GW2 eSports and the Community

[Valeron]

Actually, I like watching sc2 games, but I hate playing the game myself.

I'm kind of curious, how do you watch it? I mean sports is a bit easier to grasp on why people watch. It has that human element to it. But watching an RTS would seem like watching chess or checkers I guess.

[jvbastel]

I'm kind of curious, how do you watch it? I mean sports is a bit easier to grasp on why people watch. It has that human element to it. But watching an RTS would seem like watching chess or checkers I guess.

Well I actually don't really like watching sports, except for Cyclo-cross, but that's because I'm belgian, and cyclo-cross is almost the only sport we're actually good at.

I love the tactical elements in games like SC2, but I don't have the APM, or the time to train myself. The thing that makes SC2 fun to watch for me is the speed at which players need to adapt to the situation. It's a very fast-paced game which requires you to do "extreme" multi-tasking.

My favorite game to watch is still Magic: the gathering, though.

[Hellspawnxxx]

Bullshit. The sheer complexity of GvG maps alone is probably harsher then complexity of skills and maps in GW2 combined.

The massive complexity of having a free hand of assembling a build of 8x8 vs 8x8 skills out of hundreds of skills in GW1 wipes the floor with GW2's handful of choices for 5x6 skills with massively gimped synergies in GW2 due to lack of friendly casting and far less complex buff and debuff system.


Hell, one of the big selling points for GW2 was that they simplified it a lot so it's more accessible.

Ya because playing against a 8 warrior IWAY Build was so entertaining and fun/ Hahahaha GW1 PvP was filled with exploits and unbalanced tweek builds. you go back and enjoy your new flavor of the month builds and Ill enjoy the SKILL based BALANCED PvP Guildwars 2 has to offer. How havent you been banned yet seems everyday Im posting against you and your foolishness always bashing Guildwars 2

Why not play something else or harras another forum topic LoL. Were all already sold on the game nothing you say will change that and anyone with half a brain will explore the game themsevles and make thier own mind up, which usally is they want to play the game.

[Lucky_]

Ya because playing against a 8 warrior IWAY Build was so entertaining and fun/ Hahahaha GW1 PvP was filled with exploits and unbalanced tweek builds. you go back and enjoy your new flavor of the month builds and Ill enjoy the SKILL based BALANCED PvP Guildwars 2 has to offer. How havent you been banned yet seems everyday Im posting against you and your foolishness always bashing Guildwars 2

Why not play something else or harras another forum topic LoL. Were all already sold on the game nothing you say will change that and anyone with half a brain will explore the game themsevles and make thier own mind up, which usally is they want to play the game.

Yeah, IWAY was a hard thing to counter. You needed about half a brain. And about half of that in GvG. Besides, the sheer fact that things like IWAY were actually somewhat viable show just how deep and complex the game was. You could viably play various spikes, balanced, heavy pressure, splits, tanky survival builds and countless others.

But don't worry, you will have "skill based balanced" bolas into hundred blades into axe adrenal execute one shot, all macroed into one button. Pure skill I hear. For average "I farm my deer points by randomly winning first one or two maps in HA!" level.


Also, eight warrior iway? Don't think we ever had that.

[Stealthdrip]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I felt necessary to respond to my original post because I can see a lot of people are on the fence about GW2 and its eSports Potential.

I will be the first one to say again that it is still a fledgling community. If we look at LoL, that too started off a fledgling community before players and then developers took it into their hands to make it an eSport.

In my post I said it all starts with us, the players. There has to be a need for the eSports scene in GW2 before it will ever become something great.

I know multiple guilds, Team Paradigm, Team Legacy, Team Nexus, are all doing their best to promote the eSports scene.

If you want to be part of the movement to making this a legitimate eSports game (The developers already back us, the game is actually quite balanced and flashy), we need to educate the public.

The reason why there might not be a lot of interest right now is because not enough have played the game. If you never played LoL and looked at it now you would be extremely confused at what you are watching, what was a skilled play, and what is actually going on in team fights. We must take it upon ourselves to educate the community and set the foundation for ourselves.

I respect everyone who attempts to put GW2 eSports on the map and I hope they want it bad enough. It will take the will of many players to get this ball rolling.

They say you can lead a horse to water, but you cant make it drink. Well we are going to drown that motherfucker.

P.S. I also extend this invitation to my fellow poster to please not troll here, we are trying to have a real discussion and do not need to be so rash with one another. Please respect everyone's opinion, at least until it is apparent they no longer deserve the respect.

