Curse

tmakinen · Mar 04, 2009, 08:10 AM // 08:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeydra

Only bad teams are going to attack a defended shrine

... which is why the best opportunity to break an enemy team is to stomp on them just after they have initiated a capture. When you see an enemy team closing in on a shrine that you just captured, feint by pretending to leave the area only to turn back and hit their support line as soon as they attack the shrine. Their offence is tied down and thus you can focus on their defence and if your monk manages to save a NPC it's an added benefit. You still have the shrine bonus and although the proper response by the enemy team would be to leg it in an overwhelming majority of cases they doggedly try to fight at a terrible disadvantage.

Another variant of the same move is when you can anticipate the next target of a circle capturing enemy team and time your arrival properly so that you can both wipe the team and prevent capture.

Alleji · Mar 05, 2009, 12:47 AM // 00:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fril Estelin

What I find sometimes difficult is the balance between solo-capping and staying with your group (which is necessary to get monking). But in many games, it's what gave my team (Kurwick) an edge, because while I'm solo-capping, 11 people are fighting on the rest of the map.

Solo capping isn't very efficient, even if you can nuke the npcs in 8 seconds. It just takes so long to turn over the shrine alone and there's always a chance that someone will show up and roflstomp you, because as a fire ele you're not very good at fighting back.

The way I see it is you can solo cap if an opportunity comes up, but it shouldn't be your game plan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeydra

Only bad teams are going to attack a defended shrine ... but then, there're lots of bad teams in AB.

Yes, lots of bad teams, lots of idiots who just run at the shrine one or two at a time, and lots of teams who apparently underestimate how much damage one ranger can do.

Darth The Xx · Mar 05, 2009, 03:37 AM // 03:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alleji

Solo capping isn't very efficient, even if you can nuke the npcs in 8 seconds. It just takes so long to turn over the shrine alone and there's always a chance that someone will show up and roflstomp you, because as a fire ele you're not very good at fighting back.

The way I see it is you can solo cap if an opportunity comes up, but it shouldn't be your game plan.

Yes, lots of bad teams, lots of idiots who just run at the shrine one or two at a time, and lots of teams who apparently underestimate how much damage one ranger can do.

Agreed solo capping is a waste of time. Only time it should happen is when your group just died and your the last one alive and a shrine to cap happens to be on hand, otheriwse you should be looking to meet ur grp.

Also I find a better tactic than defending a shrine is just leave 1 capable person behind, that way your team still continues capping and you delay or sometimes even prevent a cap without too much loss in capping power. The best class I find I can do this on is my rit, can keep the NPCs alive and still drop some nasty nukes into the enemy group, and if need be, escape with little effort.

Jeydra · Mar 08, 2009, 11:30 AM // 11:30

So you see how I play AB now ...

I can't tell which style is more effective, there are lots of different ways to play AB and it's hard to tell for certain with the randomness of how AB is like. We won 2 / 3 games on Etnaran from the Kurzick side and could've won the third, so I'm happy to stay with my method of play. Now if only I hadn't made so terrible mistakes in the games, we could've won all three games ... perhaps you noticed though that when I play, I tend to be halfway across the map without you realizing it. That's what my friend did to me when I learned from him as well, although he seldom makes the mistake of thinking his Monk is behind him when he isn't lol. Still, that's how to maximize the efficiency of the bar. Since the bar does not deal much damage, it pays to clear the shrines while the rest of the team kills stragglers, then going to the shrine after it is cleared.

One of the biggest differences I see between your style of play and mine is the NPCs. I live and worship the NPCs, and I'll go out of my way to acquire and Res one of them. They follow me, PuGs normally don't. They help cap shrines, very useful indeed when nobody else follows my lead (and even when someone follows my lead, since it means I can break off and cap the next shrine). They also deal good damage, unlike some players. The Elite Ele is especially deadly, which is why I usually prefer to take the left lane when starting on Etnaran. I will take the Ele, and being the solo capper that I am, I will stop by the Res Orb shrine often ... most people will not. The largest army I've ever seen was something like 4 Elite Elementalists and 3 Elite Warriors - uber.

Power Ele capper, Monk, 2x damage is how I would play 3/5 maps, if given free choice of players and skills. For the remaining two, Saltspray requires you to fight to cap anything, so a standard rolling build is best - Monk, 2x damage, defensive midline. I like a Water Ele here since he can snare, but anything along this general template is fine. For Kaanai / Ancestral on the attacking side, I'd use 2x Fire Eles, Monk, 1x damage. Here you need the Fire Elementalists to clear out the NPCs on the gates. The damage needs to be extremely front loaded. AB is no place for pressure builds or Dom Mesmers. They may look nice and cool and shutdown opposing teams, but you need to kill and kill quickly, or you might as well not fight at all. Lingering Curse may be one of the most overpowered skills out there right now, but it's not good for AB.

