Curse

Laraja · May 19, 2009, 05:48 PM // 17:48

I've been reading and pouring over posts, watching Youtube videos, reading help guides to try to get better, and I think I am... I mean... I'm dying less than I used to and I've learned to kite A LOT, and I'm starting to kill other players, but is that a milestone? Gee, I only died twice this time! Wow! Gee! But Jesus Holy Mother, how do people learn to play AB?

Biggest Issue: There's so much going on it's hard to keep track of what is where and who is what and who's casting what and... I'm freaking out trying to cripple that warrior coming toward me. Suddenly a 'sin appears and ginzu's my ass and... I'm dead before I can kite.... hmm just realized I might stick a [Throw Dirt] or [Whirling Defense] somewhere in my bar?

Next Issue: Where the F*&^ is everyone? I die and I'm lost. I try my best to find a group that needs help, but I feel I can do better.

When I AB I go with my guildmates (that's fortunate for the rest of you... they're also more tolerant of my epic fail) and I go on my ranger and so far this appears to work:

[apply poison][burning arrow][pin down][hunter's shot], and trying to keep an eye on casters I'll use [distracting shot] and [savage shot] while keeping up [Troll Unguent] and I have [natural stride] for kiting/whatever I need speed boost skills for.

I guess my question is, how long does it take to get proficient in AB? I've played it, hmmm.... probably less than a dozen times, maybe around 8-10. It's fun, but it's also frustrating because I know I can be doing more.

Maybe I'm taking this all too serious? This game is fun, and I play it for fun, but it's more fun if you know what the *&^% you're doing.

Warvic · May 19, 2009, 06:21 PM // 18:21

You want fun in AB, and win=fun

so how do you win in AB? capture shrines! and again, and again.. try to make a build based on capturing shrines fast. And stick together with your team, ping location on the radar after a death?. and after a while u will know the maps out of your head and get better. and when you are bored of capturing shrines.. its always fun to play a assassin and gank people who dont have healing with them =] im not a expert on AB, but thats what i learned while i was in a AB only alliance. Good luck and have fun =)

jiggles · May 19, 2009, 06:25 PM // 18:25

Don't leave your guildmates team unless you wipe. Don't solo cap. If you see something by itself, ping the shit out of it and then cripple it and have your guildmates help you kill it.

Pretty simple, yet effective guide on how to win.

wetwillyhip · May 19, 2009, 06:27 PM // 18:27

hey falynn, something that might really really help you keep track and manage where everything is is the "U" map. You hit the U button and out pops that map, shrink it down to about 2 inch x 2 inch, place it up in the top left side of your screen, and then use your scroll on your mouse to zoom all the way out on it. You can manage all the flag points and who's captured what. You will also get a much better bearing on the map layout and where you need to be. I have my U map out every single time I AB and it makes all the difference. The more you get your bearings, the more you'll be able to get better at what needs to be done.

Also the point of AB is the capture the points, not fight mobs and other players too much. I know it sounds weird and dumb, but fighting foe mobs doesn't help the score much at all. It's all about fighting the NPC's to capture those points. Those should be the only foes you fight 80-90% of the time.

I've been playing AB since factions came out so the more you do it, the better, but you gotta have that U map out and focus as much as you can on capturing points. Sometimes in maps, your team may go in a circle clockwise to cap points. If the enemy team is coming to capture the point you just captured, just keep moving don't stay there to defend unless you strongly outnumber them.

Just my two cents. If you want to AB in game, you can join me and I'll provide further feedback and tips. IGN : Thomas Woods

and one last thing... never be alone or go as a lone ranger, unless you're a self-sufficient class that can survive much better than most classes/builds, but it still isn't recommended, you will get spiked by 3-9 other ppl at once and you won't be of any resistance when there are actual battles between human teams, thus that spawn for your character was useless. Stick with teammates to be stronger. resistance in numbers are best.

keesie · May 19, 2009, 06:50 PM // 18:50

lol if you fail at ab, you must fail at anything

glacialphoenix · May 19, 2009, 06:53 PM // 18:53

Quote:

Next Issue: Where the F*&^ is everyone? I die and I'm lost. I try my best to find a group that needs help, but I feel I can do better.

