I think I'm going to cry.

I really do.

These snowball fights are making me want to throw my laptop out of the window.

So, I have a warrior/monk and a Necro/ele. The Necro seems to always be on Dwayna, and Warrior on Grenth. What is this topic about? This topic is about how no matter what team I go onto, the other team always wins.

I must have been into about 20 games now, and I don't have 1 candy cane shard.

Please, can someone, anyone, suggest something? Im going insane. Really.

I have played on both sides, won and lost on both sides. Some think Dwayna has an advantage with avalanche, but it really comes down to you team understanding the game, and that is random. Nothing you can do about that really, maybe use what little time you have before the start to explain it. It's like RA, when you get a good team, you will get a bunch of consecutive wins. And FYI you get 3 shards for a win.

It was the same for me last night but this morning I got a team that knew how to do it. Patient my friend, patient.
Most dont know what to do in the arena, jusst runing around throwing snow.
You have to work together!
Protecting the one that is running the present.

yeah it is totaly random....one what team you end up with....try to let everyone know what they are supposed to do during the match incase they don't know...

When it first started I had no clue what was going on so for 3 battles or so i was just tryign to kill people and couldn't figure out how come i was still losing..lol good times

I have 18 shards, but it's very difficult to get a half-decent team... Think RA yet 10X worse...

At least you get spiked eggnog for losing

I kept losing for about 30 mins then went on a 25 game winstreak. Just be patient and hopefully you'll get some wins

it's totally random to witch side your on. its all about playing as a TEAM! if some1 has a present help them get to the god. TEAM WORK WINS!!!

They removed the eggnog.

The problem is the winning team isnt split apart they go on to fight the next round.

So evolution takes place, throw enough random teams together and eventually youl get the uber teams, winning round after round the only time one of these is split up is when they fight eachother(pretty rare) eventually creating a totally dominating team.

Below this youl have the winning teams who beat the majority of random teams and only loose to other winning teams/uber teams.

Thats why you lloose the majority of the time untill you face another totally random team or are good enough to beat one of the winning teams(unlikely).

Its realy not that random

I remember doing it last year. After a few games ended up on a really good team. So, good in fact that we never lost so it got boring and we all ended up leaving.

double post.

It's been kinda half and half for me, but all my losses are from when I am on Grenth's side. That Avalanche skill evil as hell!

btw I am at 66 CC shards and 210 Gamer points. All those CC's are gonna become my Primeval armor if I sell them right.

maybe u suck? :P

For snowball arena, it all depends on your team. If you get a team full of peoples who doesn't understand the concept of getting the present (or knocking them out of enemy's hands) than most likely you'll lose. Also, try different classes for the snowball arena since you get different skills for each.

It's fine, learn to play. I went in 5 times, 3 times on Dwayna side, 2 times on Grenth side. I won while on Dwayna side. Go Avalanche!

why is yellow snow such a bad skill?

I like the snowball game.
Played only a few PvP matches before, but this is soo much fun I think I stick with it a couple of days.

I've been in both winning and losing teams, I don't really care.
When we win, I'm happy, when we lose, just get an other team and win.
That could take a few lost matches, but when you get the feeling and ways to get more presents than the opposite team, you will win.
Once you have a winning strategy, inform the next team you get in.
It's all about strategy (unless you face a team composed of experienced PvP players, those guys/girls are very good at avoiding the snowballs).

i was like you kheira.But later i started with group and we got 13 wins in a row
Our plan was when someone gets the present we defend him and when he is near god we go for another....We don t fight we only defend him

More like random mutation rather than evolution.

Earlier today, I found myself in teams that would win up to 5 times in a row constantly. This evening, with all the extra people joining in, I've noticed that the general quality of players has also decreased. So... now, winning even once started to become a rarity.

I think I'll stop doing that snowball arena for tonight.

I was on a team last night that could have gone on to 50, 60 wins probably, but we got kicked off for the second update lol. Its all about patience and knowing ur skills.

This is funny....avalanch is over rated because yellow snow ends it.

Yellow Snow is fine IMO. It removes the Criple from Avalanche or Dazed from Hidden Rock and then diseases the opponent. But it really is just a more fun version of RA. Tell your team members before things start to grab the presents. Whoever walks slowly as a blip on the map will have the real present, so either surround and support or attack them until they die. Holliday Blues ftw.

I have to admit Avalanche is better because you use it slow down the ememy, get in front of him, use Hidden Rock, and finally knock him down and swipe the present from him. Even if he uses yellow snow to get rid of Cripple you should be able to pull it off.

However I find Yellow snow to be useful in some situations where everyone is fighting over a single present.

It is all about trying! You have to keep trying and never quit before you are beaten.
There are noobs that keep exit the game because they think their team is not winning one.
In the snowball arena every team has more potential than the Random Arena because You are always getting 80percent similar spells like the other players and the other 20 are not so important because they have some positive effect but it is not something special.
In the Snowball arena all plaeyrs have similar health and energy.
The winning team in the Snowball arena is the working-together team. Actually while I was playing I saw a lot of people that don't know what to do with the gifts. They just run around and not going to the gods but to the elves/children. This can really result in the match when you are slowing down the process doing stupid things so if you want to be sure just give some instructions before the match stars so everyone to have a much more clear view of what is going on.
Also protecting the player with the gift is important! Be around him/her and try to keep the enemy players far from him/her by slowing them donw. Also if you want to deliver your present fast you must leave it to warrior, assasin or ranger (I think these are the classes with the spell for faster running).
In the snowball fight the spells you get will differ in some way when you are playing for Grenth or Dwayna. But there are 5-6 spells that are equal to all players on the field. The other spells wich you will get will have some relevance to your primary profession. So if you are a warrior, you better bring the present and if you are an elementalist - quard the path.
I'm sure there are a lot more tallanted people than me who will write a better strategy with more details but I'm just palying from 1 hour now and I saw only this in the new arena.
I definetly like it a lot more than the other arenas and it is too bad it won't stay the whole year but that's why we get double factions which is a big plus.
Play and have fun! That's the game all about and that is what ArenaNet are good in . Happy Holidays to everyone

I dont play the Snowball arenas much and I dont ever play RA anymore because no matter how good (or bad) you are, your teammates will most likely be worse and/or little pricks who talk trash.

