Curse

=DNC=Trucker · May 07, 2007, 03:40 AM // 03:40

Has anyone noticed the difficulty increasing within the last 6-8 months at getting gladiator points in RA? (RA only) It seemed to be a lot easier to get one, but lately, its so random you cannot get through 6 or 7 without being ousted.

(not looking for replies such as 'maybe you suck.' I am comparing to how it used to be)

KazeMitsui · May 07, 2007, 03:51 AM // 03:51

cause the dmg output of skills has been buffed normally and healing has been nerfed so what do you expect... and yea i agree.. i used to be able to get 3 4 glads a day if i really tried... now i get 0 cause its harder and nubs suck

playing a monk of course...

Dave Havok · May 07, 2007, 03:58 AM // 03:58

I havn't noticed much of a change, thought it's a ton easier to get glad points in TA now.

=DNC=Trucker · May 07, 2007, 05:01 AM // 05:01

I have noticed TA is better. I suspect this has a LOT to do with the addition of so many skills and professions, that RA is exactly that.. very random. maybe too random for a 10 streak

Rampager · May 07, 2007, 05:59 AM // 05:59

i seem to find it easier, i thought it could be theres no more builds on wiki

and people make more stupid builds

Lord Natural · May 07, 2007, 07:49 AM // 07:49

I've been playing ra pretty steadily since proph and I haven't really noticed a difference in the frequency of 10 win streaks. Glad points in RA depend a lot on luck. You can use a build one night and get 4 points in a couple of hours, and get shutout completely the next.

To be honest I don't notice a huge difference in points between monking and playing offense. Either way you need a competent group to go anywhere. The win percentage is undoubtedly higher, but that can be a bad thing if you're out for glad points. You'll probably have a lot more 5-9 win streaks as a monk since weaknesses (or weak players) on your team will usually be exploited before you hit 10. I've monked many teams through 5+ wins flawless, and then when facing heavy pressure you find out your team can't even res. Good job there's 20 mins wasted.

On the other hand if you go in playing offense, a lot of international teams (who are also glad point oriented) will just bail if there's no monk, before or after the match. That's annoying if you're just out to play, but almost a necessity if you're trying to get 10 win streaks together. Although I haven't noticed much difference in the frequency of 10 win streaks, I have noticed that no monk (or hidden healer) groups have a much harder time going 10 than in prophecy days, when beat-down teams got 10 on a regular basis.

If you're having a really hard time going 10, you may want to try some different builds. The game isn't balanced at all right now, and some skills are very overpowered, especially in arena play. It's still the case that you can go 10 with the right group playing pretty much anything with damage, but your chances will greatly increase if you're playing an effective build. In my experience the most effective groups have a monk, a support type class, and 2 heavy hitters. There are a lot of weak monks in RA, so if you're just rolling a sin and monk stomping you may not be helping your own cause. Try something like a curses necro or a blinder to help take some pressure off your monk.

Riotgear · May 07, 2007, 08:16 AM // 08:16

The main problem is the addition of things like YAA, Burning Arrow, RaO, Shadow Prison, Searing Flames and Dervishes in general. Self-heal abilities barely got buffed at all, save the addition of FN and Restful Breeze, while abilities to push out damage that will easily overwhelm such things got a major boost.

Genova · May 07, 2007, 08:18 AM // 08:18

I disagree. A balanced team with a monk and a support character like a shutdown necro or blinder have a much harder time than a team full of offensive characters. Strong offense with snares, some shutdown and maybe aoe spells win games faster and easier in RA these days. How can it be different with SF, Reaper's, Lightning hammer, Mind shock, Teinai's heat, Savanna heat to name a few ? I guess that even good mesmers can't get glad points there, due to the randomness and lack of communication RA.

Thom Bangalter · May 07, 2007, 08:57 AM // 08:57

When I want a glad point I roll a curses necro with a bunch of melee shutdown and if the monk isn't retarded its pretty much a guranteed glad point.

randoms=srs business?

Nightwish · May 07, 2007, 09:37 AM // 09:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thom Bangalter

When I want a glad point I roll a curses necro with a bunch of melee shutdown and if the monk isn't retarded its pretty much a guranteed glad point.

randoms=srs business?