Ping. Ask your groupmates to ping so you can rejoin them ASAP - if you're solo, you're a really, really good target. Stick with your team, so the team can help take care of you, and you can help take care of your team.

If you rez alone and you need to run to your team, check your U map, and run in the direction they're less likely to be capping in. If the enemy team appears to be capping in a clockwise direction around the map, and they look like they're heading towards the SE shrine, it's a bad idea to run towards the SE shrine and offer yourself up as a free kill.

Quote:

I've been reading and pouring over posts, watching Youtube videos, reading help guides to try to get better, and I think I am... I mean... I'm dying less than I used to and I've learned to kite A LOT, and I'm starting to kill other players, but is that a milestone? Gee, I only died twice this time! Wow! Gee! But Jesus Holy Mother, how do people learn to play AB?

Practice. You get used to the maps - you say you've only played AB a few rounds? Once you know the maps, you'll probably get a better idea of where to position yourself, things like that - all these help.

Quote:

There's so much going on it's hard to keep track of what is where and who is what and who's casting what and... I'm freaking out trying to cripple that warrior coming toward me.

To quote the Hitchhiker's Guide: don't panic.

Look, it takes time - AB is a messy map, to say the least. You've got 24 enthusiastic people. (Some of them may be very enthusiastic about leeching, though.) 12 of them are on your team. Of the 12, you know absolutely nothing about the other 8. Of the opposing 12, you have no idea how each group is going to work until you figure it out. You may have been reading a lot of guides, but putting those guides into practice is something else entirely. Reading it will not instantly make you proficient at doing what the guide says - you have to spend time, get used to the format, get used to kiting, get used to watching your U map...

Since you play with your guildies, maybe you should ask them to give you tips, too? Like, quick explanations of things after a game. Why they did what they did - why'd they take on that huge mob when they could be off doing something else? Maybe they were trying to stall for another team. Maybe you didn't have time to run and decided to make a desperate last stand. Reasons will help. If you keep at it wanting to learn, you'll get better. (:

tmakinen · May 19, 2009, 07:09 PM // 19:09

It sounds like you are pretty new to the PvP side of the game but don't worry, 8-10 rounds is just enough to get your toes wet. Although it may feel a bit overwhelming at first, you'll get used to the different pace by the time you have played maybe 100 AB matches. Going in as a ranger is a good choice since rangers are usually nobody's preferred target and as such you'll be able to stay out of the worst fray and pick your own targets at a more leisurely manner. Here are some tips to help you along the way:

Keep playing the same build until you get used to it. Once you can activate skills instinctively without having to look for the proper key you can concentrate on more advanced game tactics.
Use vent when possible to coordinate efforts with your team.
Follow your leader. Map numpad 1-8 to selecting respective team member and numpad 0 to yourself (it may feel odd at first but you'll find it indispensable if you ever start monking). When you are not certain where your team leader is going, use the numpad shortcut to select him/her and check the position on radar. Don't be too worried about the U map at this stage - it's first and foremost your leader's concern to choose the next objective.
Keep an eye on radar. You should always be aware of any enemy players within your radar range. When new enemies enter your radar, tab through them and mentally sort them into three different categories: primary targets needing immediate attention, secondary targets that you may harass if there's nothing better to do, and finally targets that can be ignored.
Anticipate enemy actions. This is especially important for a ranger, and related to the previous point. As you play more and observe your enemies, you'll start learning common builds, how they are played, which of them you can beat and which you cannot.

