Curse

Wasteland Squidget · Jun 07, 2006, 06:59 AM // 06:59

Alright, my guildie and I thought we might as well do one of these for our own map.

The Druid's Isle
An island of lush and untouched wilderness, the Druid's Isle is well suited to guerilla tactics over brute force. Various bridges and pathways allow a team to quickly traverse the map, and guilds which are suited to splitting their forces will find themselves able to quickly turn the tide of battle. Builds on the Druid's Isle should be well suited to movement, splits, and gank squads. More than on almost any other map, a clever tactic of well-timed assault can pull victory from the jaws of defeat.
Map

Key:
Dots: Archers
Blocks: Body Guards
X: Guild Lord
Green Dots: Vine Seeds
Green X: Magical Ganking Bridge spawn point.
White Dot: Flag

The Vine Seed

Each base starts with a single vine seed, which is an item that can be carried or moved like a flag. The vine seed serves to open the Magical Ganking Bridge, which allows a second route into the enemy base. The Magical Ganking Bridge is a faster route to the flagstand and allows teams to threaten the enemy base from multiple sides, forcing a split. Opening the bridge also destroys the Vine Seed.

The vine seed also has an AoE effect 3 seconds after it is dropped, dealing 20 armor-ignoring damage to all adjacent foes and a 3 second Knockdown. 10 seconds after this effect, the Vine Seed finishes its animation and may be picked up by either team. If the Vine Seed is dropped in the location where it opens the bridge as shown above, this effect does not take place.

The Magical Ganking Bridge

The Magical Ganking Bridge is a path into each base that is opened by the Vine Seed. This bridge is quite thin and can easily be bodyblocked with two characters, making it a favorite for Zerg rushes where a team charges into the base after VoD to kill the lord while two character bodyblock the bridge to prevent opposing monks from following. Setting up the vine bridge early is crucial if your team is attempting to split, though moving in through the vine bridge entrance does mean being caught in a hail of Pin Downs.

The other thing to note about this bridge is that, despite appearances, it does not block LOS. Archers and players can shoot through the bridge, either at people on the other side or at people underneath. It can also be bodyblocked from the path that runs beneath.

The W/Mo Water

This is an effect only found on this Isle. For you W/Mo's out there who can't spare 8 points into Healing Prayers, this will even you out with the competition. As far as tactics go, this effect has no noticable impact on any battle. This effect cannot be removed.

Flag Running

Flags for both teams are in the center of the base. It takes about 40s to carry the flag to the stand without speed buffs, and the return trip is about 30s without flag weighing you down. If your base's Magical Gank Bridge is open you can also carry the flag that way to shave about 5s off the running time, but doing so is not recommended because you'll have to charge through the enemy backline (if the fight is at the flagstand) and are at risk of getting ganked.

The flagstand area itself is quite open, and as a flagrunner enters the battle the opposing team has ample time to delay them with knockdowns, snares, and axes to the face. The open space makes it difficult to bodyblock well, and flagrunners should be warned against moving up against the wall when running in. Moving against the wall doesn't significantly increase the run speed, and it puts the runner in danger of a two-man bodyblock.

Any runner can do well on this map, but the long stretch in front of the flagstand makes a more durable runner preferable. Caster runners may find their low AL makes them quite vulnerable to being pressured or ganked as they come in with the stand. This map is always a favorite of gank forces, so a runner which can escape or survive a two-man gank force long enough for support to arrive is key. Overall, I'd say that a Ranger or Assassin runner is probably ideal for this map.

Splitting

To start with, the red line marks the main path. The green line is the reccomended path to try to gank with. If you are trying a 4~4 split however, it is suggested that you take the blue path. Under normal circumstances, the two groups will march to the flag stand and begin battle. Should either side start losing, they will be forced back along the red path. If they try to take the blue one, they're leaving the path to the guild lord wide open, and the green path is simply suicide.

In order to take the green path, you must plant your vine seed first. This path is undoubtably the best for ganking with, as it takes you directly to the other base without having to confront the opposing force..

In the case of 4~4 splits, the blue path is recommended for several reasons. To start with, taking the blue path doesn't have you running directly into archers with a large probability of a full 8 man team chasing you down. It's much more difficult for the other team to begin hunting you, allowing your other split to do what it needs to, whether its work on flag control, assaulting through the green path, or what ever else.

When VoD hits, a strong strategy is to split your team 4~4, placing one at the entrance on the red path (if you have the other team turtling), and one at the entrance at the green path. When VoD occurs, the opposing is faced with a very difficult decision. Charge out with their NPC's leaving the Guild Lord undefended, or remain behind to protect him. Either way works for you, getting you a kill on their Lord or allowing you to finish their NPCs.

NPCs

The NPCs play a crucial role on the Druid's Isle. The easy entrances into the base allow a clever team to easily gank NPCs and gain a VoD advantage, making it crucial to protect your own NPCs and threaten theirs. Each side has 7 Archers, 6 of whom guard the base perimeter while 1 stands in the Guild Lord area along with the two bodyguards.

