My first WvWvW Experience

I participated in the Club Gaiscioch event on February 2nd from Midnight to 2:30 am.  It was my first time trying WvWvW.  I had no idea what was happening most of the time.

The good news:

I learned which of my skills make me run a little faster.  I had never used it before in PVE and never felt the need to go any faster.  However, in order to keep up with the 50 plus people running around on the map, I needed to do something to keep up with them.

I killed 40 enemies and got some good loot and made 30 silver.

I never took any supplies as I have no idea what I'd do with them.

Whenever an enemy was attacking me, he wasn't attacking any of you.

The bad news:

I spent a lot on armor repair.  I died many times.

I wasted a lot of my time following the crowd as they would run to go get supplies and then run back to where they started.  I could have just waited for them to come back, but I never knew if they were coming right back.

Summation:

I had fun and will do it again.

Take the supplies!!! When someone drops a siege weapon - it will look like a lot of wood with wood scaffolding around it - you can't miss it. Then Fog or another commander will say "Build This". You just run up to it until you get a "Build (F)" command on your screen and you just hit the key. You will go into an animation of kneeling and pounding with a hammer. AND - you get EXP for it. Now there is a chance you will get stuck in the siege equipment (arrow cart, ballista, catapult, etc) if you are the last one hammering... don't panic - just keep spamming amd in a few secs you will jump away. Other than that - just have fun. I probably die as much as anyone... if you don't have stealth - or wear a lot of armor with toughness and have high health - you are going to die. And yes- people in WvWvW will look for cloth and leather wearers to kill first - just good practice - so accept it. Just a couple of other pointers.... Rule 1. Always follow your commander with the exception as noted in the following two rules. Rule 2. Never chase defenders always follow your commander. Rule 3. Always follow your commander as stated in rule #1 if you aren't following your commander you should either be dead right next to him; taking a bio break; or paying the pizza delivery person at the door.

» Edited on: 2013-02-02 21:46:12

Not sure by your post if you are listening on Raidcall during the event. If not, that would help a lot with knowing what is going on.

not sure which time zone you are in , however every sat at 600pm pst prissy runs a wvw event called breaking the ice . It is great for those new to WvW as as fun it is basicly a guided tour through WvW explaining how stuff works, and pros and cons to doing things. It is very good and worth attending , Also if you browse the WvW forum here at this web site there are a lot of WvW guides a few even have you tube vids walking you through WvW . here is one that is simple but good . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsDrp3wyQ0Q

» Edited on: 2013-02-03 09:58:28

I just wanted to say that last night's (early this morning's) ClubGaiscioch with Fog was also my very first experienced with WvW, and I was absolutely thrilled. I agree that at first I had NO clue what was happening, but after following and listening to Fog for half an hour or so it started to make sense, and with a few dumb questions answered by Foxy by the end of the night I really felt like I had a grasp on things. Granted I still have no concept of proper strategy in those borderlands, but I can follow the zerg, build stuff, kill things and assault objectives with the best of them. It was tons of fun, and according to my Achievements panel I somehow managed to kill 127 people (and 9 yaks!) while only dying 2 or 3 times! Overall I have never been much of a PvP person in MMO's, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to learning more and becoming better prepared to help out despite the late hour of these runs (2:00AM my time). On a final note, if I somehow managed to pick up a copy of some Flame Ram Blueprints, is there something in particular I should do with that? Thanks again!

Good post Beardtongue. My first serious WvW action was last night as well. I'd dabbled in WvW as I jumped between games since GW2 release. But after a taste of running in ClubGaiscioch with Fog and Prissy the other night I decided to make a solid appearance at Godrin's campaign. I wasn't disappointed! Solid leadership and great communication. The action got flowing and the DJ had an interesting playlist. I took off my headset and called my girlfriend in to pull up a chair. The teamwork and communication on RC is amazing! Such an immersive and rewarding experience. Looks like I'm going to have to set up another gaming rig beside mine. She hung in there deep into Spartan's WvW event. I GOT TO PILOT A GOLEM! Memories like those built last night are the reason why I game. Moving a golem across the map with a dozen Gaiscioch running along casting speed buffs on you, all the while having hardly any idea what you're doing was fun. During the trip there was a moment that strengthened my respect for the family and made me feel included. Sensing that I was slowing down the group, I jumped out of my golem and offered it to another. But the commander quickly reassured me and I climbed back in and helped beat down a gate. Morigana's second rule is one of the best things I learned last night and I'll abide by it each time I'm on map to support our world. Follow your commander. Thanks again for a great evening!

I played again on 2/3. I got 60 silver this time and made 56 kills (16 more than last time). I had a better idea of what was going on. I have some trouble telling the live enemy from the dead enemy and the NPC enemy from the human enemy. I am sure learning by doing is the way to go.

Hey don't worry about the confusion ... my first week in WvWvW when the commander yelled "Kill the yak", I was shooting the indigenous beasts on the side of the road - not the tamed supply hauling ones under enemy control :) And don't fall for the "old commander gets new gullible recruit" by letting one of them tell you to find the player from the other server named "Defender" - he's worth extra exp. They are all named "Defender". and that's how you tell other players from the NPC's. PC's will be "Guards", "Citizens", "Workers" etc. and all players not from our server will be "Defenders..." Also, Defenders will turn and run from you - NPC's won't. I have to say, it is seldom that I go into WvWvW unless it is to follow one of the Gaiscioch commanders - don't expect your experiences to be the same with others, but there are several out there are are fun to be with - we actually do have a pretty great server.

One of the things I love the most about WvW is that you have to work together as a team to achieve the goal. Without a commander everything falls apart quickly Agree with Morigana that you stay with the commander at all times, if half the group stays put while the other half goes to resupply we spread to thin, and that's when we start to get our bums handed to us on silver platters. Have fun and get to know your character. It is a good way to learn them because for the most part you can anticipate an NPC, but you have to stay on your toes more when trying to overpower another player.