And, of course, have fun. AB is the ideal place to get used to PvP, don't spoil it with too serious an attitude

Hanging Man · May 19, 2009, 07:13 PM // 19:13

AB does get a little hectic.
but just make a bar that supports offense and defense
always bring a self heal no matter what profession you are
a speed boost is always a plus
stick together with your team until your dead
always attack the target your party is attacking
the whole point of AB is to capture shrines, your not going to win unless you capture more shrines so make a build that will compliment this.

tmakinen · May 19, 2009, 07:20 PM // 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanging Man

the whole point of AB is to capture shrines

That is very incorrect. The whole point of AB is to gain 500 points before your opponent, and you gain points by holding shrines and killing enemy players.

ogre_jd · May 19, 2009, 07:44 PM // 19:44

*reads the OP* Hmm. Ranger. Since it's AB, you might want to consider a Barrage build - the shrine NPCs tend to cluster and a couple of the maps even have chokepoints where the opposing team tends to go through.

My Assassin/Ranger's Barrage build did damned well, I know that - NPC clusters withered (since I could attack, in most cases, from just outside of aggro) and seeing a group of enemy players panic and retreat from a bridge when most of their bars go pink in one shot (as happened several times) is hella fun.

Sadly, without Sharpen Daggers, I'm betting a Ranger/* Barrage build won't be as effective.

Probably still worth a try, though.

Hanging Man · May 19, 2009, 07:50 PM // 19:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmakinen

That is very incorrect. The whole point of AB is to gain 500 points before your opponent, and you gain points by holding shrines and killing enemy players.

ok and you get 500 points by capturing shrines
killing enemies really doesn't do much to help your team, except you have one dead enemy for 4 seconds
just capture shrines
thats all you need to do

kedde · May 19, 2009, 07:51 PM // 19:51

Next last post is so epicly troll like it has to be serious, which means it's just retardedly stupid to take the advice in it.

AB, from scratch will take about a week to know like the pockets in your favourite pair of jeans. That is counting the map changes and so on, and understanding the utter stupidity 99,9% of the players in there have.

Laraja · May 19, 2009, 08:41 PM // 20:41

Thank you so much to everyone for your helpful and (for the most part) nice comments.

Wetwilly (Thomas Woods): I figured out the "U" map yesterday. Doh! It seems like an obvious thing to do but I think I was having a blonde moment (and I'm not even blonde). I use the Area Map religiously in PvE, in fact, I ALWAYS have it up, so I don't know why I didn't think of it for AB. And yes, holy smokes whaddaya know, it does help!

*face palm*

tmakinen: Good words of wisdom there. Vent helped tremendously, and it's easier to talk to my team members then to type. I do need to memorize my skill bar so I'm hitting numbers on the keyboard and not mouse clicking. I hate doing that, it just wastes so much time. I have my FoW bar memorized so I just need to do that with my AB bar.

glacialphoenix: You made me feel less pathetic. Thanks for that.

The map is messy and all those people running around seemingly without rhyme or reason can be daunting to a new AB player.

Things did start to click today and I was able to stay with the group and help cap shrines. A warrior and I took a shrine by ourselves, I crippled, bled and poisoned the Luxons while he whacked the crap out of them. That was satisfying. Still, however, the only map I'm familiar with at this point is Saltspray beach.

Also turning off local chat works for me as well. I find trash talkers distracting. How can they take their hands off their keyboard anyway to spew insults? I'm way to busy running and fighting to type insults.

Overall, PvP is... difficult. PvE in general is pretty darned easy even in HM. You get the right build, coordinate with the right group and nothing is much of an obstacle. Lately, I've been doing a lot of HM UW trapping with a 3 person ranger team and although fun, even that's pretty easy. PvP requires a different approach and a whole different bag of tricks. Monster AI can be pretty retarded but you get an experienced player behind a toon and that's tough.

Bobby2 · May 19, 2009, 08:44 PM // 20:44

Learn to predict enemy movement. Single out stragglers. Get good at interrupting, and run DShot-Magebane-Savage to grief them into submission.

Basic knowledge:
- killing an enemy player will gain 3 points.
- holding a shrine for 7 seconds will gain 1 point.

Also, care less. You'll have a better time

Bowstring Badass · May 19, 2009, 08:49 PM // 20:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobby2

Also, care less. You'll have a better time

/thread

@the OP if your getting ganked by sins your doing something wrong because you have nat stride and troll. You shouldn't die.

moriz · May 19, 2009, 08:55 PM // 20:55

<shameless self plug>

go over some of these:
http://www.youtube.com/user/aliasmoriz

none of them are meant as guides or anything, but hopefully you'll gleam a few pointers. especially, the second ranger vid might be useful for you.