[Osprey39]

The day I sit and watch other people play video games is the day I have myself committed :P

[Shiny212]

I gotta disagree here. GW2 definitely has everything in place (except for observer mode, which is coming post-launch) to make it as an e-sport. The 5v5 setup and map size is reminiscent of MOBA's, and actually the gameplay is as well.

The combat style in gw2 is also focused on visuals, which makes it easier for the viewers to see what's going on, once they know the basic skills (weapon sets help here as well since half the skills are known by looking at the weapon the player is wearing).

As for arenas, they are boring to watch and more build/gear-dependent than what GW2 is doing. Watching 4-10 people hitting each other is also not really fun. Which is why Anet went with an objective-based pvp system.
The points make it easy to see who's got the upper hand. In arena's, not so much.

---------- Post added 2012-07-10 at 10:05 AM ----------



Actually, I like watching sc2 games, but I hate playing the game myself.

Objective based pvp is not fun to watch, and not as fun as people killing people, if the extent of the E-sport will be the instanced red vs blue capture and hold matches it'll fail tremendously. They need conceivable pvp between players in small numbers so people can follow the action.

[Exedore]

But don't worry, you will have "skill based balanced" bolas into hundred blades into axe adrenal execute one shot, all macroed into one button. Pure skill I hear. For average "I farm my deer points by randomly winning first one or two maps in HA!" level.

This clearly demonstrates how little you know about GW2 PvP. Pre-purchasers have had less than 6 days of total play time available to this point, and most didn't spend the entire weekend doing sPvP. And sPvP tournaments weren't implemented until last beta weekend. There just hasn't been enough time for most players to familiarize themselves with the game and iterate on builds or learn how to counter builds. So when someone comes up with a relatively simple build, like Bull Rush into Hundred Blades, it's very effective against the general player base. However, this warrior build isn't very good for tournament level play because those players can counter it, as stated by a warrior in Team Paradigm.

You're just dismissing GW2 because it's not the same as what you know, not on its own merits.

---------- Post added 2012-07-10 at 08:55 AM ----------

Objective based pvp is not fun to watch, and not as fun as people killing people, if the extent of the E-sport will be the instanced red vs blue capture and hold matches it'll fail tremendously. They need conceivable pvp between players in small numbers so people can follow the action.

I would say the evidence speaks against you. Starcraft/Starcraft2 and League of Legends are two of the most popular e-sport games. Both have many different objectives, rather than purely player vs player combat.

What makes any sport, not just an e-sport, interesting is that it has variety that is understandable to a spectator with just basic knowledge. Even if you haven't played Starcraft, you can quickly grasp the concept that they need resources to make an army, but you also need to defeat your opponent's army. That serves as a basis for understanding why players are doing what they're doing, with some explanation from commentators. Arena style combat has had a problem in this regard because if you don't know much about the mechanics, all you see is some spell effects and a player dying. Whereas with objective control, players defeating each other is somewhat secondary and how they do that isn't necessarily as important.

A spectator sport also has to keep interest. You can't just follow players hiding behind a pole for an undetermined period waiting to engage. Unfortunately, that's what you often go with arena-based PvP. If there's always something obvious going on that can change the flow of the game, it keeps interest.

[vVv Rinzler]

Guild wars 2 is gearing up for its release and many questions are being asked about the truth behind if GW2 will make it in the eSports scene.

It all honestly starts with you and me. The more people exposed to the scene the better. Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your guild. The more people talking about it, the better. It is our duty to help this community grow.

GW2 eSports guilds have the responsibility to foster the community and create a welcoming environment for those wishing to join our community. Multiple guilds have done the right thing and are trying to create places people can discuss the eSports side of GW2 with a firm dedication to professionalism. This is something we should expect out of our community, Professionalism.

I think we all know the stigmas of many previous eSports communities; Elitist, rude, unfriendly, and mean. We need to work together to create an environment that encourages development and respect. Our community is a fledgling at best and it is our duty to foster it.

We can do this many ways, but most of all, police yourselves and to gain respect you must give it. I hope everyone can read this and feel deep down a responsibility to strive for a community that we can all be look up to.

I hope my words have sank deep enough within your minds to understand this community is what we make it and we have the opportunity to do something great here. Please strive to be an example we can be proud of.

That being said, please join the community over at http://www.reddit.com/r/gw2esports/

The thread seems to have largely drifted to personal banter, and I would like to bring it back by personally thanking the OP for this topic. Bring respect to eSports.