Just some random thoughts from the games ... thanks for playing, I enjoyed the experience

krasusboy · Mar 13, 2009, 05:51 PM // 17:51

i see this guy in ab all the time and he really pisses me off >

Darth The Xx · Mar 17, 2009, 08:35 AM // 08:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by krasusboy

i see this guy in ab all the time and he really pisses me off >

To which "guy" are u referring?

Nibbit · Mar 17, 2009, 08:47 AM // 08:47

ab = epic bsns

Jeydra · May 20, 2009, 01:32 PM // 13:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmakinen

... which is why the best opportunity to break an enemy team is to stomp on them just after they have initiated a capture. When you see an enemy team closing in on a shrine that you just captured, feint by pretending to leave the area only to turn back and hit their support line as soon as they attack the shrine. Their offence is tied down and thus you can focus on their defence and if your monk manages to save a NPC it's an added benefit. You still have the shrine bonus and although the proper response by the enemy team would be to leg it in an overwhelming majority of cases they doggedly try to fight at a terrible disadvantage.

Ask a more detailed opinion on this. Would you suggest trying this at the start of the match? That's the time when you're most likely to be nearby + to have ripe prey. Would you suggest doing it every time? Or if there are specifics, how?

I vaguely remember Ensign saying once that half the path to winning AB is to do what you just said, wait for them to initiate a capture and then pounce on them. I just came off a streak on Etnaran from the Kurzick side where I tried this tactic, it worked spectacularly with the other team's Elementalist having blown his nukes on the Elementalist Shrine while I saved the Elite Elementalist. Resulting 5v4 turned into a massacre, the only sad part was that the other two Elementalists were now dead so the shrine became an easy target.

Would you try this if you were playing Etnaran, on the Luxon side, with the relatively weak Necromancers and Mesmers? What if you took the center lane?

Lux Aeterna · May 21, 2009, 01:18 AM // 01:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeydra

Ask a more detailed opinion on this. Would you suggest trying this at the start of the match? That's the time when you're most likely to be nearby + to have ripe prey. Would you suggest doing it every time? Or if there are specifics, how?

Well, on the Kurzick side it's generally best to gain the advantage of surprise by pouncing on the largest possible group of Luxons with whomever you happen to have.

Remember, casting RoJ on a group of red dots will likely result in several kills and wiping the opposing team.

tmakinen · May 21, 2009, 06:49 AM // 06:49

As a rule of thumb I don't use the tactic at the beginning of the match unless an enemy team really bends over backwards to provide the opportunity. The most natural phase to apply it is around 150-200 points when you have had enough time to observe how the other 5 teams play. If you have serious fail teams on your side (you're losing 50 to 150) then it's not even worth the effort to try to pull them along, just write off the match as a lost cause and kill anything that moves for some Balthazar faction. If the fail teams are on the enemy side (you're winning 150 to 50) then you can do whatever you well want (like killing anything that moves - repeatedly - for some Balthazar faction) and still win the match. The tactic pays its best dividends when used at a game with approximately balanced sides. Identify the enemy team that is the most effective at capturing shrines, then look for any opportunity to slap them silly. A single application of the tactic may pull you from 20 point behind to 20 points ahead through the cumulative effect of kill points, them doing penalty time and you having some free time to capture another shrine.

Lux Aeterna · May 21, 2009, 07:04 AM // 07:04

^ Often the break point in a close game is when the lead capping team on one side gets wiped.

It's worth it to help out allies if you see them fighting, as crushing a group 8v4 is more worth your 30 seconds than getting another cap.

Trytan · May 23, 2009, 03:00 PM // 15:00

[QUOTE=tmakinen;4480483]
Chess is not a PvP game because you just move your pieces on the board instead of ramming them into your opponent's ear canal? I find your take on the issue silly beyond description

[QUOTE]

epic pwnage rofl, thanks for taking the time to write this guide, lot of great tips and strategies in there, now we'll just see if I can apply some of it.

Will Holden · May 23, 2009, 03:02 PM // 15:02

tl;dr

AB isn't pvp

Lux Aeterna · May 24, 2009, 04:14 AM // 04:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will Holden

tl;dr

AB isn't pvp

dude shut up.

Tidewater Springs · May 24, 2009, 04:19 AM // 04:19

Jeydra, I remember you! I was your monk when we went 2 out of 3 on Etnaran keys :] Or I'm pretty sure I was a monk xD

Anyways, I don't know what you people have with random people in ab, but I find that they are willing to listen to the first person that leads. Sure, once you give out your first command they might hesitate and dawdle around making up their minds, but give them a couple of seconds and they follow where you point them. You just have to ask them nicely.

shem · May 24, 2009, 03:02 PM // 15:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeydra

The largest army I've ever seen was something like 4 Elite Elementalists and 3 Elite Warriors - uber.

It's fun because at that point you can just roll through the opposing mob. So close to 5 eles too..