</shameless self plug>

btw, here's the reason why it's sometimes worth your while to go score a kill instead of running off to the next shrine:

AB resses every 20 seconds, not every 4 seconds. that's plenty of downtime for every death. also, depending on what you kill, you can potentially prevent a ton of points being scored by the other team. for instance, you kill a fire nuker. if left unmolested, that fire nuker can cap quite a few shrines in short order, shrines that your side will have to recap. by killing that nuker every 20 seconds, you can save a lot of grief later on.

glacialphoenix · May 19, 2009, 09:09 PM // 21:09

Quote:

Overall, PvP is... difficult. PvE in general is pretty darned easy even in HM. You get the right build, coordinate with the right group and nothing is much of an obstacle. Lately, I've been doing a lot of HM UW trapping with a 3 person ranger team and although fun, even that's pretty easy. PvP requires a different approach and a whole different bag of tricks. Monster AI can be pretty retarded but you get an experienced player behind a toon and that's tough.

It's not a bad thing, though - I monk in AB and PvE. I'll probably never touch the more organized formats (no time) and things that you learn from AB can be brought into PvE. Like kiting.

Quote:

The map is messy and all those people running around seemingly without rhyme or reason can be daunting to a new AB player.

AB long enough, and you'll find that some of them are running around without rhyme or reason or knowledge of their own bar. When they're on the enemy team, this is a good thing and you can exploit it. Someone tries to Rebirth in the match? Free kill. If someone is dying to offer himself up as a free kill, grant him his wish.

Don't chase seemingly easy targets too far, though... that gets quite a few people killed when they chase the paperarmour caster into a group of his allies.

Quote:

Still, however, the only map I'm familiar with at this point is Saltspray beach.

Given the rate at which we seem to lose AB matches, you'll probably get fairly acquainted with Grenz Frontier and Ancestral Lands soon enough. Relax. If you find yourself getting frustrated with people, take a break, and don't force yourself too much.

Forgot to add: ask your guildies how you can improve, too, and don't take it too hard when things go wrong. You won't win every AB match you participate in, and even if you think you're epic fail, it is not always your fault. When you do do something stupid, though, it's a good idea to make a mental note so you don't do it again. Of course, the last applies to just about everything.

Laraja · May 19, 2009, 09:16 PM // 21:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by moriz

<shameless self plug>

go over some of these:
http://www.youtube.com/user/aliasmoriz

none of them are meant as guides or anything, but hopefully you'll gleam a few pointers. especially, the second ranger vid might be useful for you.

</shameless self plug>

I checked out your AB ranger video and that did help quite a bit. Your style is very clean and neat and efficient. I think what I brought away from that video is, as a ranger, to stay out far away from mobs, pick your targets carefully, and don't let anyone get close. I think I was letting people get too close hopeing I could shut them down before they got to me.

Bowstring Badass brought that point home when he said if I was getting ganked by assassins I was doing something wrong. I knew I was doing something wrong, I was trying to get away and I don't know if it was lag or me being body blocked or something, but I shouldn't get myself in that position to begin with, and your video showed me that.

Cherng Butter · May 19, 2009, 09:39 PM // 21:39

About the ganking by sins, if you're running a standard ranger bar, you should have savage shot and distracting shot on it. Sins' chains are easy to predict (unless they fake you out), so just pop an interrupt in the middle (or beginning) of it and they're helpless, unable to finish and kill you

wetwillyhip · May 19, 2009, 09:51 PM // 21:51

you're welcome falynn, there was more to cover that i remembered but people have pretty much said it on here already

. Again, hit me up in-game and we can for sure team up and you can follow our leads and tactics in detail and close up.

OH, also falynn, if you ever run a warrior, use "shield bash" with a few points at least into strength, you can also as a monk run Mo/W for 0 into strength but this is one of the best anti-sin skills as it messes up their attack chain combos. Happy ABing man.