Curse

Mattias Shadowman · Jul 27, 2006, 06:10 PM // 18:10

I have noticed that many guilds use bunny thumpers instead of shock warriors.What do u think is better for gvg?

JR · Jul 27, 2006, 06:24 PM // 18:24

It depends entirely on your build:

If you are running a heavy pressure build, Thumpers could be the better option in some situations.

For a standard 'balanced' build the Warriors ability to spike harder makes them a far more appealing option.

kryshnysh · Jul 27, 2006, 06:50 PM // 18:50

Warriors also tend to be easier to build for a split and self-sufficiency, thumpers are rather one-dimensional - heavy pressure offense in a straight up fight.

Mattias Shadowman · Jul 27, 2006, 07:40 PM // 19:40

1.Buuny thumper or warrior make more dmg?
2.What is better for a team thats not experienced?

JR · Jul 27, 2006, 08:07 PM // 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattias Shadowman

1.Buuny thumper or warrior make more dmg?

Warriors take more from Elemental damage, Thumpers take more from Physical.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattias Shadowman

2.What is better for a team thats not experienced?

Either, really.

art_ · Jul 27, 2006, 08:21 PM // 20:21

Quote:

2.What is better for a team thats not experienced?

Probably thumpers as part of a pressure team as there is less need for coordinated spikes etc.

Slit Wrists · Jul 27, 2006, 08:37 PM // 20:37

I think that a warrior, if well played, is more efficient and more pressure than a thumper.

Wasteland Squidget · Jul 28, 2006, 07:49 AM // 07:49

The other thing to recognize about thumpers is that they make for a very strong initial pressure, but in longer fights as the DP builds up on their pets they really get inefficent. One of the things that makes thumpers scariest is their ability to solo-spike targets often. Bash + Crushing + Irresistable combined with pet attacks (I like Enraged Lunge) makes for a very powerful solo spike. Playing an Enraged thumper I could solo-spike a 60 AL target down to about 15% health without help, all in the space of a few seconds.

This is one of the reason why thumpers mix so well with taints. Having disease flying around means that the monks are going to have to waste heals keeping diseased targets 'topped up' so they don't become a death risk. Heal Party is a nice counter to the disease, but it's also quite vulnerable to being knocked down by one of the thumpers. Against thumpers + pets you have to kite pretty constantly.

I'm also not convinced that thumpers aren't good at soloing. In my experience, an Enraged thumper will beat your standard heal sig warrior in a duel most of the time, just because he can unleash a +80 damage hit from the pet without building any adrenaline. He can also gank NPCs as well as a healsig warrior, and on some maps he can even whittle down bodyguards with proper aggro control and pet resses.

As mentioned though, he doesn't spike as hard as a warrior and is vulnerable to things which screw over pets. AoE, taints, and random spread degen hurt pets very much, and once the DP's built up your thumper will start to suck. Likewise, if your pet gets stuck in a gate (common) or you are pushed out of a base and unable to res them, you're going to be a second-rate hammer warrior who can't do the things he really needs to do.

So that's your pick - warriors are better spiking and more reliable/sustainable, while thumpers apply a lot more pressure to the other team. As a newbie guild, I think you'll learn more from running warriors, and win more matches from running thumpers.

Vexx007 · Jul 28, 2006, 09:09 AM // 09:09

Very good answer WS. My inexperienced guild run your average balanced team and we wanted to know the same thing as the OP. Thanks for clearing it up.

Byron · Jul 31, 2006, 08:11 AM // 08:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wasteland Squidget

In my experience, an Enraged thumper will beat your standard heal sig warrior in a duel most of the time, just because he can unleash a +80 damage hit from the pet without building any adrenaline.

If both parties had adrenaline charged, it'd take a very good thumper to win that duel. At zero adrenaline I agree though, mostly because the ranger can use TF, but the war can't use frenzy.

Wasteland Squidget · Jul 31, 2006, 08:16 AM // 08:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Byron

If both parties had adrenaline charged, it'd take a very good thumper to win that duel. At zero adrenaline I agree though, mostly because the ranger can use TF, but the war can't use frenzy.

In practice, it is very rare to go into a skirmish battle like that with your adrenal charged and full health. At best you could charge it off an NPC, and the NPC was probably damaging you during that time.

kryshnysh · Jul 31, 2006, 04:05 PM // 16:05

My comment about self-sufficiency was not meant to be about 1v1 or other soloing situations, but more as a general split strategy and comes from the thread where we discussed 14 vs. 16 weapon mastery:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10011133

Warriors have mobility (sprint or charge commonly, occasionally rush which is less useful on demand - another reason to prefer not to split off hammer warriors) and a self-heal, which adds utility for battlefield control but at the cost of more constant pressure in stand up fights (although the heal sig does help to relieve pressure from the opposing team decently well).