I second that. Try fighting a team with spirit rit, monk and a degen/antimelee curse necro...you will feel how hopeless it is to win with your average RA combination..

Effigy · May 07, 2007, 01:51 PM // 13:51

Hexing is definitely imbalanced in RA. A good necro can make a team nearly unstoppable.

Overall though, I agree with Genova in that beatdown is the best way to go. With the lack of coordinated defense in RA, a heavy pressure team can easily break a team with one or even two monks/rits. The only caveat is that most RA players don't know how to pressure effectively so you won't always have success with a full offense team. Teams with a monk have a wider margin of error.

Case in point, probably my fastest (and most enjoyable) glad point was earned on a team with 2 SP sins, a rit spirit spammer, and me playing Shock/CripSlash without even a self-heal. We steamrolled.

I Brother Bloood I · May 07, 2007, 06:29 PM // 18:29

I got 4-5 glads yesterday. I dont remember what i was at before. The only real problem is the combination of a good crip slash, migraine mes, reapers necro, and sor bonder which i have gotten and its really a pain in the ass.

I got 2-3 with monk 1 with war and 1 with sin. Wasnt a bad day.

Lord Natural · May 07, 2007, 06:48 PM // 18:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Genova

I disagree. A balanced team with a monk and a support character like a shutdown necro or blinder have a much harder time than a team full of offensive characters.

Sure a beat-down group with 3 thumpers or something crazy will get a quick point sometimes, but it's always my luck that when I get a group like this I face something retarded on the 8-9th win, like dual curses necros or some crap. GG your team's damage output is reduced to next to nothing and you're left with no support for your monk. On the other hand, if instead of that 3rd thumper you have a curses necro or a spirit spammer, you even the odds. Like people have mentioned above, playing something with the combination of support and damage like a curses necro will make even an average monk look like a champion. With pure pressure you have to depend on your monk not sucking, which is a lot to ask in RA.

rii · May 08, 2007, 01:03 AM // 01:03

I would say there is overall a greater build variety than proph days, since well obviously sins, dervishes, rits, and paragons weren't available. That makes it slightly harder to monk, and since they abolished direct templates the number of paladins and spell slashers has decreased a fair percentage, seemingly to just been replaced with spirit spammers, necro hex spammers and SP sins, which are overall nastier. In terms of glad point rate I haven't noticed a whole lot of difference, there's still a rough standard of 'good RA team' and if you get it it's = g-point.

If you srsly rly want a glad point then you should sync enter more.

tomcruisejr · May 08, 2007, 03:45 AM // 03:45

coz the skill level in RA is gradually going up..

Div · May 08, 2007, 05:16 AM // 05:16

Don't really see a difference between RA a few months back and RA now. Get lucky, get a glad point. Have a crappy team, win a few where you face crappier teams then lose to a less crappy team.

Guillaume De Sonoma · May 08, 2007, 06:18 AM // 06:18

I think the nightfall power creep has actually made it harder to get glad points because bad players can still hit Shadow Prision and 4 other skills in order. TA I don't really see a problem with, however the competition in TA seems non-existent.

the_deSKtructor · May 08, 2007, 06:28 AM // 06:28

don't forget synchro nubs <<

bungusmaximus · May 08, 2007, 07:20 AM // 07:20

Whoa glad points, I've given up on that ages ago. I rather go in and play with the chance of getting a glad point in the process then play only for the sake of getting glad points. Everytime I get in RA half the team has left when the gates open, I don't see the point in that arena at all. PUGing in TA is the only other option, but it's harder then RA (heck at least I get to play ^^), so it isn't exactly raining glad points.

Genova · May 08, 2007, 09:48 AM // 09:48

I have beaten the reaper's necro + 2 spririt spamming + monk with a good setup (I was monking), 2 intelligents sins and a rit spiker. It was actually a good fight and we enjoyed our merited glad point

. I have to say that I like to monk in RA because the pressure is so huge sometimes, that you have to play your best to save the day. In organised PvP like GvG or TA, it's either too easy or too hard, you hardly learn something. I think that something need to be done in order to smooth the learning curve of PvP in this game.