealine completely
you don't always have to have charged eviscerate and body blow when you spike a target. in the most cases, you do about 80-100 damage with bulls strike and then will hit another 2-4 times with your normal attacks. if the time between your spikes is short, opposing monks will have to worry about everyone that you run to, but they won't be able to heal and prot everyone you smash in the face.

best teacher is practice
you can read 1000 guides about how to do what in the game. the more often you do it yourself the better you get eventually. so go form a team with your friendlist / guildies and smash some escape-rangers!

no worries
that's my last one: have no worries. always be relaxed when you play and don't get obsessive about this game. of course, losing is never an all-positive feeling but you can think about why you lost and how to improve yourself next time you face the team you just lost against. if 2 people of your team get killed, res them up, try not to ball up so much and try to recover. of course, if only 2 people of your team are alive, don't make the match longer than it should be. you have to know when you lost and when you still have a realistic chance to win.

those hints are written basically for shock warrios in balanced builds, but you can take something from it when you play hammer warrior or another kind of spike aswell. i wish you a good time in HA.

bye, mide

Grugio · Jun 06, 2008, 12:18 AM // 00:18

1. If you get spiked yell at your prot

2. If your blinded/blurred/SS'ed yell at your monks

3. If your spikes fail, yell at everyone else

4. If your targets get protted, yell at your render and even more at your mesmer

5. If your spike goes through, yell at everyone anyways

In all seriousness, one of the most important things for your spike to succeed is the countdown. Keep it consistent. You can count down from 3 or you can count down from 5 or whatever, but if you go 3...2...1 on your first spike, then go 3........2........1 on the next, or just 321 or 3.......21 it's going to fail.

Going along with this, is to be aware of your surroundings. If your running two melee, and your other spiker can't shadow step to your target, be sure to give your buddy some time to get there. Your compass is your best friend.
Look for that overextending frenzier or that channeltanker.

Mr Fizzle · Jun 06, 2008, 12:29 AM // 00:29

Since everyone else has said all the important stuff.However seemed to have missed one important point.

Don't call if your voice isn't deep and demanding it gets you chicks and makes people follow your spikes 2.

+ no one likes a little kid talking every 5-15 seconds.

Grugio · Jun 06, 2008, 12:31 AM // 00:31

Annoying voice=ftl

Edwards · Jun 06, 2008, 10:49 PM // 22:49

Quote:

1. If you get spiked yell at your prot

2. If your blinded/blurred/SS'ed yell at your monks

3. If your spikes fail, yell at everyone else

4. If your targets get protted, yell at your render and even more at your mesmer

5. If your spike goes through, yell at everyone anyways

That's my preffered method.