Personally, im only there to get faction. After about 10 matches, you can end up with around 3-4k faction. This winter is all about getting all of my characters through Nightfall, and unlocking all skills.

Definitely more successful on the Dwayna side for me, and my longest streaks tend to consist of primarily Dwayna. Avalanche > Yellow Snow.
Avalanche puts a persuer at present-bearer speed, and a present-bearer at inchworm speed. And, thanks to the large AoE, it can often hit more than one target.
I've never seen Yellow Snow used to great effect, as the single condition removal is usually too slow, and it prevents usage of Hidden Rock, which is needed to force present-bearers to drop their load. Disease adds on up to 80 damage in degen form to an attack, but it's liable to spread to your own party while skirmishing for a present, and killing people outside of that context is mostly for fun.


I suggest playing Ranger, Monk, Ritualist, Elementalist, and possibly Necromancer. Not in that order.
Most of the profession specific abilities are really crappy, but some are >less< crappy than others.

Ranger can strike multiple targets and accumulate adrenaline faster, which is often more important for charging up Mega Snowball to knockdown present-bearers.

Monk's Icebreaker prevents present theft temporarily during a 1-on-1 skirmish, and if the players aren't coordinated enough, it can enable you to keep it with more. Every time you're attacked with Hidden Rock or Mega snowballs, your attacker is knocked down as well, preventing them from running in and taking the present, so you can pick it right back up.
Smart teams have one player knockdown the present-bearer and snag it with another player though.

Jack Frost from Ritualist, if you're going on a more offensive path, can contribute greatly to actually killing a present-bearer. The most successful placements seem to be near the icy rivers, and it kills most often when a present actually spawns there. Because knockdowns in the river = Icy Ground, which causes them to move snail pace, enabling the spirit to both strike more, and strike with consistency.

Icicles, the Elementalist skill, is a real pain to get struck by. It's not as good as Avalanche, which is both faster, and snares longer, but you can neither choose to have Avalanche effectively, nor keep either up constantly. Snare a preasant-bearer with Icicles, and they'll barely move until it ends, enabling you to run in, knock them down, and swipe their present.

I'm not a huge fan of Holiday Blues (Necromancer), as most of the time, it's not too useful. However, combined with Avalanche or Icicles, effectiveness varies. Fighting in the icy river over a present, I've seen it used to great effect, and if nothing else, it's a 'final hurrah' in a skirmish you're losing.

I have no clue as to how useful the Avatar skills are, from Dervish, but they don't seem to be very, and my experience with the Mesmer's Blinding snow is pretty sparse. In a one-on-one skirmish, it can disable Hidden Rock repeatedly, but when it most counts, while hauling presents, it's pretty easy to deal with, due to the speed debuff. I don't think the Blindness actually does anything, but it might.


In any case, the above are just my opinions, and I'm hardly a "pro-snow fighter", so take them with a grain of salt. Also, do remember that it's supposed to be a fun event.
When I play Random Arenas occasionally, after enough frustration, I take a break, and come back later. The same applies here, I'd imagine.

Well,
I guess ill try it again with my Rt cz that spirt Jack Frost looks sweet but apart from that it bores me. MEH ^^

lol..i usually just run around killing people for balths faction 100 per kill wowi

if we win gg...if we dont..np im only after balths faction..lol best streak so far 10..win about 50% of matches so far

I actually maxed my Balth Faction for the first time since my HA campaign times. This is quite an entertaining arena.

really its all about getting a competent team

last night we had a freaking insane team.. went 26-0 but it was 4am and we went to sleep... we beat almost everyone 5-0 or 5-1 (except when they had 3 people using wells, had a bit of trouble)... we could of kept going all week, seriously

all you can do is keep trying until you get a competent team and stick with it

I played for about 1/2 an hour last night and won 5 out of 7 games.

Sometimes you get a good team, sometimes you don't, other times you get a team that can learn by observing. Show them how its done - camp the present spawns, guard people with presents, steal presents off the opposition, body block runners: Your team will learn from you.

Keep these snowball fights in perspective. They are a once a year thing and a lot of people that never did PvP, or aren't that good at PvE tend to play ..... just to have fun. Last year people were getting upset and calling others Noobs. It's about having fun. Period.

Dont forget the mesmers! Their special skill which is an interrupt is awesome against people who is about to use hidden rock or mega snowball. I have managed to piss off several teams with it :P

Holiday Blues is the quickest way across the map if you need to return to your side to defend an ally prersent runner. Not that that's a whole lot, but it's an often overlooked use for the skill.

Yellow snow ends avalanche, but it's can't do very much on it's own. Standing still for 2 seconds is a good way to allow people to get close to you to KD you much faster, as well.

Purposely dying is a good strategy for that very reason. I have to stop attacking sometimes just so I can make the target run all the way back instead of getting spawned closer to their destination :P.

First off... USE HIDDEN ROCK BEFORE BATTLE. This is key to gaining the upper hand. Secondly there are 4 present spawns and 4 players, 1 person to each spawn. third swarm the present knock down the holder of the present pick it up rinse, and repeat. Best way to get a present from someone is to run infront of them and knock them down to take it back, better chance of getting the present before they get back up. If you feel you are capable of returning a present sucessfully by yourself let your team mates know.

Now that's skills.