Curse

Jeydra · Mar 07, 2009, 07:47 AM // 07:47

Recently I've seen an increase in the number of players who brings shield sets to RA, but never swap out of them, which is exasperating to say the least.

Guys ... shield sets are great. They give lots of HP, they give armor. They even allow your teammates to identify you as a good player, and so devote more attention to keeping you free of Dazed and Frustration and Blind, prioritize a res on you when two people die at the same time, etc. But they do absolutely nothing for improving your damage. 40/40 sets allow you to deal so much more damage and exert so much more pressure, there simply is no reason not to use them whenever you can. Even pressure-based Elementalist builds can spike when you get enough lucky HCTs off your weapons, but you can't do that if all you do is stick to the shield set! You still want the defensive set of course, but you definitely do not want to stay in it when you're not taking damage.

If it's a lot to manage weaponswaps while paying attention to all the other things you need to pay attention to, don't worry, everyone was new once and had trouble coping. But for the love of peace, be honest and say you can't do it, not come up with excuses like 'the hammer warrior is trying to spike me, so I stay in my shield set' when the hammer warrior has Dwarven Battle Stance. If nothing else, realize that whenever you start chucking spears at your target when you're a caster, it's time to switch weapons. Given how many such players I have seen recently, I can't tell if it's more exasperating playing with these people who think they are good, or playing with people who are bad, but sensible enough not to claim they are good.

C2K · Mar 07, 2009, 08:05 AM // 08:05

Its RA though. From what I've seen, a lot of people enter RA with only 1 weapon set, because its the same deal with vamp weapons on physical professions.

IMMORTAlMITCH · Mar 07, 2009, 08:08 AM // 08:08

Rawr gets by just fine without swapping.

lutz · Mar 07, 2009, 08:27 AM // 08:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by IMMORTAlMITCH

Rawr gets by just fine without swapping.

This.
12characters.

Jatt · Mar 07, 2009, 08:33 AM // 08:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by IMMORTAlMITCH

Rawr gets by just fine without swapping.

12 characters

plastichead · Mar 07, 2009, 08:38 AM // 08:38

i try to but whenever i end up taking damage it's some hammer warrior and i got to wait a million seconds before i can do anything.

obsidian ectoplasm · Mar 07, 2009, 09:14 AM // 09:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by IMMORTAlMITCH

Rawr gets by just fine without swapping.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hi jatt, I am a big fan

of yourself personally and rawr

I have always wondered about this, why is it so?

lol

MasterSasori · Mar 07, 2009, 09:18 AM // 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by plastichead

i try to but whenever i end up taking damage it's some hammer warrior and i got to wait a million seconds before i can do anything.

Lol that must be a pretty darn good war if he can kd you for a million seconds.

But anyway, best thing to do is pay attention to what is going on in the field and not stare at the red bars and pre prot better.

Rawr may not swap their weapons, but not everyone is Rawr.

urania · Mar 07, 2009, 09:46 AM // 09:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by IMMORTAlMITCH

Rawr gets by just fine without swapping.

qft.

unless! they're on the verge of wiping.

Jatt · Mar 07, 2009, 10:00 AM // 10:00

all trolling aside, it depends alot on the character and build you are playing, as well as what you are playing against. the old Rawr build didn't swap to cast sets because - the rit held a pot 24/7. the water mes had fastcasting, and the monks are loaded with low recharge 1/4 second and 3/4 second spells, as well as signets. The benefit for swapping to cast sets didn't outweigh the benefit of sitting on shields and getting the +armor and +health, and I think the results showed that we were right in thinking this. Way back in the day when rawr ran a Domination mesmer, Aegis monks, and a B-surge ele with ward, cast sets were used. certain skills are just structured in a way in which cast-sets become much more advantageous

Another reason cast sets have probably fallen down in play is because people still havn't adjusted to the turret-rangerless-world. Basically if you were casting a spell on 40/40, and a Turret decided to onload on you in flail you'd take half a life bar in damage. It was just never worth the risk to go to cast set and get exploded like that. But with the look that we might be seeing alot more caster damage, alot more armor ignoring damage, more dom mesmers, and more interrupts, cast sets may become a good choice once again.

As for the OP, and the topic of RA specifically. I sort of agree, but it completely depends on the build you are running/who you are playing. Staying alive is the greatest battle on a monkless team, and sitting on shield is the safest/easiest way to accomplish this task. There are DEFINITELY situations say, when you are facing a 2 monk team, that it is absolutely necessary to go cast set and spam to maximum efficiency, especially on alot of the new ele and necro bars.

X Cytherea X · Mar 07, 2009, 12:36 PM // 12:36

Jeydra is right. hell, dont even use shield sets, it's a sign of weakness. when i see a character switch to it, i think "lol pussy"

LifesRestorer · Mar 07, 2009, 01:39 PM // 13:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by X Cytherea X

Jeydra is right. hell, dont even use shield sets, it's a sign of weakness. when i see a character switch to it, i think "lol pussy"

yes. in fact in RA, you shouldn't even wear basic armour. it's a sign of weakness. real spartans only bring a sword and spear to battle, and they never back down. always remember to bring your [skill]FGJ[/skill]

kedde · Mar 07, 2009, 01:50 PM // 13:50

Quote:

Shinde Kudasai

Quote:

"lol pussy"

That is all.

moriz · Mar 07, 2009, 02:15 PM // 14:15

or better yet, be even manlier and don't bring any weapons. it's bare fists or nothing at all.

Dami · Mar 07, 2009, 02:32 PM // 14:32

Does it matter? We all play this game our own way.

shoogi · Mar 07, 2009, 02:58 PM // 14:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by X Cytherea X

Jeydra is right. hell, dont even use shield sets, it's a sign of weakness. when i see a character switch to it, i think "lol pussy"

df honor!
12

TheodenKing · Mar 07, 2009, 04:03 PM // 16:03

Regarding rawr... the post was about RA, so team build strategies go out the window.

Regarding switching... I don't start with the shield. I switch to it when I expect to get spiked. That may seem risky, but when you do enough pvp, you can get pretty good at anticipating what your opponents are going to do.

Regarding monks... I start with the shield set. I switch to energy set only when I need the energy. Fairly simple if you know where your Function keys are.

Divinus Stella · Mar 07, 2009, 04:04 PM // 16:04

Its reassuring that from time to time premier top tier players like Jeydra Evenstar stop by and give us some pro tips on how to play Guild Wars.

TheodenKing · Mar 07, 2009, 04:05 PM // 16:05

Regarding rawr... the post was about RA, so team build strategies go out the window for most people.

Regarding switching... I don't start with the shield. I switch to it when I expect to get spiked. That may seem risky, but when you do enough pvp, you can get pretty good at anticipating what your opponents are going to do.

Regarding monks... I start with the shield set. I switch to energy set only when I need the energy. Fairly simple if you know where your Function keys are.

Strife17 · Mar 07, 2009, 04:55 PM // 16:55

as a monk i mostly use piercing shield, or hammer shield

always forget to switch between them lol.

i only switch to higher energy set or fast cast