To the new players, World vs World (WvW) can be daunting. It has that effect on me, but that’s usually when I’m solo defending a failing tower. I don’t want new players running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I have two reasons for this,
- Unorganized players risk helping the enemy and I don’t want to lose
- I want you to be able to kick ass and feel great doing it
Now how do you go about reclaiming your head and kicking ass? Simple, take notes of these tips I’m going to be giving you. Before I get to tip #1 though, I want to explain how WvW works briefly. There are 4 maps total, 3 Borderlands maps, and 1 Eternal Battleground map. You fight using siege warfare to take keeps, towers, and supply camps from the enemy. You also can take control of an Orb of Power, which provides everyone in your world with a boost. Each of these is worth a set amount of points that add to your total every 5 minutes. You can find their point values below,
- Supply Camps = 5 points/6 in each map
- Towers = 10 points/4 in each Borderlands map, 12 in Eternal Battlegrounds
- Keeps = 25 points/ 3 in each map
- Stonemist Castle = 50 Points/ 1 in Eternal Battlegrounds
Now that the brief explanation is over let’s move on to tip #1.
Tip#1: Keep the Supply Flowing
Supply is the fuel of WvW. You need it to upgrade your camps, towers, and keeps. You need it to build siege weapons. You need it to repair gates and walls. Supply is important, so important in fact that enemy players will go out of their way to make sure that your tower or keep doesn’t get any.
In order for you to get supply, you have to capture supply camps. Once you have a supply camp, a Pack Dolyak will be sent on his way, delivering supply to every good boy and girl. This is where the supply chain is at it’s weakest. The Dolyak can easily be taken out by a small group of players and you can be damn sure the enemy will target them. Every world that wants to succeed should make sure that they keep their supply safe. Maps are so big and complex that invaders can sneak in and kill the Dolyak, and no one would be around to hear it. Unless of course, you have a small group of people escort the Dolyak around the map. You can also purchase a guard upgrade with supply and a little bit of gold, which I highly recommend. If you are attacking though, strike raid parties of 2-4 should be sent out to disrupt their supply chain.
Now on a personal level, you want to make sure that you always have supply on you as well. Players can only hold 10 supply each, and it is used to build siege weapons, or repair gates and walls. You aren’t helping your world by running around without any supply. Before you go into any fight in WvW, make sure that you have supply with you. Until enough supply is given, the blueprints that were laid down don’t actually get built. Here is a list of how much supply is needed for each weapon,
- Arrow Cart = 30 supply/ Great for large groups of players
- Ballista = 20 supply/ Great for taking out siege weapons/gates
- Catapult = 50 supply/ Great for taking out gates and walls at a range
- Flame Ram = 40 supply/ Great for taking gates and walls up close
- Trebuchet = 100 supply/ Very long range weapon great against everything
- Siege Golem = 100 supply/ Very great for taking out gates and walls
Do you understand why you need to carry supply at all times now? You put your attacking force in danger. That trebuchet is of no help to anyone without enough supply to build it. An invasion force is easier to crush when they don’t have siege weapons to keep them on the defensive. Keep your supply flowing!
Onto tip#2.
Tip #2: Stay With the Group
In order for towers and keeps to be taken, you are going to need a large group of players. You just aren’t going to take a keep with 2 people in prime WvW hours, feel free to do it against the night watch. And for those of you who just read that and don’t know what the term means, the night watch is the group of players that defend your world while most of it sleeps. Usually it is comprised of Oceanic players and night owls (or crazies who lust for the thrill of conquest).
How do you go about staying with the group? Simple. Watch your chat and pay attention to when someone shouts out the target, or search your map for the Squad Commander and join the squad. Grab yourself some supply and then hop on down to wherever the group is. Pay attention to your chat and follow directions. If someone says “Hey, building catapult, need supply” run over and drop your supply on the catapult. If an order is given by your squad commander, you need to follow it, because the rest of the squad will.
Don’t just sit around like a mute either. Communication flows in two directions, so make sure you keep your side flowing. Try not to fill chat with random banter, save that for whispers. If you spot an enemy, give a shout out about it. If you shift+click on the location icon on a map, it will link that location into your chat box. It is precise, and that precision makes it easier on everyone.
Individual players are not going to be effective at anything in WvW. You just aren’t powerful enough to change the tide of battle by yourself. Don’t expect to solo a keep, especially if they have defenses fully upgraded. Siege weapons hit hard. A well placed mortar can take out a team, what do you think it will do to one person?
This tip is simple, so I’ll leave it at that. Onto tip#3.
Tip #3: Defend What You Control
This one should be a no brainer, right? Yeah I thought that too, but then I actually got into the game. I watched as tower after tower was taken in the name of “Fort Aspenwood”, and then abandoned to the wind. You don’t do your world favors by leaving a keep empty of defenders. You don’t need 100 people in the tower to defend it, usually 2-5 will hold it. Here is where you can leave the group play if you want to, and form a smaller party of defenders.
Don’t expect to hold a tower or keep if you have no money though. The upgrades that you purchase from the quartermaster don’t just take supply. The best way to deal with this is to share the cost of upgrades between all the defenders. Simply put, you buy 1 upgrade, someone else buys another. This will make it easier on your coin purse and theirs. When the attacking force does come, don’t run away to the back. Stay up front and harass them with ranged attacks or defensive siege weapons. A pot of boiling oil is enough to force them away from your gate, and cannons will take most of them out before they even get within ranged distance.
One of the best things you can use to defend your keep are Arrow Carts. Even after their “nerf”, which wasn’t much of a nerf if you ask me, they are still powerful against large groups of players. The best part about them is that you can place them wherever you want in your keep. You don’t have to put them right on the edge of the wall, like the cannon is automatically placed, or right above the gate, like the pot of boiling oil.
There are so many ways you can defend, you just have to play smart.
Tips that didn’t make the cut
These tips weren’t big enough to get their own section in the article, but they are still important to know. Seems like a good time for a list,
- Trebuchet’s/Mortar’s need spotters at longer distances. You will most likely be firing into fog if you shoot it at long range, so make sure you have a spotter to tell you where the ball of destruction landed.
- Siege weapons don’t move and they can’t be taken down. Don’t waste a lot of money and supply just taking 1 little tower.
- Monsters in each map have a chance at dropping blueprints, so run around and kill them if you don’t want to buy one.
- Don’t run around with the Orb of Power unless you know where you are going.
- Don’t forget to take towers and keeps in your guilds name. Your guild will get influence from players defending it.
- Expect to run around a long time until someone upgrades a keep with a waypoint.
Well there you have it folks, a short guide to succeeding in WvW. It is my greatest hope that you all become great players.
I like the competition.
~source