The archers have quite a range advantage, and teams should be careful of Pin Downs when moving near the base. Assaulting the front gate puts you in range of the two archers, making you vulnerable to Pin Downs. However, if you hug the right wall as you enter you can avoid LOS with the archers until you're well inside the base. This is useful for gank forces without condition removal, or when attempting to assault the central NPCs quickly.

The archers also guard the path that goes from the front gate of the base to the vine seed entrance. Taking this path makes you vulnerable to Pin Downs from the archers unless you hug the wall of the base as you pass through.

Hugging the base wall along this path, the only time you are in danger of being hit by a Pin Down is when you come out into the front gate area after aggroing the archer. Once aggroed, that archer has a height advantage and can shoot you out to the location shown in this shot.

In a turtling situation this map isn't ideal, since there is only one archer inside of the Guild Lord area instead of the usual two. However, the two archers positioned on the cliff above the guild lord area can shoot at any assaulting force. They can be evaded by hugging the wall to the guild lord's right, but in general it's a good idea to kill them when the opponent is in a turtling situation. They can be attacked without aggroing the bodyguards, which makes an attack on them fairly safe and reduces the pressure on your team.

The attacking and defending team's bases are slightly different when turtling. The defending team's archer has limited LOS since attackers can hide behind the wall and stay out of his sight. The attacking team's archer has LoS quite freely, so if he aggros on a caster you have to move a good distance back to make him switch targets.

This guide was written by myself and Stuey, both of Save The Dolyaks [NUKE]. Hope you guys find it helpful.

icemonkey · Jun 07, 2006, 10:04 PM // 22:04

wow I did not know the vineseed was so hateful, some good insights. A valuable resource

Egg Shen · Jun 07, 2006, 11:25 PM // 23:25

Thanks for this, this is very cool.

JR · Jun 08, 2006, 12:53 AM // 00:53

Excellent work, much appreciated.

Wasteland Squidget · Jun 08, 2006, 01:44 AM // 01:44

Thanks guys.

If we get a couple more of these, think a sticky thread organizing and linking the topics might be in order? It would get easier to track them. I don't think we'll be doing another one unless we change guild halls, but maybe someone else will have the time.

Byron · Jun 08, 2006, 05:33 AM // 05:33

I'm all for the sticky, even for this article alone. I've tried finding GvG maps and accompaying tactics for them, but I've never gotten anything like this work, all in one article. I'd say there is a market for these type articles, fo sho. Many thanks.

JR · Jun 08, 2006, 08:27 AM // 08:27

I'll make a sticky when we get a couple more...

I may even write one myself.

fatboyslimerr · Jun 08, 2006, 09:19 AM // 09:19

Someone please do one about the frozen isle, I get so lost on that isle with all the gates and gate locks. Highly overwhelming. Good job though, this isle is great for a 2 assassin split attack on enemy base

robrobrob · Jun 08, 2006, 10:01 AM // 10:01

This is absolutely great. I really hope guides for other guild halls can be written, because this DEFINITELY deserves stickiness.

romO · Jun 08, 2006, 04:16 PM // 16:16

You run the same mesmer bar that I do. High five.

Clinically Proven · Jun 09, 2006, 03:37 AM // 03:37

I used to run this Guild Hall with a prior guild and you're spot on the money.

Good job, hope to see some more in the coming weeks

Wasteland Squidget · Jun 09, 2006, 03:44 AM // 03:44

We actually just switched to the Frozen Isle today, so look for another one in the near future.

Xasew · Jun 09, 2006, 01:38 PM // 13:38

/signed for stickying this.

JR · Jun 09, 2006, 01:55 PM // 13:55

I'll do a sticky with links to each thread when we get some more. Going to start on Warriors Isle tonight.

Medion · Jun 09, 2006, 02:02 PM // 14:02

JR, you planning on combining Hunters/Wizards into your article as well?

Thanks for the article, very helpfull.

JR · Jun 09, 2006, 02:18 PM // 14:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Medion

JR, you planning on combining Hunters/Wizards into your article as well?

Possibly Hunters. Wizards i'm afraid not, as it's not really a Guild Hall worth choosing, given the slight advantage given to the opposing team through distance to the flag stand. I'll re-test that though, to make sure it hasn't been changed.

Lord Dark Genie · Jun 09, 2006, 03:44 PM // 15:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by guildwars.com

Adjusted the flag spawn locations on all guild halls to be equal distance from the flag stand.

If they're not lying, it has been fixed ^^

JR · Jun 09, 2006, 07:38 PM // 19:38

Dang... Wizards aswell then.

scrinner · Jun 11, 2006, 04:53 PM // 16:53

Quote Guildwars.com
Fixed an exploit related to the use of seeds in the Druid's Isle guild battle map

By exploit, do they mean the damage the seed does?
The Above quote is from yesterdays build

stueyman2099 · Jun 13, 2006, 05:17 PM // 17:17

Since me nor Squidget were aware of any bug involving the vine seed, it likely isn't even mentioned in the post. Anyone know what they changed?

Sidenote: I don't see how the vineseeds damage isn't intentional, seems to me like it should be there.